Guild D25 BR 1968 Brown Mahogany

newton

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Does anyone know for sure that Guild D25 BR 1968 Brown Mahogany flatbacks are all solid mahogany top and back and sides (sides with vertical strips of wood on them :joyous:)

Just want to make sure I know what I'm looking at. I wasn't finding anything on line that seemed definitive. Info on nut width would be greatly appreciated. I'll keep looking.

Thanks.
 

GardMan

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D-25s were all mahogany with flat backs up until ~1973. A '68 should thus be all mahogany. The only exception would be if a D-35 got mislabeled... don't laugh, it's happened!
 

newton

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I once had a 1999 F4CE that was labeled Fc4e. That's called "Giving it the human touch" at Westerlee, R.I.
 

hansmoust

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Does anyone know for sure that Guild D25 BR 1968 Brown Mahogany flatbacks are all solid mahogany top and back and sides (sides with vertical strips of wood on them.

At that time the side reinforcements were still cloth! By the way, are you sure it has the BR suffix after the model designation?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

GardMan

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This one? Ad says it's a '68, and it has the BR suffix... but I think the SN says it's later, I just don't know how much later ('69?).
 

hansmoust

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By the way, are you sure it has the BR suffix after the model designation?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

This one? Ad says it's a '68, and it has the BR suffix... but I think the SN says it's later, I just don't know how much later ('69?).

If that's indeed the guitar that newton was referring to then he was looking looking at a D-25 BR from 1970 not 1968; that's the reason why I was asking about the BR suffix!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

bobouz

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At that time the side reinforcements were still cloth!

Now I'm curious. They were still using cloth in '76 per my G-37.

Hans, do you happen to know when Guild stopped using it?
 

Westerly Wood

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If that's indeed the guitar that newton was referring to then he was looking looking at a D-25 BR from 1970 not 1968; that's the reason why I was asking about the BR suffix!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Hans, the cloth or fabric type bracing. I believe mine from 1971 has them too. Along the inside walls of the Br, i always thought it looked like velcro. Am I seeing cloth?
 

Westerly Wood

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The seller of this guitar has posted a video of our own Westerly Wood playing a D-25 BR!!

hope ur gettin a slice of the action, bro!

Ha! I think Mav I just noticed a 7 cent deposit in my checking acct this morning. Sweet!
 

GardMan

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Hans, the cloth or fabric type bracing. I believe mine from 1971 has them too. Along the inside walls of the Br, i always thought it looked like velcro. Am I seeing cloth?

All of my past and present Guilds from '71-78 had the fabric reinforcement strips along the sides... I always assumed the purpose was to prevent or at least minimize the spread of cracks along the side grain. All my past/present Guilds from '92 on have wood strips- it looks like rosewood- instead of fabric. I have never know whether that was an age thing, or model specific (all my later Guilds are "higher end" models"). Interestingly, my '81 ash D-46 has NO side reinforcements at all. Again, don't know if that relates to the period it was built, or if ash, for some reason, isn't deemed to need the extra reinforcement.
 

Westerly Wood

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All of my past and present Guilds from '71-78 had the fabric reinforcement strips along the sides... I always assumed the purpose was to prevent or at least minimize the spread of cracks along the side grain. All my past/present Guilds from '92 on have wood strips- it looks like rosewood- instead of fabric. I have never know whether that was an age thing, or model specific (all my later Guilds are "higher end" models"). Interestingly, my '81 ash D-46 has NO side reinforcements at all. Again, don't know if that relates to the period it was built, or if ash, for some reason, isn't deemed to need the extra reinforcement.

My Br continues to get more and more unique as the story goes. I wonder what else I do not know re my old Guild dread. One day I got to shine a light along the inside top with some mirror thingy as I might uncover some long lost document or maybe a treasure map.
 

Neal

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I would be less concerned about the year, and a little more concerned about the neck angle on this D-25BR. Action appears to be high at the 12th fret, and the saddle appears low. IMO, not a great deal at $850 if in need of a neck reset, despite its otherwise pristine condition.

Newton, if you are seriously interested in this one, I would ask the seller for close-ups of the action at the 12th fret (with a quarter straddling the 12th and 13th frets under both high and low e strings). There should not be much space between the top of the quarter and the bottom of the string.

I would also ask for close-ups of the bridge and saddle to assess saddle height, and to ascertain whether the bridge was shaved before being reglued.
 

bobouz

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One day I got to shine a light along the inside top with some mirror thingy as I might uncover some long lost document or maybe a treasure map.
Actually, it's always good to know what's going on under the hood.

A small telescoping automotive inspection mirror will do the trick nicely. I use one regularly when changing strings to make sure the ball ends are seated properly. It may seem like overkill, but I've seen some very nasty divots develop in bridgeplates - and if bad enough, the ball then starts to dig into the spruce top (risking the development of a crack).

Besides all that, it's just fun to poke around in there!
 

newton

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I would be less concerned about the year, and a little more concerned about the neck angle on this D-25BR. Action appears to be high at the 12th fret, and the saddle appears low. IMO, not a great deal at $850 if in need of a neck reset, despite its otherwise pristine condition.

Newton, if you are seriously interested in this one, I would ask the seller for close-ups of the action at the 12th fret (with a quarter straddling the 12th and 13th frets under both high and low e strings). There should not be much space between the top of the quarter and the bottom of the string.

I would also ask for close-ups of the bridge and saddle to assess saddle height, and to ascertain whether the bridge was shaved before being reglued.

Thanks for the heads up. I will do as you suggest. The seller (perhaps someone on this board?) is willing to post additional pics, so I will ask.

Thanks.
 

newton

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Interestingly, my '81 ash D-46 has NO side reinforcements at all. Again, don't know if that relates to the period it was built, or if ash, for some reason, isn't deemed to need the extra reinforcement.

I guess it's just a rule of thumb however, I was under the impression that laminated sides don't have braces because they don't need them and, that the all-solid-tonewood sides of guitars are braced. (Perhaps just to err on the side of caution)

If the specs say its got solid sides then, maybe it just doesn't need them? Check to see if the grain pattern goes all the way through...
 
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