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

Stuball48

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And there are Hobokens in that price range, too.[/QUOTE
Plan to look at one this week-a 1969 so it could be a Westerly with Hoboken label. Is there anyway one can tell which by looking or just hope Hans appears and gives the correct answer?
 

fronobulax

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Plan to look at one this week-a 1969 so it could be a Westerly with Hoboken label. Is there anyway one can tell which by looking or just hope Hans appears and gives the correct answer?

1) Does it really matter? Are you going to pay more or less because it is a Westerly with a Hoboken label? Do you expect it to sound different? Will you love it more or will it always be the neglected guitar because of its origins and label?

2) I don't think there is really any way to know without Hans or a lot of searching LTG for answers. Not all production moved at the same time so the specific model determines the answer and IIRC '69 is pretty late for any Hoboken production.
 

Stuball48

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1) Does it really matter? Are you going to pay more or less because it is a Westerly with a Hoboken label? Do you expect it to sound different? Will you love it more or will it always be the neglected guitar because of its origins and label?

2) I don't think there is really any way to know without Hans or a lot of searching LTG for answers. Not all production moved at the same time so the specific model determines the answer and IIRC '69 is pretty late for any Hoboken production.
You are 100% correct-it doesn't matter -- if it plays, sounds, and looks to "my" satisfaction, swallow my "tag ego" and enjoy it!
Thanks again, Frono, for reminding me of what's important. And I knew that just wouldn't admit it.
 

Stuball48

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Just talked with seller of 1969 D40 with Hoboken label. Our schedules will not allow us to meet until Thursday August 9th. He, of course, describes it with heavenly praise. Says the only blemish is "some" checking. I will find out! I asked for and he told me SN is AJ2940-maybe Hans might chime in. I intend to buy if it plays, sounds, and looks to my satisfaction with no structural issues.
 

Bonneville88

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Stu,

IME / IMO... how it was built is as important or more so than where it was built, as far as
instruments made during the transition period from Hoboken to Westerly.

I have two Hoboken-labeled instruments, a D35 and a D40, one
was definitely built in Westerly, they other one probably was as well, haven't confirmed yet.

They are both feel lighter in weight - the D35 is 4 lbs 2 oz, that's lighter by 2 oz than my
diminutive Westerly F20 NT - than what I've come to expect from Guild dreads.

As of now, when I'm scouting around for Hoboken or Hoboken-labeled Guilds, what I'm really looking for
are instruments that have what seems to be the lighter build than what eventually started
coming out of Westerly.

As an aside, I checked out what's listed as '66 Guild F20 at GC last week
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Guild/Vintage-1966-Troubadour-F-20-Acoustic-Guitar.gc
Sky-high action, definitely needed a neck reset, fretboard looked
like it was beginning to delaminate near the nut, headstock face plate shrunken and delaminating, belly
below bridge, top concave above bridge, needed a new saddle, trying to recall if the bridge
was pulling up or not. So needed a bunch of TLC, and IMO at not a buy at $1200.

But... even with all the issues, after trying a bunch of guitars in the high-end room where it
was hanging on the wall, that little guitar had a more compelling tone than any of the
Martins and Taylors and Gibsons surrounding it.
 
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Stuball48

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Bonnieville88:
I am excited about looking at it and my muscle memory should tell me how it compares to my other three Guilds. And you are saying you like lighter, better?
OK on the '66 F20 tone.
 

Bonneville88

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Lighter weight on a dread feels surprisingly good.

I'm looking forward to doing a side-by-side comparison with the '68 Hobo label D40 and a new Oxnard D40,
as the Ox also felt like a more lightly built instrument, and I thought it sounded great.
 
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Stuball48

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Lighter weight on a dread feels surprisingly good.

I'm looking forward to doing a side-by-side comparison with the '68 Hobo label D40 and a new Oxnard D40,
as the Ox also felt like a more lightly built instrument, and I thought it sounded great.[QUOTE

Thanks and I am trying to file all the information offered, on the D40, by members of this forum.
Figure I will have what I need to make a good decision on the '69 D40.
 

adorshki

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2) I don't think there is really any way to know without Hans or a lot of searching LTG for answers.
I think you're right, unless the s/n falls under the 1970 slot when they were still using Hoboken labels
Not all production moved at the same time so the specific model determines the answer and IIRC '69 is pretty late for any Hoboken production.
Yes, "the book" only says all production was moved to Westerly "by 1969".
I wondered for a while if that meant "the end" or "the beginning" of 1969, but now I think that in Hans intended a "formal" usage that would mean the beginning of 1969.
Stu,

IME / IMO... how it was built is as important or more so than where it was built, as far as
instruments made during the transition period from Hoboken to Westerly.

