I just bought a Corona D40 on Ebay!!

[CombatWombat]

And I hate it!!! :lol:

I was so in love with my friend's Westerly D25 that I just HAD to have one myself. I could not, for the life of me, find one locally that I liked or could afford, so I bought this Corona built factory second one. Paid $700 + shipping. Seems like that's what they were selling for new , now that I look into it. Doh!

Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar. I have always loved the look of Guilds (such nice looking headstocks and pickguards ) It is just TOO bright for me. I like a nice rich sounding guitar with good bass response and this D40 just DON'T GOT IT! My buddy's D25 is much more close to the sound I like. It was a tad disappointing to find that this guitar sounds nothing like it.

Is this pretty typical though for the Corona built Guilds? I've been around town playing some of the new Tacoma built guitars and they seem to sound pretty similar.

All the GADs I played sounded much better to me than the Tacoma Guilds. Am I allowed to say that in my first post? Is that blasphemy?

I surely don't want to drop $300 to have it scalloped and risk still not liking it. What on Earth shall I do?

Oh yes...I'm Tyler and I enjoy long walks on the beach and nice rich dreadnoughts around the camp fire.

 

[Metalman]

And I hate it!!! :lol:

I was so in love with my friend's Westerly D25 that I just HAD to have one myself. I could not, for the life of me, find one locally that I liked or could afford, so I bought this Corona built factory second one. Paid $700 + shipping. Seems like that's what they were selling for new , now that I look into it. Doh!

Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar. I have always loved the look of Guilds (such nice looking headstocks and pickguards ) It is just TOO bright for me. I like a nice rich sounding guitar with good bass response and this D40 just DON'T GOT IT! My buddy's D25 is much more close to the sound I like. It was a tad disappointing to find that this guitar sounds nothing like it.

I surely don't want to drop $300 to have it scalloped and risk still not liking it. What on Earth shall I do?

Oh yes...I'm Tyler and I enjoy long walks on the beach and nice rich dreadnoughts around the camp fire.

Tyler,

Don't go off the deep end on us yet. Help is on the way . . .!

Elswhere on this forum there was a lot of talk about the JLD Bridge Doctor. Look it up and see what a lot of us had to say about it. If you are going to keep your new acquistion, you could try this device. I guarantee it will improve the sound of that new geetar.
And if you still don't like it after installing one (it is so simple, a caveman could do it :lol: ), you can take it right out, and unload the guitar on someone else.
Then again . . .
Having a guitar on the beach near a campfire :shock: Well, that's one use for a Fender Corona Guild.

No . . . I don't mean throw it in . . .

I mean - aw - forget it . . . :lol:

Metalman

P.S. Another thing you can do is change out the nut, bridge saddle, and bridge pins to Tusq. That will make a difference in the sound.
I would do all this even in a good guitar that sounds fantastic by itself.
And hey, out of all the Corona Guilds I have played, the D-40 stands out as one that actually sounded good. I am surprised that you are not happy with yours.
Well, stacking it up against an old D-25 can be daunting. But try those things, and see if it doesn't help.

 

[Scratch]

Tyler,
I'm really disappointed that you've experienced such a let down. I purchased an ebay Corona Guild D25 in January 2007, and at first had concerns as I immediately compared it to an old (1987) Yamaha FG 340 II that I purchased new. As I previously mentioned in this forum, I gave the nod to my ole trusty Yammer, but the Corona D25 has grown on me big time as a beautiful instrument in its own right. I took it to work and several friends played, then raved about the sound. Maybe it is because they are better pickers, but she sure sings pretty when played right. It fingerpicks nicely and I'm now convinced she'll only get better with age. All said, now that I've given her a chance, I appreciate her more already, she'll only get better with age, and Corona or not, I'd buy her all over again. I hope you have a similar experience. Otherwise, if it makes you feel any better, I'll send you a three hundred dollar money order in a heartbeat!!

 

[Siwash]

Perhaps consider changing the strings?

 

[guildzilla]

Wombat, I have a Corona D-40, too.

My initial impression also was that the guitar had a surprisingly bright tone for a mahogany dred. And the bass is not as punchy as the D-25 I bought shortly after that.

