Custom Shop Acoustics?

Hello folks.

Does anybody know if it is still possible to order a Guild to specs from the custom shop in Nashville? My local dealer used to have a check list where you could mark certain items and send it in to guild for pricing.

This was around 99 or so, before the Westerly plant closed. I always wanted to order a bare bones mahogany dread with scalloped bracing and a large, chesterfield headstock - sort of like a pre-war styled D-40. I've often wondered why Guild never built one since it's a pretty common request among players.

Thanks in advance and I'm happy to have found this forum!

Regards,
John

Hello folks.

Does anybody know if it is still possible to order a Guild to specs from the custom shop in Nashville? My local dealer used to have a check list where you could mark certain items and send it in to guild for pricing.

This was around 99 or so, before the Westerly plant closed. I always wanted to order a bare bones mahogany dread with scalloped bracing and a large, chesterfield headstock - sort of like a pre-war styled D-40. I've often wondered why Guild never built one since it's a pretty common request among players.

Thanks in advance and I'm happy to have found this forum!

Regards,
John

jciampa said:

Does anybody know if it is still possible to order a Guild to specs from the custom shop in Nashville? My local dealer used to have a check list where you could mark certain items and send it in to guild for pricing.
This was around 99 or so, before the Westerly plant closed. I always wanted to order a bare bones mahogany dread with scalloped bracing and a large, chesterfield headstock - sort of like a pre-war styled D-40. I've often wondered why Guild never built one since it's a pretty common request among players.

Click to expand...

Hello jciampa,

I'm afraid that that's not possible anymore. But I'm curious what specifications you would fill in on that check list. Would that be pre-Iraq War I or II or would you go back as far as the pre-Vietnam war style?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

jciampa said:

Does anybody know if it is still possible to order a Guild to specs from the custom shop in Nashville? My local dealer used to have a check list where you could mark certain items and send it in to guild for pricing.
This was around 99 or so, before the Westerly plant closed. I always wanted to order a bare bones mahogany dread with scalloped bracing and a large, chesterfield headstock - sort of like a pre-war styled D-40. I've often wondered why Guild never built one since it's a pretty common request among players.

Click to expand...

Hello jciampa,

I'm afraid that that's not possible anymore. But I'm curious what specifications you would fill in on that check list. Would that be pre-Iraq War I or II or would you go back as far as the pre-Vietnam war style?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

Hello Hans,

Thanks for the reply and it's good to have your insights in this forum.

I guess I should have been more clear. When I said "pre-war" I was thinking about pre-war specs as in Martin and it's D-18s from the 30s and early 40s.

My dream Guild would be a scalloped braced D-40 with an unbound ebony fingerboard and bridge, tortoise pickguard and binding, and, as stated earlier, a large, chesterfield headstock.

Pretty straightforward I would think, yet I always wondered what the cost would have been. As a production guitar, you would think that it would only be a bit more expensive than, say, a D-50. But seeing that it would have been a custom model, I was thinking that it would have fallen in the 2000 - 2500 range.

I'm curious, would any Guild players here be interested in such an instrument? I always wondered why Guild never scalloped any of their mahogany dreads, as they sometimes did with rosewood and maple.

Thanks again, Hans.

John

Hello Hans,

Thanks for the reply and it's good to have your insights in this forum.

I guess I should have been more clear. When I said "pre-war" I was thinking about pre-war specs as in Martin and it's D-18s from the 30s and early 40s.

My dream Guild would be a scalloped braced D-40 with an unbound ebony fingerboard and bridge, tortoise pickguard and binding, and, as stated earlier, a large, chesterfield headstock.

Pretty straightforward I would think, yet I always wondered what the cost would have been. As a production guitar, you would think that it would only be a bit more expensive than, say, a D-50. But seeing that it would have been a custom model, I was thinking that it would have fallen in the 2000 - 2500 range.

I'm curious, would any Guild players here be interested in such an instrument? I always wondered why Guild never scalloped any of their mahogany dreads, as they sometimes did with rosewood and maple.

Thanks again, Hans.

