Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Isn't it weird when you're affected by someone else's gas? I mean GAS.
Like all of this talk of the different flavors of the D25, the three basic known variations, and the last being a great guitar, what with a Spruce top and that bellowing sound chamber, the arched back vs the flatback. And so I just had to have one. Now I can compare all the variations for myself.
So this is a '78 D25M with clever serial # of 17873X., came from Stratford NJ, just 3 hours from Westerly.
It had an endpin jack in the pics, but no mention at all made of electronics, which did have me intrigued. Was there a bonus pickup?
So it gets here, and I manage to sneak it into the manzone without being seen.
I never bother to write the seller with how to ship because of my ADD and he's sold hundreds of guitars I see in his his feedback, and he had it out like a flash, so UPS gets it here on Monday after it sat in the local warehouse all hot weekend, and it's packed decently enough in a Taylor box but bubble wrap inside, yikes! But it was ok, it would seem the guitar gods are bound and determined to make everything ok, and the guitar fine, if not a bit dried out from the hot trip, but not cracked anywhere.
There was actually a dessicant bag in the case pocket. I'd ask for a damp sponge if I was thinking.
It had strings on it that seemed new, but were old, like when somebody bought it long ago, but didn't play it.
Has signs of having been through the hands of a competent luthier, such as doweled holes for the now quite aged nickel Grovers, which are the most velevty tuners you can imagine. Also has a very intricately shaped saddle, another sign I like to see. And the obligatory upside down truss cover.
So I tune it up to pitch on the old strings, this is usually a no no for me, but they were 11-54, so I did, and man, wow, it sounded really good, for about 5 minutes, and then the strings sounded just horrible and wouldn't hold tune.
So I get the strings off. The fingerboard is very clean, frets are actually tarnishing from lack of play.
I instinctively turn the guitar over for whatever is lurking inside to fall out through the soundhole, and out comes this 9V battery bag, along with a piece of stick on velcro that hadn't suck to anything in a while.
Inside the bag, my nemesis, a Duracell. Why is it I've seen more electronics destroyed by a Duracell gone bad tha any other brand, combined?
In the Duracell's defense, it may have been 20 years past date, there was no way to tell other than it was completely rotten to the point where it's posts were no longer part of the battery, but welded to the 9V pigtail.
I tried to save the pigtail, but it would have been foolish anyway, corrosion had come up the wires which needed to be cut back to find fresh wire. Thx to my vintage pedal habit, I had a fresh 9V pigtail and actually found it. Soldered and heatshrinked, several old T shirts protecting the guitars top.
I put in a fresh Panasonic Heavy Duty Carbon Zinc batt, never seen these spew anything but then again, I don't leave don't leave dead batteries in things for over ten years...
I plugged it in and tapped the soundboard a couple times, very lively indeed.
So I strung it with those Martin Monels that came in the mail, got 3 packs. There is more of that GAS from reading "someone's" posts... Not sure I like them, they're silver like electric strings and I'm not sure what they really sound like because I've never heard this Guild before, so it's all new, but it was pretty much glorious, like a religious experience. I recorded several takes, plugged in. I usually try to keep it reasonable but ended up going over 6 minutes on a couple.
Now it's back to resting in it's case, too many end of summer chores calling, also having a severe resurgence of bicycle fever, something I've had since my teens.
So at some point I had a look see inside, and I have to say I love that braceless back, and the inner Hog grain is very pleasing. But looking upwards, Whoa Nellie, what's all this?
Never seen anything like it before.
Is this a factory Guild setup, or by the luthier who did the work to the guitar?
And it works, and it sound freakin killer, none of that weird nasal EQ, lots of bass.
Here are seller pics that had me sold quick enough, and a few of my own including the electronics. Is it Fishman or Baggs? How old is this system?I I can almost read something on the undersaddle part, and on the transducer, but too far away to make it out.
There would be no other place on the net to ask but here.
1st 5 pics are seller pics, really pretty good, and then;
Potentially disastrous bubble wrapping but the finish but no traces of reacting in the summer heat.
The worst rotten Duracell I've ever seen its posts fused to the 9V batt pigtail, shame.
New pigtail installed, courtesy of the Weller Porta Sol I bought new in the mid 1990's to repair vehicle wiring properly outside the shop.
Neat little 9V battery bag with back.
The undersaddle system, can't quite make it out. The last shot is blown up with sharpness amped up. What is it?
The guitar is a bit tank like compared to the earlier one, feels really solid, I like it. Chubby neck, standard 1 11/16" nut width but chuncky.
The Spruce top could be Sitka, it's so flawless with fine bear claw,
The Braz. RW fingerboard is a cut above most guitars.
Nice bridge on this one, and I like the black pins. I switched to ivoroid and didn't like it, when back to the black.
Thinking about real bone or ebony pins.
So as it stands, this is a phenomenal acoustic with a fantastic tuner upgrade and it plugs in, can you beat that for a budget guitar?
I like the Grovers, it's part of the reason I bought it, didn't want one with strip tuners. I'm very partial to Grovers, the older the better. I know the Grover ratio so well that I can hear how flat a string is and go to pitch without even needing to hear it, just by moving the key a certain amount.
