General concensus of Guild GAD series...

Errant Tiger · Aug 21, 2014

I realize I'm very late to this party, but have been keeping a low profile. For the record, I've been playing my Westerly D46 since 1994 and I would never get rid of it. 3 years ago I got a GAD-120 for about $500, after trying a bunch of older Guilds, Gibsons, and Martins, and this was easily the best sound value I heard under $1000, and one of the best under $2K. (This includes the '67 M-20 I tried for $1550 from a private seller, which sounded awful.) On the other hand, I tried the GAD 125-12 and it sounded abysmal. Ditto the F-130. I guess, as others have said, individual taste and individual instruments make all, or much of, the difference.

I WOULD part with the 120 for a good M20 or something similar, but given that my guitar-buying budget is more or less exactly what I could get in trade for the 120, I'm content for the time being, despite a few minor irritations.

Dr Izza Plumber · Aug 24, 2014

GAD's are the gits one takes along to an outdoor jam, where there's chance of rain, snow, hail, bird droppings........and the dire possibility of an inibriated bystander's, OOPS!

killdeer43 · Aug 24, 2014

Here's your campfire/roadtrip GAD30, in action.

And we had all of the above mentioned natural forces in the area, including the bystanders. :rugby:

GADzooks,
Joe

*I posted this same pic on July 2, but what the hey! Just GADding about.

mario1956 · Aug 24, 2014

I have a Blueridge BR260 which is made in the very same factory where the Guilds are made. I personally like my BR very much, but, it does sound different than a MIA Guild. Not that it's bad it's different. Mine being Braz is probably twice what a GAD D-50 would go for but still a good bang for the buck guitar. And they also vary greatly from guitar to guitar. The poly finish doesn't severely bother me but it feels like I'm playing a plastic guitar sometimes. The upside is that after 10 years the guitar still looks brand new.

fronobulax · Aug 24, 2014

mario1956 said:
I have a Blueridge BR260 which is made in the very same factory where the Guilds are made.

To veer a bit. This claim is made often on the internet and sometimes gets specific enough to reference the Grand Reward Educations and Entertainment factory located in Guang Dong province, in southern China. But I can find no reliable source for the statement. Reliable would be a press release from Grand Reward listing which brands it makes for the US market or one from the US brand stating where in China their guitars are made or a news or magazine article so stating that was from a publication with an editorial staff and a reputation to uphold. Have I missed something or is this in the realm of "repeated so often that everyone believes it is true"?

mavuser · Aug 25, 2014

Late to the party just to say, I've played a handful of GAD acoustics, they were all brand new and all sounded and played wonderfully. I have seen more than one professional musician use a GAD with frequency during onstage performances. Cosmetically, they differ from traditional American Guilds. They have a great product though, IMO. The import/export laws and regulations dictate where much of these instruments must be completed as new retail. The GAD F-150R is a beautiful instrument. The street price is 1100. There is no USA/New Hartford version of that guitar. if there was, I imagine it would be about triple the price (and worth every penny I'm sure, but it's nice to have options!)

SFIV1967 · Aug 26, 2014

mario1956 said:
I have a Blueridge BR260 which is made in the very same factory where the Guilds are made.

fronobulax said:
This claim is made often on the internet and sometimes gets specific enough to reference the Grand Reward Educations and Entertainment factory located in Guang Dong province, in southern China. But I can find no reliable source for the statement.

You hit the nail. We have researched that topic many times and never found 100% evidence that the GADs are made at GREE. The only 100% confirmed evidence (via Port Examiner) is that GREE was definitely shipping all kind of guitars to the Fender warehouse in Ontario/CA frequently.
A few of the threads are here: http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...nese-factory&p=1557535&viewfull=1#post1557535
If this was really a Guild headstock is not 100% visible: http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...nese-factory&p=1557055&viewfull=1#post1557055
The picture was from here: http://faridaguitars.com/e29n0116.htm
So there is a certain possibility that the GREE factory is indeed the maker of the Guild GAD line and many other brands (like the mentioned Blueridge).
Ralf

bluesypicky · Aug 26, 2014

adorshki said:
I particularly recall the time one member called for a mass burning and deep burial of the profane ashes of all imported guitars, and some people thought he was actually joking.

