D-25M flat back VS arched

docfishr

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Ok I know the basic difference between these 2 different all mahogany Dreds.
I would like to here your opinion as to which is better and why.
 

Bonneville88

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C'mon doc... women, cars or guitars... a curvy, voluptuous back side is always sexier, ain't it? :tongue-new:
 

kdavid

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My cousin's D25 (which he won't sell me at any price) is arched-back.
aside from being sexier, i believe its a bit louder, deeper, & sistains a bit longer.
Thats my somewhat twisted preceptions
 

bluesypicky

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The arched back projects more power. The flatty has a clearer note separation.
If you strum, chances are you'll favor the arched back, if you pick, chances are you'll favor the flatty.
 

davismanLV

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The arched back projects more power. The flatty has a clearer note separation.
If you strum, chances are you'll favor the arched back, if you pick, chances are you'll favor the flatty.
Best Answer!! :encouragement: What you asked for is "better" which is subjective and in the ear of the beholder. What he gave you is "differences" which is more what you want to know.
 
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GardMan

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doc,
Remember that most of the arched back D-25s have SPRUCE tops (the "M" in D-25M usually refers to an arched back D-25 with "mahogany"-stained spruce top), while the flat-backs had mahogany tops.

The "all mahogany" mahogany-topped arched back D-25s were only made for a very brief time... most are from 1973 or early 1974.

The top wood would "color" the sound... so appropriate comparisons of all mahogany D-25s would be a flat backed example from '72 or earlier with an all-mahogany arched back from '73-'74. To compare the tonal effect of arched backs on the later spruce-topped D-25s, the more valid comparison would be to a D-35 from the same period.

I had a '74 D-25M (spruce-top, arched back) and still have a '72 D-35. The D-25 had more power and sustain... the D-35 had better clarity. I used them both for strumming and fingerpicking... depended on the song and the effect I wanted. My D-25 spent most of its time with me in DADGAD... it really sang in that tuning!
 

Bonneville88

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Hmm... I pick and I strum... guess I need to get a flat back D25 and
switch between the arch & flat mid-song!
Good rationale as any to get another Guild! :devilish:
 

PTC Bernie

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Maybe it's psychological, but arch backs seem to be louder with more projection.

Of course they have more internal volume than an equivalent guitar with the same size sides.
 

davismanLV

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Hey Dave, help me out here. Were not the Corona era D25's (that came in fun party colors) mahogany topped and flat-backed? Or am I messing up my details?
 

adorshki

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I had a '74 D-25M (spruce-top, arched back) and still have a '72 D-35. The D-25 had more power and sustain... the D-35 had better clarity.
Same difference between my D25 and my D40 (both spruce on 'hog for Doc's info), but in the last couple of years the D40 is really catching up to the '25 in volume.
What it has is more "focus" or clarity, like you and Bluesy said, but still has shorter sustain.
It would still be good for fast strumming (think Richie Havens at Woodstock), but the D25 will always make a slower strum sound fuller because of the sustain and enhanced overtones.
The '25's my go-to for something like "Norwegian Wood" where the sustain helps mimic the sitar drone.
The '40's my go-to for a couple of Yardbirds pieces, especially "Puzzles" where the clarity enhances the punchiness of Page's fast strum opening riff.
Or the "doo doot doot doot doot doot dodoot" break in "Love the One You're With".
I can even hear the difference in bass response now.
The '25 will get a little of the "woody" thunk of a stand-up bass on the low E even up to the 7th fret, the '40 is just clean with no distortion.
 
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johnny3j

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The fact that my '72 D25 had a mahogany top was the decider for me when I bought it, not necessarily that the back was solid & flat rather than laminated & arched.
The top material, to me, is more significant than the back radius. I've played another D25 hog-topped flatback but never a hog-topped archback, there aren't many out there I guess.


It's also interesting that as far as I know, under both post-Westerly Fender and Cordoba's stewardships, the Guild D25's decendants (GAD125, D20, D120) have all been hog-topped and flat-backed....
 

