Guild D-25

'03 D-25
All solid tiger-striped mahogany with a dove tail neck joint, binding, and semi-gloss amber finish.
Solid two-piece back (vs laminated arched back used previously).
Good tuners. Medium frets. Unbound rosewood fingerboard w pearl dots.
Inlayed soundhole rings. Headstock Guild decal w no inlay.
Came with Guild hardshell case.

Nice sound. Fairly rich. Well balanced.
Average projection.
Fingerpicking doesn't drive the top much, but flatpicking gets it going.

Perfect.
No glue slop (this is a Guild?)

Seems a little less "overbuilt" than past Guilds (more responsive too).
Well made.

No worries.

FMIC lifetime.

No experience

Until this guitar, I hadn't found any acoustic flat-top guitars that I really liked.
Had Larrivees, and a Martin D-15. I like this much better. More sustain, richer tone.
Non-fancy basic dreadnought with good balance. Bass rich but not overpowering.
Neck and feel is nice.
I play mostly Jazz and use an archtop on jobs, but wanted an acoustic for general duties and around the house.

Addendum to review below:

I found the just-right strings, the John Pearce .12 80/20s. They get dull pretty quickly, but that's also a + in my book. Most 80/20s are kind of shrilly at first, but the John Pearse's are nice and mellow from the get-go. Now my D-25 sounds full-bodied and smoky.

1987 D-25 made in Rhode Island.

It's almost the sound I've been looking for, mellow, sweet, full and round. Dare I say elegant, too?

I didn't give it a 10 as I've yet to find the "just right" strings (so, really, it's my fault, not the guitar's). I had some John Pearse .13s that made the guitar sound full and confident and refined, but they were hard to play and -- though great for jamming -- they were too boomy for recording. Since then I've tried Elixir Nanowebs (and I hated them, too shrill and brassy), and now I'm on a set of Martin SP 80/20 .12's. In a couple weeks I'll try John Pearse 80/20 .12s and after that some D'Addario acoustic flatwounds.

Very nice finish. Others may take away points for its plainness, but it's precisely why I love it.

This 16-year-old guitar is still rock solid; stays in tune forever, too.

N/A

Guild (now Fender) hasn't made the D-25 in a few years. I just found out they've started up again, and I got to test several brand-new d-25s. They've destroyed them. The new ones (at $750 street price) don't have the unbraced, arched back. The sound is just pedestrian. That said, I heard the new Guilds at a fancy-shmancy guitar store that specializes in $1,000+ guitars. The new Guilds didn't sound worse to me than the gaggles of Taylors, Martins, Larivees, Santa Cruces, Gibsons, etc. Now, I know it's a matter of taste. I look for mellow, dark sounding guitars and stay away from bright ones.

If you're reading this list because you're considering purchasing a D-25, I'd say go play as many guitars as you can find and start categorizing their sounds. I'd avoid getting a used guitar from Ebay as you really don't know what they'll sound like. Each has its unique sound. Also, listen to your favorite CDs and find a sound you're trying to achieve. I wasnted an early Stones kind of sound (like on the song Backstreet Girl). Keith didn't use Guilds, as far as I know, but my guitar comes real close to that sound. Good luck!

Bought mine new in 1988, still looks and smells new. Made in Rhode Island. Mine has the protective binding around the edges. It's got the gloss finish that still looks gorgeous. Mahogany sides and arched back. I think it has Grover tuners. Had to have the strings lowered a bit after I got it, and since then it's perfect. The neck is just right for my smaller hands and the frets are just right. This is a straight looking but wonderfully sounding, solidly built acoustic guitar. I've tried out other top makes of acoustic guitars, Martin, Gibson and Taylor and Guild matches up with all of them. Nothing fancy, just a great sounding, well built guitar.

I primarly play blues, some old time rock, and a little county, and this guitar handles all these styles well. I have a Dean Markely slip in pickup and my guitar playing buddy can get a slight jazz sound from my Guild when he plays it set up this way. I guess you could say the sound is full. Depending on whether you play with fingers or pick this guitar can really boom or sound soft and sweet. This guitar can do it all. I have some friends that play much better than me and when they get going on this guitar, I realize that this guitar packs a quite a wallop when someone with talent plays it.

Well, when I first got it, the strings were a little high for me. I've heard that most of the Guilds are that way new. I found out about a great guitar tech that worked out of the store where I bought it, and had him adjust the action. Since then, it's perfect to play. Inside the look is clean and neat, the bracing is perfect and after having this guitar since 1988 the finish is still beautiful. I have a good hard shell case for mine that keeps the guitar protected well. The tuning pegs are still working to perfection. All other areas of the guitar are perfect also. No complaints at all about the way mine was built.

