Does anybody here own a new US made Guild D40, D55, F40, F55, etc.? Reviews?

GF60

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I played the satin finished D-40 a few weeks ago at Sweetwater Music in Fort Wayne, IN. I was very impressed with it. It had a nice tone and it was really light. Not what I would expect from a Guild. It was priced around $1500. The gloss version, which does have a few different specs, is around $2200-2300.
 

Bob Aldo

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I own a new California made Guild D20, and it is bright, very loud, and brassy. It is well balanced, articulate, and clear - with great note separation. However it definitely is anything but mellow. I am tempted to try another new Guild of a different model, because I love the "feel" of Guild. But I am looking for something much more mellow, and warm than a D20. So, I would appreciate a description of the tonal qualities of the new models - whether you have just played them in a store, or own one. One would perhaps assume that a D20, being all mahogany, would be a warm guitar. It is not. What about the D40 or the D55, the F40 or the F55? Are the spruce top models warmer? Youtube videos are often very misleading. I know this is made much more difficult to access because Guild, like so many other manufacturers now, ships their guitars with coated strings - usually light gauge on top of that. Personally I do not like the sound of coated strings, and I do not like light gauge strings on a large guitar at all. (The same practice is true of Martin, and Taylor of course. I think only Gibson ships guitars to the retailers with uncoated strings now.)
 

Bob Aldo

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The question was getting to me. So I broke down and bought a D-40 traditional. All my preconceived notions about it went "out the window".
Compared to the D-20 (which has actually started mellowing out a bit), the D-40 traditional has a little nicer bass response, a lot more singing highs (really lovely highs), and a lot more lively overtones (probably because of the African Mahogany back & sides). The D-40 has a voice of its own - quite a unique voice in my experience. I have been working on (with) it
a couple days now - trying different strings and saddle heights and materials. I have settled for now on a lower bone saddle. I tried Tusq on it, but it made it sound too bright - much to my surprise. Because of the traditional neck joint on it, it is a little harder to get the action just right - at least that is my guess (for what it's worth). In order to make it feel just right to my hand, I set aside the mediums that I had on it, and put Martin light-mediums on it. (12.5's). Now I am falling in love with it.
Update:
My D-20 has mellowed out quite a bit. Since I have enjoyed playing it with uncoated medium PB strings so much, I decided to take another crack at setting up the D-40 trad for mediums (instead of the 12.5 "light mediums" I had on it). I succeeded. So now I have uncoated mediums on both guitars, and they both feel great to me. I'm an old guy, and have played mediums for many decades. Lighter strings just never feel quite right to me. Oh, also, I have been experimenting with picks, and after decadses of using .7mm thickness Frnder picks, I have found that I now prefer .6mm D'Andrea picks - which actually produce a bit mellower sound than the Fender picks on both of these Guild guitars. "Go figure."
i
 
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Stuball48

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Great Bob and "tickled pink" you got a D40. I am looking for one or a D46 (ash back and sides). Really enjoyed your review of your new D40 but let me warn you it is, nearly, impossible to stop with one Guild so start putting back a little.
 

Bob Aldo

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Thanks, Stuball. I know what you mean. I do have 4 Guild acoustics of various ages.
Hope you find the D46 - sounds really cool!
 

txbumper57

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Congrats Bob! Those mediums were probably over torquing that top a bit since the Oxnard Guilds were all designed and built for light gauge strings. Glad to hear you have it sounding the way you want but I am curious about you saying that with the traditional dovetail neck joint you can't get the action right where you want it. Is the neck angle on the guitar itself off or were the mediums just putting too much tension on the neck? Have you extended a straight edge from the frets to the bridge to check the neck angle on the guitar yet? I know you probably already know how to do that but with a straight edge placed on the frets, the end of the straight edge should just glide over the wooden part of the bridge for a perfect neck angle. If it hits the bridge or comes in below the bridge top you might consider finding another one or at least bringing it up with Guild and the dealer you purchased it from. A new guitar should not be having neck angle issues from the start and at the least that would be covered under warranty.