John

Now the two of you have aroused my curiosity. My DV's are scalloped braced and my JF-30 and D-25M are not. Consistent with what the two of you have said, both DV's are rosewood and the other two are maple and mahogany respectively. Why? Are there really advantages to scalloped bracing? I have heard that the scalloped bracing is a bit weaker in regards to the actual support role, but does it enhance the sound quality? And why was it only used in rosewood guitars?

Thanks,
West

Now the two of you have aroused my curiosity. My DV's are scalloped braced and my JF-30 and D-25M are not. Consistent with what the two of you have said, both DV's are rosewood and the other two are maple and mahogany respectively. Why? Are there really advantages to scalloped bracing? I have heard that the scalloped bracing is a bit weaker in regards to the actual support role, but does it enhance the sound quality? And why was it only used in rosewood guitars?

Thanks,
West

jciampa said:

I guess I should have been more clear. When I said "pre-war" I was thinking about pre-war specs as in Martin and it's D-18s from the 30s and early 40s.

My dream Guild would be a scalloped braced D-40 with an unbound ebony fingerboard and bridge, tortoise pickguard and binding, and, as stated earlier, a large, chesterfield headstock.

Pretty straightforward I would think, yet I always wondered what the cost would have been. As a production guitar, you would think that it would only be a bit more expensive than, say, a D-50. But seeing that it would have been a custom model, I was thinking that it would have fallen in the 2000 - 2500 range.

I'm curious, would any Guild players here be interested in such an instrument? I always wondered why Guild never scalloped any of their mahogany dreads, as they sometimes did with rosewood and maple.

Click to expand...

Hello John,

It was clear to me what you meant when you wrote ' pre-war' specs. I was just joking a little. Couldn't help myself!

When it comes down to 'scalloped braces' you can't really compare Martins and Guilds. Guild bracing tends to be on the heavy side; especially after the move to Westerly. Some of their later 'scalloped' braces were still heavier than some of the competitor's standard braces. I've seen some Guilds with scalloped bracings that sounded pretty good but I don't think that the Guild company was ever really interested in making that kind of a 'responsive' guitar. The only period when they were seriously trying to do something like that was during the mid-'80s when George Gruhn and his R & D team were involved.

Having said that I should mention the D-62 that was part of the original line of Gruhn-designed guitars. That was the one guitar that was designed with scalloped braces and mahogany back & sides. It didn't have the other features you wanted like the ebony fingerboard and the big Chesterfield headstock though.

There were a few other mahogany guitars that had 'scalloped braces like the post 1987 D-40 and the D-6 from the early '90s but that was probably not what you had in mind when you wrote 'scalloped braces'.

We'll see what the future will bring for Guild. Once they are up and running they might be able to take custom orders again.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

jciampa said:

I guess I should have been more clear. When I said "pre-war" I was thinking about pre-war specs as in Martin and it's D-18s from the 30s and early 40s.

My dream Guild would be a scalloped braced D-40 with an unbound ebony fingerboard and bridge, tortoise pickguard and binding, and, as stated earlier, a large, chesterfield headstock.

Pretty straightforward I would think, yet I always wondered what the cost would have been. As a production guitar, you would think that it would only be a bit more expensive than, say, a D-50. But seeing that it would have been a custom model, I was thinking that it would have fallen in the 2000 - 2500 range.

I'm curious, would any Guild players here be interested in such an instrument? I always wondered why Guild never scalloped any of their mahogany dreads, as they sometimes did with rosewood and maple.

Click to expand...

Hello John,

It was clear to me what you meant when you wrote ' pre-war' specs. I was just joking a little. Couldn't help myself!

When it comes down to 'scalloped braces' you can't really compare Martins and Guilds. Guild bracing tends to be on the heavy side; especially after the move to Westerly. Some of their later 'scalloped' braces were still heavier than some of the competitor's standard braces. I've seen some Guilds with scalloped bracings that sounded pretty good but I don't think that the Guild company was ever really interested in making that kind of a 'responsive' guitar. The only period when they were seriously trying to do something like that was during the mid-'80s when George Gruhn and his R & D team were involved.

