Guild DV-25

This is a bread and butter dreadnaught made in Rhode Island. Nothing flashy about it. If you're looking for all kinds of inlay and other decorative stuff, this isn't the guitar for you. Solid spruce top, mahogany sides and back. I am the original owner but the guitar was made in 1999 and had been sitting in a large music store since then. It included a hardshell case. The list on the guitar was $1,249.00 which I verfied through several sources.

I play mostly bluegrass and folk and only acoustically at that; never plugged in. I haven't played all that long but I have tried out literally dozens of guitars: Martins, Gibsons, Larivees, Taylors, Takamines, Yamahas, Blueridge (Chinese-made pieces of s***), Eastman (ibid), Crafters of Tennessee (sad to see them stop making dreadnaughts as they are a far superior instrument to Martin, in my opinion), and others. After getting it home and getting some decent strings on it (Dean Markley Alchemy GoldPhos 0.12-0.54) and letting them settle in, the sound is absolutely amazing: clean, very clear, full rich sound; very rich bass response without drowning out the treble; nice volume as well.

The action is perfect for me. I really can't imagine it being any better. It frets easily but doesn't buzz or rattle in the least when I kick it up a notch. My only gripe is that there are eight cracks in the finish, seven of them right across the back of the headstock aligning almost perfectly with the tuners which makes me think that they could have been caused by temperature changes (as the metal of the tuners changed temperature more rapidly) as it was shipped to me in Tennessee from Wisconsin. It was warm when it got to the region (the Fed Ex guy was in shorts), substantially warmer than it was on an airplane in early March coming out of Wisconsin. Other than that, everything looks good.

It seems like a very well-built guitar apart from the finish issue but the jury's still out on the cause of that. I hope I'm right about the future durability.

I'll let you know if it comes up.

I've been playing about a year and a half. I also have an Ibanez Artwood (just Artwood, not an AW(100, 200, 300, etc.)). The Ibanez is a nice guitar and I've gotten many compliments on the sound. For when I bought it, it served me well and the price was right. I'm keeping it to be my "travel guitar." If my Guild were stolen, I'd have to replace it! I've already fallen in love with the sound and feel of it. The one thing I wish it had was a larger heel as there's not a good place to put a strap button and I hate those straps that tie at the headstock. I had tried out the Guilds before when I really knew nothing about them and liked what I heard. I've compared them to all the names listed before. I'm around a lot of bluegrass musicians where Martin reigns supreme. I don't mean I'm around folks who just sit around and play. Many of these folks tour and record so I'm not hearing bad playing on a good instrument or just bad instruments. Just for sound, I'd stack this guitar up against every Martin I've heard (except one: a 1966 D-28 owned by a man who's about two days old than Moses and is even missing the first joint on his left middle finger but who can flat out play). Sound is a subjective thing. I'm not saying mine would definitely sound better. That's purely opinion. I am saying that the sound would definitely be comparable.

Mine is a sunburst 2001 dv-25. I put an es pick up in it and it sounds great plugged in. Very active sounding. Mine is a mahogany finish with a gloss top dreadnought style. Locking Grover tuners. It is a nice neck which isn't too big to get the hand around. The actions was great and it really is the best guitar I have owned.

I play a lot of Christian music(Church and other ministries) and it fits me great. It has a booming sound plugged in and not plugged in. It is very full with a nice low end. I was afraid it wouldn't have a low end but it is nice. The high end does drown out a little but all in all it is a great sounding guitar.

I have not played another guitar that has a better action out of box. the pick up is after factory but it is a great sound. No flaws.

I play it very hard at times. I have played it for Young Life and it can withstand the best. I once dropped it while standing and it bounced. No visible damage unless I look very hard and only because I know where to look. I can't find another guitar as durable as this one. This guitar can be played alone in a set and frequently is.

Haven't tried it 'cause haven't needed it. It is that great(how about that for a plug)

This a great guitar to have. This guitar is holding me over until I can afford a Taylor 912ce. I have really fallen in love with this Guild and would recommend to anyone who wants to spend around $1000 new. You can't find another guitar this good for that price.

I bought this 1999 model used w/ a guild HSC in mid-2000. Though it is more or less Guild's 2nd-in-line acoustic guitar after the D-4/DV-4 and is fairly basically appointed, this is still a very nice looking natural-finish, 100% solid wood dreadnaught acoustic. Solid natural spruce top, mahogany neck, and all solid mahogany body of the "vintage" DV version of the newer D-25s (the regular D-25 has an arched laminated back), with complete high-gloss finish. Neck is medium heft, neither thin nor especially thick; standard fret wire; unbound fretboard, FB and bridge appear to be rosewood; chrome Guild tuners, MOP inlay on headstock, white plastic endpin and bridge pins. Nut and saddle are a bone-like composite material (Official specs are all available on Guild's website). I specifically bought a DV version because I wanted the 100% solid wood body. Overall the features and appearance compare pretty well with other guitars priced ~$850 new, especially if you prefer the gloss to the satin finish.