I hope you enjoy it for a long time to come and congrats!

TX
 

DueNrth

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I've been a member here for a few years now, and a Guild fan my whole life, but this is my first post... Being a Guild fan was not easy, growing up in NE Pennsylvania in a Martin family! My first guitar was a 1968 Martin D-28 (stolen in 1997 when my house was robbed), and my whole family played Martins. For me, my holy grail (if you will) guitars were always the D-55 and the F-512, probably a lot of John Denver influence on the latter.... I got to play a D-55 a long time ago, and the balance and sustain was forever etched in my mind. (Not to mention the looks!) Over the years I've had a number of Guild's GAD series F150, F1512, D150, but the only one still with me is a D 125-12, the rest never really talked to me... Over the years, when I was in the position to buy a new US Guild, the company seemed to always be in turmoil, and availability was scarce, and I didn't want used. So when Guild was re-organized/moved this last time, and after a health scare, I decided it was time to fill the "bucket list" of guitars, and I ordered a D-55 and an F-512. Still waiting on the F-512, but the D-55 arrived Friday!

Initial impressions are this...sustain and tone are exceptional, bass is tight, not muddy, and the highs are bright without being too tinny. It is truly only a couple weeks out of the factory, and I believe when it opens up it will be amazing, it's already a canon. In truth, I was slightly disappointed with a few aspects of the guitar, the AAA top, which I believe has a little too much tone variation (very tight, straight grain though, but was hoping for a top that was "buttery" with smooth tight, almost invisible lines...probably just my preference), the ebony fretboard and bridge don't match perfectly (bridge is a little light), and there is a scratch on the low-E side of the nut, I thought it was a crack initially, but after looking at it under a magnifying glass, was just superficial with a little production "smudge" in it. Other nitpicks, was that there was a little glue on the edge of the nut, and some tiny sawdust-ish pieces of binding from production that were not cleaned out inside that "rattled".

Overall I was slightly disappointed at first, expected the heavens to open up I guess (for a $3k+ guitar), but after 24 hours of acclimating, when I tuned it up, the D-55 tone and sustain I remember is there in spades, and will improve with age and a string change (IMO, it has the wrong strings on it from the factory).

Sound? Compared to my 1998 Martin D16-RGT, the D-55 has tighter, but slightly less bass, better note separation, and more sustain...initial impression, the Martin may be better for fingerpicking (possibly expected) but for everything else, I think the D-55 will win out...and the looks, well it is a D-55 after all.

I'll post pics as soon as I figure out how, and when the F-512 comes in, I'll update how it fairs against my Martin J12-16GT and the GAD 125-12 (but they are Sitka/Hog...Hog/Hog might be apples to oranges. I think the future looks good for the new USA Guilds, maybe some attention to detail improvement in manufacturing, but the "bones" are there as far as I'm concerned, and they definitely got the tone right!
 

docfishr

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Every once in a while I get an itch to play a Dread. When a friend bought a new Martin D-18, I decided to try a D-40 to compare. New at that time was NH. We both agreed that the D-40 sounded as good as the Martin. Biggest difference was that I paid less than half what he did.
 

Bonneville88

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Owned an Ox D20 - couldn't bond with it, tried and tried. Bright as all get-out... too much so for my ears, to the point of "brittle".
Build quality seemed fine, but the near-matte catalyzed varnish finish somehow looked seriously budge. Noticeably lighter
than any comparable Westerly-made Guilds. May have given up on it too soon, but I'm unlikely to try another at this point.

Test drove an Ox D40 several times in recent months... impressive in
all aspects of sound and feel, IMO the only strike is the satin finish, which reminds of a Westerly-made D4.
I would happily own it, I think Ox nailed this one.

As an aside, played an MIC M-120 recently, sounded ok, played ok, nothing terribly distinctive or compelling, but felt awkwardly small.
Haven't given up on owning one, still interested, seeing many for sale at reasonable prices, just wondering if I could ever get used
to the ergonomics relative to the dreads and jumbos.