Some idiots.. I swear.... :very_drunk:

bluesypicky · Aug 26, 2014

... oops

ESP-335 · Aug 27, 2014

For what it's worth I can't play worth a darn but I've kept trying for 30+ years. My first acoustic was a Maderia Dred. (piece of you-know-what). Bought a 1985 Mark III from Gruhn in the early 1990s, a basket case that I still own. My Gruhn designed 1991 JF30 was bought new in 1992 and is now on permanent loan to my son-in-law - the body is too deep and the nut is too narrow.

Recently picked up an F130 from Elderly for a buck less than my monthly health care insurance premium (cancer in your history is a b****). Best acoustic I've ever played - don't give a rats behind that the finish is poly - sounds great to my 64 year old ears and the body fits me better.

Different strokes for different folks. Cheers, Ed

adorshki · Aug 27, 2014

bluesypicky said:
... oops

There ya go with that all-encompassing cynicism again. You really oughtta try to lighten up sometimes.
Somebody could think you're serious.

bluesypicky · Aug 27, 2014

adorshki said:
There ya go with that all-encompassing cynicism again. You really oughtta try to lighten up sometimes.
Somebody could think you're serious.

Ah ah! Little do you know it was my absolute intent: After I re-read my "Some idiots I swear" post, I realized that some newly arrived members, or anyone not privy to the "vexed troll" episode relating to purification by fire, might actually think I was really meaning "these idiots", when I was in fact, as I am 99% of the time, being facetious, since the "idiots" I was referring to, would have been me. So I decided to "lighten up" the post by adding the drunk icon to the picture, and of course, ended up quoting myself resulting in a duplicate post, discipline in which I believe you are also experienced. :tongue-new:

Ah the fun!..... never knew conveying humor online was so much work. :laughing:

jazzmang · Aug 28, 2014

I used to have a GAD. It does the job well especially if you want to take it to places where nicer guitars shouldn't go. (Potential of rain, snow, high humidity or temp, etc.)

fronobulax · Aug 28, 2014

I'm thinking, right after we implement the Strings Only subforum, we need to make one called "For the Love of GAD".

walrus · Aug 28, 2014

frono, will that subforum be about the guitars, or LTG member GAD??! :tongue-new:

walrus

killdeer43 · Aug 28, 2014

walrus said:
frono, will that subforum be about the guitars, or LTG member GAD??!

eGADs, it's always something! :rugby:

Joe

davismanLV · Aug 28, 2014

bluesypicky said:
Some idiots.. I swear.... :very_drunk:

I actually barked out a pretty good laugh on this one, P!! Too funny..... :encouragement:

kou777 · Aug 28, 2014

I had purchased a brand new GAD JF-30-12 burst from a local Toronto dealer, a beautiful looking, and great sounding 12. For about $1200, it was hard to beat... even though I truly disliked the feel of the poly finish, I learned to deal with it and turned a blind eye to it.

After several months of ownership, the guitar started to show its poor craftsmanship, the bridge began to lift dramatically, and the pick-guard glue began to slip. The Fender warranty was amazing though, they fixed the guitar with no questions asked.

However after two trips to the service bay in 8 months, I decided the GAD wasn't for me, and I sold it. When I think of Guild as a brand, I think of true American craftsmanship with a long history of quality. The GAD disappointed me in that regard. Not to say every GAD will fall apart, I'm sure there are great specimens out there... but why risk it when there's tried and true USA made guitars available, even a used fairly priced Corona would be a better option at that price point.

Good luck!

bluesypicky · Aug 28, 2014

davismanLV said:
I actually barked out a pretty good laugh on this one, P!! Too funny..... :encouragement:

Thanks for that Tom..... if I made one laugh, then I did my job. Comforting feeling. :rugby:

adorshki · Aug 28, 2014

kou777 said:
...even a used fairly priced Corona would be a better option at that price point.

Hey! I own a Corona!
:tongue-new:

General concensus of Guild GAD series...

Errant Tiger

Junior Member

Dr Izza Plumber

Senior Member

killdeer43

Reverential Member

mario1956

Member

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods

mavuser

Enlightened Member

SFIV1967

Venerated Member

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member

ESP-335

adorshki

Reverential Member

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member

jazzmang

Senior Member

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods

walrus

Reverential Member

killdeer43

Reverential Member

davismanLV

Venerated Member

kou777

Junior Member

bluesypicky

Enlightened Member

adorshki

Reverential Member