Noob sorely tempted by D40E

pancho400cid

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Hi all:

First post, so greetings!

I am a decent hobby level guitar player. I've been at it for 30 years but still mediocre on a good day. I've owned electrics (Les Paul, Telecaster, Stratocaster) and acoustics ($300 cheapies). I love all kinds of music but my current deal is mostly-rhythm guitar in a classic country band. Santa is going to be good to me this year and provide with my first "good" acoustic guitar.

Unless somebody talks me out of it, I'm planning to order a new D40E on-line. I like the antique burst finish. I have never laid hands on one as nobody has one locally, but I've played other Guild models over the years. My ex wife had a Guild jumbo years ago and while I would like to forget her, that guitar was AMAZING, so I have been a a Guild fan for a long time.

Can't say why EXACTLY, but the D40E really appeals to me and is in my price range (albeit the top of my price range).

I know many would never buy a guitar un-tried, but to me shopping at a store is frustrating. A $300 guitar with fresh strings will sound as good to my untrained ears as a much more expensive guitar that needs strings. I figure I'll just buy an acknowleged "good" guitar a learn to love it... cause I sure as hell won't be buying another for a while.

Any thoughts / guidance appreciated!

Thanks!
 

fronobulax

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Welcome. No specific advice beyond making sure you understand the return policy, in case you never bond with it. That said, most of the players I know have loved their first "good" guitar.

In keeping with the stereotype of a country song, I can sense an idea "I don't miss my jumbo wife but I sure do miss her jumbo Guild".
 

Cougar

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First post, so greetings!

Welcome to the boards, Pancho!

Unless somebody talks me out of it, I'm planning to order a new D40E on-line.

We're enablers here. We talk people into buying Guild guitars. :tiger:

I like the antique burst finish.

I love a good burst. But you understand the D40E has a satin finish, not gloss. This is just a cosmetic thing. I used to have several $400-600 Epiphone Masterbilts. They all had satin finish. They're very good, all-solid wood guitars. But I've moved on. More expensive guitars do have better tone, and I prefer a gloss finish. I'm a sucker for good looks. To many, it's all about the tone - a vintage guitar can be chipped and scratched, but if it's got that good balanced sound, they don't care about the looks. Anyway, just do your research and know what you're getting.

I know many would never buy a guitar un-tried....

At least 90% of my guitars were bought off the internet, un-tried. And used. I've always heard "play before you pay," but I've mostly "paid before played." This is fairly common in this day and age. It certainly shouldn't be a problem buying a new guitar, especially from a place with a reasonable return policy, which you probably won't need to use. That D40E looks like a great guitar. Go for it!
 

chazmo

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Welcome aboard. My experiences shopping at a music store have been quite different than yours. With one exception, I've bought all my new guitars over the years from stores precisely because I've played them in the store and they've stood out. It's the ones that blow my hair back (well, when I had hair) that have always made the cash flow out of my pocket for a new guitar. In a few cases, trying a new guitar at a shop has sent me on a hunt for a used one of the same type.

Anyway, these days I see nothing inherently problematical about shopping online for a new guitar. Just be careful about shipping concerns, particularly unpacking a guitar that has been shipped in winter through cold regions...
 

dreadnut

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Welcome Pancho! Good point about the satin finish, if you're ok with that you should be good to go!
 

pancho400cid

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Hey all:

Thanks for the input. Clearly I have found a supportive (aka "enabling") community LOL.

I'm aware the D40E is satin finish. I prefer the gloss lacquer finish as on the "D40 Traditional" but the Traditional is not available with a factory-installed pick-up.
The D40 Traditional has different binding, nicer headstock, metal tuner knobs (plastic on D40E), double-acting truss-rod (single-acting on D40E), no pick-up (LR Baggs Element on D40E) and gloss nitrocellulose finish (satin varnish on d40E). The d40 Traditional costs $2,500 vs. $1,900 for the D40E.

I came withing a hair's breadth of buying one last night only to find they are now out of stock ( :sulkiness: ) at the place I was considering (Sweetwater). Looking around now for another source, and gave a local store a chance to get one for me if possible.

"I don't miss my jumbo wife but I sure do miss her jumbo Guild"

That's hilarious.... definitely a great country song in the making.... right up there with "I thought I told you to stay in the truck" and "I'da Wrote You a Letter But I Couldn't Spell PPpppffFFttt".

On a side note I played a country record backwards last night but instead of getting hidden subliminal messages, I sobered up, my wife came back to me and my dog came back to life!
 

adorshki

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Welcome to the boards, Pancho!
"What he said"
:smile:
Oh yeah, btw, your first few posts will be vetted by mods but since a couple of 'em have already chimed in I suspect you'll get "fast tracked".
So not to worry if your reply posts aren't popping up in real time, "yet".
:friendly_wink:

I love a good burst. But you understand the D40E has a satin finish, not gloss.