Very happy with a Westerly-Collection MIC D120 purchased in December. Played a GAD D125 several years old, sounded
good, felt good, but some details of fit & finish weren't as good as the more recent D120.
 
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Kitarkus

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I can't speak for the brand new California built D's....but I picked up a New Hartford 'standard' D-40 this year used but excellent condition. It is superb. I play it less than my others solely because I am not drawn to the dread size/body lately....but the sound that emanates cannot be duplicated by any of my other smaller bodies guitars. I haven't owned this D-40 all that long and I have thought about selling it because of the lack of attention that I give to it...but I cannot bring myself to do it. I don't know where else I could get an all solids hog dread with all bone bits, gloss, dovetail, and adirondack bracing without spending twice my investment. I did play a few of the new Martin D-18's and I am impressed with them but I don't need another great dread that I don't play very much. I did recognize recently while auditioning brands that the Guild tone falls somewhere (at least to my ears) between the classic Martin and classic Gibson tones. Not quite as Martin crispy woody....and not quite as Gibson muddy thuddy...but somewhere just in between. I like that zone in between very much.

To the original poster: I suspect that my D-40 came into my possession with 13's/Medium strings on it. I was struck by how 'stiff' the guitar played despite its great tone. I tried to deal with it..solve it..figure it...and I couldn't for a short time. When I finallychanged the strings (I've put both 11's and 12's on it now)...It completely changed the feel of the guitar and made it vastly looser and easier to play. I have packs of 13's around my guitar room now that I don't think I will ever put on any of my guitars ever again...I don't gig...I don't need projection...and I don't need to fight my guitars when I play them. YMMV. I live in an area that requires humidification and I take good care of my guitars. In my opinion using 13's even on dreads is asking for a premature neck reset. I understand that some vastly prefer the tone from the medium strings....but to my ears the benefits do not outweigh either the risk(s) or the playability.

Edit: I'm going to play the D-40 now...thanks for the thread reminding me to pick it up today!
 

airbournesailor

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Got to play a new California D40 traditional a few weeks ago and totally fell in love with it! I have an 80s D25 which I love but the D40 is definitely on my bucket list! I have never played any of the older D40s so I can’t compare but I certainly preferred it over the Gibson’s and Martins I played that day. I guess it’s all personal opinions.
 

adorshki

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I've been a member here for a few years now, and a Guild fan my whole life, but this is my first post...

What a great first post and review of a new factory's first high-end production, "North"!
Welcome aboard!
I'm not as obsessed with 'em as some of the other guys, but I'll go ahead and make the request on their behalf:
Pics?
:friendly_wink:
 

DueNrth

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Pics of new Ox D-55, a few days old....

Finally figured out the picture thing...first of a pair of new Ox Guilds to come, see my initial impressions posted above.

Thanks!



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Bob Aldo

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Congrats Bob! Those mediums were probably over torquing that top a bit since the Oxnard Guilds were all designed and built for light gauge strings. Glad to hear you have it sounding the way you want but I am curious about you saying that with the traditional dovetail neck joint you can't get the action right where you want it. Is the neck angle on the guitar itself off or were the mediums just putting too much tension on the neck? Have you extended a straight edge from the frets to the bridge to check the neck angle on the guitar yet? I know you probably already know how to do that but with a straight edge placed on the frets, the end of the straight edge should just glide over the wooden part of the bridge for a perfect neck angle. If it hits the bridge or comes in below the bridge top you might consider finding another one or at least bringing it up with Guild and the dealer you purchased it from. A new guitar should not be having neck angle issues from the start and at the least that would be covered under warranty.

I hope you enjoy it for a long time to come and congrats!

TX

Thanks, txbumper. In my opinion, all guitars with a traditional dovetail neck are very slightly different. The neck on the D-40 is text book compared to a new D28 I had recently. But is it perfect? I wouldn't say so. Although, it certainly pases the straight edge test. (I have an old F-50 that is getting very close to needing a neck reset; and it is my only guitar that doesn't quite pass that test anymore.) I use mediums on my new D-20 with no problems. The D-20 has a great feel with the mediums. The D-40 is fine with light/mediums (12.5's). It just feels a little stiff with mediums. I have several new Guild USA bridge saddles which I have sanded to various heights. It is interesting to see what each guitar "wants" in the way of saddle height and string gauge combinations. I used mediums exclusively on all my acoustics for many years. But now I have more guitars that I play with light/mediums than regular mediums. I don't use lights (12's) on any of my guitars.
 

