PittPastor
Member
OK, bear with me for a moment -- this is long. But there is a purpose for this because I want to ask some advice about my GUILD DG40C (Guild 40 Cutaway) from 1980.
Background (skip if uninterested)
Why Guild? -- is a question I get asked a lot. I hear people talk about "That GUILD Sound" or "It opened Woodstock" or any number of other really great reasons. My reason for "Why Guild?" has nothing to do with any of that.
I first learned to play guitar on a small Stella 6 String my brother had bought off of a friend for $15. It was in pretty bad shape. Horrible action. My brother tried to learn to pay guitar, and failed. It passed to the next brother. He learned to chord and play a bit, and then it passed to me. I struggled to learn and stopped several times before I finally managed to get a few chords figured out. By this time I was in high school and some friends of mine were telling me I really should buy a new guitar. I began looking, but anything I bought had to fit into the budget of a part-time busboy at Howard Johnson's -- in other words: cheap.
I went with a friend to a local music store. He was looking for piano music, but I gravitated towards the guitar display. It was small. Maybe a dozen guitars on a round table/stand that was covered in carpet. (This was 1978 -- everything was covered in carpet!) I figured I could spend maybe $150 on a guitar. Every guitar on the carpet rack was $600 or more! I couldn't believe it. Who'd pay that kind of money for a guitar?
Owner of the store sees me gawking at the guitars and asks me if I am looking to buy. At $600 I'm afraid to touch! Buying was out of the question. I tell him not really, out of my price range. And he tells me he understands, but he won't sell "the cheap stuff" anymore because he kept having people returning them. He said: "All I sell now is Guild. I don't sell as many of them. But those I do never come back because people love them." He encourages me to pick one up and play. I'm guessing I knew how to get through maybe 8 chords at this time in my "music career." But I pick it up (carefully) and strum a few, and even to my novice ear, I knew this was no Stella. Then he starts telling me about how they are all hand made in America, and why he prefers them over any other guitar brand, and suddenly, my ideal guitar had a name, and it was Guild.
I couldn't afford it. But, I knew one day I would, and when that day came, I knew exactly what I would buy: the exact guitar I picked up by accident that day: The 12 string Guild Jumbo.
Fast forward two years. I now have a job working for a law firm, basically running the xerox machines. Still a pretty crappy job, but the pay is somewhat better. My Epiphone 12 string dies ingloriously one day (neck pulled apart from the body with a loud crack!) Time to finally get my Guild.
I did some research and was found that the Guild 12 string was $1200. That is about 2 months pay, but I am still living at home -- so why not? The music store I first saw the Guilds in has closed by now (maybe he should have considered selling Yamaha, too...?) But I find another dealer that had Guild. Actually, in Pittsburgh, PA in 1980, finding a Guild dealer wasn't that hard.
I head over to "Panny's Discount Guitar Center" with $850 in cash. Panny's advertised their prices were 40% off of retail prices, and I figured, if the retail was $1200, $850 would get me my Guild. Well, $1200 wasn't retail. And Panny's wasn't 40% off of everything. So disappointment was waiting for me when I got there.
It was even worse than I thought though because Panny told me he couldn't order it without 80% down -- or in other words all of my cash. And on top of that, he said they were only making 6 a year, so I might be waiting until the next year to get it... all of which added up to me dropping the idea of the Guild 12 String. (BTW, I doubt most of that was true, but I knew nothing about guitars, so I bought everything he told me much as I had bought everything the first guy had told me about the perfection of the Guild guitar.)
Why the DG40C (also skippable TBH)
Panny suggested I head upstairs and pick out a guitar. His shop was an old Victorian house, and the third floor, which was a converted attic, was where he kept all of his acoustics. I'll say this: He had almost every brand of guitar I could imagine up there. Martins, Guilds, Gibsons, Ovations. I can't imagine what his inventory costs were. He told me to take my time and enjoy myself. And I did. I was up there for over an hour. I didn't try every guitar in the place, but I played dozens.