Like all of this talk of the different flavors of the D25, the three basic known variations, and the last being a great guitar, what with a Spruce top and that bellowing sound chamber, the arched back vs the flatback. And so I just had to have one. Now I can compare all the variations for myself.
So this is a '78 D25M with clever serial # of 17873X., came from Stratford NJ, just 3 hours from Westerly.
It had an endpin jack in the pics, but no mention at all made of electronics, which did have me intrigued. Was there a bonus pickup?
So it gets here, and I manage to sneak it into the manzone without being seen.
I never bother to write the seller with how to ship because of my ADD and he's sold hundreds of guitars I see in his his feedback, and he had it out like a flash, so UPS gets it here on Monday after it sat in the local warehouse all hot weekend, and it's packed decently enough in a Taylor box but bubble wrap inside, yikes! But it was ok, it would seem the guitar gods are bound and determined to make everything ok, and the guitar fine, if not a bit dried out from the hot trip, but not cracked anywhere.
There was actually a dessicant bag in the case pocket. I'd ask for a damp sponge if I was thinking.
It had strings on it that seemed new, but were old, like when somebody bought it long ago, but didn't play it.
Has signs of having been through the hands of a competent luthier, such as doweled holes for the now quite aged nickel Grovers, which are the most velevty tuners you can imagine. Also has a very intricately shaped saddle, another sign I like to see. And the obligatory upside down truss cover.
So I tune it up to pitch on the old strings, this is usually a no no for me, but they were 11-54, so I did, and man, wow, it sounded really good, for about 5 minutes, and then the strings sounded just horrible and wouldn't hold tune.
So I get the strings off. The fingerboard is very clean, frets are actually tarnishing from lack of play.
I instinctively turn the guitar over for whatever is lurking inside to fall out through the soundhole, and out comes this 9V battery bag, along with a piece of stick on velcro that hadn't suck to anything in a while.
Inside the bag, my nemesis, a Duracell. Why is it I've seen more electronics destroyed by a Duracell gone bad tha any other brand, combined?
In the Duracell's defense, it may have been 20 years past date, there was no way to tell other than it was completely rotten to the point where it's posts were no longer part of the battery, but welded to the 9V pigtail.
I tried to save the pigtail, but it would have been foolish anyway, corrosion had come up the wires which needed to be cut back to find fresh wire. Thx to my vintage pedal habit, I had a fresh 9V pigtail and actually found it. Soldered and heatshrinked, several old T shirts protecting the guitars top.
I put in a fresh Panasonic Heavy Duty Carbon Zinc batt, never seen these spew anything but then again, I don't leave don't leave dead batteries in things for over ten years...
I plugged it in and tapped the soundboard a couple times, very lively indeed.
So I strung it with those Martin Monels that came in the mail, got 3 packs. There is more of that GAS from reading "someone's" posts... Not sure I like them, they're silver like electric strings and I'm not sure what they really sound like because I've never heard this Guild before, so it's all new, but it was pretty much glorious, like a religious experience. I recorded several takes, plugged in. I usually try to keep it reasonable but ended up going over 6 minutes on a couple.
Now it's back to resting in it's case, too many end of summer chores calling, also having a severe resurgence of bicycle fever, something I've had since my teens.
So at some point I had a look see inside, and I have to say I love that braceless back, and the inner Hog grain is very pleasing. But looking upwards, Whoa Nellie, what's all this?
Never seen anything like it before.
Is this a factory Guild setup, or by the luthier who did the work to the guitar?
And it works, and it sound freakin killer, none of that weird nasal EQ, lots of bass.
Here are seller pics that had me sold quick enough, and a few of my own including the electronics. Is it Fishman or Baggs? How old is this system?I I can almost read something on the undersaddle part, and on the transducer, but too far away to make it out.
There would be no other place on the net to ask but here.
1st 5 pics are seller pics, really pretty good, and then;
Potentially disastrous bubble wrapping but the finish but no traces of reacting in the summer heat.
The worst rotten Duracell I've ever seen its posts fused to the 9V batt pigtail, shame.
New pigtail installed, courtesy of the Weller Porta Sol I bought new in the mid 1990's to repair vehicle wiring properly outside the shop.
Neat little 9V battery bag with back.
The undersaddle system, can't quite make it out. The last shot is blown up with sharpness amped up. What is it?
The guitar is a bit tank like compared to the earlier one, feels really solid, I like it. Chubby neck, standard 1 11/16" nut width but chuncky.
The Spruce top could be Sitka, it's so flawless with fine bear claw,
The Braz. RW fingerboard is a cut above most guitars.
Nice bridge on this one, and I like the black pins. I switched to ivoroid and didn't like it, when back to the black.
Thinking about real bone or ebony pins.
So as it stands, this is a phenomenal acoustic with a fantastic tuner upgrade and it plugs in, can you beat that for a budget guitar?
I like the Grovers, it's part of the reason I bought it, didn't want one with strip tuners. I'm very partial to Grovers, the older the better. I know the Grover ratio so well that I can hear how flat a string is and go to pitch without even needing to hear it, just by moving the key a certain amount.
Last edited:
