Guild D-30?

Larry Mal

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I'm a little intrigued by the Guild D-30, at first, I just thought it was kind of an all solid bodied maple dread like my Gibson Dove, but now I see that it's its own thing entirely. Anybody here have one? Any general advice would be great.
 

Westerly Wood

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I'm a little intrigued by the Guild D-30, at first, I just thought it was kind of an all solid bodied maple dread like my Gibson Dove, but now I see that it's its own thing entirely. Anybody here have one? Any general advice would be great.

tops are spruce, just like the Gibby Dove. they are loud and great for strumming but also crisp for finger picking. I highly encourage one if you are close to one.

D30s or G37 (same thing) are classic Guild dreads and I will argue the D30 should sound deeper than a Gibson Dove.
 

adorshki

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Bonneville88

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Have said before here - D30 and G37 are completely different guitars in sound and feel - and weight.
History and specs be damned, have spent considerable time with both - highly recommend the D30,
the G37 not so much.
 

dapmdave

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I have a D-30. I love them for recording, especially. Nice sparkling maple tone. Very even response.

I don't play it much anymore because I rarely do the type of recording that calls for a "miked" acoustic, and it has no pickup installed.

It's for sale on Reverb, if you are interested.
 

Alan_M

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I'm on my second D30 and I love it. Loud and proud, great tone and sustain. Get one.
 

Westerly Wood

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Have said before here - D30 and G37 are completely different guitars in sound and feel - and weight.
History and specs be damned, have spent considerable time with both - highly recommend the D30,
the G37 not so much.

thanks Bonneville for the correction. good to know your call on D30 over G37, in case I ever find one :)
 

adorshki

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thanks Bonneville for the correction. good to know your call on D30 over G37, in case I ever find one :)

If it wasn't in that link I posted, I saw a comment in one thread that the neck block in the G-37 was much larger, in fact was that you, Bonneville?
A bracing change could make a huge difference too, and the '01 price list shows scalloped bracing on D30's, have no clue if that applied to G-37's.
 
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Bonneville88

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I talked one Reverb buyer out of purchasing a G37 I had for sale - he messaged he'd
been looking for a D30 (and eventually I helped him find one!).

For me, the G37 was somewhat like playing the 6-string equivalent
of a piano with the sustain pedal permanently depressed - interesting, challenging,
perhaps a uniquely capable sonic tool in the hands of someone who knows how and when
to play to its strengths, but I never could quite find a groove for it, whereas the
D30s sound good playing anything and everything.

G37 didn't quite have the distinctive maple snap of the D30, and didn't have
a whole of volume - and heavy enough (think mine was 6+ lbs) to elicit a WTF
from whoever picked it up.

IME the D30s (have had three) are really user-friendly, great playing and sounding
instruments, so I'm in complete agreement with dapmdave and Alan_M.
 

gjmalcyon

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For me, the G37 was somewhat like playing the 6-string equivalent
of a piano with the sustain pedal permanently depressed - interesting, challenging,
perhaps a uniquely capable sonic tool in the hands of someone who knows how and when
to play to its strengths, but I never could quite find a groove for it, whereas the
D30s sound good playing anything and everything.

That is very perceptive and accurate description of my experience with my G-37. That characteristic is a lot of fun in alternate tunings, particularly open tunings like Bruce Palmer modal or in double-drop D.
 
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Westerly Wood

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For me, the G37 was somewhat like playing the 6-string equivalent
of a piano with the sustain pedal permanently depressed

wait, what? that is exactly what i have always been looking for. count me in for a G37 someday.
 

crank

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Never played or heard a D30 but I love my G37. I do a lot of flat picking and sometimes even strumming.
 

Grassdog

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I talked one Reverb buyer out of purchasing a G37 I had for sale - he messaged he'd
been looking for a D30 (and eventually I helped him find one!).

