I HATE this site and all of you!

Cheab

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Because........there are so many cool guitars and people which make it VERY hard to not buy a damn guitar here!!!!!

A few years ago I purchased a 73 D-25 with an archback from a member here. I play it almost daily and the tone.......omg......however I do have a serious question:

I've been reading about 71 - 73 being all mahogany with flat backs...... with a few odd ones went out with the archback. Is this truly the case that not many were archbacks? Is it true they only made all mahogany for those 3 years??

Side note: I am buying a 71 Martin D-18 to help a family member out....after researching that guitar I'm worried that I won't like the wide neck so I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with it. I'm not a bluegrass guy but apparently it's a good one for bluegrass. If I don't like it....it'll be up for sale/trade for a Guild of course ;)

Thanks in advance and I still hate all of you!
 

chazmo

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Well, that's a very strong reaction there, Cheab! See you fit right in as we are pretty passionate crowd around here. :)
 

Cheab

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It's TwoCogris fault.....I think he's the one that sold me that guitar and got me hooked to this site. It got so bad I had to leave for awhile in fear of blowing out my bank account lol.
 

Westerly Wood

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i appreciate your passion.
we are here to help.
 

chazmo

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Oh, dang, where is that "Guild Widows" picture from one of the Arlington gatherings?!?! Somebody please post it!
 

Br1ck

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I'd like an old D 18. Different enough to go with my D 35. I can live with either neck. I do like a good Martin for bluegrass. So far I've resisted, but I got to play two Brazilian D 28s last week that had a great dry sound, much less boomy than most D 28s I've played. Mid 60s straight braced.
 

Nuuska

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I'd like an old D 18. Different enough to go with my D 35. I can live with either neck. I do like a good Martin for bluegrass. So far I've resisted, but I got to play two Brazilian D 28s last week that had a great dry sound, much less boomy than most D 28s I've played. Mid 60s straight braced.


Hello

back when in US and working at Berns Music Store - we had about 700 guitars in store - many Martins, too. My favourite of Martins was D18 - best sound for me. Never bought one - spent all I could on Guilds . . .
 

adorshki

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I've been reading about 71 - 73 being all mahogany with flat backs...... with a few odd ones went out with the archback. Is this truly the case that not many were archbacks? Is it true they only made all mahogany for those 3 years??
D25 was introduced in '68 as all-hog flatback.
Sometime in '72 the archback was phased in, more than likely both types were made in that year before the transition was complete, and more than likely some all-hog flatbacks were still left over and being shipped out as well.
Guitars ID'd as '73 hog-topped archbacks by far outnumber any other year reported here and in internet listings over the years, so it seems that was the high point production year for all-hog archback.
In '74 a spruce top was phased in on the archbacked D25, but all-hog versions continued to appear at least until '75 and we even have a member who reports owning a '76, the most extreme outlier I know.
We periodically see guitars from '75 and later misidentified as 'hog-topped archbacks because Guild applied a Mahogany colored stain to the spruce tops for a while and called 'em "D25M"
Things are further confused by the fact that some of the all-hog archbacks got labeled as" D25M", too.
Thanks in advance and I still hate all of you!
You're welcome and at least now you're a properly educated hater.
:glee:
 

adorshki

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you should probably just buy this one and feel right as rain:https://reverb.com/item/17927293-1978-guild-d25m-acoustic
this one might not cause too much pain: https://reverb.com/item/19491349-guild-d25m-natural-1974
There you go, that '74's listed as an "M" even though the label shows no such thing, but it does look like a "Natural" (unstained) 'hog top, and it's definitely 'hog.
But technically not an "M".
The '78's showing the "correct" designation and is obviously a stained spruce top.
(Thanks Clay!)
 
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GuildFS4612CE

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Oh, dang, where is that "Guild Widows" picture from one of the Arlington gatherings?!?! Somebody please post it!

Likely eaten by P-B
lost in one of the site updates
or Ralf will find it :angel:
 

dreadnut

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My '76 D-25M is definitely a spruce top, and an arched back.

VMvKB50.jpg
 
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