ornamentation—only a mother-of-pearl logo
inlay atop the trademark, art deco-inspired
headstock hint at its brand identity.
A No-Frills Cannon
If the sedate styling of the D- 50 doesn’t successfully convey the notion that it’s a player’s
guitar, one strum of a first-position E chord
puts any doubt to rest. In fact, you get the
sense that Guild left this guitar so unadorned
because it’s going to take a licking anyway.
This is a guitar that begs to be played hard
and with authority.
The original D- 50 (as well as the D- 50’s
more expensive brother in the current
Traditional line) was dubbed the Bluegrass
Special. So it’s not the least bit surpris-
ing that this guitar sounds so good when
you dig in with a big, heavy flatpick.
Country-blues hybrid picking in the first
position suited the D- 50’s husky tonal
signature, and its capacity for sustain kept
open strings ringing and hanging like
shimmering ornaments on the simplest
chords.