For me, the G37 was somewhat like playing the 6-string equivalent
of a piano with the sustain pedal permanently depressed - interesting, challenging,
perhaps a uniquely capable sonic tool in the hands of someone who knows how and when
to play to its strengths, but I never could quite find a groove for it, whereas the
D30s sound good playing anything and everything.

G37 didn't quite have the distinctive maple snap of the D30, and didn't have
a whole of volume - and heavy enough (think mine was 6+ lbs) to elicit a WTF
from whoever picked it up.

IME the D30s (have had three) are really user-friendly, great playing and sounding
instruments, so I'm in complete agreement with dapmdave and Alan_M.

Was it you that I bought my G-37 from (on Reverb) back in February? I remember it seemed like the seller was almost trying to talk me out of buying it. I persisted, the deal was done, and I love the guitar. Sustain for days, absolutely, and weighs a ton. Tone is gorgeous though, and I've installed a Baggs Anthem SL in it and gigged with it several times. It took a fair degree of EQing to get it to my taste, but it's a pleasure to gig with now.
 

Grassdog

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My 1980 G-37 (owned since February)

LGKHfkZh.jpg
[/IMG]
 

davismanLV

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Hey Larry, just a note to say welcome as a newish member. And that if you are truly considering buying a D30 (which I definitely would) that the one from member Dave (dapmdave) is a good example and from a seller who has earned his stripes here on the forum and works with one of our favorite luthiers Tom Jacobs in Florida. His guitar will be exactly as described and he's a super person to deal with. It looks to be a good example and the price is more than fair.

I have a Guild maple arched back dread myself that i would never part with. It's maybe too removed from D30, G37, or even G45 to be a comparison, but as you've heard, these guitars have a whole world of fans.

Just thought I'd put that out there. Good luck. They're super guitars!! :encouragement:
 

bobouz

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My G-37 was made in 1976. It has a one piece lightly-stained mahogany neck, and was built just before the transition to the 3-piece maple neck. The heel & neck blocks are flat out huge & it weighs a ton, but the top is quite thin (as was common with '70s Guilds), and it indeed has a highly resonant piano-like quality.

It's a unique tone, different from all my other acoustics, and I find it very appealing.
 

Bonneville88

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Grassdog - small world! Glad you like it, good to hear it found the owner it was meant for.
You were the 2nd guy I had quite a dialog with on Reverb LOL, how did
I ever manage to sell that guitar? The other guy was from Iowa, had played a couple of D30s
and was smitten with that sound - and I did talk him out of your 37 - but when a D30 came up for sale
here on LTG sometime later, I alerted him and he nailed it.

A photo I took of yours when it was still mine - was knocked out by the way the burst coloration appeared
throughout the instrument...
loeWEqb.jpg


If I was shopping D30s I'd check out this one on Reverb -
condition looks great and the price is right
https://reverb.com/item/25860299-guild-d-30-bld
 
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HeyMikey

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That D30 on verb is the one Dapmdave is selling and it does scream “buy me!”
 

Larry Mal

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Hey Larry, just a note to say welcome as a newish member. And that if you are truly considering buying a D30 (which I definitely would) that the one from member Dave (dapmdave) is a good example and from a seller who has earned his stripes here on the forum and works with one of our favorite luthiers Tom Jacobs in Florida. His guitar will be exactly as described and he's a super person to deal with. It looks to be a good example and the price is more than fair.

I have a Guild maple arched back dread myself that i would never part with. It's maybe too removed from D30, G37, or even G45 to be a comparison, but as you've heard, these guitars have a whole world of fans.

Just thought I'd put that out there. Good luck. They're super guitars!! :encouragement:

Thank you very much! I have seen Dave's on Reverb and it looks amazing, that being said, I don't think I'm quite ready financially to make a move on a D-30 at the moment although I am seeing that this seems to be a great model. I'm still kind of researching stuff at the moment since it seems like the D-30 might be one of those "under the radar" great guitars that you don't always hear about and can reflect great value for money.
 
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