D15M......where is the love?

cupric

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As I sure you know the label is Mahogany, gold, high gloss (?). At least I would think so.
 

adorshki

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Wasn't finished high gloss though. Two outta three? :wink:

Guessing it's actually an HR "Hand Rubbed", then.
But don't recall ever seeing a label like that before, either.
"G" for gold hardware makes sense if it was "optional" but only recall ever seeing "HR" or "HG" for finish when there were options there.
Recently discovered that Satin actually preceded "HR"(which came in early '90's IIRC), and then returned in later '90's, and that they are in fact 2 different finishes.
So wondering if yours is a very early "HR" and they hadn't "formalized" the finish call out for labels yet.
 

Bonneville88

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Al - on the D15 MGH, finish was not hand rubbed - was a sprayed satin finish on the body, yet
different than the satin finish the back and sides of a D4, and not at all similar to the near-matte finish on the
top of a typical D4.

Back to headstock logo - on the D17, not screen printed and not inlaid, but a thin die-cut perloid
applique underneath the lacquer. Photo taken a few minutes ago, this is another of the D17s in the collection.
The D15 MGH may have had a similar treatment.

y2yy6k9.jpg
 
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adorshki

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Al - on the D15 MGH, finish was not hand rubbed - was a sprayed satin finish on the body, yet
different than the satin finish the back and sides of a D4, and not at all similar to the near-matte finish on the
top of a typical D4.
D4's got all 3: HR;(original finish) HG (introduced in '97) and Satin according to '01 price list.
So wondering if you've seen both Satin and HR without realizing? (which I think must be the near-matte you mention)
The D15 MGH may have had a similar treatment.
And it just hit me, if "H" isn't for Hand Rubbed, then it must be part of "G.H." for the Gold Hardware.
You threw me off with the "2 out of 3" comment.
:stupid:
 

Bonneville88

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bowenite - fwiw - looked at various D25s tonight - headstock logos were either inlaid or screen printed.

The authentic-looking swirl of the pearl in the D17 headstock logo does not come through in the photo - it's convincing
as a faux MOP inlay if viewed from several feet away.
 
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Bonneville88

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Al - sounds about right. Thanks for the info - I've never personally seen a D4 with a gloss top - only
ones I've observed or played first-hand had the near-matte finish on the top and satin
elsewhere. Out of various Guilds owned and played over the years, the D4's IMO had the most
"budget" look and feel.
 
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cupric

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I seem to remember there were both high gloss and satin D4s. I may have had one of each. The Songbirds of the later 90s also had both finishes. Which reminds me I had three Songbirds....wish I had kept one. And the black GX series Songbird body guitar.....but that is a thought for another time, lol.
 

Bonneville88

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bowenite - I recently acquired a what I'm guessing is very late 90's Songbird, was shocked to see it had
exactly the same finish as my current D4! Almost matte on the top, low-gloss satin everywhere else!
What a sweet playing guitar! Love those GXs too!
 

cupric

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Bonneville88 they are very nice guitars. A very creative design that works well. I really enjoyed mine. I kick myself that I didn't keep one...or two. The GX was a players guitar with roadrash, but it played well. And I doubt I will ever see another. If you ever think of parting with your Songbird please let me know. But you will regret it! Enjoy!!
 

cupric

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And, if you have not already done so, check out Eva Cassidy doing her rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" with her Songbird. It is one of her rare videos and the Songbird sounds great...as does she.
 

adorshki

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Al - sounds about right. Thanks for the info - I've never personally seen a D4 with a gloss top - only
ones I've observed or played first-hand had the near-matte finish on the top and satin
elsewhere.
Yes I think I've seen more "HR"'s than any other type shown here over the years. HR was even still made while HG was, but no HG was shown available by '01. So it has to be the most uncommon finish
Wish I had access to moe price lists like '98 and '99 'cause there was a lot going on then, have even seen 3 genuine 'hog-topped D4's here over the years, at least one I remember was HG too.
THAT's a rare bird. It would be like a D15 re-issue.
I never heard of Guild mixing finishes on piece like New Hartford did, never heard anybody who owned one or the other or both (member JCWu has 2 different models, one of each) describing that.
I'm going to assume that difference in top/body on given guitar might be due to presence of the undercoat which was used on "HR" and which maybe wasn't used on body..

