M240E Troubadour

review
GUILD TROUBADOUR M-40E AND M-240E
106
Guitarist OctOber 2017
Feel & Sounds
With a wide neck and ample string spacing,
the M-40E is a guitar that responds well to
more muscular playing – whether that be
chordwork or strong fingerpickers from the
Nick Drake school of folk finesse. Its light
weight and intimate proportions actually
encourage that kind of physicality. The
tension and medium action here on our test
guitar mean we need it too, but the payoff is
strong treble response and a defined vintage
warmth rather than modern hi-fi chordal
sparkle. It’s a natural home for blues roots
and country folk with a low end that feels
broad for this body size while allowing the
throaty and ringing high mid and treble
strengths to come to the fore. And it’s a
voice that lends itself to recording without
having to worry about dialling the low end
out at the mixing stage. This is the kind of
voice and neck experience that also feels
like a good excuse to tune down and dust off
the slide too.
The M-240E’s lower action and slender
neck profile will be more welcoming
to those used to more modern acoustic
experiences, and is certainly easy on
the digits for fingerstyle and fast runs,
though unsurprisingly the satin neck isn’t
as luxurious as the M-40E’s. The action
is so low here things get a little buzzy in
DADGAD and more so in open G, but
Guild’s open gear tuners perform smoothly
and stably as we adjust.
The voice that comes through here is
one that leans in favour of resonant mids
rather than the warmer, stronger definition
of the M40E. Lows are thinner but not
unsurprisingly so for this shape and in
chord work there’s an airy brightness
with light phasing in comparison to the
Californian guitar’s darker tonality.
Plugging in reveals some interesting
results. The M-40E is fitted with the
LR Baggs Element VTC under-saddle
pickup and setting the tone control at its
mid point immediately reveals a hotter
bass response than expected. As the
tone control here is a treble roll-off we
took our acoustic combo’s bass EQ
down two notches to regain more of
the guitar’s natural acoustic balance.
Some may prefer the prospect of boosted
lows and the Element – which also captures
the soundboard’s movements – certainly
reflects an acoustic timbre very well
for an undersaddle system. The dynamics
The M-40E is a
natural home for
blues roots and
country folk with
a broad low end
3
sound and feel natural without any
unwanted compression.
The reputation DeArmond built with its
magnetic soundhole pickups has meant
they are still in high demand on the used
market to this day. Rather than reissue a
classic from the 60s, the brand has opted
to launch the new Tone Boss passive
humbucker found here. The results are
pleasing; rounded rather than metallic
or harsh. With only a volume control on
the pickup you’ll need to EQ with amp
or preamp pedal, and due to the passive
nature of the Tone Boss it benefits from
some external boost too. It’s intriguing
to see both DeArmond and Guild demo
videos featuring this guitar show it being
played with overdrive, too, and Guild are
keen to point out that flexibility by stating
it’s ‘compatible with any amplifier’, unlike
a piezo where the results can be teeth-
GIT425.rev_guild.indd 106 9/7/17 5:40 PM