Having said that I should mention the D-62 that was part of the original line of Gruhn-designed guitars. That was the one guitar that was designed with scalloped braces and mahogany back & sides. It didn't have the other features you wanted like the ebony fingerboard and the big Chesterfield headstock though.

There were a few other mahogany guitars that had 'scalloped braces like the post 1987 D-40 and the D-6 from the early '90s but that was probably not what you had in mind when you wrote 'scalloped braces'.

We'll see what the future will bring for Guild. Once they are up and running they might be able to take custom orders again.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

Hans,

I found what you said about Guild's approach to bracing to be very interesting - and it makes perfect sense when you think about the strengths (i.e. tonal balance, strong mids and trebles) that many players find in the company's guitars.

I never knew that the D-62 was scalloped!

That reminds me. I used to own a DV-6 which had what was billed at the time as "shaved" bracing. It was a pretty good sounding guitar but I ended up cashing it in for a mid-eighties D-46, which sounded deeper to me despite its ash construction.

By the way, I seem to recall the D-46 as having lighter looking braces as opposed to other Westerly Guilds that I've played. Being built during the Gruhn era, was this a common practice among dreads at the time?

And West, yes, I've heard the same things with regards to scalloped versus straight bracing. In terms of improving sound, that's a pretty subjective thing and I find that it varies quite a bit. For instance, I've played some straight D-28s that I like more than HD-28s and vice versa.

But I think in general, scalloped braced instruments will tend sound a bit less "tighter" out of the box.

Nice discussion,

John

Hans,

I found what you said about Guild's approach to bracing to be very interesting - and it makes perfect sense when you think about the strengths (i.e. tonal balance, strong mids and trebles) that many players find in the company's guitars.

I never knew that the D-62 was scalloped!

That reminds me. I used to own a DV-6 which had what was billed at the time as "shaved" bracing. It was a pretty good sounding guitar but I ended up cashing it in for a mid-eighties D-46, which sounded deeper to me despite its ash construction.

By the way, I seem to recall the D-46 as having lighter looking braces as opposed to other Westerly Guilds that I've played. Being built during the Gruhn era, was this a common practice among dreads at the time?

And West, yes, I've heard the same things with regards to scalloped versus straight bracing. In terms of improving sound, that's a pretty subjective thing and I find that it varies quite a bit. For instance, I've played some straight D-28s that I like more than HD-28s and vice versa.

But I think in general, scalloped braced instruments will tend sound a bit less "tighter" out of the box.

Nice discussion,

John

All seriousness aside......"Scolloped" bracing was only done on those guitars being sent to the mid-west USA in order to give those folks a taste of the sea-shore. The same held true for the acoustic sea "Bass" bracing. Sounds fishy to me! .......or maybe this is what is mean't by, "Guild, it's what's for dinner!?" I'll take mine broiled please.

Ok....enough of that!

Yes, in general, scolloped bracing done right, is 95-98% as stong as regular bracing in support of the top. Scolloped bracing acoustically allows the sound waves to sustain longer with a greater volume with the treble and bass in better balance harmonically. You should be able to test this in comparison with the chimes on the 12th & 8th frets on the the two "E" strings plucked at the same time (in tune to 440 of course!) between a scolloped braced and a non-scolloped braced guitar.

All seriousness aside......"Scolloped" bracing was only done on those guitars being sent to the mid-west USA in order to give those folks a taste of the sea-shore. The same held true for the acoustic sea "Bass" bracing. Sounds fishy to me! .......or maybe this is what is mean't by, "Guild, it's what's for dinner!?" I'll take mine broiled please.

Ok....enough of that!

Yes, in general, scolloped bracing done right, is 95-98% as stong as regular bracing in support of the top. Scolloped bracing acoustically allows the sound waves to sustain longer with a greater volume with the treble and bass in better balance harmonically. You should be able to test this in comparison with the chimes on the 12th & 8th frets on the the two "E" strings plucked at the same time (in tune to 440 of course!) between a scolloped braced and a non-scolloped braced guitar.