Guild D-212

My first instinct is to give this guitar a 10 in every catagory since I am just so totally in love with it, but the HarmonyCentral people want us to be objective and critical, so she'll have to settle for a 9 here, but simply because, as higher-end guitars go, this one is a bit Spartan in terms of bells and whistles. This guitar is a made-in-the-USA workhorse dreadnought 12 string from the hands down masters of the 12 string over at Guild. The top is bookmatched spruce and the grain lines are PERFECT. The back is a mahogany laminate and is arched so there is no back bracing (she's a Guild all right)and I will assume by her tone that the sides are mahogany as well. Every piece of wood used in this guitar is perfect, there is not a twist or a bend in the grain ANYWHERE, top, neck, fretboard back or sides. I've never seen another instrument with as tight and clear a grain pattern as this. There is a nice Guild Crown inlay in the headstock (MOP I'm pretty sure, as the guitar is 20-something and there seems to have been no yellowing at all)and the fret dots are MOP as well and the fretboard and bridge are this same clear mahogany. Tuners are the typical Guild mini-Grovers (which are, IMHOP, the best and most relable tuners made by anyone anywhere). Typical Guild style pick guard (in black), simple no-frills black binding around the body. It did come with an on-board powered saddle pick-up (the one where the 9v sets inside the soundbox down at the top of the neck) not sure what make it is or whether or not its factory, but works like gangbusters so I'm not inclined to mess with it too much, and she has the typical Guild-12 dual truss rod design, which is always nice. that's about it in terms of spit and polish. As I mentioned, if you want the fancy inlays and details, this ain't your box. If on the other hand you happen to be a gritty old gig hound like me, I'm pretty sure you're the one Guild had in mind when they made this one up.

I play a lot of rock and roll, a lot of original acoustic stuff and I'm currently in a band that specializes in old-time Celtic and Folk. We also play a few more modern ballads and story songs, this guitar fits in just perfect all around. I usually tend to be pretty light on the effects. As I mostly play acoustic I usually prefer to just plug the guitar right into the sound board, tweek the pre-amp and let her ring. I know a lot of guys who like to punch their acoustic 12's up with a bit of chorus, but with this particular guitar that would pretty much be a waste of perfectly good electricity. This baby rings out with a chorus and sustain that I had never witnessed in a 12 (or in anything else for that matter) before. As is another Guild hallmark, string seperation is superb. The bass goes "thump" not "thud", the treble rings out clear but doesn't cut and (DRUMROLL PLEASE) this guitar has a bonefied MID-RANGE! Yes, sports fans, you never thought you'd see it happen in your lifetimes, but here we have a 12 string that, when strummed, produces tones not just in the bass and/or treble, BUT ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE CHORD, top to bottom and bottom to top. It's an amazing thing to witness. And this one is MINE, you'll just have to find one of your own. Keep in mind that I prefer to fingerpick, so I have gone to the trouble of filing the nut and reversing the string pairs (Ric style) and that might account somewhat for the super-human sustain this box has, but I'm sure that that's probably just an augment to this guitar's natural tendency. She gets a 10 here no matter what, the HarmonyCentral guys will just have to dock my pay... :)

See above. I've never seen a guitar that seems to have been put together with so much attention to detail. As I mentioned, to the eye this one is pretty much a Plain Jane, but every piece is perfect and no expense or time has been spared in terms of materials or craftsmanship. I'm the second owner, so I can't speak for the original factory set up, but when I first pulled it out of it's case and put my digits against the next, she was smooth as black ice and, after a year and change of every day playing, she still is. We'll stick another 9 in here, again just for the lack of spit and polish.

This is my third Guild and (wish me luck) as we speak I am combing eBay for #4. I have NEVER had ANY trouble with ANY Guild I've had. I haven't had to repair or replace so much as a fretwire, and I play at least one of them EVERY SINGLE DAY. I can honestly say that if I ever had to gig without a backup, so long as I left the house carrying one of my Guilds, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Make no mistake about it, these RI Guilds are built for one reason and one reason only- they are to be played and played hard, and when you die they are to be handed down to the kids and played hard. I think they call that the circle of life...

Never had to deal with Guild, so dunno. I would caution anyone out there who is thnking about a Guild- the post Fender Guilds are not Guilds. They are not even close. They are lucky that they are even allowed to stay on the same planet as their proud forebears. I'm sorry, it's not very PC I know, but I feel like I have to let you know that- BUYER BEWARE! The true Guilds were only ever made in RI and NJ and, thanks to Daddy Fender, are now extinct, so check the
sound hole sticker carefully- a real Guild has the model and the serial # HAND WRITTEN on the tag, you'll know a real Guild when you see one...

What can I say? If it were legal, I'd marry her...

This baby is a classy 12-string of '82 year of make, American of course. It has two-tone sunburst top and dark mahogany body and neck, the latter quite fat and with a mid-strip of rosewood. It has MOP-dot inlays and the head wears a most becoming yellowish inlay, possibly of abalone.
It's a bound dreadnought size guitar with arched back (therefore no back bracing needed). I bought this one used only a few days back, and I'm already a believer. It indeed has got a bit of a beating over the years with a number of nags and dings evident. Ever more so is the cracked and fixed machinehead and the cut by the #14 fret, the latter most likely a necessary step to take in order to restore the head in full workingorder.
A band of textile structure in the laquer of the neck puzzles me a bit though... Had the laquer been wet when put into it's case?
As you can tell, it's a nightmare rating a bruised beauty.

The sound is mellow and, though the highs are in profusion, not that bright many dreadnough 12-strings can be. It projects well and, hats off to the double trussrod system, a sustain that goes on for miles. It's a chorused pearly sound with good string-to-string definition. By the looks of it the strings been on since the dark ages and I believe with new ones it will knock me off my chair.

The frets on it seem to be the original ones, now filed down flat. Some buzzing on the upper scale, but not bad.
12-strings usually mean hard playing, but I dont think much of it when playing. My Gibson J-100 consumes more muscle power and harder fingertips.
The tuning pegs are in perfect order. Even the protective plastic film on the backsides where still there (or had they been changed?). The nut appears a bit low and the saddle, as with most 12-strings, doesn't know much of compensation.

My first reaction when I held it was the incredible weight of it! You could build bombshelters with Guilds, if you could afford it. The cracked machinehead seems guitar has been victim of circumstance. an 1/4" round spot on the back of the head is clear of its laquer finish and probably extensive force has been applied there.

This is my first Guild ever and it looks like I wont need any customer support for quite a while.

I've played the guitar ever since school. At time of writing i own the following instruments:
Gibson J-50 (roundshoulder) '74
Gibson J-100 (superjumbo) 2003
Martin HD-28 2003
Levin TBK 12-str D 1950's (?)
Landola J-855
If the Guild and I got separated i would cry a great deal, knowing I would hardly come by a similar instrument for such a reasonable price.
Compared to new 12-string dreadnoughts of other brands this is the one ahead of the lot soundwise. It had been in the shop for a month or so and had not been tuned for some time. Hadn't I got the feedback from fellow harmony-central users I'd never have touched it.