D-50 and D-55

[SFIV1967]

Nice - the burst on the one I played was a tad more subtle or not as bright.

It's often difficult catching a sunburst in pictures. Depending on the light (natural, sun, flash, fluorescent tubes,...) the look is often very different for one and the same guitar in pictures.
Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

The more I learn about the D-50 from these posts, the more the plot thickens. As far as the headstock goes, it did not have the Chesterfield logo. It was just the plain Guild script like on D-25's from the 1970's.

The price was 1,800 which is/was right in the middle of the current "Reverb Window" for used D-50's. The condition is another point where the plot thickens. To my eyes, there were no obvious issues. Straight neck, good saddle, bridge, action . . . No dings. To my ears, it was a typically great sounding Guild. However, for some reason the shop does not have it on it's web site (I don't know the forum's policy about naming shops, so I will leave the shop's name out.) and I didn't think to ask more questions because I was assuming I would find it on the web site once I got home. So, I don't know if the shop would say "excellent" or "very good" etc. i also did not ask many questions in the shop because it is on consignment and I am currently waiting on a few things to roll my way before I can go all in on a guitar.

There is no hard and fast policy about naming names. If you are happy it is encouraged. If you are not happy then there are judgment calls involved. If someone says "<shop> sucks because they would not give me a refund after I dropped the guitar" that would get redacted. But "I am disappointed with <shop> because the new instrument they delivered to me was not set up to factory specs and they wanted to charge me $100 for the setup" would stand.

That said, LTG members sometimes deliberately do not share the location of an instrument they are considering because they fear that someone will come in and snatch it up while the poster is making a decision. (And sometimes the shop is posted deliberately because the potential buyer wants to know what other folks think of the condition or saddle height or something shown in pictures).

Generalizing from some guitar shops and a few other retail businesses that sell both online and in person in a brick and mortar shop, the decision to list something on a web site is not as simple as it seems. Even with the fine print if an online customer and an in person customer try and buy the same thing someone is going to be disappointed and perhaps angry. Some shops segregate the inventory and don't list it online if it is on display. Some shops won't list something online if they think they can sell it in person in a reasonable time. Sometimes they do that with consignments because the owner can suddenly decide to un-consign the instrument. Some shops will wait two weeks before something is listed online. It depends entirely on how the shop accounts for and assigns costs but sometimes then profit is different for an online and an in person sale. So next time, it is reasonable to assume you won't find something on the web site.

This might be a time to pick up the phone and call the shop and ask some more questions

 

[richardp69]

Just buy it my friend. You won't be disappointed. personally, I've always preferre the D 50 regardless of Adi or Sitka.

 

[KCGuildPicker]

Being new around these parts, I wanted to err on the side of caution as I have watched threads on other guitar forums derail once a shop got named.

This might be a time to pick up the phone and call the shop and ask some more questions

I sent an email this morning, so I suspect more information is coming my way.

Just buy it my friend. You won't be disappointed. personally, I've always preferre the D 50 regardless of Adi or Sitka.

I'm hoping to do exactly this!

 

[GGJaguar]

I'm hoping to do exactly this!

 

[chazmo]

I'm a D-50 guy, and, IMHO, they sound quite different from each other. Good luck in the hunt.

 

[adorshki]

Nice - the burst on the one I played was a tad more subtle or not as bright. That said, the one you linked is a mighty proud looking guitar!

To be expected since they're all hand-sprayed.

 

[valleyguy]

It should be noted in your case if that '05 D50 is a Tacoma (which an '05 would be), it's got an adi top, compared to the sitka on the D55.

That is correct

 

[jeffcoop]

I've used a 2012 D50 Standard as my main performing guitar (don't be too impressed by references to my performing). It's very comfortable, it sounds great, and I think you'll be pleased. If you're a bluegrass player, the D50 Traditional is a better bet. But in my opinion hte D50 Standard is better balanced--at least that's true of hte examples of each that I've played.