Well, she actually showed up Friday... a couple days early. To be honest, my first impression was a bit mixed. She's taken some hard knocks in her 37 years, and is in need of some TLC. Her top has what appears to be an impact crack.... from its appearance and position, I am betting the case lid/latch fell on her. It is definitely cracked thru the soundboard (but only two tiny pin pricks of light shine thru), and moves a bit, so will need gluing. Ends at the braces inside, so shouldn't travel any further. She also must have been dropped on her endpin, as there is a hairline crack in her tail that goes clear thru the tailblock inside. So that will need to be repaired (glued and splinted inside?). Finally, the peghead veneer is separating at the nut... its actually being wedged up by the nut, which is a little too wide for the slot. So a new nut, and some glue for the veneer.
Now some pluses... the neck, frets, and fretboard (ebony) are in good shape. Action is medium (lo/hi Es ~7/64" and ~5/64" at the 12th fret), and she plays easily, even with mediums on her. She's got a bit more radius to her fretboard than most of my other Guilds (the D-46 fretboard seems flat, by comparison). The bridge (rosewood) is tight to the top (may have been reglued), and there is plenty of saddle left (tho' the saddle is too narrow, and tilts forward... will need to be replaced). String spacing is a bit narrow... but she needs a new nut, anyway. Like my '72 D-35, she is lightly-built (by Guild standards). Significantly lighter than my other flat-backed dreads (D-46 and D-55). Again, it makes me speculate that a design transition occurred sometime in the mid-'70s
Spent and an hour with her and my luthier going over her pretty carefully Saturday, and didn't turn up any other issues. In the end, the pluses outweighed the issues, so here she stays... rounding out my collection of tonewoods. Now, I just need the other two D-25 variants (all 'hog flat and all 'hog arched), and a flat-backed maple D-44...then, I'll start on the jumbos!
I didn't leave her with Tom to work on, yet, as I wanted a week or two to play her, and let her acclimate before the setup. Then she'll go in for her repairs and setup, incl new bone nut and compensated saddle. I'll have to play around with strings... so far, I like the new JP PBs Jay put on her... but might drop to bluegrass gauge to save my fingers a bit (and ease the strain on neck and saddle). Also thinking about new Orth pins...
I had her delivered to my office, and didn't have a tuner (didn't expect her 'til this week), so just tuned her by ear, guessing where the low E should be (turned out I was a half step low, and was tuned to D#). Even so, she had great tone. Tuned her up to standard pitch when I got her home... and played her for a couple hours spread over the weekend (fingers got a bit tender, because Jay strung her with meds, and I usually play lights). Did some back and forth comparisons... and she certainly holds her own with all my other Guilds. Don't know quite how to describe her tone... She's got good rich bass, nice mids, and a good ring to the trebles. Richer than my mahogany '72 D-35, I think. A bit more "open" sounding than my maple '74 G-37, but smoother and less brassy than my ash D-46. Just can't describe it... other than to say it's unique. Sort of like the best of 'hog and maple blended together?
Anyway... there are my "first" impressions. Six Guild dread models, from entry-level to top line, spanning 21 years (1971-1992). Five different tone woods... all of them with their own, unique sound.
I'll post some pics when I have a chance to shoot some, probably not 'til this weekend.
Finally, thanks to Jay at New Hope... Quick shipping, threw in another set of JPs, IMO, a fair and honest deal for both of us.
Dave