Out of various Guilds owned and played over the years, the D4's IMO had the most
"budget" look and feel.
Right, it was supposed to be the most economical guitar they could make by stripping everything they could off a D25: binding, inlay, HG finish, even the case.
I notice D4 and D15 production overlap for 4 years too ('91-'94, s/n records), so it seems reasonable to guess that maybe the D15's were getting Gloss in their last hurrah while it wasn't available on D4's yet.
Another potential is that both of 'em can be buffed up a bit or a lot even, or that HG can even be scuffed back to "matte", and I've seen at least a couple of folks go from Satin to gloss and one go the other way over the years here.
 

adorshki

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bowenite - fwiw - looked at various D25s tonight - headstock logos were either inlaid or screen printed.
Right.
Don't know when inlay was actually introduced but now wondering if it might have been concurrent with introduction of D15 as another distinguishing detail.
Thought it might have been introduced when they got snakehead headstocks but an image search showed an '85 D25 with what I assumed was black faceplate with inlay last night.
Now wondering if might actually be the same as your D17's headstock.
Further observation:
They even got silkscreen as late as '97.
Never forgot a genuine NOS '97 in Woodgrain Red up on Reverb was being discussed here a couple of years back.
Lemme tell ya it was one of the most tempting things I've ever seen here, then I noticed: Headstock was finish color and it had a silkscreen logo.
Hands jumped in and explained that if the guitar had a colored finish the headstock styed colred got the silkscreen.
Only the "Naturals" got a faceplate with pearloid inlay.
But I don't remember if he specified a time range for that, so can only say "at that time" for that detail.
Image searching might help confirm the period.
Just be careful if you try to search by year, you still get returns based on the model number, so each link has to be checked to confirm year and vetted by other details if known.
Example: Something listed as an '85 with a snakehead headstock has to be '87 or later, cause D25' didn't get 'em until then even though higher-end models did.

bowenite - I recently acquired a what I'm guessing is very late 90's Songbird, was shocked to see it had
exactly the same finish as my current D4! Almost matte on the top, low-gloss satin everywhere else!
What a sweet playing guitar! Love those GXs too!

Are you sure it's not an S4ce, which is actually not quite the same as a Songbird?
One of the critical differences was that Songbirds came with HG standard even though they were basically the same guitar.
I used to think S4ce's were Songbirds until discovering differently a couple of years back.
A Songbird will definitely say Songbird on the label.
 

Bonneville88

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adorshki

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Al, you're right, it must an S4Ce, I stand corrected.
:friendly_wink:
I just wish now that my memory was as accurate as it used to be only ten years ago.
Most stuff I'm positive about is still correct, and I've started to get a good grasp on stuff I should not be so positive about,'cause I get more and more "false positives" lately.
Thanks for feedback though.
Participation in threads like this helps keep the memory honed and even introduces me to stuff I never knew or had forgotten.
Final overriding principle I've learned over the years here though, is just when you think you're positive something "never happened" in Guild production, along comes the oddball surprise specimen proving they made at least one.
:glee:
 

cupric

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I agree, great forum and a wealth of information. I too have forgotten more than many people ever know.....but I truly forgot! The comments, and content of this site stirs alot of memories. I want to thank everyone for that. And thank you for the dialogue in this posting, it has been very enlightening.
 

adorshki

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I agree, great forum and a wealth of information. I too have forgotten more than many people ever know.....but I truly forgot! The comments, and content of this site stirs alot of memories. I want to thank everyone for that. And thank you for the dialogue in this posting, it has been very enlightening.

Hey you only need 48 more posts and you can be a senior member too!
:biggrin-new:
 
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