Welcome to the first installment of Mike’s Secret Stash, a new section of GearVault dedicated to used and personal gear that is designed to give all you musos out there even more to hunt for and crow over. We cover lots of brand new products every day here at the Vault, but we all know searching for used deals and rare birds is just as much fun, so we will be bringing you semi-regular articles about cool pre-owned stuff we play, have found, or are still lusting for.
Since this is my little soap box, you get to see stuff from my collection first. Today, I am going to show you one of my all-time best friends, my 1986 Guild D64-QM, which I have owned since 1990. The Guild D64QM is a dreadnought acoustic guitar that was produced in very limited numbers.
It features a spruce top, an ebony fretboard, and solid maple back, sides, and neck (the QM in the model designation stands for “Quilted Maple”). It also has the split “G” headstock inlay typical of better Guilds. I came upon this one day while out shopping for a higher end acoustic. I had tried out a bunch of Martins and other brands when the guy at the shop I was in said “I know which guitar you ought to see” and brought out the beauty you see before you. A look and a strum and I was hooked and it has been with me ever since.
Sure, the QM is a looker, but the real treasure of it is the sound. It is not as bright as one would expect for an instrument with so much maple in it. Rather, the sound is warm and evenly balanced, with warm and complex overtones. It records very well, as you might imagine, and is one of those guitars that is immediately loved by anyone who plays it. Other than what I have already told you, I don’t really know much about it, as it is a fairly rare piece, and I have never seen another one.
If anyone out there in GearVault-land knows anything about these or has another example, get in touch with me here on the site and we can compare notes. Keep watching this space for more stuff from my personal warehouse and other cool used guitars, amps, and pedals I run across. See you next time here on GearVault!!
Great guitar. I own the last one made in the first year of production (#31). I absolutely love this guitar. Unfortunately there is not a lot of info on these guitars. I never plan on selling it but I would like to know how much to insure it for (recommendations?) The finish on mine has not aged well considering it has been cased for so many years. Perhaps the original owner didn’t take care of it before the previous owner. Again… Limited history. Nice to know there’s anther proud owner out there of these beautiful guitars.
I also have one!! Not sure about QM but I’ve got the 86′ D64 for sure!! How rare are these really??? The only thing I’ve found on them is this review and I know when they were in production they were sold for 1600 but I’m sure they are worth much more now. Love my guild!
Daniel, you guys commenting here and myself are the only ones I have ever heard of with one. I spoke to George Gruhn about the guitar, because he was involved with Guild in that period, and he said that the D64-QM was probably some kind of limited edition of 500 or 100 guitars. Guild never had a true custom shop, he also told me, so there are no one-offs. I sure love mine and would never sell it.
I purchased a D64 in 1987. Serial KC10007 so must be a 1984. Very special to me as the original owner. I would love to know more about it.