Guild Guitars has made a serious play for the affordable acoustic guitar market with its all-new 300 Series – conveniently and appropriately priced at $300 apiece.
The four-strong series aims to bottle the tonal magic of more premium-priced Guild builds and deliver that to players with tighter budgets.
Typically, Guild's acoustics surpass the $1k mark, with 2023's top-of-the-line 70th anniversary D-55 priced at $3,899. That isn't its only acoustic to nestle around that price point, making this cent-conscious range all the more intriguing.
The 300 collection is split down the middle, with two models on the dreadnought and OM-styled sides respectively, with solid tops and laminate back and sides prevalent across the board.
They too all match their black tortoiseshell pickguards to their black binding and share the same C-shaped necks, rosewood fingerboards, and rosewood bridges.
Guild-branded Vintage 16 open-gear tuners and open-pore natural satin finishes provide their other commonalities, whilst their headstocks are finished with a Nickel Guild logo.
The company says its open pore finish choice helps deliver “maximum resonance” for a sound that belies its stunted price tag.
In terms of tonewoods, there is a little more diversity. Of its dreadnought models, the D-320 is an all-mahogany affair, while the D-340 adds a spruce top to its mahogany back and sides.
That theme continues to the OM builds, with the OM-320 comprising only mahogany and the OM-340 adding a solid spruce top into the mix.
Guild says its OM shape “will be immediately familiar to players desiring a comfortable, midsized acoustic.”
Talking of Guild’s foray into more affordable territory, Product Manager Nick Breach says: “We are always thrilled to bring the quality and heritage that Guild acoustic guitars are beloved for to a new audience of players. But, for this release, we are especially happy about the opportunity to offer players these attributes at a new level of affordability.”
Head to Guild to learn more about the range.
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