I'm new here and fairly new to guitar. I am considering a Guild Spruce top and Mahogany back and sides. Looking at used gets very confusing with all of the various model designations. As far as new goes, I am wondering what are the differences between the D-40 and the D-40 Natural? The specs seem almost the same aside from the bracing. I will be trying to get my hands on some but I almost think I'd prefer a neck with a 1 3/4" nut. I appreciate the education. :smile-new:
Welcome aboard Ding!
Sounds like you're looking at Guild's current website and those specs aren't what they meant prior to that.
Constructionwise, the Traditional also has a true "Dovetail" neck joint which some believe produces better overall tone, and also a High gloss NCL finish which is also believed to improve the instrument's tone as it ages.
I'm a believer in both those schools.
I also agree about 'hog body dreads after stumbling across some old recordings of my own D40 last weekend.
Here's some guidelines:
D40's were introduced as "Bluegrass Jubilees" in 1964.
The very early D40's were built with 1-3/4" nuts and a "flatter" fingerboard.
But only for a short while, guessing maybe a year but less than 2 at most.
(As a beginner you probably don't want to deal with the potential problems a 50-year old instrument can present, and one that's been restored mechanically would probably be outside your comfort budget since you're also considering used.)
I don't think any other versions of D40's including the GAD series offered a 1-3/4" nut.
Guild stopped using model names by the late '70's but you still see the name applied to guitars that were never called that by, let's call 'em, "poorly educated" sellers.
Why? Because in 2006 when Guild was in Tacoma, they introduced the use of Adirondack tops on Guild for the first time.
Adirondack's seen as a very desirable topwood responsible for the tone of "Pre-war" Gibsons and Martins, but it was very scarce after WWII.
Tacoma called the models with Adi tops "Bluegrass", reviving the name after 40 years.
Naturally you started seeing some sellers calling all D40's "Bluegrass"
but only the ones made in New Hartford and Tacoma actually had Adi tops.
And be aware not everybody actually likes Adi over Sitka, it's "tighter" and takes longer to open up, while sitka's considered to be "warmer" and more user friendly overall right out of the box.
You should consider just about any well-cared for D40 from about '09 onward as being worthy of attention if possible.
The build quality was consistent enough that I'd expect 'em to still be in very good mechanical shape.
Final note there was also a model known as the DV-6 from '92 to '97 that replaced the D40 for a while, that one's well worth considering too, but only the Westerly-built ones.
(The Tacoma DV-6s were rosewood bodied.)
In a prior life I would also have recommended D25's as a 'hog body alternative with the primary difference being that the D25's featured an arched back which imparts a slightly different voice.
Makes for lusher chords but not quite as crisp scales.