Guild GAD Question re: build quality

[Old Blue]

Can anyone tell me how sturdy the Guild GAD series guitars are?

I know the USA Guilds can take a lot of knocks, are the imported ones built as strongly?

Thanks so much for your opinions.

 

[jgmaute]

Can anyone tell me how sturdy the Guild GAD series guitars are?

I know the USA Guilds can take a lot of knocks, are the imported ones built as strongly?

Thanks so much for your opinions.

My 30-R is certainly built as sturdily (is that a word?) as my US Guilds. It is lighter but I think that's because it is a much smaller guitar. In the season (April - October) I take mine to the beach each Tuesday night and play for 2-3 hours. I take it in a relatively low-end gig bag and there have been no issues. I've also checked it through on the airlines in a hardshell case (I got mine used off ebay and it didn't come with a case, I got it a TKL) and it did just fine. When I got it it had a small crack in the top so I had Randy Wood (a great luthier who's shop is near; Randy had worked on all my guitars) fix it and he was impressed with the way the guitar was made. jgm

 

[randall64]

I have a Guild GAD25. It's solid as a rock. I don't see any problem in the future at all. It's seems to be built as good as anything I have owned(Gibson,Martin,Taylor) included.

 

[chazmo]

I thought the GAD JF-30-12 that I tried recently was head and shoulders above the other 12s in the music store. It didn't displace my Westerly-made JF-30-12 (or other Guilds), but it blew away other mid-range Seagulls, Taylors, Martins, etc. Just my opinion... Fantastic value.

I didn't like the looks of the truss rods on that guitar, though. My concern was that these soundhole-based rod ends might get difficult to adjust with age, and they looked kinda cheapo / lightweight to me -- it's just a perception, perhaps, my being used to chunky, brass nuts in the peghead recesses, but I would worry about long-term. Beyond that, I thought the build quality was good. I think I noted a little coarseness in the finish where the fingerboard meets the body, but still very good.

The GADs use a pretty thick lacquer finish. I think this has turned off a few of the traditional nitrocellulose folks around here. Of course, recent Tacoma products had some occasional issues with finish and bindings... It's all a trade off.

 

[Old Blue]

Thanks for the replies.

So am I getting the impression that you guys think it would be a worthy nice "beater" guitar? I take care of my guitars, so I don't mean a beater as in thrashing it, just looking for something solid, not lightly built that sounds pretty good. Something I can take out and about without too much worry.

Would this guitar fit the bill then?

Many thanks again!

 

[Scratch]

IMO, yes. I think the GADs are probably the best Asian built acoustic guitars available.

 

[jgmaute]

Thanks for the replies.

So am I getting the impression that you guys think it would be a worthy nice "beater" guitar? I take care of my guitars, so I don't mean a beater as in thrashing it, just looking for something solid, not lightly built that sounds pretty good. Something I can take out and about without too much worry.

Would this guitar fit the bill then?

Many thanks again!

Yes, that is exactly why I got my GAD. I didn't want to take my other guitars to the beach but being somewhat spoiled with the quality of my other guitars I wanted something that would sound good and play well. When I couldn't find an old F-20 I tried several different Asian guitars and nothing could touch the GAD. Finding this one with the crack for $300 made it an easy choice. I like it so much I take it on the road as well as to the beach. Happy Hunting. jgm

 

[drive-south]

As far as being sturdy, I think the GADs are just as sturdy as any other guitar. In fact the poli finish would probably be less likely to crack than a nitro finish when exposed to sun, temp, moisture/dryness.

I wouldn't count on the GAD case to protect the guitar though. These cases may look cool, but they are among the most flimsy cases I've ever seen. Very light weight, cheap latches, and the fabric covering is not glued to the shell well at all. Get the guitar, but get a better case. Almost any hsc will be better than the tweed HS Guild provides.

Just to clarify, I own a GAD JF30 as well as several Westerly Guilds. Overall I'm happy with the GAD, especially considering it's cost. I've also found the GAD JF30 to be louder than all my other Guilds. This can be an advantage when playing in an acoustic jam. My other guitars get drowned out by the HD28s, banjos, etc. I've been tempted to buy a GAD 30 or 30R for playing fingerstyle. These are probably the best value in a finger-style guitar out there. I've heard of one guy that like his so much he bought a Calton case for it.

drive-south

 

[jgmaute]

...I wouldn't count on the GAD case to protect the guitar though. These cases may look cool, but they are among the most flimsy cases I've ever seen. Very light weight, cheap latches, and the fabric covering is not glued to the shell well at all. Get the guitar, but get a better case. Almost any hsc will be better than the tweed HS Guild provides.
drive-south

I agree on the case. Of course if you're getting a new GAD most come with the case and it depends on where you're taking it how sturdy the case needs to be. When mine didn't come with one I looked to order the Guild/GAD case for travel (I use a gig bag locally) but was advised against it by many. I will say because of the size of the headstock it took awhile to find a case that would fit but I ended up ordering one from my local store. I don't know what model my TKL case is but it is a great fit and nice and sturdy.
jgm

 

[chazmo]

Interestingly, TKL is the company that makes the current USA Guild cases. They are nice, and hopefully you can get one with the "Guild, made to be played" emblem.

 

[killdeer43]

IMO, yes. I think the GADs are probably the best Asian built acoustic guitars available.

As I've opined before, I don't feel that the GAD30 that I had measured up to the Epiphone that I still have.
Blasphemy, perhaps, but MHO.

Joe