I'm going to assume that both you and our new Pontiac-loving member are using the Cordoba "D40E" model name correctly, but just in case (and for those who may have forgotten), there is also a "D40 Traditional" which has a gloss NCL finish standard, and also offers a Sunburst and "e" version:
https://guildguitars.com/g/d-40-traditional-in-antique-sunburst/
For the price upgrade in that package, you also get a 3-piece neck (resists twisting), a chesterfield headstock, a dual-action truss rod, and a genuine dovetail neck joint.
There are those of us who do believe a dovetail neck joint is sonically superior, before we even get into the desirable aspects of a genuine NCL finish.
 
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chazmo

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Right, Al. The D-40E is not the Traditional model and has some significant differences, as noted. It has (I think) a mortise and tenon neck and has the varnish, satin finish. The "E" version has LR Baggs Element electronics.

Also, good point about the 3piece neck on the Traditional only.
 

Br1ck

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Going from a cheapie to a D 40 is going to be a huge improvement. Finding the best guitar ever is a lifetime search.
 

pancho400cid

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Well... The deed is done. I asked a local store about the D40E with burst finish. He said they were out of stock, which I believe. As I said above, Sweetwater was out of stock on D40E's too. There were some to be found online, but in the end I opted to order a "D40 Traditional" through the local shop. His price was the same as the online guys and he is knowlegeable and local. It's more guitar than I need, but I went ahead and bought it. For the first time in quite a while, I can't wait for Christmas!

Guess my next post will be a "what pick-up for my new D40 Traditional"

Pontiac-loving

Guilty! Speaking of guilty, that's how I'll feel around my project 78 Trans Am since this guitar purchase is consuming all the play-money this season. Obviously I'm using my same screen name from some car forums. Lazy LOL.
 

Cougar

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....in the end I opted to order a "D40 Traditional" through the local shop....

Well done and major congrats! Like Br1ck said, going from $300 guitars up into $2K territory is going to give you some serious audio culture shock. In a good way, obviously. We'll want pics, of course!
 

chazmo

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pancho400cid

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Thanks for the input.

I will seriously consider the the Seymor Duncan "Wavelength Duo" system (formerly DTAR multi-source). Based on other conversations on this site, looks like Guild offered them factory-installed on some models? That's a strong endorsement in my book.

http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?193906-DTAR-18V-Wavelength-Multisource-now-Duncan-Wavelength-Duo

UPDATE: Looks like I was able to hide the crazy long enough to convince the mods to let me post in real-time! Thanks!
 

adorshki

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Well... The deed is done. I asked a local store about the D40E with burst finish. He said they were out of stock, which I believe. As I said above, Sweetwater was out of stock on D40E's too. There were some to be found online, but in the end I opted to order a "D40 Traditional" through the local shop. His price was the same as the online guys and he is knowlegeable and local. It's more guitar than I need, but I went ahead and bought it.
Congrats!
I suspect what you're going to find is that having a piece like that will inspire you to greater aspirations and technique exploration.
You will find yourself expanding to fill the guitar's capabilities so having upgraded somewhat in the initial purchase will pay off bigger down the road.
And no "Gosh if a plain D40 sounds this good I wonder what the Traditional would have sounded like?"

And here's another insight, only available to buyers of brand-new quality instruments:
I call it "the Honeymoon Moment".
You can figure that out for yourself.
:smile:
And if you keep it cased as I always recommend, it can last for years, no doody.
I still get it with my F65ce and even my D40.
THAT is another periodic topic of discussion, here, BTW: whether or not to case your guitar?
I have a saying:
"There's only 2 places fit for a guitar: In your lap or in its case"
When it comes to quality pieces and especially if you take pride in preserving that "like new" condition for as long as possible, I think it's just insurance.
I can recall at last 5 different stories from members who liked to keep their guitars out either on hangers or stands, and due to some kind of highly improbable freak accident they got damaged.
So that's my position, in case you hadn't thought about it before.
Also reminds me of another detail: If you absolutely gotta use a stand, make sure the supports are covered with something that won't react with NCL.
Typical vinyls and rubbers can emit gases that'll react badly with NCL so at the least cover 'em with cloth or something.
Same issue for some leather dyes (straps).
It's the long-term contact you have to worry about, a couple of hours here and there aren't a big worry.
Anyway, just a couple of things some folks new to high-quality guitars didn't know and sadly discovered the hard way over the years here.
:friendly_wink:

Guess my next post will be a "what pick-up for my new D40 Traditional"
Based on nothing but owner reviews from folks whfse opinions I respect here, I'd go along with Chaz's suggestion about the Duncan Wavelength/formerly DTAR system.
It's what they put in the late New Hartford builds (Factory just before Oxnard) and I've always been a little lazy with an "If it's good enough for Guild it's good enough for me" attitude about that stuff.

