‘66 D40 vs. ‘68 D35

[donnylang]

Thought I would share my very thorough and scientific comparison (an iPhone sitting on a chair with a couple random similar riffs) on the ‘66 D40 vs. the ‘68 D35:

Guild D40 vs. D35

Listen to Guild D40 vs. D35 by User 431260755 #np on #SoundCloud

soundcloud.app.goo.gl

Even this rough and dirty comparison I think gets to the heart of the differences between these two guitars (and based on a few others I’ve had, I think it’s a reasonable comparison between the two models in general).

*Both have DR 12-54 Hi-Beams.

Thoughts ?

 

[Heath]

Which guitar is which in the clip?

 

[donnylang]

Oh sorry- the D40 is first, then the silence followed by the D35.

*this D40 sounds extremely similar to your ‘66 as well.

 

[Br1ck]

I enjoyed the bonus track.

The second guitar sounds very much like my 70 D 35. I just saw your explanation proving my ears correct for once. The D 40 would be better for bluegrass due to it's greater bass. It's good to hear it was more than cosmetics, but if I were shopping this era, I'd take the first guitar that passed the condition/price test.The kind of strumming you were doing sits well in a mix, needing no EQ. It's a guitar that continues to grow on me through the years.

 

[donnylang]

I enjoyed the bonus track.

The second guitar sounds very much like my 70 D 35. I just saw your explanation proving my ears correct for once. The D 40 would be better for bluegrass due to it's greater bass. It's good to hear it was more than cosmetics, but if I were shopping this era, I'd take the first guitar that passed the condition/price test.The kind of strumming you were doing sits well in a mix, needing no EQ. It's a guitar that continues to grow on me through the years.

Yes the bass of the D40 gives it a deeper sound that I like but at the end of the day, I prefer a balanced guitar. Like you say, the lack of EQ needed is pretty rare in any guitar I think.

I noticed the Hoboken D40s and D44 I’ve had also have a bit of an emphasized resonance around the G string that I find a little distracting. The D35 doesn’t have that so much.

I also like the kind of brighter liveliness of the D35, but not sure how much of it is this particular guitar. The other D35 I had in the past was a ‘69, but it was heavily modified with replaced scalloped bracing. That said, it was more in the ballpark of this ‘D35 than any D40 I’ve played. Oddly the ‘72 D25 reminded me more of the D40 than the D35.

 

[Br1ck]

Is there anyone from back then that could share any light on weather this was a design intention? I always assumed it was just appointment differences that distinguished the D 35 from the D 40. I kind of always wondered what the reasoning was. This might explain it.

 

[Heath]

I guess my thought is do any of these guitars sound like they did over 50 years ago?

It’s hard to take in account what Guilds thoughts were in terms of tone to what they sound like 55 years on.

 

[adorshki]

Is there anyone from back then that could share any light on weather this was a design intention? I always assumed it was just appointment differences that distinguished the D 35 from the D 40. I kind of always wondered what the reasoning was. This might explain it.

While not documented that I've found, I think it's pretty safe bet another difference was that D35's got "standard" tops and thus standard (not shaved) bracing, while D40's got "AA" midgrade tops and shaved braces.

So maybe not so much a "Design Intention" as a result of actual design difference.

Donny can you verify if there's a difference in bracing? (should be pretty easy to tell just by feeling inside the soundhole, I think)

 

[Guildedagain]

X Rays?

 

[adorshki]

X Rays?

Waiting for the next Amazon Prime Friday to buy my home machine.
Or did you mean what they used to do before torrification was invented?

 

[donnylang]

While not documented that I've found, I think it's pretty safe bet another difference was that D35's got "standard" tops and thus standard (not shaved) bracing, while D40's got "AA" midgrade tops and shaved braces.

So maybe not so much a "Design Intention" as a result of actual design difference.

Donny can you verify if there's a difference in bracing? (should be pretty easy to tell just by feeling inside the soundhole, I think)

I’ll check best I can but I don’t think there are any shaved braces on ‘60s Guilds?

 

[donnylang]

I guess my thought is do any of these guitars sound like they did over 50 years ago?

It’s hard to take in account what Guilds thoughts were in terms of tone to what they sound like 55 years on.

That’s fair, however I think your D40 and this one here sound so close to one another. Almost exactly the same IMO (though I did not have them side by side). The ‘68 D40 sounded pretty different though. It had that same “deep” quality, but a bit more thump and sponge.

 

[adorshki]

I’ll check best I can but I don’t think there are any shaved braces on ‘60s Guilds?

Don't know for sure, can't recall ever seeing it any '60's lit, but just to be sure we're on same page, I meant "shaved" as opposed to "scalloped', the highest-end and most cost intensive bracing.

There is a pic captioned "final shaping of the top braces" in the Westerly history section of the GGB, and I'd be surprised if they didn't do it in Hoboken (which has a pic showing measuring of a soundboard's thickness, which bracing is adjusted for).

Oh, also a pic of Carlo Greco shaving braces on the top of a Mark classical, be very surprised if they didn't do it on selected flattop models too.

 

[Westerly Wood]

Thanks for doing the comparison Donny. For me it’s no comparison. The D40 is great. But I have sone all D35s I ever owned so I must just not like them. Don’t get me wrong, your D35 sounds good. Solid woody dread. But the D40 is just way more profound to my ears.

 

[donnylang]

Thanks for doing the comparison Donny. For me it’s no comparison. The D40 is great. But I have sone all D35s I ever owned so I must just not like them. Don’t get me wrong, your D35 sounds good. Solid woody dread. But the D40 is just way more profound to my ears.

I guess one man’s “balanced” is another man’s “too bright”, one man’s “deep” is another man’s “muddy” and so on.

I admit I tend to think about recording as the more “accurate” sound of a guitar- one reason I don’t like Martins … that “cannon” kind of sound is a nightmare to record, especially in less than ideal rooms.

While D40s are still pretty balanced in comparison, I think the D35 is just way more even on mike. The only other guitar I recorded that was as balanced was the ‘71 F50- but I didn’t like the sound while playing as much as the D35.

 

[Br1ck]

For those who live for bass, and I have that covered, a D 35 will seem pretty meah. Over time mine grew on me as I realized what balanced can do for you. I would not go so far as to say one will ever please you, just like the D 28 Marquis owner most likely won't ever like a straight braced D 18.

It was a real eye opener when I did extensive recording tests and the D 35 recorded cleaner, and sat better in every test mix. I was changing strings on my back yard table yesterday, and continue to marvel at the bear claw that takes up a third of the top. Definitely considered a flaw in 1970, something those who couldn't afford a Martin had to put up with. The kicker is, as mentioned before, fifty years of aging has happened, and all I can say is the Guilds bought by poor students sounded great at the time. Likely most were D 25s and D 35s, because a D 40 would have been extravagant.