NGD - D40 Hoboken label 1967

catan

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Hello everyone, I have been looking for an affordably priced guild and was willing to buy something in poor cosmetic condition. I liked the sound and the action although high is playable for me. Hoping the neck is stable for many years.

It's currently with my repair guy now for a setup and trussrod/neck evaluation.

Trying to figure out all the text on the label, year, and model (I think it's a D-40).
 

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fronobulax

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Welcome. It's Friday night so I am not prepared to do the research needed to address your questions but the good news is that there are smarter people around than me.
 

Brad Little

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IIRC, Hoboken label was used during the early transition to Westerly, soon replaced by Made In USA. I think 1975 is a little late for a guitar to still have the Hoboken label, but stranger things have happened with Guild.
 

davismanLV

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Boy that label is difficult to read. We have amazing people on this forum so someone will get it. I'm with Brad tho, it's gotta be earlier than 1975 with the Hoboken label but I've been wrong before. Can you read the serial number stamped on the back of the headstock? I'm sure Hans could help you with that if you contact him at his website. He may be by here to help, but if you want for sure help, send info and some photos to him at his website: www.guitarsgalore.nl

Deciphering the serial number is key......
 

donnylang

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Looks like someone intentionally wrote extra numbers on the label. Less likely to be 1968, so I think you could call it ‘65-67. Not sure you can get closer than that.

One giveaway is the volute (a new word I recently learned from DavismanLV ha) ... this would have changed during 1968, and the “USA” on the label was added in 1965.
 

donnylang

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174330C6-5429-4D8E-B1EF-DC143D991A28.jpeg

Gonna go with AJ-1974, which makes it 1967. Possibly 1197 (also 1967), maybe even 119, which makes it 1965. You can see the dash after what would be the “AJ”, but I can’t tell which numbers were added in later. The “34” at the end looks suspect.

Oh, and definitely D-40.
 
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catan

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Sorry looks like someone sanded off the back of the head stock. No way to read it from there. Hopefully this picture helps
 

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catan

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174330C6-5429-4D8E-B1EF-DC143D991A28.jpeg

Gonna go with AJ-1974, which makes it 1967. Possibly 1197 (also 1967), maybe even 119, which makes it 1965. You can see the dash after what would be the “AJ”, but I can’t tell which numbers were added in later. The “34” at the end looks suspect.

Oh, and definitely D-40.
Wow thank you so much. The numbering was so confusing for me when I tried to compare it on the chart. It feels like a Hoboken based on the weight and build vs 80s guilds that I've played but I have only owned this one.
 

donnylang

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Unquestionably Hoboken, I would be comfortable calling it a ‘67 if I owned it (and that’s definitely the kinda guitar that could turn me into a 6-stringer ha), with the understanding that it is possible it’s a 1965-67. No other years are really possible for this one.
 

catan

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Awesome! My repair guy says the neck heel is very thin on these so he wants to avoid a neck reset, he's going to try to figure out what's up with the truss rod, I'd like to get a cover on there at least
 

donnylang

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May want to also wait for Hans to show up. He’s likely to identify some other clues we don’t know about, could help narrow it down for sure.
 

catan

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Thanks so much!

As far as putting in a pickup, does the ltg crew frown upon drilling endpin Jacks or at this point there isn't much to lose?

I've also never on the guitar like this which I feel is very sensitive and I would like a pick up that matches. I've been using LR baggs soundhole magnetic for my 12 string for many year
but something different for this guild.
I would be to not have too much volume difference between finger picking and strumming which is how I feel the LR baggs lacks, it doesn't pick up fingerpicking very strongly.

Perhaps a more sensitive pickup that acts like "compresses" when switching to loud strumming? Feedback would be an issue since I'm playing in a church amplified in a small stage
 
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Yes, a D-40--and the looks (paper label, headstock, bridge, and pickguard in particular) make it a cousin of my '65 (AJ-299). I don't know what to make of that label--there are a lot of numbers and a lot more written on the "Model" line than I see on my guitar--or have seen on any Guild.

I suspect it could use a neck reset--mine's been reset twice--but my very experienced repair guy called my D-40 the hardest he's ever done, not because of the heel (which is indeed slim on these) but because of the non-standard geometry of Guild neck joints. My friend Tom Crandall (of TR Crandall Guitars in NYC--plug, plug) agrees that old Guilds are gnarly to reset. But in my opinion the mid-1960s is the great period of Guild acoustics, and they're worth every bit of restoration you can throw at them. (I've been playing mine since buying new in '67.)
 
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wileypickett

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Wiley's Soapbox:

For the best sound on an acoustic guitar, a good mic beats any pickup you can put in a guitar, no matter what your playing style is.

Most pickups are little synthesizers that are programmed to sound (sort of) like a guitar -- but not neccessarily your guitar. A good mic captures the actual sound quality of your guitar, which pickups do not -- and I bet that D40 sounds fantastic.

This is my opinion, but it's based on four decades of listening to guitars in live settings with miserable sounding pickups. I've never heard one yet that sounds like an actual guitar sounds, which is strings moving wood moving air. Pickups also tend to flatten nuance -- dynamics are less dynamic.

The only drawback: if you like to hop around while you play, it's hard to do that AND stay on mic.
 

donnylang

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All I can say on the pickup point is: I hate them. My F212 has a pickup system in it and I’m gonna need to get it removed at some point, and I’d much prefer the original end pin - but it seems like wood will have to be filled to get it back in. There’s also a pack with a battery in there, etc. Really not a fan of this stuff and would not perform live with this kind of thing myself. If I wanted to amplify, I’d just mike it or put in a sound hole pickup If that didn’t work. Much less invasive and since amplified “acoustic-electric” guitars sound like crap to me anyway, sound quality is not a factor really IMO.

That said, it’s your guitar and it’s certainly a bit of a beater in appearance. I don’t see cracks or anything though. I think it’s generally a good idea not to do things to a vintage guitar that are not easily reversible.
 

Aarfy

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I got my Oxnard d40e recently, I would have had to wait months for a straight D40 and have been looking for an electro-acoustic for a while so ended up getting the d40e

haven’t plugged it in yet and frankly I’m on the fence about how much I’d plug it in - but it’s another tool I have to continue exploring sounds 😎
 

catan

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Yes, a D-40--and the looks (paper label, headstock, bridge, and pickguard in particular) make it a cousin of my '65 (AJ-299). I don't know what to make of that label--are a lot of numbers and a lot more written on the "Model" line than I see on my guitar--or have seen on any Guild.

I suspect it could use a neck reset--mine's been reset twice--but my very experienced repair guy called my D-40 the hardest he's ever done, not because of the heel (which is indeed slim on these) but because of the non-standard geometry of Guild neck joints. My friend Tom Crandall (of TR Crandall Guitars in NYC--plug, plug) agrees that old Guilds are gnarly to reset. But in my opinion the mid-1960s is the great period of Guild acoustics, and they're worth every bit of restoration you can throw at them. (I've been playing mine since buying new in '67.)
I'm in long island. Who is your guy
 
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Since I'm in Minnesota, I rely on Marty Reynolds in St. Paul, formerly of The Podium and now working solo. He's one of the best I've encountered in a half-century of getting instruments worked on (and a dozen years of doing music journalism, during which time I interviewed many builders and technicians).

For anyone in the Greater NYC area, I'd say Tom Crandall is The Man. (So would any number of A-list players.)
 
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