Problem was, I had no real idea how to pick a guitar. I played more than 8 chords by now, but I was really ignorant about what I wanted in a guitar. My first was a hand me down, and the Epiphone -- which was the first guitar I ever bought -- I bought from a guy I met in church who needed to sell it. I had never had a choice in guitars before, so this was all new.
And although there was still this "Guild Mystique" in the back of my mind, I had also heard great things about Martin, and had met some guys that swore by them and assured me they were better than Guild in every way. After I had played my fingers sore, it came down to two guitars: A Martin and the Guild DG40C. The Martin was about $100 more. But I had money in my checking account I could dip into. I could have either guitar. Which to choose?
I had no idea. They both sounded great. (Remember, I was comparing them with a low end Epiphone!) Different. But great. Which one was more "playable?" I didn't play well enough to notice a difference. Em was easy to get on both of them! How to make the final decision? Flip a coin? Eeeny Meeny Miney moe? I didn't want it to be arbitrary. I didn't want to pick Guild because I was star struck by the first one I played when I was in High School. This was two month salary. I wanted to be smart.
So, I strummed a chord on the Martin and counted how long it held. Then I did it on the Guild. I repeated it several times, switching chords and even just plucking a note on a single string. (I didn't know enough to call this "sustain.") Every test was conclusive: The Guild had -- by far -- a better sustain. I reasoned that if it held the sustain longer, it would sound better in the song, because it would hold the chord until the next one came along.
So, Guild it was. And Guild it has been ever since. For most of my life it has been the only guitar I have owned and the only guitar I have played.
The "Incident"
OK, so I have a Guild and I love it. Not unusual around here. Here's the problem: This thing has been through the war (otherwise known as my life.) Someone said recently: "Oh that's your baby then?" And I said: "Nope because a baby would have been treated much better than this guitar. It's my buddy, maybe, but not my baby."
This guitar is battle scarred. Some of them I did, I have to confess. I nick here. A scratch there. But the real damage was done to it by my dog. I was married at the time to a woman who owned a big fat Dalmatian. I owned a German Shepherd. They were wrestling one day and my GSD threw the Dalmatian over his shoulder. Looked like a Judo move. But the Dalmatian rolled like a wrecking ball to where the Guild was in its stand. Before I could move or react, the Dalmatian sent my guild flying to the tiled floor. A huge, sickening wooden rip sound followed and I picked up my Guild to see a terrible split down the side of my guitar. I was too sick to speak. My Guild. Turned into firewood in an instant.
I put it back on the stand. I didn't know what to do. Weirdly, my wife's ex-husband was over to pick up his kids for the weekend and saw it. He was a musician guitarist too. He and I didn't see eye to eye on much but the first thing he said when he came in the house was: "Oh man! Your Guild!" He looked it over and told me he knew a guy who could fix it. I almost didn't dare to hope. but I put it in its case, and handed it over. A few weeks later, he brought it back. Not as good as new, but it sounded as great as ever. That was 20 years ago. It still sounds great. In fact, it sounds better now than it did when I bought it.
What Now (please opine!)
Lately, I have begun playing again in earnest. I had a Fishman pickup put in it (and hated it, but the Aura Pedal helped mitigate the quack to the point it sounds OK now). I still love playing it. Still love the sound. But I am noticing a line that looks like the beginning of a crack running from the bridge down. Is the Guild finally succumbing to time? Or is this just more "character" developing in the wood.
Should I take it to a top flight luthier and see about refinishing it? In 36 years I've never had the neck adjusted. Never had the frets aligned. I've never done anything except replace strings. (and, of course, repair the soul wrenching split...) Is investing money in the DG40C throwing good money after bad? Should I be thankful to have gotten 36 good years out of it, and invest in a new Guild (or, geeze the way guys on this forum are -- on a dozen new Guilds!)
I honestly would love to have opinions.
What would you do if this were your Guild?
TIA!
Pictures:
Damage from "The Incident"
The Start of a Crack?
Background (skip if uninterested)
Why Guild? -- is a question I get asked a lot. I hear people talk about "That GUILD Sound" or "It opened Woodstock" or any number of other really great reasons. My reason for "Why Guild?" has nothing to do with any of that.
I first learned to play guitar on a small Stella 6 String my brother had bought off of a friend for $15. It was in pretty bad shape. Horrible action. My brother tried to learn to pay guitar, and failed. It passed to the next brother. He learned to chord and play a bit, and then it passed to me. I struggled to learn and stopped several times before I finally managed to get a few chords figured out. By this time I was in high school and some friends of mine were telling me I really should buy a new guitar. I began looking, but anything I bought had to fit into the budget of a part-time busboy at Howard Johnson's -- in other words: cheap.
I went with a friend to a local music store. He was looking for piano music, but I gravitated towards the guitar display. It was small. Maybe a dozen guitars on a round table/stand that was covered in carpet. (This was 1978 -- everything was covered in carpet!) I figured I could spend maybe $150 on a guitar. Every guitar on the carpet rack was $600 or more! I couldn't believe it. Who'd pay that kind of money for a guitar?
Owner of the store sees me gawking at the guitars and asks me if I am looking to buy. At $600 I'm afraid to touch! Buying was out of the question. I tell him not really, out of my price range. And he tells me he understands, but he won't sell "the cheap stuff" anymore because he kept having people returning them. He said: "All I sell now is Guild. I don't sell as many of them. But those I do never come back because people love them." He encourages me to pick one up and play. I'm guessing I knew how to get through maybe 8 chords at this time in my "music career." But I pick it up (carefully) and strum a few, and even to my novice ear, I knew this was no Stella. Then he starts telling me about how they are all hand made in America, and why he prefers them over any other guitar brand, and suddenly, my ideal guitar had a name, and it was Guild.
I couldn't afford it. But, I knew one day I would, and when that day came, I knew exactly what I would buy: the exact guitar I picked up by accident that day: The 12 string Guild Jumbo.
Fast forward two years. I now have a job working for a law firm, basically running the xerox machines. Still a pretty crappy job, but the pay is somewhat better. My Epiphone 12 string dies ingloriously one day (neck pulled apart from the body with a loud crack!) Time to finally get my Guild.
I did some research and was found that the Guild 12 string was $1200. That is about 2 months pay, but I am still living at home -- so why not? The music store I first saw the Guilds in has closed by now (maybe he should have considered selling Yamaha, too...?) But I find another dealer that had Guild. Actually, in Pittsburgh, PA in 1980, finding a Guild dealer wasn't that hard.
I head over to "Panny's Discount Guitar Center" with $850 in cash. Panny's advertised their prices were 40% off of retail prices, and I figured, if the retail was $1200, $850 would get me my Guild. Well, $1200 wasn't retail. And Panny's wasn't 40% off of everything. So disappointment was waiting for me when I got there.
It was even worse than I thought though because Panny told me he couldn't order it without 80% down -- or in other words all of my cash. And on top of that, he said they were only making 6 a year, so I might be waiting until the next year to get it... all of which added up to me dropping the idea of the Guild 12 String. (BTW, I doubt most of that was true, but I knew nothing about guitars, so I bought everything he told me much as I had bought everything the first guy had told me about the perfection of the Guild guitar.)
Why the DG40C (also skippable TBH)
Panny suggested I head upstairs and pick out a guitar. His shop was an old Victorian house, and the third floor, which was a converted attic, was where he kept all of his acoustics. I'll say this: He had almost every brand of guitar I could imagine up there. Martins, Guilds, Gibsons, Ovations. I can't imagine what his inventory costs were. He told me to take my time and enjoy myself. And I did. I was up there for over an hour. I didn't try every guitar in the place, but I played dozens.
