Guild D-40 Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967)
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Guild D-40 Model Flat Top Acoustic Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # AJ-1947, natural lacquer finish, mahogany back, sides and neck, spruce top, rosewood fingerboard, period black hard shell case.
Really nice examples of the often very fine sounding Guild flattops of the 1960's can be surprisingly hard to find, despite being a popular choice in their day. This is a 1967 natural-top D-40, basically the equivalent model to Martin's D-18 in Guild's 1960s line. Guild did not offer any Dreadnought-shaped guitars until 1963; the mahogany D-40 and rosewood D-50 were the first in the company's catalog and soon were followed by a selection of both higher and lower grade Dreadnought models. The D-40 quickly became a company mainstay at the time and stands ever since as one of Guild's best and most successful flat tops.
The D-40 is similar in size and shape to a Martin D-18 but with some distinctly Guild touches. The back and sides are mahogany, the top spruce and the fingerboard and bridge rosewood. The neck is mahogany laminated to a maple center strip and equipped with an adjustable truss rod, something Martin would not offer for a long time. The headstock is the typical Guild shape with a plastic overlay equipped with individual Japanese-made tuners, which the company turned to when domestic machines were in short supply. The top and back are multi-bound and the celluloid pickguard and rosewood bridge are the typical mid-60's Guild fittings.
This is a very versatile instrument for a Dreadnought, a smooth flatpicking guitar as expected but also a surprisingly good fingerpicking machine with a vibrant midrange sound. It is a bit less heavy in the bass than a typical Martin, but a fine sounding guitar in its own right. This Hoboken-made instrument is an extremely well-built and surprisingly responsive guitar, built rather lighter than Rhode-Island made 1970's Guilds and easily on par with similar size Martin or Gibson offerings from the same era. This is a really nice example of a classic 1960's Guild, one we feel is an often underrated instruments of that era.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a VERY clean and nicely original guitar overall, showing very little wear for its more than 55 years on the planet. The all-original finish is extremely well preserved with none of the oft-seen pickwear to the top and only a few light dings, dents and scuffs overall. The interior is very clean; the original maple bridgeplate has some string-end wear but is fully functional, the top is completely solid and much flatter than most of these. The guitar has never had a neckset or any other major work; the original bridge and saddle were lowered somewhat along the way and the guitar is a very comfortable player. This is about as nice a '60's Guild flattop as we expect to see, in a period if not Guild-branded HSC. Overall Excellent + Condition.
Really nice examples of the often very fine sounding Guild flattops of the 1960's can be surprisingly hard to find, despite being a popular choice in their day. This is a 1967 natural-top D-40, basically the equivalent model to Martin's D-18 in Guild's 1960s line. Guild did not offer any Dreadnought-shaped guitars until 1963; the mahogany D-40 and rosewood D-50 were the first in the company's catalog and soon were followed by a selection of both higher and lower grade Dreadnought models. The D-40 quickly became a company mainstay at the time and stands ever since as one of Guild's best and most successful flat tops.
The D-40 is similar in size and shape to a Martin D-18 but with some distinctly Guild touches. The back and sides are mahogany, the top spruce and the fingerboard and bridge rosewood. The neck is mahogany laminated to a maple center strip and equipped with an adjustable truss rod, something Martin would not offer for a long time. The headstock is the typical Guild shape with a plastic overlay equipped with individual Japanese-made tuners, which the company turned to when domestic machines were in short supply. The top and back are multi-bound and the celluloid pickguard and rosewood bridge are the typical mid-60's Guild fittings.
This is a very versatile instrument for a Dreadnought, a smooth flatpicking guitar as expected but also a surprisingly good fingerpicking machine with a vibrant midrange sound. It is a bit less heavy in the bass than a typical Martin, but a fine sounding guitar in its own right. This Hoboken-made instrument is an extremely well-built and surprisingly responsive guitar, built rather lighter than Rhode-Island made 1970's Guilds and easily on par with similar size Martin or Gibson offerings from the same era. This is a really nice example of a classic 1960's Guild, one we feel is an often underrated instruments of that era.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 15 3/4 in. (40 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 4 7/8 in. (12.4 cm.) in depth at side, taken at the end block. Scale length is 25 1/2 in. (648 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This is a VERY clean and nicely original guitar overall, showing very little wear for its more than 55 years on the planet. The all-original finish is extremely well preserved with none of the oft-seen pickwear to the top and only a few light dings, dents and scuffs overall. The interior is very clean; the original maple bridgeplate has some string-end wear but is fully functional, the top is completely solid and much flatter than most of these. The guitar has never had a neckset or any other major work; the original bridge and saddle were lowered somewhat along the way and the guitar is a very comfortable player. This is about as nice a '60's Guild flattop as we expect to see, in a period if not Guild-branded HSC. Overall Excellent + Condition.