Other Blondes besides Maple.

I have read that some of the LTG family own Ash and Pear Wood blondes. Was wondering how much the voice of these guitars differs from Maple? Maple seems to be the most popular Blonde wood used but, I am curious as to how these two alternative woods make for unique keepers!! Are the D44 and the D46 all flat backs? I have noticed that there is a model D44M. Did they make the D44 series in both Maple and Pear Wood? What are the upgrades from "Standard" in both of these guitars besides the variance in the woods on back and sides? So many Blondes so little time!! :wink:

Grad77 said:

I have read that some of the LTG family own Ash and Pear Wood blondes. Was wondering how much the voice of these guitars differs from Maple?

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I have a D-46 which is the Ash and it sounds a little "duller" then my maple D-44M.

Here is my '83 D-46BLD-E;

Grad77 said:

Are the D44 and the D46 all flat backs?

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I believe so.

Grad77 said:

I have noticed that there is a model D44M. Did they make the D44 series in both Maple and Pear Wood?

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Yes the "M" is for maple.

Here is my '77 D-44M-BLD;

Grad77 said:

What are the upgrades from "Standard" in both of these guitars besides the variance in the woods on back and sides?

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Both have "matching" necks, ebony fretboards, ebony bridges, and black pickguards. The D-46 has a factory pick-up.

I've got a thing for blonds

The D-44s and D-46s were all flat back.

The D-44 was originally introduced with pearwood back and sides... but I have never seen a pearwood D-44 in "blonde." The Guild pearwoods I have seen (D-44s and Mark IV classicals) are not visually stunning, and the B/S all have been stained a reddish/mahogany color. The maple D-44M came along in the early '70s (~'72 or '73... I didn't consult my copy of Moust), and was available in blonde, NT (with stained B/S), and burst (that I am aware of).

I don't think I have ever seen a D-46 labeled as "blonde," though the B/S commonly are left unstained (the most common color designation is NT, for natural top). I think the natural ash has the color of butterscotch pudding. The 46 was also available in burst.

My pearwood '71 D-44 sounds most similar to my '72 D-35 (mahogany), bright but with just a little more bass/overtones. My ash '81 D-46 has a richer sound (I would not call it duller!) than my D-44. Bright sparkling trebles, good mids, and bass that is between mahogany and rosewood. Very balanced across the whole tonal spectrum. Altho' I have never played a flat-backed maple Guild, my D-46 also has a richer sounding tone than my arched-back maple G-37 (which has smooth, bell-like tone with great note clarity).

Just my $0.02... YMMV.

Thanks Gardman for responding! I was just looking back at older LTG threads to find your comments on Guild Dreadnoughts. It was you I was referencing in my initial comment. I remembered that you had such a nice collection of Guild Dreads and I was hoping you'd give some experienced comparitave input. I just opened up my post to invite you to comment and you beat me to it!!! I have a D30, a JF30 and an F50 Bld. I saw a D44 on Guitar Centers Web page and I remembered that you really praised the Pear and the Ash woods. If you had to pick, (And I know that is almost impossible), do you prefer the D44 or the D46 over all? I'm not sure if the D44 at Guitar Center is a Pear Wood or a D44M. I am going to have to check. I just assumed that the mahogany glaze on the pictures of D44s was similar to those put on maples and that the wood would be light if finished NT like Maple. I have see the nice figuring on the D46s and saw a few comments that referred to the lighter wood as Bld when finished NT. Again thanks for your response.

Grad77 said:

If you had to pick, (And I know that is almost impossible), do you prefer the D44 or the D46 over all?

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If push came to shove (and I hope it never does), I would keep my ash D-46 over my pearwood D-44. Altho' I really like the "folksy" sound of the pearwood, the ash is richer with more bass and overtones, has great mids, and sparkling trebles. It's got great balance and is an all-around versatile dread (and it has a great neck!). It is also one of my loudest dreads, despite its heft (just an oz shy of 6 lbs, a couple oz more than my rosewoods).

As for recognizing pearwood vs maple... the first indicator is the build date. From Hans book and what I have seen on eBay and GBase, earlier than '71 would be pearwood. '73 or later likely maple. Between ~'71 and ~'73 it might be either. Most, but not all, of the maple 44s I have seen have had the "M" designation in the model number. If it still isn't clear, look at the back. The pearwood Guilds I have seen (all stained) show very little figuring in the back wood, and what "figuring" there is best described as "blotchy" rather than flamed. The stained maple 44Ms I have seen (on the web) all have had easily recognizeable "flame" figuring in the back wood, under the stain.

I haven't seen the 44 at GC (do you have a link?)... but this looks to be a '66 D-44 in pearwood. Cosmetically rough, in my opinion... and may be in need of a neck reset (saddle looks pretty low).

This D-46 looks pretty nice... and may go for a reasonable price (I paid ~$950 for mine, and have seen them sell from <$600 to >$1000).

As always, ask LOTS of questions if bidding on eBay...

Good hunting!

Thanks for your thoughts on the comparison. I hope you never have to choose either! Once you get attached to a Guild its hard to let go!! There was another D44 Pear a month or so ago with several cracks in the sound board, listed on Ebay. I saw the two that you referenced on Ebay. I thought the same, that the D44 looked a little rough. I just wasn't sure if guitars that old all show more wear and tear. The D44 at GC is listed as a D44M. Thanks for the price point reference on the D46.
If I keep this up I am going to be like you guys, happy but having to devote a whole room to my Guilds!!! LOL Thanks again for the advice. :wink: Guilda

Were there ever any pearwood 17" jumbos by Guild?

