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NAMM 2017: Guild expands acoustic guitar line with 4 new models

By Michael Astley-Brown
( Guitarist, Total Guitar, Acoustic Magazine )
published 13 January 2017

New Troubadours, a Traditional and the return of the flagship D-55

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Introduction

Introduction

NAMM 2017: As well as revealing new S-200 T-Bird electrics, Guild has also added to its acoustic guitar line for 2017.

The new releases include the M-240E and M-40 Troubadour, D-40 Traditional and D-55, Guild's flagship acoustic - each model is available in acoustic and electro-acoustic guises, too.

Head on through for more info and prices, and visit Guild Guitars for full specs.

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Guild M-240E Troubadour
$640

Guild M-240E Troubadour

PRESS RELEASE: The M-240E Troubadour features a solid Sitka spruce top over an arched mahogany back, a classic wood combination that produces a well-balanced voice with plenty of overtones.

Other features include an Indian rosewood fingerboard and bridge, bone nut and saddle, tortoiseshell pickguard, nickel plated open gear tuners, and a thin, resonate satin polyurethane finish with a vintage sunburst top.

Completing the Troubadour’s vintage vibe is the DeArmond ToneBoss, a user-friendly humbucking magnetic soundhole pickup with built-in volume control that is compatible with any amplifier. A deluxe padded Guild gig bag is included.

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Guild M-40 Troubadour
$1,699/$1,899 (electro)

Guild M-40 Troubadour

PRESS RELEASE: Proudly made in the USA. The M-40 Troubadour’s small concert size body is comfortable and lightweight, combining a solid Sitka spruce top and solid African mahogany back and sides to produce a delicate, well-rounded tone that is ideal for fingerstyle playing and light strumming.

A thin satin varnish provides optimal conditions for the Troubadour’s premium tonewoods to breathe and resonate, and gives this guitar its familiar, broken-in look and feel.

The M-40 Troubadour’s timeless appointments include a vintage style rosette, white ABS binding, a tortoiseshell pickguard, nickel plated open gear tuners with cream plastic buttons, and Guild’s peak logo inlaid on the headstock.

Each M-40 Troubadour includes a hand-signed, numbered certificate of authenticity, and ships with a Guild humidified hardshell case. Available in Natural or with an Antique Sunburst top. A discreet, USA-made LR Baggs Element VTC pickup is also available.

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Guild D-40 Traditional
$2,499

Guild D-40 Traditional

PRESS RELEASE: The Guild D-40 Traditional embodies the features that have made the D-40 one of Guild’s most beloved and revered models.

Using a high-grade solid Sitka spruce top and solid African mahogany back and sides, Guild adds scalloped Adirondack braces for power, nuance and responsiveness.

The D-40 Traditional’s three piece mahogany and walnut neck is topped with an Indian rosewood fingerboard and is joined to the body with an authentic dovetail joint.

This classic dreadnought is handsomely appointed with a tortoiseshell pickguard, rosette, and binding, a genuine mother-of-pearl Guild peak and chesterfield logo inlaid on the headstock, and nickel-plated open gear tuners.

A lustrous nitrocellulose lacquer provides an elegant finish to this masterpiece, optimizing the beauty and resonant qualities of its premium woods.

Each D-40 Traditional includes a hand-signed, numbered certificate of authenticity, and ships with a Guild humidified hardshell case. Available in Natural or with an Antique Sunburst top. Proudly made in the USA.

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Guild D-55
$3,399/$3,599 (electro)

Guild D-55

PRESS RELEASE: First introduced in 1968 as a special-order top-of-the-line model, the D-55 was so well-received that Guild added it into the regular production line by 1974.

Famously played by Tommy Smothers on the Smothers Brothers Show in the 1960s, the D-55 grew in both popularity and longevity over the decades, finding homes in the hands of more contemporary artists like Waylon Jennings, Billie Joe Armstrong, and David Nail.

The most anticipated return of a Guild acoustic to date, the 2017 Guild D-55 is back and better than ever.

The D-55 remains true to all the premium appointments of its 1968 predecessor, including a AAA Sitka spruce top, solid Indian Rosewood back and sides, ebony fingerboard and bridge, and nitrocellulose finish. Internal refinements include scalloped Adirondack bracing as well as an improved dovetail neck-joint, hand fit to make this generation of D-55 the lightest, loudest, and best-sounding yet.

The D-55 showcases Guild’s most recognizable headstock which is fully bound and features the Guild “Peak and Shield” inlay combination over a figured ebony overlay.

The matching ebony fingerboard is also fully bound and inlayed with Guild’s iconic abalone/pearl “V-Blocks” and multi-line “railroad track” purfling on the bass and treble sides.

The D-55’s fingerboard is set on an all-mahogany neck with beautiful walnut center seam running the length of the heel to headstock. The D-55’s nitro finish is available in natural or Antique Burst and is hand sprayed for minimum thickness and maximum resonance that will only get better with age.

An LR Baggs pickup system is available as an option, and each guitar includes a had signed certificate of authenticity and ships Guild’s Premium humidified hardshell case.

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Michael Astley-Brown
Michael Astley-Brown
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Mike is Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com (opens in new tab), in addition to being an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict. He has a master's degree in journalism, and has spent the past decade writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as a decade-and-a-half performing in bands of variable genre (and quality). In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock under the nom de plume Maebe (opens in new tab).

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