GardMan

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Hey Dave, help me out here. Were not the Corona era D25's (that came in fun party colors) mahogany topped and flat-backed? Or am I messing up my details?
I believe that to be correct... but have not paid as much attention to all the changes that went on in Corona, as there isn't any good published info, just what we glean from Hans' comments and what is seen on eBay, etc.

My earlier reply to doc was just to remind all that, when comparing flat-back to arched-back D-25s, one has to be concerned about the top woods, so that comparisons were "apples to apples."
 

adorshki

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I believe that to be correct... but have not paid as much attention to all the changes that went on in Corona, as there isn't any good published info, just what we glean from Hans' comments and what is seen on eBay, etc.
Yes Corona saw the re-launch of the all-'hog flatback formula for D25 which lasted all of about 2 years ('02 and '03)
before the GAD 25 was announced in the '04 spring price list.
It's what caused me to run out and buy my Richie Havens D40, also new from Corona.
At the time I thought Fender had put the writing on the wall concerning Guild's future as a domestic built brand.
And as Johnny3j said the GAD25 and all the successors have been all-hog flatbacks.
There was also an often-forgotten DV25 in at least 1999, but it was a spruce-topped flatback.
Suspect it was actually filling the DV6/D40 slot for some reason.
 
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Long time lurker, first poster - Hi everybody!

Compared to a flat-back dread my '78 D-25 seems 'slower', more placid, and notes appear to linger longer. There's a kind of natural built-in reverb even after a hard mute. This guitar has amazing projection, a good amount of punch and produces an open G chord that brings a tear to my eye, almost like a twelve string. If I need a guitar with a snappy response, it's not my first choice, but if I want to bathe in an ocean of caramelly tone while singing, it's the guitar for me. Far more so than my equally excellent F-50.
 

GardMan

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There was also an often-forgotten DV25 in at least 1999, but it was a spruce-topped flatback.
Suspect it was actually filling the DV6/D40 slot for some reason.

I never really consider the DV-25 to be part of the "direct" D-25 lineage... just as I don't consider the D-70 to be part of the DV-7X lineage. Some do, I know... I just make a distinction between the DV series and the D series of models.

The DV-6 is a problematic model: The Westerly DV-6 model had mahogany back and sides (I think it was flat-backed)... but in Tacoma, and later in Mexico, DV-6s had rosewood back and sides.
 

Neal

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doc,
Remember that most of the arched back D-25s have SPRUCE tops (the "M" in D-25M usually refers to an arched back D-25 with "mahogany"-stained spruce top), while the flat-backs had mahogany tops.

The "all mahogany" mahogany-topped arched back D-25s were only made for a very brief time... most are from 1973 or early 1974.

The top wood would "color" the sound... so appropriate comparisons of all mahogany D-25s would be a flat backed example from '72 or earlier with an all-mahogany arched back from '73-'74. To compare the tonal effect of arched backs on the later spruce-topped D-25s, the more valid comparison would be to a D-35 from the same period.

I had a '74 D-25M (spruce-top, arched back) and still have a '72 D-35. The D-25 had more power and sustain... the D-35 had better clarity. I used them both for strumming and fingerpicking... depended on the song and the effect I wanted. My D-25 spent most of its time with me in DADGAD... it really sang in that tuning!

Well, I happen to own both flatbacks, a '71 D-25 and a '73 D-35, which appear to be, in every detail, to be exactly the same guitar with different tops.

Their tones are more similar than they are different. I hear a lot of mahogany out of the D-35, but the spruce top makes it sound a bit warmer. The mahogany-topped D-25 is a little more forward-sounding, more aggressive, and a little louder.

Both are keepers, and ridiculous values in today's market.
 
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Bonneville88

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Great feedback, this is getting interesting!

How would an all-hog arch-back D15 compare sonically to an all-hog archback D25?
I'm looking at a couple of D15s... I like what I'm seeing. Haven't seen many (any?) arch-back all-hog
D25's for sale recently...
 
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