The current BIG difference between current D-40 Natural vs traditional is dovetail vs. mortise and tenon....and there are other differences as well. Rightly or wrongly in my mind...I associate the new 'D-40 Natural' with the prior 'D-40 Standard'.
Does anyone have an old link to the specifications for the older New Hartford D-40 Standard? It is my recollection that the NH Standard D-40 had all bone nut/saddle/pins, dovetail neck joint, adirondack spruce bracing, sitka top, all gloss and nitro except for satin neck, and simple (non chesterfield) head-stock logo....this is the guitar that I own.
The NEW 'D-40 in Natural' being produced is not equivalent to the New Hartford produced 'standard series'....principally at neck joint (mortise and tenon now), spruce bracing (vs. previous adirondack), satin finish (vs. previous gloss), plastic pins (vs. previous bone).
The point being....that old NH standard series was a great bargain....was vastly superior to the new 'D-40 in Natural' -->
http://guildguitars.com/g/d-40-in-natural/ ...and is more comparable to the new Traditional series. Traditional series = $3K retail and D-40 in Natural = $2K retail. I do not recall what the old NH Standard series retail price had been....but at the readily available used prices (low low low)....this is imo one of the best buys in the recent year Guild models at the used market.
I'd bet my bippy that nearly all of those New Hartford 'Standard" series guitars were very fine (bling free) guitars.....and the one's that had 1 11/16" nut widths had best grow eyes on the back of their headstocks....cuz I will snatch them up at bargain prices.