Another NGD

[richardp69]

Here's another Craig;s List pickup. Again, it's a 1973 Westerly built D 25. This one was pretty beat up but it's got that sound and vibe for sure. Flat back with back bracing etc., Spruce top, Mahogany B&S. This had some cracks, needed a fret level and dress, set up etc. It needed new tuners. I had a set of drop ins but they were gold. IO went with them anyway. It's still not quite right. Seems to me the new nut needs a couple of the slots deepened. Surprisingly, the necj angle was good. No neck reset requited.

Here's a few pics:

 

[Westerly Wood]

Might be the pics and the shading, but that top looks hog to me, you sure that is not an earlier D25?

 

[davismanLV]

Might be the pics and the shading, but that top looks hog to me, you sure that is not an earlier D25?

I'm having a hard time figuring that out. Sometimes I think spruce, and sometimes I think mahogany. I'm not really sure at this point. Looks like it would sound AMAZING!! That finish isn't going to restrict any sound at all!! Congrats, Richard!!

 

[casey2048]

If you gotta have some checking, do it all the way!!! Looks great to me.

 

[Westerly Wood]

guys, this is totally hog. This is a BR.

 

[davenumber2]

Serial number checks out to '73. I vote mahogany top.

 

[Norrissey]

I vote mahogany top.

Me too. 1973 is pretty late for a flatback all hog D25. I thought they stopped with the flatbacks in '72. The Westerly factory never fails to surprise. Congrats Richard! Looks like a nice beater!

 

[davismanLV]

When they first did the spruce tops on the D25, didn't they stain it red mahogany color? I'm sketchy on the details....

 

[Norrissey]

When they first did the spruce tops on the D25, didn't they stain it red mahogany color?

Yes they did and this one could be fooling us : ) BUT a spruce top on a mahogany flatback is a D35 : ) In about '73-'74 they started putting the stained spruce tops on mahogany archbacks and those were the updated D25s.

Edit: as Westerly Wood mentions below there was brief period, I think in '73, when Guild put hog tops on hog archbacks before they moved on to spruce top hog archbacks for the D25 model.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Me too. 1973 is pretty late for a flatback all hog D25. I thought they stopped with the flatbacks in '72. The Westerly factory never fails to surprise. Congrats Richard! Looks like a nice beater!

I agree, Richard really scored with this one, might have been one of the very last original D25s ever produced, right before they tested out the all hog arched backs, before finally switching to spruce topped arched back D25s that most people think of when they think Guild D25.

 

[geoguy]

I think that top color might be fooling us.

Richard, if you have a small inspection mirror, slip it in through the soundhole & see what the bare wood looks like (on the underside of the soundboard). That might be a more reliable way of telling whether the top is mahogany or spruce.

 

[GGJaguar]

Very cool guitar, congrats!

 

[twocorgis]

I'm voting for stained spruce just based on appearance.

Hard to tell for sure, but the grain in this photo looks like mahogany to me, best visible on the upper bout bass side.

I know that nothing is impossible with Guild, and that by 1973, I thought all D25s were hog top arch backs, but this serial number is an early '73. My '73 hog top archback was much later in the year.

Hard to imagine Guild would basically make a one off with a spruce top and flat back, but stranger things have happened, I guess.

 

[Norrissey]

My '73 hog top archback was much later in the year.

How does that '73 hog top archback sound Sandy? Are you a fan?

 

[twocorgis]

How does that '73 hog top archback sound Sandy? Are you a fan?

I liked it, but ended up selling it. My hog dread collection is a tough crowd! Next to the D26 that's also gone, it was probably the best D25 I've played or owned.

 

[davenumber2]

Hard to tell for sure, but the grain in this photo looks like mahogany to me, best visible on the upper bout bass side.

I agree. That's the giveaway for me.

 

[Westerly Wood]

The side view pic sold it for me as an Original D25 flatback, all hog. I bet it sounds great.

 

[richardp69]

SORRY ALL. IT IS A HOG TOP. Hans verified that for me quite a while ago but I forgot and typed it up wrong.

 

[chazmo]

Richard try getting some graphite in the nut slots (pencil or whatever)...

 

[chazmo]

Yes they did and this one could be fooling us : ) BUT a spruce top on a mahogany flatback is a D35 : ) In about '73-'74 they started putting the stained spruce tops on mahogany archbacks and those were the updated D25s.

Edit: as Westerly Wood mentions below there was brief period, I think in '73, when Guild put hog tops on hog archbacks before they moved on to spruce top hog archbacks for the D25 model.

For the record, I think we've seen all combinations of flat/arched mahogany/spruce soundboards in the transitional D-25s, of which this is one. I think the soundboard grain looks like mahogany (agreed, hard to be sure), so this is identical to the original "BR" model.