Guild A-25

I have the #338 A-25, satin finish. I bought this guitar in 1998. I traded it for an epiphone sj-200 at a value of $500. What a steal. It has a very tight grained spruce top and mahogany everywhere else. A nice solid neck that you can really grab and good string spacing are key to its soul. Oh yeah, the case rocks. You will never damage this thing on the road. I wish I was small enough to sleep in it

You want to fingerpick, it is your guitar. The notes just sing. I use .013 silk and steel strings, that is the key. It is bright and warm all at once. It is the most harp-like guitar I have ever played, seriously. Strumming with a pick, it can be done. Although strumming hard can make things start to sound a bit muddy. If you push it too hard it can start to distort in odd ways. Fingerpicking and flailing yields the most fantastic tones.

The action is tremendous. I can beat the crap out of this guitar and I only have to tune it once a week, if even that. It has old-style keystone kluson tuners. I would say add some sealed tuners, but you don't need to. The tuning is smooth and perfect with the unsealed ones. The snowflake inlays aren't centered, I don't get that. Guild missed a step on that little detail, oh well, I don't care. The guitar played perfectly from the start, and still does. I haven't had to make one adjustment in 6 years. It is my baby, and it will die in my arms. I only give it a 9 because the snowflake inlays are off by 1/4", not a big deal

This guitar will last for the next 75 years I feel. If I lost it I would cry and consider suicide. Screw small bodied Martins of recent years, this is the perfect execution of a 000 guitar.

haven't needed it

If you don't already own one I feel bad for you. You will be hard pressed to find a used one. Guild made very, very few of these and the original owners aren't willing to let go for good reason. This is one guitar that will fuel the late 90s vintage market years from now. If you are lucky enough to see one of these snatch it up.

guild a 25 nt hr made in weaterly R.I. 1996 spruce top mahogany sides,back,and, neck, satin hand rubbed finish.om body style snowflake neck inlays gold hardware gibson style keystone tuners very comfy neck guild hardshell case

sounds great whether strumed or fingerpicked has a bright defined sound. that typical guild sound,

i can't find anything to complain about on this one{ and I'm fairly critical}

this is my couch guitar it doesn't leave my house,but, with the case {built like fort knox} you could take it anywhere

i bought it used and have had no dealings with guild

I've been playing 35 years and play bass mostly I also have a 71 fender precision bass, a 50's kay upright bass, a 62 tele, a 70's strat,a couple takamines, and, a bunch of old fender amps. if it were lost or stolen i would replace it with somthing similar {they only made this model for two years don't know if i could find another} but i love the om size body and the smooth neck hey i never played a guild i didn't like.

Model A25 NT HG
I bought my A25 2 years go for $250, no case. No pickup or pre-amp.
It was in great condition. Some minor "checking" of the finish on the soundboard.
Really nice looking guitar. USA made. Solid sitka spruce top in natural finish. Solid mahogany back,sides and neck. Rosewood fretboard,headstock and bridge. All in high gloss finish. Fretboard has mother of pearl "snowflake" inlays. Mother of pearl "underlined GUILD" inlay on headstock, no logo.
Great folky shape, small orchestra body.
All silver finish tuning gears.

Recently put Elixir nanoweb light strings. They sound great. Guitar has rich, bright and full sounding tones. Really good volume for its size.

I had an experienced guy do some minor set up for me after I bought it. Action is very good. No bad issues with fit or finish.

Very well built. Better than average quality. Stays in tune very well. I expect to keep it for a long time.

Haven't needed support.

I have read some the other A25 reviews. Seems the first model year was 1996, discontinued in 1998. My serial # is stamped both inside and back of headstock: AF250006. Means this is 6th guitar made of this model. Interesting though, inside guitar on main block support for neck is stamped Aug 18, 1995. Appears to indicate manufacturing started in late 1995. Anyone who may more know, please post review. Thanks.

This is a A-25 i bought used for 400.00 about two years ago, the org. owner had it for a week, he wanted a finger style guitar and this wasnt it, so i got it from a guitar shop 'cheap'. It has the small OM/OO style body and full shiny finish, US made, 14 fret joint, solid spruce top, mahagony back and sides.. I bought if for my 16 yr daughter to play in our high school bluegrass band. It has been a GREAT guitar. It outsounds many dreadnaughst in bluegrass jams and sounds great through our single stage mike.
Sound 9- its a small body so some bass response is lacking ' but not much
quality 10- typical guild quality. Well made, simple, unadorned, solid, with clean lines and light to hold.
overall- 9 1/2 people are amazed from the sound that comes out of that guitar.