The D-40 does have nice balance in the tone. IMO, a very good guitar but an ironic guitar, too. If you got it to play bluegrass, not really what the doctor ordered.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think my D-40 and all the Corona D-40's have scalloped bracing. I could be mistaken but I was attribuing the brightness, balance and volume to the bracing.

 

[CombatWombat]

And I hate it!!! :lol:

I was so in love with my friend's Westerly D25 that I just HAD to have one myself. I could not, for the life of me, find one locally that I liked or could afford, so I bought this Corona built factory second one. Paid $700 + shipping. Seems like that's what they were selling for new , now that I look into it. Doh!

Anyway, it's a beautiful guitar. I have always loved the look of Guilds (such nice looking headstocks and pickguards ) It is just TOO bright for me. I like a nice rich sounding guitar with good bass response and this D40 just DON'T GOT IT! My buddy's D25 is much more close to the sound I like. It was a tad disappointing to find that this guitar sounds nothing like it.

I surely don't want to drop $300 to have it scalloped and risk still not liking it. What on Earth shall I do?

Oh yes...I'm Tyler and I enjoy long walks on the beach and nice rich dreadnoughts around the camp fire.

Tyler,

Don't go off the deep end on us yet. Help is on the way . . .!

Elswhere on this forum there was a lot of talk about the JLD Bridge Doctor. Look it up and see what a lot of us had to say about it. If you are going to keep your new acquistion, you could try this device. I guarantee it will improve the sound of that new geetar.
And if you still don't like it after installing one (it is so simple, a caveman could do it :lol: ), you can take it right out, and unload the guitar on someone else.
Then again . . .
Having a guitar on the beach near a campfire :shock: Well, that's one use for a Fender Corona Guild.

No . . . I don't mean throw it in . . .

I mean - aw - forget it . . . :lol:

Metalman

P.S. Another thing you can do is change out the nut, bridge saddle, and bridge pins to Tusq. That will make a difference in the sound.
I would do all this even in a good guitar that sounds fantastic by itself.
And hey, out of all the Corona Guilds I have played, the D-40 stands out as one that actually sounded good. I am surprised that you are not happy with yours.
Well, stacking it up against an old D-25 can be daunting. But try those things, and see if it doesn't help.

Thanks for the tips! I really don't want to put any more money/work into it when I'm not sure that anything is really gonna get it to where I want it to be though. I'll certainly keep this in mind though.

 

[CombatWombat]

Otherwise, if it makes you feel any better, I'll send you a three hundred dollar money order in a heartbeat!!

Send me two of them and you have a deal!

Perhaps consider changing the strings?

I have had the guitar set up and I changed the strings to D'Addario Med. gauge (which are a pretty safe bet?) and typically play in standard D tuning, so unfortunately, I don't think a string change will get me there.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I think my D-40 and all the Corona D-40's have scalloped bracing. I could be mistaken but I was attribuing the brightness, balance and volume to the bracing.

I have no idea, but if that's true, that would be very surprising to me as my D40 is VERY quiet and VERY bright...the opposite of what I understand should be the properties of a guitar with scalloped bracings. :?

 

[john_kidder]

a very good guitar but an ironic guitar, too.

OK, Zilla, you got me.

"Ironic"? Synonyms: "dry, humorous, incongruous, wry". Now I've heard mahogany guitars described as "dry", but not yet as "incongruous", "humorous" or "wry".

Fill us in?

 

[CombatWombat]

a very good guitar but an ironic guitar, too.

OK, Zilla, you got me.

"Ironic"? Synonyms: "dry, humorous, incongruous, wry". Now I've heard mahogany guitars described as "dry", but not yet as "incongruous", "humorous" or "wry".

Fill us in?

Well, I think what he meant was that you would expect a D-40 to be full sounding and loud, and it is, in fact, not. That's irony.

 

[guildzilla]

Yes. I expected the D-40 to have big dreadnaught bass, John. It sounds more like an F body. Not in a bad way, IMO, but to me ironic.

 

[Dr Izza Plumber]

For sure, change the bridge pins to bone. Better sound!

