Why are D25s all of a sudden so interesting?

[Dubbaround]

I'm seeing a lot of interest in D25s when they come up for sale on Ebay, and elsewhere...one on Ebay now is a ratty old thing, makes mine look real nice...and mine's not a beauty queen by any stretch..and yet it has 7 bids so far, and 70 (SEVENTY!) watchers...and it has NOT been listed here in the ebay forum yet...
Then there's the D25 I posted in this forum a few days back that sold for $820...granted, it was in superb shape, and an "off" color in between the normal mahogany stain and the cherry..

I thought the D25 was more or less a poor man's Guild...keeping in mind that Guilds are the poor man's Martin/Gibson....in other words, plain jane nothing special...

Perhaps this subject has been brought up already. If so, my apologies. I was just hoping for some revelation as to why the lowly D25 all of a sudden (relatively) is so wanted?

(Beyond that they sound so wonderful of course!)

 

[dapmdave]

I'm seeing a lot of interest in D25s when they come up for sale on Ebay, and elsewhere...one on Ebay now is a ratty old thing, makes mine look real nice...and mine's not a beauty queen by any stretch..and yet it has 7 bids so far, and 70 (SEVENTY!) watchers...and it has NOT been listed here in the ebay forum yet...
Then there's the D25 I posted in this forum a few days back that sold for $820...granted, it was in superb shape, and an "off" color in between the normal mahogany stain and the cherry..

I thought the D25 was more or less a poor man's Guild...keeping in mind that Guilds are the poor man's Martin/Gibson....in other words, plain jane nothing special...

Perhaps this subject has been brought up already. If so, my apologies. I was just hoping for some revelation as to why the lowly D25 all of a sudden (relatively) is so wanted?

Don't know why there would be a sudden increased interest in the D-25. But, to many folks here on LTG, the D-25 is not considered to be " plain jane nothing special..."

A solid D-25, with a proper setup, is a killer acoustic guitar. I know that I love mine.

Dave

 

[GardMan]

D-25s have a well-deserved reputation for having a great sound for not much $$$. They have incredible volume and projection, and a nice rich tone with incredible sustain...

About the only thing that MIGHT (key word being might) beat them in "bang for the buck" in a good dreadnaught is the DV-52 [but that's like comparing apples (mahogany) to oranges (rosewood)].
Dave

 

[Christopher Cozad]

... Guilds are the poor man's Martin/Gibson....in other words, plain jane nothing special...

Them's could be fightin' words! :lol:

Eons ago (late '70's) I would go over to a friends apartment after work to jam on our new acoustics. He had a Martin D-41. We used to laugh about the deal he got on his D-41 (as in, not paying for the extra abalone on the D-45), then he would cry about the deal I got on my Guild F50R. Similar quality of tonewoods, he had more abalone, mine was WAY louder. I never envied him for having to pay more for a great guitar than I did.

Another friend had a brand new Guild D25. We would get together to jam and swap guitars, as I was used to the sound of mine but enraptured by the tone and projection of his mahogany guitar. The same was true for him. Rosewood sounded novel to him. The issue always came down to the fact that I had to pay a lot more for mine than he did for his. With the resurgence of interest in quality tonewoods (especially amongst the fingerstyle crowd ?) I don't find it surprising at all that D25's are valued, with well cared for older D25's being highly prized.

Christopher

 

[Dubbaround]

By gosh, I think I am going on a guild hunt...with D25s, 35s, and other such dreads being the targets..Just so as to have a few before they really go beyond my means...I still have not been up to see about that yard sale Guild yet..I hope to heck it's still there..

 

[West R Lee]

The D25 is considered special around here because it is. Special for many reasons, not the least of which is it's amazing tone and projection, The D25 was actually considered a student model in the early years, but after a while gained the respect of not only Guild folks, but players of other guitars. Personally I think that it's amazing projection is a result of it's arched back. They are tough as nails, blow a Martin guitar out of the water in terms of sheer volume, and are subtly beautiful in my opinion. Sort of an underdog, the Guild D25 was very underrated for quite a long time. It's time to appreciate them now.......that's why all the interest.

West

 

[bek]

What West R Lee said. I've played a fair number of guitars, but there isn't one that made my hair stand up like my D25. I've never heard anything else like it. Years ago I turned down an offered straight-across trade for a real nice Guild D44, a much 'classier' guitar. The D44 had the classic spruce-top thing going, ebony fingerboard (if I remember right!) and the chesterfield on the headstock (I admit to liking that!). It was a REAL smooth-playing and sounding guitar, and it was obvious. My mahogany-top, arched-back beater is a ruffian of a guitar by comparison. It's loud, brash, and FAT! It is at its best when played hard. It's not necessarily the best fingerpickers' guitar I guess, but it's huge-sounding. Personally, I prefer its distinctively striped mahogany top and glowing cherry color, but some people think it looks funny. Sidenote: my wife thinks spruce-top guitars are common-looking and when I brought up the notion of a 12-string she went right along with it (glad I wasn't thinking of another electric!), and when I told her it had to be a Guild and would take some looking, she insisted it have a top "like your other one, not cheap-looking." Anyway, my D25 is my desert-island guitar, and no doubt.