Guilty! Speaking of guilty, that's how I'll feel around my project 78 Trans Am since this guitar purchase is consuming all the play-money this season. Obviously I'm using my same screen name from some car forums. Lazy LOL.
Hey I'm a car guy myself and have no prejudice about brand names, only bad/dysfunctional engineering.
Of which Pontiac was rarely guilty.
:smile:
In fact, here's some Pontiac lore in danger of being lost in the mists of time.
Ever seen one of these?:
1964-Pontiac-Banshee-XP-833-concept-car-102.jpg

John Z was anxious to get that on the road in '66 but of course GM corporate nixed it as potential Corvette sales thief and saddled him instead with building the Camaro clone Firebird.
So he decided to have his engineers see what they could wring out of the Sprint 6 motor which was the early fore-runner of the Trans Am:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-the-pontiac-trans-am-was-born-part-1/
I see some pics don't want to show up in that link, but here's a couple:
1967-pontiac-firebird-sprint-turismo-front-side-view.jpg

The original offset finned (and very first "shaker"hood scoop ) and brake scoops at rear.
Why the scoop was offset:
1967-pontiac-firebird-sprint-turismo-engine-headers.jpg

In-line sixes are inherently low-end torquey and in fact that would have been a perfect power-to-weight ratio and weight distribution to go Trans Am racing with in '66.
Ironically Pontiac themselves did not actually participate in the Trans Am series in the first years of its existence ('66-'69) because they didn't have the 303 V8 (class displacement limit was 5 liters) ready yet, and the SOHC 6 was not competitive with Chevy's 302 and already on its way out anyway, as noted here:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-the-pontiac-trans-am-was-born-part-2/

Hey I'm a big fan of low-end torque myself but I value handling even more highly, and so did John Z as detailed here:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-the-pontiac-trans-am-was-born-part-3/
So what I really love about Trans Ams is their handling.
And finally, you have now also been baptized with your first off-topic veer, a time-honored tradition around here which helps keep things.... interesting.
:biggrin-new:
 
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pancho400cid

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Adhorsi - Thanks for the advice. I was having an internal discussion with myself about always keeping the guitar in the case when not playing it. I definitely plan to. I practice more when I keep a guitar out on a stand, but I'll have my old guitar for that now.

Ever seen one of these?:

Banshee!

Great links. I'll read the articles. Thanks!

Lots of great lore about the stuff John DeLorean, Herb Adams, et al tried to get into production at Pontiac in the 70's.
 

adorshki

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Adhorsi - Thanks for the advice. I was having an internal discussion with myself about always keeping the guitar in the case when not playing it. I definitely plan to. I practice more when I keep a guitar out on a stand, but I'll have my old guitar for that now.
Another little detail I forgot:
Dustbunnies can't breed in the body when it's cased, and the new cases offer built-in humidifiers, which is a huge benefit if you're in a place where there're large fluctuations over the seasons.

Banshee!
Great links. I'll read the articles. Thanks!
Lots of great lore about the stuff John DeLorean, Herb Adams, et al tried to get into production at Pontiac in the 70's.
Ok, bona fide Pontiac buff!
Gotta admit the '77-'78 T/A noses are my least favorite, but they did usher in a couple of handling refinements.
My favorite era for GM styling is late '60's early '70s.
On of my top 3 favorite cars I ever owned was a '70 Cutlass "S" (the fastback coupe) with a 350, one of the first "gentleman's hotrods".
Loved that arch on the rear fender, and there wasn't a bad angle on that body (note, not my car):
1970_cutlass_by_millerjoew2008.jpg

In counterpoint I also owned 5 first-gen RX-7's over about 15 years, probably my favorite car of all time on the overall scorecard, primarily for handling, reliability, and sheer fun to drive factor.
A '90 Thunderbird SC outperformed it but fell below it for reliability: several of its high-end tech components were its Achilles' heel because they became unreplacable after about 2009.
I'm also a BIG believer in "factory stock" for the reliability thing.
Also there's nothing like seeing a 20-year old survivor and knowing "Oh yeah, that's how they came"
Guild guitars evoke the same emotions in me...
:friendly_wink:
 
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D30Man

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Pancho you are infor a treat!! That kind of upgrade ( not to say there aren’t quite a few good guitars in the $300 - $500 range these days ) is substantial. The sonic improvement you are about to witness is huge. I am excited for you! Welcome to the forum and I cannot wait to see pictures!!!
 

pancho400cid

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Thank you D30Man! Will post pictures for sure. I still wince a little when I think about the price, but very excited to hear the guitar. I told the guitar shop to check it over thoroughly then put it back in the box. I'm trying to hold off until Christmas to open it. I may revert to my 8-year-old self and wake up at 6 AM to open it Christmas morning LOL.

Adhorshki - Funny you mention your 70 Cutlass "S". Clearly you are a man of good automotive and musical taste. As it happens I own a 71 Cutlass "S". It was bought brand new by my father-in-law the same year my wife was born. It's in great shape for its age with about 130K on the odo. He sold it to me. My wife says it's hers if we ever split LOL.
 

D30Man

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Pancho I am doing the same thing with the Oxnard F55 I just bought! I inspected it for damage then put it right back in the case and wrapped it in wrapping paper for Christmas!! Totally reverting back to my 8 year old safe and yes I will be waking up early on Xmas!! No it is just the waiting!!!
 

Rayk

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Pancho I am doing the same thing with the Oxnard F55 I just bought! I inspected it for damage then put it right back in the case and wrapped it in wrapping paper for Christmas!! Totally reverting back to my 8 year old safe and yes I will be waking up early on Xmas!! No it is just the waiting!!!

Your killing me with the wait !! I want to see and hear it !!! 😁
 
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