Guild D55 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar (with Case)

Feature:
Mine is made in Tacoma at the Tacoma Guitar factory after Fender completed the purchase of Tacoma's assets and moved the facility for production from Corona, Calif where it had a short stint after being moved from Westerley RI when Fender bought Guild. Guilds were originally made in New york but production was moved to westerley for space and expansion, so this is a company that has more unfamiliar hands working on its designs. I hear the debate as to which are better but frankly they are all based on tha same designs and selection of woods, The Corona builders build Strats and the like and not too many acoustics so they got a bad wrap- the Tacoma guys build nothing but acousitcs and the Tacoma's were generally innovative, albeit a little unique for most but were always well built so I think it is a good match. Ive playerd several Westerley's and these are better, I think. The materials used are topnotch AAA spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, Grover Gold tuners- the finish is superb- you would be at least another 1500 to get into a Gibson, Martin or Taylor with all of the features of this guitar.

Quality:
This is a stunning guitar looks wise and the appointments like abalone and the white bindings and anitique burst are tasteful, giving the guitar a vintage vibe. I think this is important because you want a guitar that inspires you to play it and the guild begs you to pick it up. It is a little heavier than most and gives you the feeling of a durable guitar. Overall the build quality is first rate as are the materials- it comes off a little heavily lacquered for some purists and someone reported the lacquer by the neckbinding is prone to minor chipping as it did with mine- apart from this the top back and sides it is far more substantive and durable i think than the other guitars I have owned- the top will take a litlle longer to break in but is less prone to playing wear and dings and is a very fine instrument- a great choice for the playing professional in this regard.

Value:
The value is relative- I think there is a lot of guitar here-it is totally dressed and well built and offers more bang for the buck on US made guitars than the other brands. If you want value in terms of Bang for Buck, all of the solid wood instruments coming out of China represent awesome values and are sold at half the dinero or better. Find a good one of those and you will find the best value. In terms of resale, I don't think the Guild will fetch quite as much as say a Gibson, Taylor or Martin nor retain as much of its original asking price, but it will be very close. Unfortunately the chinese brands will likely lose more as a percentage of their original price as they will not be coveted as much in the used market. So you might pay 10-1200 for a tricked out solid wood chinese tanglewood or cort or even one of those guild GAD's and get a great axe, but unload it after five or six years for half or less of its street price. You might lay out twice that for a mid upper Taylor gibson or martin and get 75-80% if you strike a really good deal at the time of purchase- this Guild will be 65-75% I hope but is only 75% Which offers a better value? I say seven here cause the chinese guitars beat anything in terms of bang for the buck.

Desirability:
this axe is yummy

Sound:
I tried a number of guitars in the higher end of the range from all of the major North American Brands. The Taylors have a shimmery and bright high end without enough umph in the lower registers, so much so that I hear many sound guys will lower them in a full band mix, the Martin dreadnoughts are a little too boomy for my liking and lack some clarity-you are into five grand with either manufacturer before this evens out. the Gibson songwriters in this price range sound a bit better to me but they are plain jane companred to the guitars were thin sounding to me like the taylors but had better note definition for fingerpicking styles. As a strummer this Guild had all of the good qualities and none of the shortcomings- a little less lively than the Taylors but an even and balanced sound throughout. I threw out the plastic bridgepins and installed a set of Brass "tonepins" for fifteen bucks and while I was always an elixir bronze guy, I strung this with the phosphor bronze as recommended by the manufacturer. It is , I am happy to say, the holy grail in terms of tone for me. IO say this as I don't use the Guild for fingerpicking, prefering instead a small bodied Gibson. I have reserved the nine and tens for guitars I havent heard yet but

Ease of Use:
Mine was setup up before I bought it so I can't say how it is out of the box- I have big hands and an aggressive attack so I like a somewhat high action to p[revent string buzz- this one is lower than any of my guitars, including my strat and 80's banger charveljap with the floyd rose and still responds well to a heavy hand- fender could learn something about fretting and setup from these guys- simply amazingly easy to play.

Support:
never dealt with them - its fender now... so

Overall:
I'm happy with this guitar- it is everything I could want and then some.

Sound:
Play the guitar regularly, if possible on a daily basis. Play it in by playing scales up and down the neck. remember to wipe the guitar down with a soft cloth before putting it away to remove any oils from your skin.

Ease of Use:
a wonderful instrument right out of the case

Overall:
This is a guitar you keep for ever. You may buy other guitars for variety or a whim but keep this one.