Can anyone help me figure out what model of Guild guitar this is?

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I know I'm new to this forum, so if you can help out a newbie, I'd really appreciate it. And I checked the .pdf at Guild's website, but couldn't match up the Serial Number.

Here's my situation...

I know a woman who is trying to sell her father's used Guild guitar. He passed away recently. It's not very old (less than 10 years). It doesn't have a sticker inside the soundhole. Looks like it fell off. No Serial No. on the back of the headstock, but there is one inside the guitar.

I'm trying to figure out which model it is so I can offer her a fair price and also determine if it's one I'd be interested in. She's not close (a couple of hours away). So I'm not driving there until I can determine if it's something worth making a road tip for.

Here are some pictures she sent me.

Serial No.: 0711340067

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adorshki

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Hi Mammoth, welcome aboard!
Before I forget, be aware that moderators will vet your first few posts so don't worry if your replies don't show up in real time at first.
Give it a couple of days and then everything you might have posted will pop up.

The reason you can't find the s/n on Guild's site is because that's actually a "GAD" series guitar, made in China.
The build details confirming that are the lack of s/n stamped into the back of the headstock, the shape of the pickguard, and the inlays on the fretboard, which were only used in the fist version of those guitars.
Final detail is the truss rod adjustment access from inside the soundhole instead of at the nut.
There we only 2 spruce-topped dreadnoughts in that line (if you include the cutaway electric versions), and although I can't be sure of the body wood from the pics, it looks like mahogany, which would make it the MIC ecounterpart to a D40, the GAD40.
Otherwise if it's actually rosewood then it's a GAD50.
"GAD" stood for Guild Acoustic Design, a series Fender commissioned to be built in China and which first appeared on the spring '04 Guild price list.
Intended to be economical alternatives to the US-built models.
The first series lasted until about 2010 when some spec details changed and the new models all got a "1" in front of the number, such as GAD150
Owners express a very high rate of satisfaction with fit finish and sound.
IIRC there is a "decoder" for the s/n's but I can't recall where it is.
I always rely on our member SFIV1967 to come to the rescue when folks need it.
(Take it away, Ralf ! :glee: )
 

Neal

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I second that emotion, Al.

Wonder why the GAD sticker is gone? I have never seen one inadvertently peel off from that era, so I must assume that someone removed it intentionally.

Mammoth, these are nice guitars, and this one appears to be in good shape. I would say it's worth $400-$500, or so.
 

chazmo

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Someone's got a nice manicure! :)

Yup, GAD-50. If I remember the serial number decoder, I suspect the "07" at the beginning means 2007, but I'm not sure about that.

Looks to be in nice shape.
 

adorshki

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Someone's got a nice manicure! :)

Yup, GAD-50. If I remember the serial number decoder, I suspect the "07" at the beginning means 2007, but I'm not sure about that.

Looks to be in nice shape.

Yeah couldn't be sure about the body wood 'cause those pics're huge on my monitor.
But now I think you're right.
It also occurs to me that the GAD40's might not have offered those fretboard inlays and/or a sunburst.
I'm not nearly as well versed on the line as on some of the US-builts....
:friendly_wink:
 
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Thank you all so much for helping me out with this. That was amazing.

I will offer her $450 for the guitar and see if she's interested in selling it at that price. Thanks again for being so nice and helping out a newbie.
 

SFIV1967

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IIRC there is a "decoder" for the s/n's but I can't recall where it is. I always rely on our member SFIV1967 to come to the rescue when folks need it. (Take it away, Ralf ! :glee: )
Here we go: Actually the "serial number" was on the missing label and would have read "GAD-xxxxx". But that GAD serial number has no useful info in that 5 digit number, so not a loss. It's just a random number.
The number you see on the neck heel block is an internal manufacturing number and much more interesting. All GAD instruments were stamped with a 10 digit internal manufacturing number located in the soundhole, at the base of the heel block. This number embodies production information about the instrument. And the good thing is the manufacturing year and month are in that number!
So let's have a look at the number 0711340067:
The first two digits of this number identify the production year. In this case, 07 would stand for 2007.
The second two digits identify the production month. In this case, 11 would stand for November.
The next two digits, 34, are of no significance and are an internal number used by the vendor to identify their order number.
The last four digits identify the unit number of the order. In this case, 67 would stand for the 67th instrument made to the 34th order.

So it is a 2007 made guitar. Since it has Indian Rosewood back and sides with a Sitka Spruce top it is a GAD-50 ASB (Amber Sunburst).

Here is some info on the model:
http://americansongwriter.com/2010/08/an-asian-take-on-an-american-classic-guild-gad-50/

And yes, some of the labels came of as you can see on that left handed model (LASB): https://images.reverb.com/image/upl...0,w_1600/v1479856130/pkhbbhoyn9clyjwb8ifr.jpg
And some people simply removed the "Made in China" label to not show that the guitar was made in China.

Ralf
 
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