The old D-40 revisited

[dapmdave]

And now we have a mystery... wrapped in an enigma.

That's some great stuff, Hans.

Dave

 

[Russell Letson]

I wasn't aware of the wide/flat necks on early D-40s--yet another reason to prefer the old ones. My 1965 (s/n AJ-299) has the 1-11/16" radiused fingerboard and no-Chesterfield headstock. Since every other Guild I've owned had that style neck, it's surprising to hear of a run with not only a wider but a flat fingerboard--that feature is quite unusual even now. (I have three modern flat-fingerboard steel-strings, all from individual builders who are influenced by classical designs.)

 

[HankMauel]

For readers of this thread, here's the PM I sent back to Hans:

Hi Hans...
Thanks for the reply and clarifications. As I stated, I never really pursued collecting data on Guilds, just the info I had at the time in high school and the two other D-40's that friends bought in that time frame.
As for the serial number, I scratch my head!
I wish I had some more tangible record like a photo or the original sales receipt, but back then who ever thought you'd keep a guitar for this length of time. Only thing I do have is my high school diploma from June 1963. I've checked my yearbook and there is no photo of me at the talent show playing that guitar. If we ever have another class reunion I'll talk with the trio I backed up...3 girls and we did "The Cruel War" and "Gilgarra Mountain" from the Peter, Paul and Mary repertoire.

Meanwhile, if the "records" say 1964, so be it. In any case, it is a survivor and it's been in my hands since new. If I come up with anything more definitive, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Thanks again for keeping the Guild history alive!

Hank



And so I stumble off into my own senility. :wink:
Or as the Rocky Horror film sang...
"Let's do the time warp, again". :lol:

 

[chazmo]

Hank, wild idea.... You said two of your classmates bought the same guitar... ANy possibility you switched your '63 with one of theirs (presumably bought later)?

Even if Hans was wrong (rare!) about the year of his ledger, if it was instead July of 1963, that's still beyond your springtime school purchase...

Very interesting.

 

[gmcdeadhead]

hans, what's the reason for all the mixed up serial numbers for that given day? on your chart if you subtract the lowest number by the highest number you come up with 178 guitars apart? where's the rest of the guitars, waiting to be strung up and sent out?

 

[hansmoust]

what's the reason for all the mixed up serial numbers for that given day? on your chart if you subtract the lowest number by the highest number you come up with 178 guitars apart? where's the rest of the guitars, waiting to be strung up and sent out?

Hello deadhead,

The following was posted some time ago in another thread, which was actually about something else but it should answer your question as well:

Guild guitars were made in batches of 6, 12 or 24 etc. From a manufacturing standpoint it was easier to make them in batches because of the change of tooling necessary to produce the different models. When the superstructures were completed they were serial numbered, which took place in the 'finishing' dept. After that the finish was applied and the guitars were hung to dry. After sufficient drying they would be buffed and placed in racks, where they would stay till an order came in. Obviously, if they started production they already had orders, but not always for the complete batch. Only the guitars they had orders for (plus the guitars that could be put in inventory because they were ordered on a regular basis) would be taken to 'final assembly', where the superstructure would get all the necessary parts to become a musical instrument and where it would be set up. Now the order in which they were taken from the racks was random, so it was possible for a higher serial number to come through 'final assembly' before a lower number. A lower serial number could stay on the racks for a very long time while a later serial number would already be hanging on a dealer's wall. I have several instruments in my collection that have serial numbers of which I know they were applied in a specific year; I also know that some of the hardware on these instruments was introduced years later, which shows that these instruments stayed on the racks for a very long time before they came through 'final assembly'. This usually happened with instruments that were not very popular during a specific period or with instruments that were already discontinued.

So the serial number on a guitar doesn't automatically tell you when a guitar was completed and in some cases this explains some of the quirky stuff you might come across.


I hope this explains it for you. If not, just get back here and try again.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[gmcdeadhead]

thanks hans, that pretty much explains it. do you have any build sheets or other paper work on my 1990 d-40 #d40074x. thanks

 

[adorshki]

I hope this explains it for you. If not, just get back here and try again.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

Hans, a simple thank you for the time you donate here. I'm a history buff in general and I just like seeing these insights into "how things were done". I caught that bit about the wide-nut/flat fretboard on Hank's original post and was wondering how long that lasted... and here I've got more info than I expected!

 

[hansmoust]

thanks hans, that pretty much explains it. do you have any build sheets or other paper work on my 1990 d-40 #d40074x. thanks

Hello again deadhead,

At that time Guild was part of the U.S.Music Corp. and unfortunately I have not been able to see much of the original paperwork from that particular period. The main reason is that the head office for Guild was located in New Berlin, WI and when Guild was sold to Fender at the end of 1995, much of the original material got lost during the transition.

I do have quite extensive records for part of the 1992-1993 period but that's it.

The only thing I can tell about your guitar is that it was finished during the second half of 1990.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[fungusyoung]

Just another fine example of a thread that exemplifies why LTG one of the very finest places on the whole world wide web.

 

[dapmdave]

Hans,

I'd like to echo the message from adhorski. I really enjoy your contributions to the site.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[gmcdeadhead]

thanks again hans, gmc

 

[fab467]

Just another fine example of a thread that exemplifies why LTG one of the very finest places on the whole world wide web.

A big +1 FGY
And how fortunate are we to have "the guy who wrote the book" contributing to these threads! Thanks Hans!