Sound - 9 big sound from a little guitar

Beautiful Classic Guild. Solid in every respect, simple but 1st class all around.

this guitar is very durible, it shows almost no wear after two years of hard playing. This is a keeper, a professional guitar all around.
The h.s.case is worth 400.00 by itself it weighs a tun.

I never had a problem than needed fixed

Best little guitar ive ever seen.

My Guild A-25HG (HG being high gloss finish as opposed to the satin finish)is a fourteen fret grand concert with a solid spruce top, solid mahogany back and sides, gold kluson style machines with plastic keystone buttons, mahogany neck with snowflake or flower inlays in a rosewood fingerboard, 1 3/4" width at the nut, long scale length (25 1/2"-or 25 5/8" as per the review below) rosewood bridge, and a simple "Guild" inlay on the rosewood peghead overlay. Though the A-25 is off their well beaten dreadnought path, it is very much a Guild, from the shape of the bridge to the shape and feel of the neck to the number and position of inlays on the fingerboard. It is very understated and elegant, classier in my opinion than the more expensively appointed rosewood A-50. Also came with a nice fitted case with burgundy interior and ersatz leather exterior. A style flattops are going to become rare models. Everything I've read about A-25's and A-50's (which isn't much) claims that they were produced in '96 and '97 only. My guitar, however, is inkstamped on the heelblock with "NOV 8 1995". So I went to the Guild website to look at the Support Center/ Guitar Dater. The lowest listed serial number for an A-25 is AF250272 in the '96 column; there's an N/A listed in the '95 column. The serial number stamped into the back of my guitar's headstock is AF250269. Whatever the reason behind this, I think it is safe to assume that the A series flattops were the last original designs executed by Guild before Fender took over. Not exactly the most germaine information in a product review, but there it is for any Guildophiles to ponder. It was everthing I wanted in a guitar at the time and is still very valuable to me for what it is. American made, spruce and mahogany grand concert with a gloss finish, a set neck, and a nice case for $750? That's a 10, friend.

At the time I bought this guitar, I wanted an OM-21 (which I finally nabbed in July '99) but I was a little short of funds. I was listening to a lot of John Fahey and I really wanted a small body acoustic designed for fingerstyle. This was the guitar I found. It cost a little more than half of the retail price of an OM-21 and seemed to have everything I wanted. For a couple of years, it would have received a ten: it was my number one guitar. But these number ratings are all relative to a player's personal experiences and it's difficult to quantify a qualitative attribute such as "Sound". Next to my OM-21 it would have scored about a six, just as the OM-21 itself may drop from a ten to a five next to a Goodall or something of that (purported) caliber. I say it WOULD have scored a six, but I did something which has changed the sound and depth of this guitar in a very positive way. I stopped using D'Addario Phosphor Extra Lights (see Reliabiliy and Durability below for my reasoning behind stringing the A-25 with dental floss) and started using Martin Silk and Steels. This guitar sounds better now than it ever has before: very full and balanced, almost like a classical but ultimately another world away. I fell in love with this little guitar all over again. If you have a small body guitar that your ear has outgrown, try some different strings before you part company with it. This guitar has also opened up over the past two or three years because I play it a lot. Buying an acoustic made of all solid woods and keeping it in it's case will do nothing for it's sound. Vibration is needed to loosen the wood fibers and open up the top. Like a good wine, a good acoustic guitar will get better with age. Unlike wine, it will not benefit from laying down. Play it. I'll give it a 10, because it sounds much better than a $750 steel string should! The A-25 has proven itself an excellent value for the money. I play it as often as I can.

For the most part, this is a very well done instrument. It plays great now and has always done so. I have made routine neck adjustments as the seasons have changed to keep it playing at its best. I have never had any need to change the saddle height or adjust the nut in anyway. It is today the same as when I bought it and plays great. The silk and steels have also contributed to it's great playablility. (They are more flexible than phosphors, but they corrode and dull in less time.) It was a great player with regular steel strings as well. The machines are smooth and never slip. I am constantly tuning down into open tunings and tuning back up to standard and I have had no problems at all. Now for the negative. The name on the headstock is inlaid very slightly off center to the left. It probably isn't noticable to others, but I live with this guitar and I see it every day. I've gotten over it. There is a screw missing from the truss rod cover; it's been that way since I bought it. The strap button is canted forward at an obvious angle. And of course there is the usual level of attention paid by Guild to the appearance of the braces, but that doesn't bug me too bad. The good points far outweigh the bad points. Though the action was and is perfect, the guitar overall was not...it gets a 7.

