considering a Guild GAD 40CE...
gb
almost 20 years and I've never been really happy with the guitar I've had.
It seems I spend months searching for the right one but it never turns out
to be.
I need a cutaway and electronics. I've had an Alvarez, Martin, Charvel, and
now a Seagull. The Seagull has been my favorite but after 6 years of hard
playing it's developing some problems that seem to be difficult to fix.
Plus I've never been able to get used to the odd neck width, so I want to go
back to a standard dreadnought.
Out of all the guitars I've had, I keep remembering how much I enjoyed the
one I learned on. It was a Madiera - (made by Guild). It has me thinking
about checking out a Guild this time around. I had thought that they would
be out of my price range, but I looked around on Froogle and found they have
a model GAD 40CE that seems to be going for $825 at the discount outlets.
This is about as much as I can afford. If I finally find my guitar it
will be worth every penny.
I noticed this guitar is all solid wood. I've never had one that's all
solid - usually just the top is solid...
Anyway, I'm wondering if any folks in this NG have anything good or bad to
say about the GAD 40 product line. Does anyone here have one? Do you like
it? Is Guild still as good as they used to be? I recall hearing that they
got bought out by another company or something, but I'm not sure.
Of course I'm not going to buy anything without playing it. Hopefully I can
find a store in my area that has one.
Any thoughts are appreciated!
gary
No Busking
> Anyway, I'm wondering if any folks in this NG have anything good or bad to
> say about the GAD 40 product line. Does anyone here have one? Do you like
> it? Is Guild still as good as they used to be? I recall hearing that
they
> got bought out by another company or something, but I'm not sure.
The Guild GAD line is manufactured in China, and has hit the stores around
here (DC suburbs) in force. Guild was bought by Fender a few years ago
(after years of financial struggle). Fender closed Guild's Rhode Island
factory, and now makes their US manufactured Guilds at the ("previously
known as") Tacoma plant in Washington state.
Some guitarists have a knee-jerk reaction to changes in manufacturing and
assume "the old ones were better". While I'm sure that Guild has made some
incredible guitars in their long and storied past, the Guilds I've played
that were manufactured under Fender's ownership are of considerably higher
quality than the early-90's Guild jumbo that I own. That has been a decent
guitar, and sounds good...but it's required a lot of work over the years.
Guild was really struggling at the time it was made, and some of the
manufacturing and materials shortcuts they took at the time were
questionable.
I played several Guild GAD's at my local store last week, and was pretty
impressed. In fact, a sunburst GAD 30 was one of the best sounding guitars
in the room that day (and the room was filled with Taylors, Martins,
Gibsons, and a few Collings). My observation was that the Guild GAD's they
had in stock sounded significantly better than their Blueridge guitar stock
(very similar price and origin). Could be just those instruments, could be
just that day, could be new vs old strings...I've been a big fan of
Blueridges in the past, but in a direct A/B test that day, the Guilds were
better.
I didn't play a GAD40C, but did play a GAD50 (which is a dread without the
cutaway and electronics). It was nice. I'm not a huge dread fan, but it
had "that tone" folks look for in a dreadnaught, with solid bass response
and the ability to handle agressive strumming.
Build, finish quality, and setup were pretty good on all the guitars I
tried...there were a few small fit-and-finish blunders, but nothing that
would have stopped me from buying an instrument if I were in the market. I
don't know whether the dealer had done any in-store setup on the guitars out
of the box.
Hope this helps,
Mike Pugh
George Jetson
"gb" <no...@none.com> wrote in message
news:jNudnUI7I9Z...@adelphia.com...
I have the Guild GAD50E. Bought it this past July. In addition to the solid
top, sides and back you spoke of, be aware the 40 and 50's also come with
bone nut and saddle, as well as ebony bridge and end pins (for comparison
shopping purposes). You probably also want to check out the tweed arched
hardshell cases that come with these. Best looking guitar cases I've ever
seen. The electronics are Fishman Matrix Natural II. This is a mylar film,
non-peizo pickup.
The preamp is small and built into the end jack. There is a battery mounted
on the bottom of the neck brace inside the sound hole (i'm not real crazy
about that).
Here's a sound sample, recorded straight into a pc
http://showcase.netins.net/web/mpeabody/mp3z/neworleans.mp3
I did put a sizeable bass cut in after recording with a software graphic
equalizer. (Forgive the playing).
The fit and finish on mine was as good as anything in the store.
Particularly the finish on the end of the frets, looked like they had
actually polished them, no file marks to be seen.
OT rant:
But then, when you're paying someone 80 cents a day, I suppose they can
afford to take thier time and do a good job, as opposed to the typical
American management strategy. "Go, go, go! You lazy union worker. Don't pay
any attention to those 380 salaried people in the front office. A 3 to 1
ratio of management to production is good for this company."
Back on thread:
I've had no problems with mine. Got it for $780 including three new sets of
Dean Markley strings. It's the best sounding guitar I've owned and it has
absolutely thunderous bass. In fact, amplified, if the GAD40 is similar,
you'll have to put a significant bass cut in your amp.
Jim
Wayne Harrison
"gb" <no...@none.com> wrote
> Anyway, I'm wondering if any folks in this NG have anything good or bad to
> say about the GAD 40 product line.
well, i have played a couple, and as the other posters have noted, they
are fine guitars. they are very similar in sound to the new chinese
epiphone "masterbilt" series.
still, i would have to say that the new yamaha "7" series (specifically,
i have a 730s) has better clarity and balance than either of the above. and
for less than $300.
totally subjective opinion, of course.
wayne harrison
gb
news:1ot4f.9926$Sg2.6...@twister.southeast.rr.com...
glad you like your Yamaha. I'm willing to check out anything. I noticed
the cutaway electric is only available in the 720, not 730 version. any
idea what the difference is?
also wondering if the yamahas are coated in glossy plastic or if they have a
natural finish.
yamaha dealer in town, i'm going to check it out soon. thanks.