Guild BT-240E Baritone Review

Finally!

I have been eying acoustic baritones for several years after borrowing a luthier-made one awhile back. I've been a fan of Guild instruments for as long as I can remember, but for some reason I've never owned one. I was on the Sweetwater site looking at pedals, and I saw a store demo of this was for sale for a good price. I'm so happy I finally ordered it. It plays and sounds so… read more sweet!

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Great guitar, but has its issues

I got this guitar about a week ago, and when I unboxed it I noticed the lower two string pegs sticking up higher than the others. So I loosened the strings to try to reset the pegs. It's obvious they were just jammed in there incorrectly because those things didn't budge. One I finally got the pegs out (broke one in the process) I couldn't get the strings to seat correctly back… read more into the bridge. Turns out those two lowest strings don't fit correctly in the provided traditional (non-baritone friendly) string pegs. I got my luthier to widen the string slots on the pegs with a nut filer, and only then was I able to get the strings back into the guitar to be able to play it. As could be expected the "set up" on the guitar out of the box is pretty bad. I had to sand the saddle down and tweak the neck considerably to make the guitar playable past open position and to have any chance of playing it finger style. Now that I'm past a fairly frustrating initiation with the guitar it finally functions as it should. The tuners have a little bit of a hard time accommodating the bigger strings and staying in tune. I'm still giving it 4 stars tho because the electronics, sound, and price still make it worth getting.

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Excellent value and lots of fun

I view a baritone guitar as an extra, for a fun change of pace or for specific songs. It's also useful for those of us who are not tenors and need to transpose. This guitar is resonant, easy to play, and very well crafted. Time flies when I play it. Its arched back compensates for the fact that the back is not solid wood, and the jumbo size makes it sing up and down the fretboard.… read more I had no trouble getting used to the longer scale (I also play guitars with 25.5 and 24.75 inch scales) or the larger body. I bought this guitar from Sweetwater several months ago and waited until I had experience with it before writing this review. I have guitars that cost a whole lot more; in comparison, this guitar is worth every penny, and then some. Guild is doing good work these days. And Sweetwater's service is outstanding as always. Thanks Darius!

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