The Guilds - 1978 Guild D-35 It was almost 30 years after buying my 1963 Guild M-20 that I bought my next Guild guitar. It came after I discovered eBay as a source for used guitars. When I started looking at acoustic guitar auctions I saw an ad for a 1978 Guild D-35, which is a deep-bodied dreadnaught designed for bluegrass players and the like. It looked to have some wear and heavy use on it but was priced accordingly so I made the plunge. Clearly, other bidders were more experienced than I was which ending in my winning the auction for less than I would have thought; once the guitar arrived, I understood why.
There were problems with the intonation that became immediately evident and a close inspection revealed that a neck reset had been poorly done and the bridge was in the process of lifting. So this became another job for Ross Teigan of Teigan Guitars in Naples, FL. Ross did a great job of resetting the neck properly, regluing the bridge and adjusting the saddle height to better suit my playing style. The end result was a guitar that was not only playable, but enjoyable to play as well.
The back and sides are mahogany, the top is Sitka Spruce and the fretboard is rosewood, showing little wear in even the lower frets. The tuners are a little "sloppy" in the tension area and I may update them if I begin playing this instrument more. However, the tone produced by this deep-bodied guitar (almost 5" deep) is very deep and rich (my wife's second favorite, next to the Bozo Bell Western). It loves lowered tunings like drop-D, open-G and DADGAD (I have not yet tried open-C or open-D but can pretty much guarantee it would be happy there as well). It has all the characteristics I love about the Guild guitars - low action, strong bass response and yet clarity in the mids and upper ranges. Being a "well-used" guitar, it is one I am not worried about taking "on the road" with me. The original hardshell case gives testiment to the years of use this instrument has seen but still provides more than adequate protection from the natural elements.
And now for the pictures (click to enlarge):
So concludes the presentation of my 1978 Guild D-35 guitar. Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or comments.
*8o)
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Changes last made on: Friday, March 27, 2009 at 4:32pm