Guild GAD-30R

Model Name GAD-30R
Model Number 381-0300-(Color NAT)
Category Guild?? Acoustic Design
Body Style Orchestra
Top Solid Sitka Spruce1
Bracing Guild?? Scalloped
Back Solid Indian Rosewood
Sides Solid Indian Rosewood
Neck 1-Piece Mahogany
Width at Nut 1-3/4"
Fretboard Ebony (12" Radius)
Scale Length 25 1/2"
No. of Frets 20
Machine Heads Grover?? Sta-Tite Tuners
Bridge Indian Rosewood Pin Bridge
Hardware Chrome
Electronics None
A very very nice "old fashion" designed hard case was included.

I???m a guitar player from the southern parts of Sweden. Have playing for about 45 years now.
So a lot of guitars of different styles for varying use have passed through my hands so fare.
To day I???m mostly a ???fingerpicker??? and playing and sing classical and modern folk music.

For a long time I have played nylon stringed guitars but for about a half year ago I decided to add a new steel strung acoustic guitar.
I have the advantage to know a very good and serious guitar player and dealer, means that he know in detail what he talking about and all new models are tested by him self before he start to sell it in the store. He knows my playing style so I got a Guild?? GAD-30 R Auditorium Acoustic Guitar in my hand and believe - it was ???love at the first glance???.

What a like most in this Guitar is the reach, brilliant and well balanced sound through the entire register. The fretboard in Ebony is hi precision made, fast and distinct - In plain language, it is a pleasure handle this guitar. The fretboard is little bit wider witch make it perfect finger style playing.

Nothing to complain on. (My guitar dealer always makes quality controls
before delivering.)

So fare my experience the guitar is crafted in very good and careful way. Solid built, hi quality in every details- In plain language this guitar is a beauty. I hope and believe we can live a long happy life together :-)

The finish is high gloss polyester, good or bad its much a matter of taste but maybe it could be sensitive for scratches etc.

I have played this guitar nearly every day in about half a year no.
In my eyes I think this Orchestra body styled guitar in solid hi quality wood is a successful combination of a very good designing team, much know how and ability to mediate, to in this case, a very good Chinese craft. (I have seen the opposite ...)


???This guitar is too cheap???.
You could compare this guitar to others priced 2 or 3 times higher.
It???s a relay good bargain!

This is a solid OM style guitar. If you are a fingericker, you should check this guitar out. This isn't a fancy, hand crafted instrument made from an exotic endangered rainforest wood species. It is, however, a solid, well made, great sounding guitar for a fair price.

I first tried the mahogany model, and was less than impressed with the sound. It played nice and had a great fingerboard, but no projection, and sounded very dull for a solid woood guitar. I was about to give up on Guild until I played the rosewood model.

Excellent projection, and a bright, well defined sound. Now, I've played OM-21s, and in my opinion, this is the Holy Grail for fingerstyle. I'm still amazed that this cheesy Chinee Guild can even come close - but play them side by side if you can. You may be surprised...

Unfortunately, the current Chinese production paradigm is stuck on using the thick poly clear coat. I'm sure this affects the tone. Yeah, it looks kinda shiney, in an early 70's Japanese import kinda way, but what would it sound like with a nitro finish?

This Guild is a notch above the other Chinese offerings I looked at, most notably the Blueridges. No bumps, dings, or obvious craftsmanship flaws under the finish. Now, while the back splice and maple purfling are nicely done, don't expect any hand scraping or leveling. A critical look at the joints under the thick finish will reveal uneven finishing.

Still, not bad for a dip-and-ship finish. The maple heel cap seems out of place - I would have preferred Mahog or some other dark wood.

This guitar is solid - heck, it's dipped in three pounds of poly clear coat. I've had it about four months, and surprisingly, the sound is starting to open up. Nothing has come loose or started rattling. The end pin that was supplied was loose, and not to be counted on to hold a strap. This was easily remedied by my dealer.

The case is semi-hard, and OK for keeping it around the house, but I wouldn't tour with it. The guitar, on the other hand, seems almost indestructible. I've schlepped around a number of Farmer's Markets and Street Expos with this guitar hanging on a strap, and have no worries about it's durability.

My local dealer is good people. I should never have to deal with Guild.

Martin, shame on you. More than two grand for an OM-21, and Guild is selling these for less that $700? Sure, it's a cheap Chinese import. Yeah, it doesn't have a lifetime warranty. But it plays and sounds too good to ignore.

Try and find a shop that has both hanging on the wall, and compare them side by side. I'm not saying this is a Martin, but for a killer fingerstyle guitar on the cheap, this Guild beats all other imports I have tried.

Without repeating all of the factual features provided by the manufacturer, I will make the statement that the features of this guitar rival that of any high end instrument (Taylor 800 series, Larrivee 09 series, etc.) This is with the exception of the undersaddle transducer. Certainly not to my tonal taste, but a nice value add for the price.

Very open and balanced tone for fingerstyle and strumming

Set up very nicely...action a little high, but acceptable. Looks, sounds and feels like a mid-teens to $2K instrument

Seems as solid as any of the Taylors I've owned.

No experience here.

There's definitely a shift going on in the marketplace with the Chinese imports. Fantastic quality all the way around. If you find yourself in a situation where you have to scale back the collection, you no longer have to give up tone or appointments. Guild hit a homerun on this thing. By the way, I've never owned or wanted to own a Guild prior to this. I'm a strong James Goodall fan and supporter. If you've never played one....you're truly missing out. You'll lay the Martin, Gibson, Larrivee or Taylor aside once you do.

It's a Guild version of a Martin OM design, made in China. So yeah, a traditional acoustic guitar. Here are the features I found interesting:

1. A thin, well-profiled 1 3/4" neck. Most acoustic guitars are 1 5/8" or 1 11/16". The extra width squarely places it as a fingerpicker's guitar. The neck is well-shaped and a real pleasure to play if you do fingerstyle. Size DOES matter, kids.

2. Wood binding, an usual feature on any factory-made guitar. It's something I associate with very expensive handmade instruments, and it looks very classy. The one I played was a natural finish with (I think) maple binding. I saw a different Guild model from the same line (a dreadnaught) in amber sunburst with what looked like koa binding. The binding was just beautifully done, and symbolic of the excellent craftsmanship overall.

And some features it doesn't have that will matter to some players:

1. No cutaway. I don't think they make a cutaway model, although they may in the future.

2. No pickup. Fine by me; I'd install my own. The catalog lists an "E" version with Fishman Matrix electronics. Yawn. I'd put a K&K or B-Band or McIntyre in instead; this superb-sounding guitar deserves far better than the generic quacking sound of Fishman.

For a guitar that shines a lot, this is where it shines the most. BEAUTIFUL sound. The OM sound, DONE WELL, has always been my favorite. A really good OM guitar has a very even tone throughout the frequency range, with plenty of brightness and bite. Fingerpicked, the notes should decay from fundamental into harmonics, sort of an "OOoooo..." sound. Strummed with a pick, it should compress smoothly as the picking gets harder, much like an electric through a mildly overdriven tube amp (and respond to palm muting much like a distorted electric guitar). It should NOT bark in the lower mids or jangle in the upper mids.

The beauty of great OM sound is its flexibility. It can do anything from delicate fingerpicking to hard rock. The only thing an OM can't do is that really deep, boomy dreadnaught sound (and I'll gladly give that up in favor of an elegant midrange). Unfortunately, there are VERY few good OM guitars out there! Everyone makes one, and most of them suck - they jangle rather than shimmer, clang rather than bang, lack sustain (and any character in the sustain they have), get muddy on close intervals, etc.

The only moderately-priced OMs I have played that sound really great are this Guild, and the Blueridge models. And the wider neck and much more tasteful appearance put the Guild head and shoulders above the Blueridge, at least in my eyes and hands. I played it in a well-stocked showroom, and it completely creamed a Taylor 214, a Martin OM three times its price, and Alvarez, Washburn, et al.

My model for this sort of tone has been a 1970s Yamaha I've played for over 15 years. I also own an incredible Running Dog Mini-Jumbo that is very similar to the OM sound, although a little rounder and a little slower on the attack (this is a Good Thing). This little Chinese Guild just NAILS the OM sound. It's brighter and faster than the Running Dog, rather more aggressive overall, which is what I'd want a true OM to be.

It sounds like 95% of a handmade Collings or Santa Cruz OM, rather than 110% of an Alvarez or modern Yamaha, if that makes sense. There's a fundamental difference between a great OM and a mediocre OM. This is a great one.