Problem was, I had no real idea how to pick a guitar. I played more than 8 chords by now, but I was really ignorant about what I wanted in a guitar. My first was a hand me down, and the Epiphone -- which was the first guitar I ever bought -- I bought from a guy I met in church who needed to sell it. I had never had a choice in guitars before, so this was all new.
And although there was still this "Guild Mystique" in the back of my mind, I had also heard great things about Martin, and had met some guys that swore by them and assured me they were better than Guild in every way. After I had played my fingers sore, it came down to two guitars: A Martin and the Guild DG40C. The Martin was about $100 more. But I had money in my checking account I could dip into. I could have either guitar. Which to choose?
I had no idea. They both sounded great. (Remember, I was comparing them with a low end Epiphone!) Different. But great. Which one was more "playable?" I didn't play well enough to notice a difference. Em was easy to get on both of them! How to make the final decision? Flip a coin? Eeeny Meeny Miney moe? I didn't want it to be arbitrary. I didn't want to pick Guild because I was star struck by the first one I played when I was in High School. This was two month salary. I wanted to be smart.
So, I strummed a chord on the Martin and counted how long it held. Then I did it on the Guild. I repeated it several times, switching chords and even just plucking a note on a single string. (I didn't know enough to call this "sustain.") Every test was conclusive: The Guild had -- by far -- a better sustain. I reasoned that if it held the sustain longer, it would sound better in the song, because it would hold the chord until the next one came along.
So, Guild it was. And Guild it has been ever since. For most of my life it has been the only guitar I have owned and the only guitar I have played.
The "Incident"
OK, so I have a Guild and I love it. Not unusual around here. Here's the problem: This thing has been through the war (otherwise known as my life.) Someone said recently: "Oh that's your baby then?" And I said: "Nope because a baby would have been treated much better than this guitar. It's my buddy, maybe, but not my baby."
This guitar is battle scarred. Some of them I did, I have to confess. I nick here. A scratch there. But the real damage was done to it by my dog. I was married at the time to a woman who owned a big fat Dalmatian. I owned a German Shepherd. They were wrestling one day and my GSD threw the Dalmatian over his shoulder. Looked like a Judo move. But the Dalmatian rolled like a wrecking ball to where the Guild was in its stand. Before I could move or react, the Dalmatian sent my guild flying to the tiled floor. A huge, sickening wooden rip sound followed and I picked up my Guild to see a terrible split down the side of my guitar. I was too sick to speak. My Guild. Turned into firewood in an instant.
I put it back on the stand. I didn't know what to do. Weirdly, my wife's ex-husband was over to pick up his kids for the weekend and saw it. He was a musician guitarist too. He and I didn't see eye to eye on much but the first thing he said when he came in the house was: "Oh man! Your Guild!" He looked it over and told me he knew a guy who could fix it. I almost didn't dare to hope. but I put it in its case, and handed it over. A few weeks later, he brought it back. Not as good as new, but it sounded as great as ever. That was 20 years ago. It still sounds great. In fact, it sounds better now than it did when I bought it.
What Now (please opine!)
Lately, I have begun playing again in earnest. I had a Fishman pickup put in it (and hated it, but the Aura Pedal helped mitigate the quack to the point it sounds OK now). I still love playing it. Still love the sound. But I am noticing a line that looks like the beginning of a crack running from the bridge down. Is the Guild finally succumbing to time? Or is this just more "character" developing in the wood.
Should I take it to a top flight luthier and see about refinishing it? In 36 years I've never had the neck adjusted. Never had the frets aligned. I've never done anything except replace strings. (and, of course, repair the soul wrenching split...) Is investing money in the DG40C throwing good money after bad? Should I be thankful to have gotten 36 good years out of it, and invest in a new Guild (or, geeze the way guys on this forum are -- on a dozen new Guilds!)
I honestly would love to have opinions.
What would you do if this were your Guild?
TIA!
Pictures:
Damage from "The Incident"
The Start of a Crack?
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