I have been looking for a new acoustic and I have the opportunity to pick up a 2001 Guild D55 6 stringer.
Has anyone had any experience with this model from Guild? I know Guild make good stuff but some advice would be much appreciated.
Guild D55
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gellkeller
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Re: Guild D55
Sorry, Brett. I just noticed your post and thought I'd chime in. I know I'm a little late. I hope the opportunity to buy this guitar hasn't passed you by.
I'm playing a Guild D-55 that I believe is a 2000 or 2001 model. I bought it new about five years ago. It had been sitting in the shop for about a year when I purchased it. I bought it because it was one of the last available (to me, anyway) Westerly-made examples and, at the time, there was an open question as to how the new ones would be built by Fender in Corona.
Anyway, my D-55 is a real cannon. It excels at big, open chord work. It is extremely loud and strummed chords drip with all kinds of overtones. It sustains very well, too. Before buying my D-55, I compared it to a Martin D-35 and an HD-28. There was a Collings and a Santa Cruz there, too, but they were a little out of my price range. I don't recall either of them seriously outshining the D-55. The Martins were brighter and lighter sounding with a much stronger fundamental, but they didn't sound as rich. The Martins were certainly better for string to string work. If you were doing a lot of fingerstyle playing, I think they'd be a better choice. Likewise, you might cut through better if you were doing a lot of single-line flatpicking in an unamplified acoustic ensemble. Having said that, I do solo fingerpicking with my D-55 all the time and never regret my decision (although I'm actively shopping for a small body acoustic for this purpose). The fit, finish, and appointments of my D-55 are great. Mine is of the "antique sunburst" variety. Very deluxe, but not showy. The guitar really opened up around two years ago, which caught me by surprise. I guess I wasn't playing it hard enough. It's even more mellow now than it was before. It records well, too.
All Guilds of that era were slightly overbuilt. You'll find them to be noticeably heavier than other, similar guitars. A lot of players see that as a drawback, but I attribute much of the lusciousness of the D-55's output to that heaviness. There's real heft in its sound. The substantial build quality also has the happy benefit of making the D-55 a real player -- you don't have to baby it when you take it out somewhere. It stands up to a lot of abuse.
I'm playing a Guild D-55 that I believe is a 2000 or 2001 model. I bought it new about five years ago. It had been sitting in the shop for about a year when I purchased it. I bought it because it was one of the last available (to me, anyway) Westerly-made examples and, at the time, there was an open question as to how the new ones would be built by Fender in Corona.
Anyway, my D-55 is a real cannon. It excels at big, open chord work. It is extremely loud and strummed chords drip with all kinds of overtones. It sustains very well, too. Before buying my D-55, I compared it to a Martin D-35 and an HD-28. There was a Collings and a Santa Cruz there, too, but they were a little out of my price range. I don't recall either of them seriously outshining the D-55. The Martins were brighter and lighter sounding with a much stronger fundamental, but they didn't sound as rich. The Martins were certainly better for string to string work. If you were doing a lot of fingerstyle playing, I think they'd be a better choice. Likewise, you might cut through better if you were doing a lot of single-line flatpicking in an unamplified acoustic ensemble. Having said that, I do solo fingerpicking with my D-55 all the time and never regret my decision (although I'm actively shopping for a small body acoustic for this purpose). The fit, finish, and appointments of my D-55 are great. Mine is of the "antique sunburst" variety. Very deluxe, but not showy. The guitar really opened up around two years ago, which caught me by surprise. I guess I wasn't playing it hard enough. It's even more mellow now than it was before. It records well, too.
All Guilds of that era were slightly overbuilt. You'll find them to be noticeably heavier than other, similar guitars. A lot of players see that as a drawback, but I attribute much of the lusciousness of the D-55's output to that heaviness. There's real heft in its sound. The substantial build quality also has the happy benefit of making the D-55 a real player -- you don't have to baby it when you take it out somewhere. It stands up to a lot of abuse.