 

[Victor Denance]

CombatWombat, forget about all those mods and swaps, they just WON'T get you where you want.
Changing bridge pins, saddle material or strings brand are effective mods if you wanna fine-tune a guitar you like. If the tone the guitar delivers is not even in the ballpark, then forget about them. This guitar is just not for you. Get over it, sell it, swap it...

BTW if you're looking for volume and big bass, I think you're looking for a M****n, not a Guild...

 

[GardMan]

Maybe this is what you need:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

At first glance, it looks to be in good shape. Don't really know if the top is mahog, as claimed... most of the arched backs had stained spruce tops. But that one has a different color than my '74 and other stained spruce I have seen, so who knows.

If you go for it, first ask lots of questions about structural condition, action, etc... then hold your breath til it gets there. My guess is it will go for $500-$700.

If it is in good shape, I don't think the tone will disappoint...

 

[CombatWombat]

Thanks for all the advice guys. Hopefully I can get back at least close to what I payed for it, so I can move on to the next one.

As for that ebay link...thanks for showing me that. Looks cool, but I am afraid I am going to take quite a long break from buying guitars online. I'm just a college student without a lot of cash to swing on guitars I don't like and my online buying experience has been 0 for 2.

I just gotta be able to play it before I buy it.

 

[doc]

I was looking at that 75 D-25 and was wondering if the top was really Mahogany. Weren't all the D-25s made before 1976 all Mahogany or have they always been mixed with spruce tops for every year? I was thinking about adding a second as I have one with the spruce and am very please with it. I compared it to Martin 00028 Clapton and Mayer guitars and I thought for the money it was very competitive in playability and sound. Maybe I am just hallucination. :lol:

 

[F412]

I have a Westerly D40 that is pretty bright compared to my D28. I installed a bone saddle, and ebony pins for $7. It did tone it down enough that I like it more with the ebony than the cheap plastic that was there. Never tried any other pin material. You might give it a try for short money. Jim

 

[Mr. P ~]

Hey Wombat,
Victor Denance hit the nail on the head. The saddle material, the bridge pin material and the height of the saddle are the places to look for big doses of tone.

If there are hard bridge pins, change them for a synthetic materia see if you get a darker tone.

You need at least 1/8 inch of saddle above the bridge to get the best bass.

 

[guildzilla]

If Wombat's D-40 saddle is similar to mine, he has considerably more than 1/8" as my Corona D-40 has the tallest saddle I've ever seen on a Guild.

Does your saddle have this same more than 3/16" clear above the bridge, Wombat?

I don't think you should get bummed about your guitar, yet, Wombat. Try a new set of strings that are designed to deliver what you feel is missing. Or other less expensive things like bridge pin replacements. And keep playing the instrument to see if you can find aspects that work for you. Sometimes preconceived expectations can get in the way.

 

[GardMan]

Doc,
I don't really know how mixed up the spruce vs mahogany tops were in the mid 70s. It's my impression that all the D-25s were flat backed, all mahogany through 1972. I have never seen a '72 w arched back or spruce top, and I have never seen a flat-backed D-25 younger than '72... tho' there was a D-35 masquerading as a D-25 a while back. I don't know that I have ever seen a '73 on eBay... but I think the transition to arched backs had occurred by then (or during that year?). My '74 (SN 110784) has an arched back and mahogany-stained spruce top, as have all the other '74s and '75s I have looked at on eBay.

I think Hans has said there are some arched backed-D-25s with mahogany tops, tho' I have never seen one... but that one sure looks like a candidate. The top has a more pronounced grain pattern and more golden mahogany color than any of the stained spruce-topped D-25s I have seen on eBay.

You could ask the seller to look inside with a mirror... that would certainly reveal whether it was mahogany or spruce. It also might be apparent in any worn areas around the sound hole... once thru the finish, the wear on the spruce tops definitely reveal the light spruce coloration.
Dave

 

[hansmoust]

Maybe this is what you need:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

At first glance, it looks to be in good shape. Don't really know if the top is mahog, as claimed... most of the arched backs had stained spruce tops. But that one has a different color than my '74 and other stained spruce I have seen, so who knows.

Hello GardMan,

That's a stained spruce top. No doubt about it!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl