Guild GAD-40CE

Made in China, bought new in 2006. You can get the specs for this guitar from the net, but here they are for ease: solid mahogany back and sides, a solid spruce top with scalloped bracing and a one-piece mahogany neck with traditional dovetail neck joint. Other features include an Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, ebony pearl dot-inlayed bridge pins and strap buttons, classic pearl fingerboard inlays, wood binding, bone nut and bone compensated saddle, Grover Rotomatic tuners and a wooden arched case. I love the wood binding.. it looks great.

Oh I love this guitar more and more each time I play it. I was looking to spend up to 2000 euros.. i tried Martins, I tried Taylors, I tried american made guilds... and I still kept getting drawn back to this.. at 600 euros... it just sounded better than all the others.. so i bought it! Its got great bass, really nice and rounded.. the high are very bright and clean.. almost glassy. I use martin guage 12 strings (bronze wound) and its great for strumming, but the best is finger picking... it just resonates like heaven.

Factory set up was OK... but i had a set up done by my tech and then it really began to shine. One problem i had was a strange buzz when i used a capo. certain notes would make the string vibrate behind the capo... usually and F or an A... my tech raised the action a little, adjusted the truss rod and it seemd to stop it. It as a pretty thin neck.. and my tech said it was partly due to this, something about the guitar resonating really well becasue its so well made, but the necks too thin to handle it and passes on the vibs to the strings... a friend of mine bought one a while later and it had a thicker neck, which i think i prefer for playing.

The look of the guitar is great. i love the wood binding. Its finished off really well.. as well as any top end taylor or martin ive ever seen. mines got a clear pick guard whcih i dig.. but i have seen them with black ones.

Ive gigged loads with this. Had a pickup fitted (i think they come with them as standard now).. and its solid as a rock... stays in tune, great intonation, great tone.. i use it without a backup no worries (just take some spare strings)

I bought this from a shop here in Bcn, Spain. Not had to deal with any customer support.

I have been playing guitar 17 years.. i am a proffesional.. release albums and play with named artists in the Blues and Jazz world. Like i said.. i was willing to spend 2000.. i didnt buy this to save money, I bought it cus it sounded the best. I think this will be one of those guitars that wont be fully appreciaed until 40 years later... just cus its made in china and costs 600 euros... its just not worth spending thousands on an acoustic if you can get this kind of quality from a chinese made guild. I would buy another without hesitation.

Features: Fishman Acoustic Matrix Electronics, Venetian cutaway, solid mahogany back and sides, a solid spruce top with scalloped bracing and a one-piece mahogany neck with traditional dovetail neck joint, Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, ebony pearl dot-inlayed bridge pins and strap buttons, classic pearl fingerboard inlays, wood binding, bone nut and bone compensated saddle, Grover Rotomatic tuners and a wooden arched case.

Rich full bright sound. Seems best with Clearcoat strings. Great projection of sound, seems louder than other guitars and has a nice natural reverb sound.

Action was perfect from factory. Have owned for a year, guitar holds a tune very well. Action is the same as the day I purchased it.

Guitar came with minor finish flaws on the top (a black spot near sound hole and some uneven varnish on one edge). Otherwise, fit and finish are stellar (dealer took $50 off the price for the blemishes).

This guitar holds its tuning very well and seems to be reliable. It feels robust, not flimsy. Tuners are firm.

Not applicable.

I have been playing for about 4 years and decided to upgrade to this instrument. Played many others and for the price, this guitar looks and sounds the best. It sounded and played comparable to Taylors costing 2X as much.

Wish the Guild Owner's manual covered the GAD series. Even their latest manual does not align with this guitar (for example, this guitar has no truss rod cover as it is adjusted through the sound hole).