Hi Billy, love my DV-52; so do you own a DV-52 and a DV-62?
Hi Billy, love my DV-52; so do you own a DV-52 and a DV-62?
Thanks Cocoa. Even though I considered myself our resident Sinophile for a while there, I was still a made-in-USA purist when it came to guitars.
NOW?
Well, when I think about my original non-negotiable requirement for a guitar that was worth re-fretting or repairing, I'm still a made-in-USA-purist.
Why?
I can't deny the bang-for-buck value of the MIC's but we're still seeing the same old conundrum:
When it comes time to re-fret it costs about as much as the guitar's worth (if not more), so why not just get another guitar?
It used to irk my sense of conservation of craftsmanship back then, and it still irks me now.
I spend money on shoes that are worth re-soling too.
Doesn't make sense to me to save $50.00 on a pair of shoes that are dead when the soles wear out and can't be replaced.
Over the long run you'll wind up buying 3 times as many shoes.
Another issue coming to light is parts availability for repair.
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Point being, any repair parts Cordoba acquired from New Hartford were made for strictly for US guitars.
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AS for our Chinese brethren developing a taste for the US-built stuff, let's just hope they aren't reduced to having to buy it from all those high-priced Japanese outfits who list 'em on eABy all the time..... :glee:
Yes.Al -
So you'd spend the $$ refretting a Westerly D4, but not an MIC?
Admittedly I don't watch used listings on the GAD's, but I got a sneaking suspicion you'll get better money out of the D4's than could be had for the D120.Fwiw, I've owned two D4's, still own one, the D120 pretty much smokes it
in every way as far as sound & playability - fit & finish on the MIC is better.
The D4 is outta here as soon as I have time & inclination to sell it.
We have a member (Cutrofiano) who sanded the bridge off of his during the course of a finish repair (to poly, which involved removing the finish completely) so now he's SOL without spending big bucks to get one made without a template..If I needed a replacement bridge for a D4, I'd probably get
it carefully removed and have one made - if I liked the MIC enough to keep it,
I'd do the same for it.
What is the approximate cost of a neck reset for an acoustic?
And what is the approximate cost to have all new frets for an acoustic?
Those prices are on par with prices here in Sillycon Valley.I spoke with my local luthier few days back .
His neck reset price is 850 bucks which includes set up frets and all .
His old price on fret jobs was 250 . Not sure if that went up .
It might be interesting to find out.He said he will not work on MIC guitars . I did not press him for his reasons .
That's one of the reasons Fender bought all the wood themselves and had it delivered to Grand Reward.As to wood grades we know USA stock is pretty good stuff . In China I’m not sure , I feel in some cases grading could be inconsistent.
It occurs to me they aren't in business to support a brand name with factory/warranty repair capability, they're contract manufacturers for various brands.I wonder what parts availability is like for the MIC Guilds, in China, compared to parts for US-built ones. Just a thought.
http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/If there's somewhere I can order a replacement bridge for my D4 without sending the existing one,
that's guaranteed to fit as well as the original, post a link... I might need one.
In fact, Taylor does, if you consider them "high end".Poly vs Nitro... we've sprayed quite a bit of both, to say the least... each has it's place, each has strengths and weaknesses.
Fwiw...we touch up things all the time.
Poly is here to stay. But... not sure if any higher-end acoustic guitar makers use it.
BUT taking two of my quotes and juxtaposing 'em out of context doesn't exactly make me agree with your conclusion."Buy something worth repairing"
"It may have nothing to do with quality or tone."
Exactly - if the quality is a least good and the tone is better than good, it might just be
worth repairing!
Depends on where you go and who does the work...
Around here, St. Louis MO area, neck resets on an acoustic guitar are now
+/- $300 to $450, complete refret +/- $225 to $350.
All that can vary depending on what if anything else is needed.
With or without re-fret?My luthier here in central Virginia charges $250 for a neck reset.
I used to have (and love) a sixties D-25. Not high end at all, but great to play and hear. Now I have a seventies D-30, also not high-end. It' so good that I'm selling my seventies Martin D-28 because it's redundant.. . . My guess is that the active folks on the forum are pretty serious Guild lovers, and thus, of course buy the higher end Guilds. . . .