I have two Hoboken-labeled instruments, a D35 and a D40, one
was definitely built in Westerly, they other one probably was as well, haven't confirmed yet.

They are both feel lighter in weight - the D35 is 4 lbs 2 oz, that's lighter by 2 oz than my
diminutive Westerly F20 NT - than what I've come to expect from Guild dreads.

As of now, when I'm scouting around for Hoboken or Hoboken-labeled Guilds, what I'm really looking for
are instruments that have what seems to be the lighter build than what eventually started
coming out of Westerly
.
That's how I'm remembering the, er, "weight" of input around here especially recently:
Westerlys started off light like Hoboken and got heavier around the mid '70's.
I think that's the real source of the "built like a tank" reputation.
 
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I will play it forever. And it is the only thing i will take if the house catches fire or when storm makes landfall.

I saved my tax rebate check in a drawer and didn't spend it for an impressively long time for 26 year old me back then getting a $600 check one day in the mail.
Then I was making buckets money tending bar at the time and finally one day I looked at my special lady and said it is time.

Went to the now closed up hole in the wall Blue Note Music in Berkeley CA on Telegraph Ave and it was hanging highest row up on the wall, and it was only Guild in the Store.
Always had an eye for Guilds. I picked it up and held it and I new it was the one.

It has cured and broken in magically over the years. Great size sitting in the hug. The action is proper, could be high for some off the wall.
For me the Bass tones have become so impressively full. The whole guitar plays so balanced, with perfect amount of brightness and butter. Head stock and tuning knobs are solid.

list price at the time was $1600 if I recall? payed $1200 out the door
 

chazmo

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Hey, Jesse, I know that place! I'm pretty sure it's still there. I used to ride my bike past it every day from my house to work back when I lived in Berkeley..

Welcome aboard!
 

Cougar

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Hey, Jesse, I know that place! I'm pretty sure it's still there.


Apparently closed down in 2014....

"BLUE NOTE MUSIC After 21 years of service, Blue Note Music, at 2556 Telegraph Ave., is closing down. The store specialized in high-quality new, used and vintage guitars and amplifiers. Workers at Blue Note were trained musicians dedicated to selling — and repairing — quality guitars at discounted prices. The store’s hours were reduced a while back and business has been slow, according to the owner. Employees will still work on an appointment-only basis from an unspecified location on Seventh Street."​

Sounds like it was a great guitar store!
 

Br1ck

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As the owner of a Hoboken labeled Westerly, circa '70, I can attest to the light build. The built like a tank guitars do not float my boat. I had an overbuilt F 40 for a while that really was just ok, certainly a better guitar than my old Ibanez was. I think they went overboard on the build, but so did Martin and Gibson.

They certainly corrected this by the time the New Hartford factory was up and running. I have a two decade gap in my experience. I can't remember playing anything from Tacoma or California.
 

chazmo

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Apparently closed down in 2014....

"BLUE NOTE MUSIC After 21 years of service, Blue Note Music, at 2556 Telegraph Ave., is closing down. The store specialized in high-quality new, used and vintage guitars and amplifiers. Workers at Blue Note were trained musicians dedicated to selling — and repairing — quality guitars at discounted prices. The store’s hours were reduced a while back and business has been slow, according to the owner. Employees will still work on an appointment-only basis from an unspecified location on Seventh Street."​

Sounds like it was a great guitar store!

I got it wrong. If it was on Telegraph, that's not what I was thinking of. Anyway, it does sound cool. The place I was talking about is on Cedar St. No idea what it's called but it's very funky.
 
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jcwu

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I went to both Subway and Blue Note.

Bought my Fender Champ from Subway (and stupidly sold it a few years later).

Loved Blue Note because they sold single strings - for when I was on a budget, it helped not having to change a whole set when a string broke, AND the strings were stored straight, in what looked like PVC pipes.
 
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