guild

[Cromwell]

Anyone here own or owned a guild d55?

I heard one being strummed away live not so long ago and it sounded absolutely beautiful, now I'm getting serious gas.

[AlanSam]

Hi Cromwell - I've only ever had 10 minutes or so with a Guild D-55, so no basis for a satisfactory review. I don't know what year it was made, or which strings it had, but it seemed more of a strummer (LOTS of headroom) or flat picker than finger picker (not super responsive). Prior to my brief hands-on I almost bought a used one off the net but the price put me off. Great looking guitar, but ended up with a used Eastman E8D. I bought it for a good price from a luthier who received it in part payment for services rendered, and he even asked me how I wanted it setup. Long story short - it's the best guitar purchase I ever made. Great guitar.

[sleigh]

Cromwell -- I've heard but never owned a Guild D-55, and they're very nice-sounding. I once owned a Chinese-made Guild which was a decent guitar, though not anywhere near the quality and sound as the Eastman E10D which has the same basic specs. If I had unlimited funds, I might opt for a USA-made D-55 because I do like Guilds, but I'm satisfied with having an Eastman E8D and E20D for a Spruce/Rosewood combo.

[eastmanschool]

The most painful guitar decision I've ever made was to let go of my D55. 




GREAT guitar. Lush and woody. Articulate. For me, the perfect tone.

But we were star-crossed because of the skinny first couple of frets and the narrow spacing.

It's a case of "he said, she said", because she says my fingers are too fat, my talent nonexistent. But don't listen. It was all her fault. Plus, she's an inanimate object, so why are you talking to her??

[billymo]

My son works for The Band Perry. He brought a couple of their McPherson guitars into our home a couple months ago. The rosewood McPherson was a tie for best guitar I ever touched, a tie with Guild's D-55 I played about 5 or 6 times when I would visit a shop in Morristown, TN until it eventually sold. The D-55 was shocking, was like a non-guitar, smooth, mellow, a neck like a Telecaster, honestly I inspected it and analyzed the strings searching for what was so unique, rich sounding. I really should sell my 2 guitars and whatever and buy one, although the 2 I own now are the favorite among all I've owned and sold. The main issue is I've become so accustomed to a smaller body guitar, really comfortable for casual playing/singing.

[Pura Vida]

Hi Cromwell - I've only ever had 10 minutes or so with a Guild D-55, so no basis for a satisfactory review. I don't know what year it was made, or which strings it had, but it seemed more of a strummer (LOTS of headroom) or flat picker than finger picker (not super responsive). Prior to my brief hands-on I almost bought a used one off the net but the price put me off. Great looking guitar, but ended up with a used Eastman E8D off ebay. I bought it for a good price from a luthier who received it in part payment for services rendered, and he even asked me how I wanted it setup. Long story short - it's the best guitar purchase I ever made. Great guitar.

Off-topic: Alan, I'm curious.  What Eastman guitars do you have?  E10 or E20P, a E1000ss/v, an E8D, and the AC630-BD.  That's a nice cross-section of guitars.  Any others?

On-topic:  I've never owned a Guild, but I've been infatuated with them b/c I gravitate towards things that are a little under the radar (at least compared to Martin, Gibson, Taylor, etc.).  I played a new D-55 once, and it was stellar.  I'd love to get one, but afraid that the narrow nut width wouldn't work out for me (see EMS' comment above).  In fact, I've had the idea of trying to find a 1971 as a "lifer" purchase for my 50th birthday later this year, but I've become more of a new guitar person (and heard that Guild neck resets are particularly difficult).