Bob Aldo

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Congrats on the new D-55! I almost ordered one, but decided I'd try the D-40 traditional instead ( which I like a lot). Alas, there is currently no place in this state where I could try out either one.
 

DueNrth

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Thanks...the D-55 seems to have opened up some (been playing it a lot!), and if it is an indication of what's to come, I think it's definitely a keeper. I haven't re-strung it yet, but will do so this weekend. Interesting that your D-40 seems to like Light/Med, and I really think they may be a little heavy for the '55, (think that's what it came with (12-53)?" So far it's really easy to get a little loud for vocals... I think Light or even Extra light will give it some more subtlety...it has a lot of volume, plus, a little less tension can never hurt...In another thread I read that the Ox tops/sides are " a hair" thinner than older ones.
 

Bonneville88

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Spent time with several new Oxnard Guilds this afternoon - happy to say
I was knocked out by the new D55!

Slickest neck and sweetest playing action of any acoustic Guild of any era that I've tried.
This thing was thoroughly and completely sorted.

Was I expecting that? I was not... but there it is.
I'm mostly a flat-picker these days, and the way this guitar sounded and played has me pretty excited.

Excellent volume, clear note separation, yet with more overtones than either of my NH D55s, and
light years better than the Westerly D55 I parted with recently. The $3599 price tag is
out of my range, but I'll be bird-dogging for used ones, they'll be out there eventually.

Fit and finish were superb... just a gorgeous instrument. Yes, felt just slightly smaller than the
NH and Westerly, didn't bother me a bit.

Also played the D40 again - sound and felt as excellent as it did the first time I played it - would
happily own this guitar and may yet...

Another D20 - better-sounding, more balanced than the early-Ox one I sold, still not quite
calling to me though.

M20 - not great for flat-picking for me, but sounded and felt good finger-picking - small enough
that the body size feels awkward, haven't figured out how to get comfortable with this body style yet.
Better weight distribution than an M120 I played recently, not as headstock-heavy. Worth twice
the price of an M120? That was one of the questions I'm still mulling...

M40 Troubador - handsome, small, classy-looking, understated-looking guitar, but nothing distinctive or terribly compelling in
any way as far as sound or playability on this one... still glad I tried it.
 

ClydeTower

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Spent time with several new Oxnard Guilds this afternoon - happy to say
I was knocked out by the new D55!

Slickest neck and sweetest playing action of any acoustic Guild of any era that I've tried.
This thing was thoroughly and completely sorted.

Was I expecting that? I was not... but there it is.
I'm mostly a flat-picker these days, and the way this guitar sounded and played has me pretty excited.

Excellent volume, clear note separation, yet with more overtones than either of my NH D55s, and
light years better than the Westerly D55 I parted with recently. The $3599 price tag is
out of my range, but I'll be bird-dogging for used ones, they'll be out there eventually.

Fit and finish were superb... just a gorgeous instrument. Yes, felt just slightly smaller than the
NH and Westerly, didn't bother me a bit.

I had the same impression about the neck on my Ox F55e. Its just a little shallower than my NH D55 but makes a difference in playability. The overall dimensions of the F55 are the same as the F50, so I find it odd that the Ox D55 seems a bit smaller than a NH D55. I'd be curious as to what the dimensions are.
 

ClydeTower

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Finally figured out the picture thing...first of a pair of new Ox Guilds to come, see my initial impressions posted above.


20180416_152245_RichtoneHDR.jpg


Congrats DN on that Ox D55!

Glad to see more people are taking the plunge for new Oxnard Guilds... the last thing I want is for Guild to join Gibson on the chapter 11 bandwagon!
 
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