As I've said before, I play this guitar almost every day. The gloss finish on the back of the neck isn't as glossy as it used to be, some of the frets show some wear, and the top and the fingerboard are beginning to darken. As I've mentioned before, the tuning machines are excellent. Here's something that makes me nervous: the top is thin enough that you can actually see it following the contours of the bracing at both the treble side and bass side of the waist. At these points, the narrowest part of the top, you can practically see the bracing beneath the spruce and feel it with the tip of your finger. It is kind of strange looking and made me think about what kind of strings I used on it. I used the lightest bronze stings I could, but that didn't do much for the tone. In addition to having a darker, earthier tone, the silk and steels are lighter in tension. Hopefully, this relieves stress from the top. On the other had, it is a Guild. These guitars have a reputation for being overbuilt and extremely durable. But it is not one of their dreadnoughts. If I string it too heavily, I am sure it will break apart. I read a review below and the player feels comfortable stringing his guitar with mediums, so it may just be my particular guitar. I also feel that if I am careless and bang it into something, ther would be serious damage. It is my impression that this is a very delicate and sensitive guitar. Time will tell, but after three years it is still 100% together and I've stopped worrying as much as I used to. I'm going to give it a relatively middle of the road mark after everything I've just said, because if you treat it like you should, there won't be a problem. But if you don't treat with care, you're going to be sorry.

Since the day I bought this guitar, I've wanted to call and get that truss rod cover screw that I bought it without. But I never have and I probably never will. Since I don't call them, I can't fault them.

I started playing when I was 14; I'm 27 now. I've gone through many different musical phases and many guitars. As I've mentioned above, I also play an OM-21. My solidbody electric guitar is a Fender American Standard Tele in natural ash with a maple board. This year, I am planning on buying a Guild X170 Manhattan and a Rivera tube amp, both of which seem to represent excellent value. I don't know why these guitars were built for only a couple of years. Maybe there was some political reason involving the Fender takeover and/or the introduction of a reissue small body, the F-30. Or maybe the sales were no good, possibly because people who want a grand concert are conditioned to shell out big bucks for a handmade instrument. I don't know the reason. The reviews below gave the A-25 some higher marks than I did and though I may be overly critical, I really love this guitar. If my A-25 were stolen or lost I would be a mess. It is unique and irreplacable. I love the feel of the A-25; it's comfortable to hold. The neck feels great in my hand. It's always a strange feeling to come back to this guitar after playing another one because it feels so right. I like the sound of it, more now than ever before. Strung with the silk and steels, it fills a valuable niche in my fingerstyle playing. Between the phosphor bronze strung rosewood OM-21 and the silk and steel mahogany A-25, I'm a very satisfied player. When I bought it I didn't consciously compare it to other guitars. I play a lot of different guitars every time I go to a music store, which is several times a month, so I know what I like. There was no comparison shopping possible, because there was nothing else in the A-25's price range that even came close to it. So once again, it gets a 10.

The Guild A-25 is a "grand concert" sized acoustic, significantly smaller in width and depth than a dreadnought. Mine is a '96 made in good ole' Westerly Rhode Island, USA. The top is bookmatched Sitka spruce with b/w/b/w binding. Bridge is rosewood. Pickguard is red Tortoise teardrop shape. Sides and back are 2 piece mahogany. Neck is mahogany 1 3/4" wide at nut with 25 5/8" scale rosewood fretboard, 20 small-medium frets (body join at 14) w/ pearl snowflake inlays and a rosewood headstock veneer. Tuner's are gold w/ plastic keystone knobs, like Grovers but probably Guild made. Nut and saddle are both Micarta. Neck and body have a hand rubbed satin finish. Snug fitting, plush lined case and humidifier included.

The A-25 makes a silky smooth full sound with a balanced even tone. The tone is clear when strumming, flatpicking and also for the occasional fingerpicking I do (which this guitar was designed for). Being of smaller body size, this guitar is not as trebly and also not as loud as a standard dreadnought. If I strum as forcefully as I can the sound starts to break up. You don't need to play too hard to have the notes fill the room. It sounds cool in D tunings too.

The action was too high when I bought it and I had to sand the saddle down a bit. Excess glue lines are visible around the inlays (I've seen this on many Guilds) and also where the sides are joined. The back color varies greatly within itself and from the neck andsides. I can't tell if the back is 2 pcs or a bunch of smaller joined strips. It appears that almost all of the fret slots were cut too deep and small fillets of a light colored wood were glued in beneath the fret tangs. The neck seems to be set slightly off the center line as the inlays don't lineup straight and the strings pull towrd the treble side ever so slightly. These might be signs of greater flaws and poor quality overall, but all of the other joins seem solid. The nut is cut and fit perfectly and I often refer to it when cutting new nuts for other guitars. The finish is thin enough to protect the wood from moisture and major damage, but not dings. A thick finish would detract from the tone though.

