Vintage D-40 headstock differences

Grassdog

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Okay this has been bugging me for a long time. On vintage D-40's from the 60's and 70's (Hoboken and Westerly made), I have noticed that some of these feature the basic silk screened domed "Guild" on the headstock (like D-25's have) and others have the more ornate Chesterfield design headstock. Does anyone know why this is? Is there some reason the factory at the time would opt for one headstock design over the other? For example, would they put a Chesterfield design headstock on a guitar with a higher quality grade of spruce top? Do used D-40's with the Chesterfield design command a premium in the used market?

Sorry for all the questions but I know LTG is the place to come when trying to solve the world's problems.
 

GardMan

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I don't think the headstock variations have any bearing on wood quality... just different periods of production.

I don't recall all the details, and may even have the orders wrong... but my recollection is that the earliest D-40s had a black headstock overlay with inlaid (MOP or MOTS?) "GUILD" logo in "peaked" shape. The Chesterfield was added later, ca 1968 (Chesterfield plus peaked GUILD). Then, around 1970, there was a brief period when the D-40 headstock had a rosewood overlay with silk-screened peaked Guild, no Chesterfield. Then back to the Chesterfield w Guild in the early 70s.
 

Br1ck

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I've often wondered why Guild even bothered with the D 35, as they are so similar. I think the inlay on the headstock was something they decided to do to make it appear more upscale. They certainly used tuners to make this statement too. And yes, they made use of cosmetically flawed wood on the D 25 and D 35, so perhaps it was not to waste resources. One should always be aware that cosmetics and performance are two entirely different things. There is no correlation.

I've always loved the Chesterfield headstock. It was the best thing about my otherwise so so F 40. D 40 got upgrade tuners, sometime the Chesterfield, and binding and rosette upgrades, and certainly a "better" top wood. I've never gotten to play a 70 D 40, but I'd bet I could not tell a difference from a D 35 if I were blindfolded. The much malaigned D 35 tuners work fine. I would take a 70 D 35 over a 78 or 80 D 40, so if you are shopping and a D 35 comes around, buy it. 70 to 72 is a great vintage for either a D 35 or 40. Too much later and they became heavier.
 

Rambozo96

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I've often wondered why Guild even bothered with the D 35, as they are so similar. I think the inlay on the headstock was something they decided to do to make it appear more upscale. They certainly used tuners to make this statement too. And yes, they made use of cosmetically flawed wood on the D 25 and D 35, so perhaps it was not to waste resources. One should always be aware that cosmetics and performance are two entirely different things. There is no correlation.

I've always loved the Chesterfield headstock. It was the best thing about my otherwise so so F 40. D 40 got upgrade tuners, sometime the Chesterfield, and binding and rosette upgrades, and certainly a "better" top wood. I've never gotten to play a 70 D 40, but I'd bet I could not tell a difference from a D 35 if I were blindfolded. The much malaigned D 35 tuners work fine. I would take a 70 D 35 over a 78 or 80 D 40, so if you are shopping and a D 35 comes around, buy it. 70 to 72 is a great vintage for either a D 35 or 40. Too much later and they became heavier.

I've often wondered why Guild even bothered with the D 35, as they are so similar. I think the inlay on the headstock was something they decided to do to make it appear more upscale. They certainly used tuners to make this statement too. And yes, they made use of cosmetically flawed wood on the D 25 and D 35, so perhaps it was not to waste resources. One should always be aware that cosmetics and performance are two entirely different things. There is no correlation.

I've always loved the Chesterfield headstock. It was the best thing about my otherwise so so F 40. D 40 got upgrade tuners, sometime the Chesterfield, and binding and rosette upgrades, and certainly a "better" top wood. I've never gotten to play a 70 D 40, but I'd bet I could not tell a difference from a D 35 if I were blindfolded. The much malaigned D 35 tuners work fine. I would take a 70 D 35 over a 78 or 80 D 40, so if you are shopping and a D 35 comes around, buy it. 70 to 72 is a great vintage for either a D 35 or 40. Too much later and they became heavier.
Though I love my 74’ D-35 I at times wonder why they kept the D-35 in the line up for so long (68’-86’/87’) because at the start of its inception I suppose it made sense as at the time the D-25 was all mahogany. When the D-25 transitioned to the arched top spruce top that’s when I felt the D-35 felt a tad redundant, IIRC in 87’ when the D-35 got the axe Guild apparently went through a bankruptcy and thinned the offerings to what I suppose was the breadwinners of the line up. Best to my knowledge with the D-40 you get a dressier aesthetic and according to the 70’s advert the woods on the D-40 were specially selected so I suppose that meant nothing from the aesthetic dud pile was to be used. On my D-35 there is a weird grain deformity I imagine wouldn’t make the cut in a D-40 but it’s solely aesthetic and it’s on the back where it won’t be seen.
 

PAPADON

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I don't think the headstock variations have any bearing on wood quality... just different periods of production.

I don't recall all the details, and may even have the orders wrong... but my recollection is that the earliest D-40s had a black headstock overlay with inlaid (MOP or MOTS?) "GUILD" logo in "peaked" shape. The Chesterfield was added later, ca 1968 (Chesterfield plus peaked GUILD). Then, around 1970, there was a brief period when the D-40 headstock had a rosewood overlay with silk-screened peaked Guild, no Chesterfield. Then back to the Chesterfield w Guild in the early 70s.

72 D40
1606500388029.png
 

Heath

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My ‘66 Hoboken D40 does not have a chesterfield
 

GardMan

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I "borrowed" pics from several Reverb ads to better illustrate the changes in D-40 head stock appointments thru the 60s-70s (date of example in parentheses):

1963 ~ late 1967 (1964):
D40 1964.jpg


Late 1967 ~ 1970 (1968):
D40 1968.jpg


~1970 ~ 1972 (1972):
D40 1972 c.jpg


~1973 ~ (1973):
D40 1973.jpg


Note the difference in the Chesterfield column in the examples from 1968 and 1973. Hans may know better the precise dates or SNs corresponding to the changes.
 

Grassdog

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I "borrowed" pics from several Reverb ads to better illustrate the changes in D-40 head stock appointments thru the 60s-70s (date of example in parentheses):

1963 ~ late 1967 (1964):
D40 1964.jpg


Late 1967 ~ 1970 (1968):
D40 1968.jpg


~1970 ~ 1972 (1972):
D40 1972 c.jpg


~1973 ~ (1973):
D40 1973.jpg


Note the difference in the Chesterfield column in the examples from 1968 and 1973. Hans may know better the precise dates or SNs corresponding to the changes.

Thank you for researching this - I guess the thing that threw me was the fact that they had that earlier period of Chesterfield headstocks ('67 to '70) - Richie Haven's D40 at Woodstock would have been from this group - then they got the simpler silk-screened gold domed top logo from '70 to '73. As far as the total number of pre '73 D40's go, I'm guessing there were far more produced with the silk-screened dome top logo than with the Chesterfield. I'm basing that off the listings I've seen over the years of vintage D40s.

For the Guild obsessed, it really makes you wonder how the company made decisions like this. Different times. I guess this is one of those things that makes it so interesting to have these guitars, notwithstanding the fact that they sound great.
 
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