1967 D50 - Am I Braz OR am I EIR (with pictures)

LateStart

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More blessings from CL. Based on the pictures below what do you think?

I have checked the serial and it is definitely a Hoboken 1967 D50. Some buckle rash in the back and the front has wear and tear from a life well-led, but not quite snotless...

15271228062_92fc0a42e4_o.jpg


15271713725_316d631630_o.jpg
 
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adorshki

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It's nice even if the grain looks a little "tame" for Brazilian.
Still, the usual answers are that someone's seen EIR that's as highly figured as Braz is supposed to be, and vice versa (relatively straight-grained Braz), but "If I recall correctly", date-wise, there's a very good chance it IS Braz. I think '67's when Brazil officially stopped exporting and Martin stopped offering it, but I think Guild was still using stockpiled inventory for a couple of years, as late as '69 and even '70 on D-55's, at least? Somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!
The grain does have "something about it", though, maybe it's the closeness of the patterns and the high contrast of the darker streaks. I seem to recall seeing one like that being shown here before by a trusted member. That one was supposed to be for sure Brazilian, even though the grain was relatively "even" like your example.
I'd vote Braz based on date but if it was an '80's example I'd have no problem saying "gotta be EIR".

There's also the report that Brazilian smells like bubblegum, if you've never head of that one. Not sure how long that lasts, though.
Most of the time we hear it just smells like cigarette smoke.....
 

Fixit

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Nice color, and I can see why you may think it is, but I'm guessing EIR because of the look of the grain of the wood. I would like to see pictures of the sides as well. Nice looking guitar either way I'm sure you will enjoy it.
 

AcornHouse

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The only way to tell for sure, unless Hans has which was used for that run in his records, is to send a sample for analysis. A little drastic.
 

wileypickett

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Nice score!

I have a 1970 D50 with a Brazilian rosewood back (confirmed by Guild in New Hartford when I took it there for work). But even with all their expertise the folks at Guild couldn't say for sure whether the sides were also Brazilian, so you can't judge by the sides. (My Brazilian-backed beauty is more highly figured than yours, but I wouldn't take that to mean yours isn't Brazilian.)

I've been told that one way to identify Brazilian rosewood is to gently swipe some area of the raw wood (inside the guitar!) with low-grit sandpaper or an emory board and then smell it -- Brazilian rosewood supposedly smells like vanilla. Anyone ever tried this?!

My D50 sounds fantastic BTW -- one of the two or three best sounding guitars I've ever owned. (Better than my Collings OM.)

How's yours rate on scale of 1 to 10?!

Glenn//.
 

LateStart

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It does smell faintly of vanilla, but I haven't disturbed the wood yet. I have only had the guitar in my hands from UPS for about 6 hours.

It needs new strings, cleaning and to settle into the local environment. So the de-stringing and cleaning will set back the final sound evaluation. It sounds good now, but at this point the 1971 D35 in the other thread sounds better; we will see if the advantage lasts...
 

mario1956

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Guild sometimes offered a mix of Brazilian and Indian on their guitars. To me it looks like you have the BRW sides and an EIRW back.
Mine is a 1970 that is all BRW. Here's a picture:



It has the straight grain as you can see. I tried the smell test by getting a piece of 400 grit sandpaper and lightly rubbing the back through the soundhole. Brazilian has a sweet flowery scent that is unmistakable.
Just wondering does yours have the through saddle bridge? If you would post it I'd like to see a picture of the top also.
Mine sounds absolutely fantastic. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I think once you get a fresh set of strings and get it set up properly you'll be thrilled regardless of wood type. These older Guilds - at least for me - have a special sound that is very pleasing.
 
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charliea

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Early Guilds were built lighter, and with less massive bridge plates, than later Westerly guitars. NH returned to those roots. If you like Newark Guilds, you should like NH Guilds. Hopefully they'll keep it up in Oxnard, or wherever.

Guild sometimes offered a mix of Brazilian and Indian on their guitars. To me it looks like you have the BRW sides and an EIRW back.
Mine is a 1970 that is all BRW. Here's a picture:



It has the straight grain as you can see. I tried the smell test by getting a piece of 400 grit sandpaper and lightly rubbing the back through the soundhole. Brazilian has a sweet flowery scent that is unmistakable.
Just wondering does yours have the through saddle bridge? If you would post it I'd like to see a picture of the top also.
Mine sounds absolutely fantastic. Wouldn't trade it for anything. I think once you get a fresh set of strings and get it set up properly you'll be thrilled regardless of wood type. These older Guilds - at least for me - have a special sound that is very pleasing.
 

LateStart

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Back 2 Back 1967 G-D-50 versus 1972 G-D-35 and versus 1977 Martin D-35

BTW the G-D50 is now *clearly* better than the G-D-35 (new strings, cleaned up, etc). Definitely a keeper!

Does the center of the Martin look like Braz?

G-D-50 versus Martin D-35
15284274962_7f759271cc_h.jpg



G-D-50 versus G-D-35
15098115668_f8cadb92fa_h.jpg
 

Bear214

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Isn't the grain on Brazilians thinner than on Indian rosewood?
 

Fixit

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The sides look more like BRW to me than the back, however the looks alone are not conclusive. The smell of BRW is a bit different than EIR. Maybe Hans will chime in if he has any information about the guitar.
 

LateStart

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Hans says "maybe" by PM. How much does testing cost? I am curious, but it would only matter on sale, which is not in the immediate plans.
 
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