This guitar is built to last. Every thing is sturdy from tuners to strap buttons. It withstood two years of abuse from my wasted college roomates.

I have had no problems and forsee none. It has a limited lifetime warranty. I was a little concerned when I learned Guild is owned by Fender, but it's still built by Guild!

This gutar was sold to me as "used" but it looked brand new. I played seriously for about a year and a half before buying my Guild. I owned a Strat and borrowed a beginner grand concert sized acoustic. I wanted a grand concert because of the playing comfort and sweet tone. I tried much more expensive Taylor and Martin which didn't sound any better. The Guild just has a certain magic. Other players and musicians have played it and commented on its tone being especially sweet. It NEVER, I mean NEVER goes out of tune - I seriously don't have to tune it for weeks at a time and I tune my electrics with locking tuners every 30 minutes sometimes b/c I'm picky. The tempered scale "different keys sounding out of tune problem" is almost unnoticeable as if by magic. I found switching between different GHS string types to produce noticeable useful changes in tone, making it a more versatile instrument. I read somwhere Richie Havens, a longtime Guild player saying that while other company's acoustics were either boomy or bright, Guilds were right in the middle. I agree. I cant remember the last time I touched an acoustic in a music store, I'm so satisfied withthis one. I would have to track one down if it were stolen - I think it was discontinued. Though the construction is flawed, the A-25 is solid - a simple no frills acoustic with a rich complex tone. To me playability and sound are paramount so the price vs. performance makes it a great value.

The Guild A25 is small bodied acoustic fashioned in the style of pre-war Martin OM's. The appointments are spare but elegant with a solid spruce top and solid mahogany back and sides. Rosewood bridge and fingerboard with snowflake inlay, ebony binding, rosewood headstock, pearl tuners, and a tortiseshell pickguard are all beautifully combined and finished for a classic look. It has fourteen frets to the body and has a nice wide 1 3/4" fingerstyle neck. The model I purchased was used and made in 1996. Apparently, they were only made for two years '96 and '97. The 97's have silver tuners. I installed a Dean Markley "Sweet Spot" piezo pickup. It was easy to insall and sounds great in all kinds of live situations. The satin finish nicely applied [as opposed to thinly and ready for dings] and the interior work is very neat but the braces are a bit fuzzy.

The sound from this guitar is dark and complex, just what I like and was looking for. I played lots of "nice" sounding guitars, some at three and four times the cost but I wanted something with a very characteristic sound. The first strum really got me but I continued to shop around feeling that I would be happier with a Larrivee or a Taylor. My commonsense however prevailed and I came back to the Guild. At the time I purchased the Guild I was mostly flatpicking but wanted to develop my fingerpicking. Happily, the guitar performs beautifully under both styles and unlike many small bodied guitars which seem to be designed for souly fingerstyle, this guitar can be pushed with a flatpick and hold up to any dreadnaught. It was also set-up nice and low for medium gauge strings. The only buzzing I got from the neck was when I put light gauge strings on it when I bought it, thinking that because it was a small bodied guitar that that's what it would like. Make no mistake, the guitar weighs about three pounds but is built like a brick shithouse. The guitar has tremendous volume when pushed but has a very sweet tone when needed and is quite dynamic.

As I mentioned before, I puchased the guitar used. It was in better condition than the brand new one they had [it had scratches on the pickguard] and appeared barely played. The shop set it up for me with the strings it came with. As I mentioned before I made the mistake of first purchasing light guage strings. All of the appointments and finishes are first rate.

I've played the guitar in all kinds of situations [live gigs, jam sessions, backyard barbeques] and it barely goes out of tune. I pretty much baby it but on the occaional time I've bumped it, it hasn't registered any kind scarring. I've been playing it for one year now and regardless of it's light weight and elegant looks, is a very ruggedly built instrument. It also came with a beautiful hardshell archtop case.

I haven't dealt with Guild and buying the guitar used, forfeited any kind of warraty. However, after playing it for one year feel I wouldn't need any kind of service.

I am very happy with my purchase and plan on playing the hell out this guitar for many years to come. I have played for over twenty years and play in a variety of styles [folk, classical, rock]. The guitar responds beautifully to all styles and is very comfortable to play for long periods of time.