I have played with a variety of acoustic styles for many years, including fingerpicked folk, blues, and pop as well as basic flatpicking and strumming. Recently I have gotten involved in bluegrass jams where a guitar with good volume and projection is desirable (Martins rule this genre). After many years of playing a series of cheap laminated acoustics, this DV-25 is one of several "entry-level" higher-end acoustic guitars I have purchased in the last year, including a Guild DV-6, in search of several "keepers" for the long term. Other than their reputation as well-made American acoustic guitars, my previous experience with Guilds comes from word-of-mouth and from playing a number of their new and used guitars in shops. This particular guitar does not excel as far as loudness/volume, even compared to other Guild dreadnaughts, including my DV-6. This is more apparent when playing in loud group jams; neither of these Guilds in fact are really that good for bluegrass, as I had hoped. I am not sure why this is; it may be that the arched back of the regular D-25s give more volume, or that the gloss finish affects the volume, or it may be that this guitar has not opened up yet, as it appeared almost unplayed when I got it. One thing that is apparent compared to some other guitars is that it is much more heavily braced and overall noticeably heavier in general than, say a Martin D-1 or Taylor 310/410, and its heavier construction probably cuts down on its raw volume. However, it does have a very sweet, clear sound that is crisp and bright overall over its whole range. It is has a very nice sound for fingerpicking and moderate strumming and I suspect it would sound quite nice if miked. Bottom line is that while it is clearly limited in power, this guitar's tone and sound is wonderful and clear. I expect the sound and volume will improve somewhat as it opens up.

Though this guitar was only ~1 yr old when I purchased it, it had sustained several pretty good dings in the side and back, either while still in the store or at the hands of the previous owner. One possible flaw in its finishing is that the bottom edge of the bridge appeared to have been poorly glued or clamped. Though it is not perceptibly lifting, there is a thin space between the bridge and top going back several mm where the glue did not bind. There is also a very thin hairline crack in the finish and possibly the top wood right along the edge of the fingerboard. These things seem unusual for such a new guitar but both could be results of wood shrinkage due to overdrying and I suspect the previous owner did not keep the guitar properly humidified.
Apart from this however, this guitar has a nice set-up and action which is comfortable and low, and I assume this was its original factory setup. Best, it has a really nice straight neck and flat fingerboard and plays nicely with no buzzing out. I usually like to fiddle around with saddle height and truss rod adjustments, but haven't needed to do that with this guitar. If you think this feature goes without saying, you should pick up and inspect a dozen new guild, martin, and other nice acoustics with dovetail-fitted neck joints and you will see this is almost never true. One knock I will make on Guilds is that even their brand-new guitars I have looked at almost invariably have a perceptible "hump" in the fretboard in the 12th-14th fret area around the neck joint, which unless the neck and saddle are adjusted perfectly produces fret buzz when playing up the neck. The spruce soundboard on this particular guitar is maybe a little wider-grained (ie, lower grade?) than most with some wavy areas. The frets are even and smooth though for some reason many appear a little darkened and brassy in color. My overall rating is therefore good but not great since it is unclear whether the mfr. or previous poor care is to blame.

It is difficulat to rate durability on a 2 yr old guitar so I haven't entered a number grade. However, as mentioned above, the hefty and solid feel of this guitar give confidence as to its durability. The hardware and case are good quality. No new problems have appeared during the ~8 months I've had the guitar. The bridge appears sound and has not worsened; I have left it alone for now at the advice of my guitar repair guy. As mentioned, this guitar has a good gloss finish and shows almost no wear; has a stock plastic strap endpin and a good aftermarket metal heelpin. While I have not used the guitar to perform with, I wouldn't be leery about transporting it around or playing out.

Guild guitars carry a limited lifetime warranty to the original buyer, which therefore does not apply to me in this case. I have not sought any direct service from Guild. They have a nice, complete website and extensive color catalog free at any Guild dealer.

I have been playing guitar, almost exclusively acoustic, for 20+ years. I'm finally allowing myself a phase of sampling better and better guitars to decide what I want to keep, and will be happy with, for years to come. I accepted the risk of buying some guitars sight-unseen and unplayed, from used ads and on ebay, where I am able to save substantially over new prices. For the moment I have a Martin D1, Guild DV6, and Larrivee D03, all slightly used and bought for a similar price range of $450-$650. I like them all but may trade some or all of these as time goes on. I would not have bought this guitar for its new sale price ($850-$900) over a similarly priced Taylor 310 or Martin D-16, for example, but for its used price appeared a good bargain. If I could have played this exact guitar alongside a number of others, I probably would have invested the $450 toward one of these other guitars. However, I frankly wanted to own a Guild, at least for a while. The majority of other reviews/opinions on Guilds I have come across tend to be for old-timers for their older, pre-Fender era acoustics. I don't know how my impressions compare other owners of similar newer models. Certainly lightly used Guild guitars are among the best values on the resale acoustic market, and I think this DV25 is no exception. Obviously I am happier to have paid $450 rather than $850. It's hard to beat $400-$500 for a solid wood American-made guitar. I do wish this Guild was louder and more powerful but nevertheless like its tone and feel very nuch. In the long term it comes down to taste and properties of individual guitars, whether you want one or several, and how and where you intend to play them.