Terry Allan Hall said:

Were there ever any pearwood 17" jumbos by Guild?

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Not to my knowledge... the only pearwood Guild acoustics I know of (from Hans et al) were the early D-44s and one of the Mark classicals (Mark IV?).

Terry Allan Hall said:

Were there ever any pearwood 17" jumbos by Guild?

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Agreed with Dave, Terry... Maple, mahogany, and rosewood are the only back/sides I'm aware of for the big ones.

Oh, hang on, there was recently a cocobolo F-50, I think. Not sure.

Chazmo said:

Terry Allan Hall said:

Were there ever any pearwood 17" jumbos by Guild?

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Agreed with Dave, Terry... Maple, mahogany, and rosewood are the only back/sides I'm aware of for the big ones.

Oh, hang on, there was recently a cocobolo F-50, I think. Not sure.

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Koa F-50, too.

Wonder why no pearwood jumbos.

Right!!! I think koa was what I was thinking of. I think the coco was on a D-50. It was a NH GSR sometime in the last couple of years. Thanks!

Chazmo said:

Right!!! I think koa was what I was thinking of. I think the coco was on a D-50. It was a NH GSR sometime in the last couple of years. Thanks!

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Seriously want one of those, too.

Guild jumbos...the natural pinnacle of guitar evolution. 8)

Where do they get the Ash wood that they use for the D46? On a review posting someone listed SWAMP ASH. I live in LA and I have an Ash tree in my back yard. Ash trees here are considered WEED trees because they grow voluntarily and fast. The one in my yard is a volunteer. I don't know if I would classify it as a hard wood because it grows so fast. I thought most hardwoods grew slow, like Oak. Are there different varieties of Ash Trees? I just won an EBay auction for a D46 and I'd like to learn more about the guitar. I have not found reference to how the D46 is braced, standard, shaved, or scalloped. I have a D30 and it has scalloped. I have a JF30 and it is shaved. They are both true to the Westerly Home page specs description. There is an almost nonexsitent spec sheet on the D46. With the up grade to an ebony fret board and bridge I hoped that might imply an up graded bracing spec. Any idea about the nut and saddle? I will have to learn how to post pictures! Again thanks Gardman for the EBay tip. I talked to the seller and it sounds as good as it looks. I paid about what you paid 950. Thought I had it for 750, but of course there was a bid bomber who dropped in in the last 30 seconds! I had placed a max bid of 1100 because there is one for sale at that price on Gbase. I liked the figuring on the back of the EBay one better, more prominent. I pick it up tomorrow we'll see.

All about Ash!

I always thought Ash was really hard because for years they made baseball bats from it. Now maple is the big thing! Maple vs Ash

Grad77 said:

I just won an EBay auction for a D46 and I'd like to learn more about the guitar. I have not found reference to how the D46 is braced, standard, shaved, or scalloped. I have a D30 and it has scalloped. I have a JF30 and it is shaved. They are both true to the Westerly Home page specs description. There is an almost nonexsitent spec sheet on the D46. With the up grade to an ebony fret board and bridge I hoped that might imply an up graded bracing spec. Any idea about the nut and saddle? I will have to learn how to post pictures! Again thanks Gardman for the EBay tip. I talked to the seller and it sounds as good as it looks. I paid about what you paid 950. Thought I had it for 750, but of course there was a bid bomber who dropped in in the last 30 seconds! I had placed a max bid of 1100 because there is one for sale at that price on Gbase. I liked the figuring on the back of the EBay one better, more prominent. I pick it up tomorrow we'll see.

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Hey Grad,
The braces on my D-46 are "straight," as seen in this pic:

Well, I guess you can't see all the braces, but you what you see is straight, and the tone bars are not shaved or scalloped. One novel thing about my D-46... it doesn't have the thin cloth or wood braces seen on ALL my other Guild dreads along the sides (rosewood strips on my rosewood dreads, cloth on the others). Hope that D-46 looks in person as good as it does in the ad, and sounds as nice as mine.

We're all waiting for a full report, and remember "Without pics, it didn't happen!"

Well sadly I didn't get to add the D46 to my collection. It had been badly cared for and misrepresented on the sales description. It was listed as "Excellent", I would have rated it as "Poor". The finish was in good shape, but the bridge was pulling up BADLY, (about 1.5 in.). The pictures had been taken at an angle that didn't show this. In conversations with the vendor he said the bridge was sound and the guitar had now cracks. The back had dried out so badly that it had separated all the way down the center seam, (about 1/8"). Again not easily visible in pictures, but very visible in person. I know that you said that 3 piece necks don't warp, but the visual bow on the neck, near the nut made me wonder. I went with the vendor to a local guitar shop to speak with a luther about the neck and bridge repairs. ( Mostly to determine if the neck was going to need a reset.) He seemed knowledgeable and diagnosed the major problem as the bridge. He felt with the bridge in place, the neck would be OK with a truss rod adjustment and a good set up. The back seam crack was another story. It was too far separated to do much about it. I negotiated with the vendor, but he still wasn't willing to go down far enough on the price to justify the cost of the repairs and the risk of having future problems with the back seam of the guitar. So we agreed to cancel the sale. To bad, but its always fun to shop for Guilds!!! :wink:

Bummer. Sorry it didn't work out. That one is back up on eBay, along with one from another seller. There's also one at New Hope Guitar Traders (Jay Pilzer is a reputable dealer, and a member here. Bought my D-44 from him a few years back)... just noticed it is on hold. You might see a couple D-46s a year at shops, eBay, and GBase... but three at one time is a little unusual.