PittPastor
Member
I think I have seen the bracing diagram before. But, I guess I am structurally deficient, because I can't quite see how the cutaway can create the ripple. Part of it is that I can see the compression, and no one else online can. It's hard to see it unless you can turn the guitar over in the light. A still picture doesn't really show it well.
But it seems symmetrical to me -- with it's center in the center of the fretboard... and that's what is baffling. It seems to me that the cutaway would cause a ripple effect that would be seen off center, since it is only in one side.
The other thing I don't fully understand (and never have) is: What makes a Guild sound like a Guild?
Simply looking at the Guild and comparing it to a Gibson of the Mid-Sixties, it seems to me that Guild is designed around the Gibson style guitar. Even the headstock is similar. I've never played a 70s Gibson. Do they sound similar to the Guild? IDK.
Martin has a sound to me. And their dread sounds "Boomier" to my ear. The Taylor sounds more "trebly". One of the things I have always loved about my Guild is that the tone sounded even across the strings. What makes that true? Is that a function of the bracing? Then wouldn't changing the bracing radically change the sound? If they moved away from the "over built" popsicle bracing, wouldn't effect the sound? If they started using a V Bracing in Cordoba, wouldn't the Guild start sounding like a Taylor?
What can be changed in the design without altering the tone and sound? Is the reason no one on this forum (or mostly no one) likes the new Cordoba Guilds is because they changed the underpinnings and therefore the sound?
Also, there is the matter of sustain. I chose my Guild over a Martin in 1981 because the Guild had better sustain. Now, that could have just been a function of the strings. But I don't think so. Because I met a Martin fanboy once who just raved about them and was dumbfounded when I told him I chose the Guild over a Martin. When I told him why, though, he didn't protest a bit. He instantly agreed and said he did a modification to the Martin to correct that.
If the Guild has a better sustain out of the case than Martin, why Wouldn't Martin fix that?
These are just general musings of mine. I imagine every question is answered with: "Well, it depends..."
But I was just wondering...
But it seems symmetrical to me -- with it's center in the center of the fretboard... and that's what is baffling. It seems to me that the cutaway would cause a ripple effect that would be seen off center, since it is only in one side.
The other thing I don't fully understand (and never have) is: What makes a Guild sound like a Guild?
Simply looking at the Guild and comparing it to a Gibson of the Mid-Sixties, it seems to me that Guild is designed around the Gibson style guitar. Even the headstock is similar. I've never played a 70s Gibson. Do they sound similar to the Guild? IDK.
Martin has a sound to me. And their dread sounds "Boomier" to my ear. The Taylor sounds more "trebly". One of the things I have always loved about my Guild is that the tone sounded even across the strings. What makes that true? Is that a function of the bracing? Then wouldn't changing the bracing radically change the sound? If they moved away from the "over built" popsicle bracing, wouldn't effect the sound? If they started using a V Bracing in Cordoba, wouldn't the Guild start sounding like a Taylor?
What can be changed in the design without altering the tone and sound? Is the reason no one on this forum (or mostly no one) likes the new Cordoba Guilds is because they changed the underpinnings and therefore the sound?
Also, there is the matter of sustain. I chose my Guild over a Martin in 1981 because the Guild had better sustain. Now, that could have just been a function of the strings. But I don't think so. Because I met a Martin fanboy once who just raved about them and was dumbfounded when I told him I chose the Guild over a Martin. When I told him why, though, he didn't protest a bit. He instantly agreed and said he did a modification to the Martin to correct that.
If the Guild has a better sustain out of the case than Martin, why Wouldn't Martin fix that?
These are just general musings of mine. I imagine every question is answered with: "Well, it depends..."
But I was just wondering...