90's Guild D25

chrisjo

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I have been in the market for a D25 arch back. I was originally thinking one from the 70's that seem to be more common. However, there are a few from the mid 90's with a natural top that are currently on the market. Can anyone tell me more about the D25's from this era or have any experience? Thanks
 

adorshki

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I have been in the market for a D25 arch back. I was originally thinking one from the 70's that seem to be more common. However, there are a few from the mid 90's with a natural top that are currently on the market. Can anyone tell me more about the D25's from this era or have any experience? Thanks

Fender bought Guild in November '95 so their influence wasn't truly felt on the production floor until sometime in '96.
Years ago one of our members Hideglue who actually worked in Westerly at the time, made a statement that caused a bit of debate here, that Westerly QC reached a zenith under Fender.
A lot of folks questioned that and he had to explain that what he meant was that Fender introduced a checklist system to ensure no steps were missed and thus the overall percentage of "good" guitars reached its high point, not that the guitars themselves were actually built any better.
I bought my D25 new in early '97 and discovered the Oct 31 1996 date stamp on the heelblock about a month later.
The primary selling point was that the neck was the best feeling and easiest playing I'd ever felt in my life.
It's seen about 1400 hours of playing time over the years, about 80% of that in summer weekend afternoon extended outdoor jam sessions.
It's had 2 refrets and a couple of ding-causing "oopsie" drops.
It's still tight as a drum and having been always strung with the factory spec'd light gauge strings, the neck is still almost perfectly aligned, although it's finally starting to show an ever-so-slight dip: a straightedge extended from the neck falls less than a 32nd below the top of the bridge now.
When I first bought it, it was my first really "good" guitar and I used to spend 5 or 10 minutes just eyeballing all the workmanship details when I'd pull it out to practice:
Every seam (like the fretboard, the heel joint, and the binding) perfectly smooth, gapless, and aligned.....fret ends perfectly dressed and consistent so that when you looked down the side of the board they all blended into a single line...the kerfing perfectly consistent and nary a drop of excess glue squeeze to be seen.
You just know that when an instrument looks as good inside as it does outside, then real craftsmen were paying attention to their work when they built it.
Before New Hartford ramped up and enough guys had a chance to find out how good they were and report back here, there was a sizable chunk of us who believed late Westerlys were the best Guilds of all.
Absent experience with product from the other factories (and even after handling some of the others' output), some of us still do.
Sorry to rant, I just had to tell you how I really feel.
:friendly_wink:
 
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Another ‘96 D25 owner here and I’ll echo everything in the post above - awesome tone, great neck feel, excellent finish and rock solid build quality.

Mine’s probably had a little less wear than adorshki’s (I bought it as “new old stock” in around 2002) so will likely need it’s first refret at some point in the next couple of years.

Neck angle has also been remarkably stable on mine - I had it professionally set up when I first bought it and haven’t ever needed to adjust it. Since I’m still on full saddle height, a neck reset is (fingers crossed) a long way off.

Similar story with my ‘96 D4-12, so it’s definitely not a one-off.

Others who’ve played the D25 love it just as much as me - a former roommate offered to trade it for a very expensive classical guitar of his; another friend has bought and then sold off much more “desirable” guitars from other manufacturers because he didn’t think they matched up to my humble D25 (“the standard by which I judge all dreads”, apparently!).

So, yes, IMHO - definitely worth taking a serious look at the ‘90s Westerly dreads.
 

chrisjo

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Wow, thanks for the feedback guys! Much appreciated.
 

adorshki

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Wow, thanks for the feedback guys! Much appreciated.
Not to say those same standards might not be present from other eras, and likely are, but at least it's one period for which I can offer eyewitness testimony....and dispel the still-offered myth that "Fender destroyed 'em", not infrequently used in reference to the very same '96-'01 period a subject guitar is from!
Freakin' amateur sellers.
Meh.
:friendly_wink:
 

chrisjo

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Thanks for the feedback guys. I pulled the trigger on one at Guitar Center that Bonneville88 led me to. It should arrive tomorrow, hopefully in good condition!
 

dreadnut

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Preach it brother!

"You just know that when an instrument looks as good inside as it does outside, then real craftsmen were paying attention to their work when they built it."

People often blame QC for manufacturing issues, like "Who inspected this one?" or "How did this make it past QC?," etc.

You can't inspect quality into a product, it needs to be built in.


 

Westerly Wood

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some good ones on reverb and ebay right now. i think more on the high price side but that might be the market these days. can always negotiate on reverb.
 

chrisjo

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Thanks Westerlywood. There are a few on reverb that could be nice. The one that I pulled the trigger on is arriving today. The good thing about it coming from GC is the return policy. Hopefully it will be in good structural shape but if not, the hunt continues. I will update once I get it, look it over and try it out.
 

Westerly Wood

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Thanks Westerlywood. There are a few on reverb that could be nice. The one that I pulled the trigger on is arriving today. The good thing about it coming from GC is the return policy. Hopefully it will be in good structural shape but if not, the hunt continues. I will update once I get it, look it over and try it out.

sweet! congrats chris, hope this one is a keeper.
 
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