Hoboken Guild 50: Brazilian?? 1 3/4 Nut??

[tomdevall]

Hello All,

I'm interested in a '67 Hoboken Guild D50. I have one in my sights and while looking at the back of the guitar, I'm concerned it could be EIR vs Brazilian. I have heard some 60's D50's used EIR. My second question is: Some 60's D50's have the 1 3/4 nut due the the neck shape. Is there a way to know (by year produced) other than measuring it. Thanks for your expert knowledge!

 

[Rich Cohen]

I have a Guild D-50 from '65. It's braz. and sounds wonderful. It's 1 11/16" at the nut. It's a fantastic sounding guitar, due to many factors of course. It's likely to be a braz. Usually one can tell by the deep red hues of the wood, if not the exceptional grain. But, grain is only the criteria. Usually, you can tell from the combination of the grain and the color. Also, check out the sides for similar hues. It's most probably a braz guitar given the 1967 date. Just be double sure about the serial number and check Hans' book.

 

[hansmoust]

Hello All,

I'm interested in a '67 Hoboken Guild D50. I have one in my sights and while looking at the back of the guitar, I'm concerned it could be EIR vs Brazilian. I have heard some 60's D50's used EIR. My second question is: Some 60's D50's have the 1 3/4 nut due the the neck shape. Is there a way to know (by year produced) other than measuring it.

Hello Tom,

If the guitar is really from 1967 it won't have a 1-3/4 nut. The wood in the photo doesn't look like Brazilian rosewood to me, but I would need to see a close-up shot of the wood to be sure.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Br1ck]

You need to check the numbers for sure, because there was a transition period where you might have both, and Hoboken labels were used well into the Westerly era. My 70 D 35 has a Hoboken label.

 

[Pike]

I did not want to say anything because I’ve been wrong a couple of times about this very same thing, but since Hans spoke up, I have to agree with him, looks like East Indian rosewood to me...

 

[wileypickett]

I have a D50 from '69 or '70 with a Brazilian back -- looks VERY different from the example above.

And I have several Guilds with EIR backs, which the example above very much resembles.

 

[wileypickett]

Here's one, supposedly from '63, on Reverb, if you want to compare.

https://reverb.com/item/33633608-guild-d50-bluegrass-special-1963-brazilian-rosewood

If you enlarge the picture of the back you'll notice an almost speckled effect occuring around the grain lines, which are darker and more irregular than you typically see with EIR.

Not that that's conclusive necessarily -- there's a lot of variation in wood grain striation -- but it may help in your conversation with the seller of the one you're considering.

 

[hansmoust]

Here's one, supposedy from '63, on Reverb

It's from 1965.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[tomdevall]

Hello Tom,

If the guitar is really from 1967 it won't have a 1-3/4 nut. The wood in the photo doesn't look like Brazilian rosewood to me, but I would need to see a close-up shot of the wood to be sure.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Thank you Hans! I thought it looked like EIR. My quest for a good Hoboken D50 continues. Can you tell by year whether the nut width is 1 3/4?
Best,
Tom

 

[chazmo]

Tom, that looks like a beautiful guitar back to me.. We could argue all day about the value of but I wouldn't put too much weight into whether it's Brazilian or not. Of course that's entirely up to you.

 

[Br1ck]

I've played plenty of Brazilian rosewood guitars that did nothing for me, and plenty of Indian that did. The opposite is also true. But good luck on your quest. You can find a great BRW guitar.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

It's from 1965.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

But is it Braz?

 

[blakeb2193]

Hey Tom, I am pretty sure the picture you posted in the first post is the 67 D50 from guitar center. I had a friend of mine go by the store and play it a while back. He was 99% sure the top was refinished, or a replacement top. I just wanted to share that info before you spent the money. Also, I recently bought a 67 D50 brz if you want to check out it's grain pattern and colors. I have not seen a highly figured Brazilian back on a 60s D50. There may be some out there, but in my research, i have found mostly straight grained.
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Guild/Vintage-1967-D50-Acoustic-Guitar-115592506.gc

My 67 D50 pics
https://guildacoustics.com/the-best-guilds

 

[tomdevall]

Good to know. I appreciate the information. I didn't buy, too many potential problems.

 

[Matthew Gross]

Hello Tom,

If the guitar is really from 1967 it won't have a 1-3/4 nut. The wood in the photo doesn't look like Brazilian rosewood to me, but I would need to see a close-up shot of the wood to be sure.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Hans, it looks like BRZ to me. I have been told that it is very difficult to identify BRZ by looks and that to be sure it needs to be tested. I have one of the first D-50s produced from 1963. I believe it is BRZ.

 

[adorshki]

Thank you Hans! I thought it looked like EIR. My quest for a good Hoboken D50 continues. Can you tell by year whether the nut width is 1 3/4?
Best,
Tom

With apologies for the butt-inks it the only D50's I can recall hearing about with 1-3/4 nuts were very early, 1st or 2nd year ('63-'64 ) they also received very flat fretboard radius. I think Hans said they were a purpose-built "run" along with some D40's with the same treatment.

That said it's possible you may find one that's got a slightly-wider-than spec (1-11/16) nut, but it's random.