“As if its tone has been perfected over years of fireside strumming”: Guild has given its retro DS-240 Memoir series a makeover for the first time in five years with two classy new colorways
The two new-look acoustics are crafted from solid Sitka spruce and mahogany, with the DS-240E offering a DeArmond Tone Boss soundhole pickup
Guild Guitars has unveiled two new additions to its DS-240 Memoir series of “warm, clear, and inviting” acoustic guitars, giving the retro-styled slope shoulder dreadnought a new makeover for the first time in nearly five years.
Previously only available in Vintage Sunburst, the DS-240 is now available in a Wine Red colorway, while the DS-240E has been treated to a sleek Black finish and comes stocked with a DeArmond Tone Boss soundhole pickup.
With solid Sitka spruce tops and mahogany back and sides, both models sport a vintage-inspired Mother-of-Pearl rosette and a Guild Script logo on the headstock to pay homage to the acoustic’s 1930s styling.
Its tone, Guild says, sounds as if it “has been perfected over years of fireside strumming and family jamming”.
Elsewhere, their necks offer comfortable C-profiles and are iced with 20-fret rosewood fingerboards with a 16” radius. That same wood has been chosen for the bridges. They also feature scalloped X bracing, ivory ABS body binding, and dual action truss rods.
Other hardware choices include Guild-branded vintage open-gear tuners and ivory-colored plastic bridge pins.
Both guitars are available to pre-order now. The DS-240 comes in at $549, with the electronics-equipped DS-240E costing $649.
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Last month Guild dropped some of its most affordable guitars yet with the 300 series offering keenly spec'd acoustics for under $300.
That followed the launch of the Guild M-260E Deluxe Archback, a modern take on the company's classic “M” design that harkens back to 1957. The $599 model is said to have been designed with fingerstyle guitar players in mind.
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A freelance writer with a penchant for music that gets weird, Phil is a regular contributor to Prog, Guitar World, and Total Guitar magazines and is especially keen on shining a light on unknown artists. Outside of the journalism realm, you can find him writing angular riffs in progressive metal band, Prognosis, in which he slings an 8-string Strandberg Boden Original, churning that low string through a variety of tunings. He's also a published author and is currently penning his debut novel which chucks fantasy, mythology and humanity into a great big melting pot.
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