Why are Guilds so cool?

[RBSinTo]

I'll beg to differ. Guild has never been married to big bass. A D 55 is a more balanced guitar than a D 28, and I believe it's by design. A Guild D 35 or D 40 is more balanced than a D 18. It's what I think of as the signature Guild tone, balanced. Taylors skew bright, as much as you can generalize about such things. Within each brand there are variances for sure.

In that way, Guilds are more like a Gibson in tone than a Martin, but with greater sustain.

In short, my Martins go “Ching”, my Guilds go “Chang” and my Gibson go “Chong”. That’s the best way I can put it into words.

Br1ck, Neal,
Your comments only describe differences between some characteristics of various brands, but do nothing to explain the supposed "coolness" of Guild guitars.
RBSinTo

 

[Neal]

The coolness of Guild is that they have remained true to the same general tone strategy since the founding of the brand. Even, balanced across all strings. I can play one from any era and it is there. And that’s cool.

 

[walrus]

What's "cool" is different for everyone. This is another one of these "subjective" threads we seem to love so much.

BTW, Miles Davis is cool.

walrus

 

[Coop47]

I like Seagull guitars. A friend has one of their dreads. You made the right choice though.

Yeah, I should've been clearer. I like Seagulls too. Lot of quality bang for the buck. It's the quantum difference in forums I was referring to.

 

[Opsimath]

What makes Guilds cool? Great guitars played by some of the best people you'll find anywhere. Take our members here for example ... cool people playing equally cool guitars! What's not to love about that?

Cool!

 

[Prince of Darkness]

I can't remember Buddy Guy with an acoustic in his hand.

How about this?

Found it on another thread here

 

[Br1ck]

Br1ck, Neal,
Your comments only describe differences between some characteristics of various brands, but do nothing to explain the supposed "coolness" of Guild guitars.
RBSinTo

Are they? In the sense the broader community of guitar players, they remain off the radar. If that's cool to you, they are cool. I tend toward reverse snobbery, in which case Guilds are really cool.

 

[GF60]

I was a John Denver fan and always thought that his Guilds were cool, especially 12 strings. I bought my first "nice" guitar in 1977. It was an Alvarez dread of some sort with laminated B & S, solid top. It was a nice guitar and sounded decent. Then some new co-workers of mine showed up with Guilds. One had a D-40, the other a D-25. WOW! What a difference in sound. And I just had to have one. So I bought a D-40, sight unseen. The shop owner had to order it. It was wonderful and that's when I said, "Now I have a cool guitar". I've owned several Guilds through the years and I still think they are cool!

 

[Br1ck]

I have no need to be cool, but a burning desire to be smug.

 

[Razz]

Guilds are cool because they sound great, and you pay less for them. Twice (1979 and 2012) I went shopping for a Martin and came home with a Guild. Last week, I went shopping for an Eastman and came home with a Guild.

 

[Opsimath]

Guilds are cool because they sound great, and you pay less for them. Twice (1979 and 2012) I went shopping for a Martin and came with a Guild. Last week, I went shopping for an Eastman and came home with a Guild.

You seem to be doing it right.

 

[digger12]

Guild 12 strings are cool.....because Ralph Towner plays them.

 

[M.S.Cone]

Guild guitars are cool because Richie Havens played one.

 

[RBSinTo]

This thread is now three pages long and everyone and his Podiatrist has commented (me included), but despite being used by many posters, the word "cool" has yet to be defined.
Just curious to know what people here believe it to mean.
RBSinTo

 

[geoguy]

I think this thread title is simply another way of asking: "why do you like Guild guitars?"

 

[RBSinTo]

I think this thread title is simply another way of asking: "why do you like Guild guitars?"

Fair enough. But not a definition of the term.
RBSinTo

 

[M.S.Cone]

The definition of cool.

 

[Br1ck]

I'd say cool is somewhere below 65 degrees.

 

[fronobulax]

I'd say cool is somewhere below 65 degrees.

I used to but find I don't shed the long sleeves until 72-74 so numerical cool is rising.

 

[roadbiker]

I never thought of any guitar as being "cool." However, I think that it is petty cool that I have a 1980 Guild D-50 that I got in 1981 as a college graduation gift from my mom. Until then, I always had a crappy acoustic. When I graduated college, my mom asked me what I wanted as a gift, and I promptly replied, "a nice guitar." She told me to go to the local guitar store and pick what I wanted. I went there with a Martin in mind, and the sales guy said I should try a Guild. He gave me a D-50 me to play, along with a Martin D-28. Being from Long Island, he also mentioned that the guitar was made in RI, so it was close if it ever needed repair, but I digress. After playing both, I left with the Guild for about $650 with the case, and I still have it. Pretty cool. I would put the sound and playability of my Guild D-50 against any Martin or Gibson dreadnought. I love it. Pretty cool. I still have the original brochure (which I recently posted here), and it lists A LOT of musicians who were playing Guilds at the time. Pretty cool. I also have a few Taylors and an Epiphone. My favorite is the Guild. You just can't beat the sound. And who can argue that the best sounding 12-strings are Guilds? Cheap? A D-55 0s nearly $5K and an F-512 goes for about $5.5k. I want an F-512, but at the price, I had to settle on a Taylor 356. Not so cool. It's a really nice 12 string, but it is not a Guild. Having an F-512 would be very cool. What would be even more cool would be if they were more affordable. Affordable Guilds made in China? Not so cool.