I have had mine for 15 years now, and it still looks new. This thing is built solid, with solid components, everything has functioned perfect since the day I got it. The finish on mine still gleams, of course I always clean my guitars with a soft polish cloth after playing them. If you don't bang around the house with your guitar and are carefull about who plays them they will look good for years. I just use a little common sense about the way I treat my guitars and they look new all the time.

I've never had to deal with Guild, which is owned by Fender now.

I've been playing guitar most of the last 37 years. I have two other guitars, a Strat and Tele. I love them all, but the Guild is one guitar I hope to keep for good. It's so easy to just grab out of the case, sit down and just start playing. The thing never goes out of tune. If I had to ever buy another acoustic guitar, It would be a Guild. I had a trade in for mine, so I paid $556.

My brother bought my Mahogany-topped D-25 new in August 1974, and I bought it from him a couple months later. Been playing it now for nearly 30 years, and still love every minute. In 1976 I bought a Lawrence pick-up (which still works fine today) that clips into the sound hole. Reading some of the other reviews, I would guess that mine is one of the 'light-construction' models. The finish has held up well, except for a scratch in one side where I dropped it once. Over the years, it's tone has maintained a consistant high quality. Having played many other guitars over the years, I think the efeature iI appreciate most is the feel of the thin neck - very easy to play. Never have replaced a tuner. The case has a slightly different history - didn't last as well. I like the thin frets on the thin neck. Not too many special features by today's standards, but Oh What A Great Guitar This Has Been!

For years I mostly played folk, ragtime, blues, and gospel. The sound is constistantly good up and down the entire neck on fills, leads. Between the 7th and 12th frets, the sound is still clear, even when playing ragtime or jazz chords at speed (provided my fingers functioned as requested). The guitar has a particularly beautiful resonance on open tunings, especially on the low end. On occasion, I've tuned the entire guitar down two full steps with no deterioration of the sound. On the other end, the harmonics ring true anc clear and sustain very well. Above the 14th fret, the notes become increasingly tricky to hit cleanly without a cutaway neck - I'm afraid that the good-old art of wrenching the wrist may become a vestage of the past - but the tone quality is good even there, particularly on the lower strings.

I've adjusted the action several times (not exactly once a season, but perhaps half a dozen times in nearly 30 years). I don't recall how it was originally set (1974 was a long, long time ago), but I've found that it basically stays put. I keep it set as low as I can, and use either light guage (.010 - .046) stings, no particular favorite manufacturer. About 3 years ago, the slot for the G-string on the nut seemed to have filed itself a little too low due to wear (I guess), so I had the nut replaced by a technician I trust. The neck needed a little tweaking after that, but the results have been quite satisfactory. I think I've replaced the plastic bridge-piece a time or two (always filing it to get the best action setting possible), but I don't recall any details at this point. These are the only adjustments I've ever done, and I think that says quite a bit for Guild's original efforts. Overall, when I sight down the neck, it has about the lowest and straightest action setting of almost any accoustic I've ever seen - and it plays like a charm.

Most of my public playing has been in church bands (not exactly quiet and sedate where I've attended), for both rhythm and accoustic lead. I've soloed with it often, and used it to accompany numerous vocalists. The guitar has held up wonderfully. I've recently goten started recording (I have 3 other guitars, an Ibanez RG320 24-fret electric, a Takamine EG335SC Cutaway 12-sting accoustic-electric, and an Ibanez GA5TCE Thinbody Cutaway Classical/electric (strange but true)). I have no problem using the good-old Guild D-25 as the underlying instrument for most of what I've been doing. I've had the same leather strap on it for 28 of the 29 years I've had the guitar, so I guess the fasterners for that must be OK. The only place where the finish has worn is on the back of the neck - the dark-red varnish is simply worn through from the 2nd to about the 9th fret. Even so, the neck still feels 'slipery' and easy to move around on rapidly.

N/A

I've been playing guitar since 1969 (age 15), but I had about eight years of classical piano training prior to that. If I had to replace the Guild, I would look for a cutaway style body, to facilitate playing the high notes, a deep cross section (something like the dreadnought style to bring out the bass sounds), built-in electronics, a thin neck, small frets, and an overall lightweight construction. For 1970's technology, Guild had a fine mid-range product in the D-25. I've owned a couple of Yamaha FG-series guitars over the years, but ultimately got rid of both of them in favor of the Guild. Now, three of my kids are becoming quite proficient on the guitar, and quite often the Guild is the instrument of their choice.