 

[Dubbaround]

I can attest that they sound great, as everyone who has heard mine remarks about the sound without being asked. Even the guitar shop guys remarked about the sound. Mark Dearborn (Luthier / player / local shop proprietor) told me it had an actual in store book retail of 500-700, but he told me that if I ever sold it for that I was a fool. His opinion was that it produced sound on par with some $2000 + range instruments.

And like I said, it goes without saying they have the sound.

I was just wondering if the various Fender era (NH not withstanding) and GAD stuff was turning people to the older stuff...or if some famous or semi famous artist uses one and it influenced the (seemingly) recent surge in D25 love..

 

[dreadnut]

It was pretty simple for me back in '76. I was prepared to buy a Martin D-18, until I played the Guild D-25. The Guild looked and sounded much nicer, and the icing on the cake, it cost only half as much as the Martin. Done deal She's still going strong after 34 years.

 

[MojoTooth]

Because it is a workhorse! and those people selling it have heard a D25 owner say that and praise it heavily and have managed to work that into their listings and overall asking price.

 

[killdeer43]

I've owned and sold two and can't wait to pick up #3!
As we've all heard before, right here, they're just the best bang for the buck! :wink:

Joe

 

[chazmo]

Pretty much what everyone said... They represent the epitome of the "value proposition" (if you'll forgive the marketing terminolgy) that Guild was offering in the late '70s and onward. There might not be a better bang-for-your-buck dread on the planet... especially* as a used (dare I say vintage?) guitar.

I don't have one because I've gotten addicted to Guild's jumbos, but the D-25 is what I knew of Guild back in the '70s and if I ever thin out the herd some, I'll probably grab one.

 

[fronobulax]

D25's have always been held in high esteem around here. Is there any particular reason you believe they have "suddenly" become interesting? I think they have always been interesting but there are also too many in the market to notice every one. The discussion at LTG seems to ebb and flow based upon who has money to get one, or needs money and is selling one, but the interest has always been there.

 

[adorshki]

Perhaps this subject has been brought up already. If so, my apologies. I was just hoping for some revelation as to why the lowly D25 all of a sudden (relatively) is so wanted?
(Beyond that they sound so wonderful of course!)

Sure, what everybody else said, but there's another quite simple (and probably most important) reason: more D25's have been built than any other single Guild model. So the simple rules of probability dictate you're going to see more of them listed.
But you'll never see mine! :lol:

 

[ratcab]

I got my 1978 D25M with no prior knowledge of the model. Closet queen with ancient strings so corroded they looked like green pipe cleaners. New strings and a month of soundboard exercise and I could not believe how amazing it sounded. Outperformed my Martin D35 on all fronts to the point where I finally got rid of the Martin because I was embarrassed for it.

Dan

 

[fronobulax]

Outperformed my Martin D35 on all fronts to the point where I finally got rid of the Martin because I was embarrassed for it.

Dan

:lol: :lol: :lol:

And with two posts perhaps a "welcome" is appropriate?

 

[mbaker824]

I'm seeing a lot of interest in D25s when they come up for sale on Ebay, and elsewhere...one on Ebay now is a ratty old thing, makes mine look real nice...and mine's not a beauty queen by any stretch..and yet it has 7 bids so far, and 70 (SEVENTY!) watchers...and it has NOT been listed here in the ebay forum yet...

I saw the same thing on eBay myself, after finding a '91 D25 in a local shop; they were going for $900 and up on eBay, even in terrible condition. So I quickly went back to the store and bought mine for $700, in excellent shape. Granted, it doesn't have the bling of higher-priced models, but it sounds awesome, and the volume and projection are up there with any guitar I've played or heard played. As someone else said, there are a lot of them on eBay, but you won't see mine.

 

[Christopher Cozad]

...I quickly went back to the store and bought mine... it sounds awesome, and the volume and projection are up there with any guitar I've played or heard played...

Congratulations! A savvy shopper with great taste in guitars!

Christopher

 

[kitniyatran]

Yep; on all counts.

 

[West R Lee]

Funny, there's a man who lived here that had a horrible stroke about a year ago, he used to be a Guild dealer. His wife asked me to sell part of his collection of Guilds, one of which was a brand new 1995 Guild D25......with registration card and owner's manual, a beautiful NT with natural finished mahogany. I posted it here for a few weeks at $700 and got no takers. She's long gone now.

West