Fit and finish were superb. I don't know how much is jigs and CNC machines, and how much is handbuilt, but I know a well-made guitar when I see one. The only flaws I could find were a couple of tiny chips around the neck inlays. There was no visible glue squeeze-out (or smell). The rosewood was nothing special grain-wise but well-bookmatched and perfectly quartersawn. The binding was absolutely flawless, and the Grover Sta-Tite tuners a nice touch.

Action was a smidge high, but it seemed properly set up. I'd rather lower a high action than shim a low one, so I think that was a matter of choice, not carelessness. Fretwork was fine as well, and I'm sure the action could be made as low as desired with simple adjustments.

I don't see any reason this should be less reliable than any acoustic guitar made.

I must say here that I'm basing this review on a half-hour's play in the store. I don't think I've ever before reviewed something I didn't own. But I felt this one was worthy of a review, because Guild and the Chinese factory have hit it out of the park! For under $700 (including case), you can own a beautiful, all solid wood acoustic guitar that should age beautifully, and requires no improvements other than perhaps a pickup and a setup tweaking.

I checked it out because I've been looking for a good stage guitar. I don't want to take either my precious (and expensive!) Running Dog or my beloved past-prime Yamaha out to shows. I was leaning toward a Blueridge, but didn't like the narrow neck and was lukewarm about the kitschy looks. I think my search is over! I expect I'll be buying one of these Guilds soon. It has everything I want in a stage guitar - great sound, tasteful appearance, nice wide neck, and it's REPLACEABLE if something bad happens.

2005 Auditorium Body made in China
20 frets 14 clear, 25 1/2 inch scale
Solid Spruce top
Solid Indian Rosewood back and sides
1 3/4 inch bone nut and saddle
1 piece mahogany neck
high gloss finish
mother of pearl inlays
Deluxe hardshell case

If you like the sound of and OM guitar as I do then this one if for you. It is a fingerpicker?s dream 2 3/8??spacing at the saddle with super string response and sustain. Great string balance top to bottom and puts out enough volume to hold it?s own with any guitar when strummed.

Action was a little high for my liking but might be fine for someone else. The strings that came with it were junk changed them when the action was adjusted with Martin SP light 4100. The finish was perfect couldn?t find any flaws at all. Except for the strings the fit and finish is a 10.

Very well built I don?t expect any problems at all.

Haven?t needed it so I can?t say.

I?ve played a few different guitars in the last 30 some years and this guitar is turning out to be the one to set the standard for the rest of the ones I?ve played. To tell the truth I hate to buy anything from China I?m red, white and blue to the bone but I?d buy another one if something happened to this one I like it that much.

The OM sized Chinese made guitar features solid sitka top and solid EI rosewood back and sides. Braces are scalloped according to literature. The neck is one piece mahogany and nut is 1.75". Bindings are maple and fretboard and rectangular bridge are ebony. Nut and saddle are bone and tuners are Grover sta-tite. The top is finished in vintage sunburst and the case is a deluxe greenish tweed type stuff. The finish is high gloss polyester.

This guitar has a very loud and open tone, perfect for fingerpicking but okay for flatpicking as well. The size makes the tone projective and bright, but the rosewood back and sides add mellowness, depth, and smoothness to the tone.

This guitar seems set up very well straight out of the box but the frets are a little higher than I like. The overall workmanship seems superb and the interior work is extremely clean. This guitar looks like it comes out of the same Chinese factory where the upper end Blueridges are made, but Guild has used more taste in the overall design than Saga did with the Blueridges. I did not note any flaws in this guitar. My only gripe is the poly finish, which is well done but still poly.

This guitar seems to be very well made and extremely sturdy. My experience with Blueridges so far has been positive and I would think this guitar would hold up as well. The high end Chinese stuff is very well made and Guild/Fender is a reputable outfit.

Haven't had to use them.

I was using a Blueridge BR-143 (000 size) for my fingerpicking guitar, but I couldn't get used to the skinny neck. I also think the Blueridge headstock is dorky looking. The Guild is much the same guitar with a classier design and a 1.75" neck whicle feels comfortable for fingerpicking. It has all the strengths of my Blueridge but none of the deficits. I also play a Breedlove Revival DM which is a great all around guitar.