1984 Guild D25
Made In Rhode Island
Solid Spruce top
solid mahogany back (carved), sides and neck
no electronics (I added a Duncan Acoustic Tube pickup)
Excellent precision Guild tuners (like Schaller)
gorgeous nitrocellulose sunburst lacquer finish
dreadnought
with original tank-like Guild hard case (looks like its been thru WWIII)
no fancy froo-froo but it does what it needs to do with grace and class.

Incredibly versatile. Most dreadnoughts aren't squat for fingerpicking, this one has ultra clear definition with each individual note. Flatpicked its a CANNON too! I play folk and rock and roll and this guitar works for all styles. It conforms to the individual player, as a great guitar will. Not like a Taylor where all of 'em sound the same (not knocking them, they are fine instruments!)

I've heard the factory set-ups were lousy, but this one being used had a great setup. I tweak the truss rod every season but other than that action is butter-like low. I string it up with Elixir lights and my God does it sing.
The finish is checking but all factory fit and finish was perfect. No sloppy anything.
Original frets that take major abuse but show little wear.
I am a relatively hard strummer and this guit-box doesn't flinch. Solid, solid, solid!

This guitar is built like a Honda. Tight and reliable. Always starts up and moves!

Being a dealer, I have horrible stories of their customer service. Buy a used one and don't worry about warranties. Just make sure the thing gets properly humidified. Oh yeah; since Fender bought them they simply aren't like the old RI Guilds.

I've bplaying 22 years. I own a '72 Gretsch Nashville, '75 Strat, '42 National archtop, '47 National New Yorker Lap steel, '65 Gibson SG Jr, '64 Gretsch 6071 Monkees bass, '76 Rickenbacker 450-12 and a coupla Teles. I play equal acoustic and electric; if it gives you any idea how much I love my Guild, I have to have a bunch of different electrics but this Guild is the tops and I need no other acoustics! This is a guitar for life. I work in a music store that sells Taylor and Martin and I play different guitars all the time. Nothing compares to this Guild.

1996 Guild D-25 purchased new in 2002 with Guild hardcase. Made at the old Rhode Island factory. Standard USA-made dreadnought. Solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides with a natural high gloss finish. Rosewood neck with dot inlays. Stock tuners. No electronics to speak of, although a factory-fitted pickup is an option. Nothing revelatory, but what's here feels solid.

I play alternative and alt-country singer-songwriter style stuff and this fits the bill perfectly. Has that distinctive Guild sound which is different to other comparable dreads (Martins, for example) - slightly darker and capable of booming bass. However, it has a remarkably clean sound and is LOUD even when fingerpicked or played with a light (0.60) pick.

Like I said before, the high gloss finish is excellent and the action is great - quite possibly the best action on any acoustic I've played and certainly the best for it's price range, especially at used prices.

It's let down slightly by a few little things. Odd specs of glue around the sound-hole (easily removed with a damp cloth) and a very minor lacquer crack on the back of the body below the neck joint (can't really see it under normal conditions, but you can feel it). Nothing major, though and it did help me get the price down.

This has fast become my acoustic guitar of choice. I take it everywhere with me and it's already taken a few knocks, but the finish hasn't dented or scratched at all - okay, maybe I'm raving about it a bit, but it feels very substantial and looks great as well. I really like the stock tuners - they feel rock solid and the thing never needs tuning. Strap button feels fine.

Very solidly constructed and ultra-dependable - haven't managed to break so much as a string on it yet and would gladly gig without a backup.

Never dealth with them and don't foresee having to.

If you're looking for a good quality, solidly-built acoustic, this is it. I had made up my mind that I was going to buy a USA-made dread and I played various other Guilds as well as Taylors and Martins before going for the D-25 - for the money, it had the best sound and seemed to be the most rugged. 6 months down the line, and this thing goes everywhere with me!

If it was lost or stolen, I'd replace it with another D-25 in an instant. As I've said throughout, it offers fantastic sound for the price, looks great and, even though it's not as heavy as you'd imagine - takes knocks remarkably well. I can't recommend this guitar highly enough!

Paid 575.00 Cdn for a 79 D25M

I have been saved

She, and I do mean she, is the most wonderful thing to finger,

a real 10

I mean sure she's used and abused but she's coming around flashing herself in that way again and again - I can't resist her - I don't even try

She is everthing I need - a real fine piece of Wood.

Shes got a real big bottom - I like that - not a whinny kind of voice just a real nice bottom - I'm into that

She's my Fat bottom girl!!!!!!! AND SHE MAKES MY BLUES'N WORLD GO ROUND

SHE'S DIRTY - AND I'M NOT GONNA TAINT HER BY CLEANING HER UP - NO WAY - SURE SHE COULD IMPRESS SOME WITH A SHINE - BUT I'M NOT INTO THAT - I'M INTO HER

ONLY BEEN USING HER FOR A WEEK - BUT I DON'T FORESEE ME BEING DONE FOR A LONG LONG TIME

WHY BOTHER - WHO YA GONNA CALL

I'VE BEEN FINGERING STRINGS FOR WELL OVER 25 YEARS AND THIS IS THE BEST DEAL I'VE EVER FOUND - I PLAY A FRINDS D55 WHEN HE'S NOT LOOKING AND SURPRISINGLY I FIND THE D25 A MUCH EASIER GUITAR TO PLAY EVEN THOUGH, IF YOU DO THE MATH, IT'S 30 LESS (GET IT 55-25 = 30) BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT. IS IT?

This is a Guild D-25 made in the late 70's or early 80's in New Jersey USA 22 accessible frets SOLID MAHGOGANY black lacquer finish, no electronics. full dreadnought with a carved back, Guild schaller style tuners chrome. Bought it used from a local pawn shop in Tx for $ 450.00. Original case is well built wood affair with some sort of leathertte black covering that is peeling in places. It protects the guitar well.

This D-25 suits my style because Kurt Cobain played Guilds so I thought I had to have one. It is a dropped D , heavy low end, full booming bass sounding mutha. I like its tonal characteristics but at the same time this booming bass is not easy to record.
Also I enjoy a heavy guitar that does not need to be pamperd but this thing is a tank!

The action is high, but the amount of sound this guitar puts out you will be blown away. (Better have some forearm strength though)
No flaws, really well constructed.

Reliability/durability are A plus.
You cant hurt this guitar by playing it hard. or banging it on something by accident. it wont dent or crack like a fine Martin will. And if it does Oh well it will add character to it.

Never dealt with Guild.

Ive played now for about 15 years, I own many guitars, Martin D15, Yamaha 12Texan,Jackson Rhodes, Kramer,Sigma TB1,Fender Jazz Bass, Peavey 5150,Yorkville 80 bass amp,Jazz semihollow f hole/ unknown make. If lost I would not replace because I have mahogony martin. But I would probably miss it.
This guitar is really heavy. Its a big boomy ballsy acoustic.

i've got two...a 1974 and a 1981...
typical d25's...no fancy electronics and entirely original except for a few new nuts...
paid $500 for the 1974 (ex-bitch purchase), and $650 for the 1981...

love the sound of both of them. the 1974 is a lighter instrument and plays easier and softer...the 1981 is more of a solid guitar. it's heavier and takes the hard picking better. i love the evenness of the sound of the guild. a very clean sounding instrument.

got the 1974 when i met my ex (i was 17 at the time), and the guitar was unplayable. warped neck, etc. $15.00 at a local music shop made it a new guitar. i don't know what he did, but it sure made it a different instrument. plays like a charm now. action is great. the tuning pegs are brutal mind you. terrible tunability. other than that, this guitar has been solid as a rock.

the 1981 has a little higher action. definitely takes more muscle to play it, but it does have it's own nice features. Wanna slam some chords? this'll handle it. this is more solid than my 1974, plays heavier, better highs and lows, and the tuning pegs are inpeccable.

these guitars are built well enough that they can be fully adjusted by a good luthier..

i've babied the 1974, so it hasn't seen many risks..so not much to say there. it's still mint.

the 1981 is my "camping guitar". the finish is checking, but other than that, again, solid like a rock. this guitar has seen it all. stage, temperature changes (mountain camping), fireside stuff, everything, and it still holds up excellent. solid like a rock again.

never dealt with the manufacturer

playing for 20 years. two guild d-25's and recently bought an ovation adamas melissa etheridge signature model 12 string. also have an old 1964 bassman which i am proudly keeping.

if it were stolen or lost, i'd probably repurchase the guild. i own the two that i have because the ex-bitch took the one i was playing (it was hers originally, but i acquired it in the breakup), but i compared ovation and martin, and ended up buying guild again. the feel was too comfortable to give up, and the sound was more even than the others.
what do i love about it? the neck, and the bright and bassy sound.