First impression of CT D-55

[Frosty]

That business of junking the parts dept. at Westerly is really incomprehensible to me. I stated in another thread that I didn't think Fender acted in way contrary to typical corporate profit-seeking, but I fail to see how *that* act is representative...

Chazmo, working in the high tech hardware/software field, I have seen completely serviceable enterprise-level SMP machines sent from the development lab to the "crusher". I'm sure the corporate bottom line was behind the decision so these kind of things do not surprise me. I'll bet you've seen some of the same.

Interesting story, if you can find it, about how Greg Deering acquired the rights to the venerable Vega banjo brand. (A name near-and-dear to those of use who play 5 string). Greg's multi-year search included rummaging through "trash" to find original equipment and parts.

 

[Spectrum13]

One should never assume corporate boards have superior knowledge and act with reason. One idiot can destroy the life's work of 20 or 20,000, draw a hugh bonus and be praised by his "equals" then move on to their next disaster.

 

[chazmo]

I've seen our equipment shipped by carriers that looked like it'd actually been junked... does that count, frosty?!

I'll bet that's a great story about the Vega banjo... I'll have to look for that!

I'm struggling to understand how scrapping the spare parts was a cost-saving measure for Fender. OK, yes, stocking and storing the parts would've been overhead. But wouldn't it be worth it for the service and parts revenue and satisfying warrantee claims from stock parts bins?

WiW, please forgive the speculation on my part... I think I'll drop the subject since I know it's painful for a lot of you guys. I know we all appreciate your thoughts on this even if it stirs up some bad memories!

 

[kitniyatran]

... they ARE al least still building some guitars in the U.S. On the surface, the appear to try and respect the brand.....other than GAD of course :evil: ....

West

They could have done as Gibson did with Epiphone & later the Flatiron mandolin brand. Not to disrespect WIW, just Fender could have done worse.

 

[jazzmang]

I personally think the GAD series could have been handled a lot differently than it was. Why not brand the imports as Guild Import Series, or even Madiera?! I think the GAD line tarnished the Guild name significantly...

not to mention of course the way Guild and its employees were treated by Fender after the takeover. That just seems plain disrespectful.

 

[West R Lee]

I personally think the GAD series could have been handled a lot differently than it was. Why not brand the imports as Guild Import Series, or even Madiera?! I think the GAD line tarnished the Guild name significantly...

not to mention of course the way Guild and its employees were treated by Fender after the takeover. That just seems plain disrespectful.

And that coming from a GAD owner. They just should have been marketed under another name.

West

 

[jazzmang]

And that coming from a GAD owner. They just should have been marketed under another name.

West

Haha it was a gift! Regardless, I've tried to get rid of it 3 times and no one wants to buy it for a reasonable price! Which leads me to another issue: resale value. Resale of GADs is awful. Won't the trend carry over to the US made Guilds? Brand confusion will lead people to group the GADs and US mades in one Guild blur when buying.

BTW, funny story. I was on Guitar Center's used gear site and spotted a Guild JF-30 (no pic) listed at my local GC. I drive over there 2 days ago... go into the room. Its a damn GAD. This is what I was talking about. Brand confusion is NEVER a good thing... unless you're trying to pass of a GAD as a US-made... in which case, you're just crazy.

 

[West R Lee]

And that coming from a GAD owner. They just should have been marketed under another name.

West

Haha it was a gift! Regardless, I've tried to get rid of it 3 times and no one wants to buy it for a reasonable price! Which leads me to another issue: resale value. Resale of GADs is awful. Won't the trend carry over to the US made Guilds? Brand confusion will lead people to group the GADs and US mades in one Guild blur when buying.

BTW, funny story. I was on Guitar Center's used gear site and spotted a Guild JF-30 (no pic) listed at my local GC. I drive over there 2 days ago... go into the room. Its a damn GAD. This is what I was talking about. Brand confusion is NEVER a good thing... unless you're trying to pass of a GAD as a US-made... in which case, you're just crazy.

Well, that's what a lot of us think, again, just my opinion. The GAD line dilutes the brand. Martin has Sigma, why not just call it something else instead of risking dragging down the name. As Worked said, "They bought the name." Why not try and maintain the value of the name?

West

 

[Dr. Spivey]

I personally think the GAD series could have been handled a lot differently than it was. Why not brand the imports as Guild Import Series, or even Madiera?! I think the GAD line tarnished the Guild name significantly...

And that coming from a GAD owner. They just should have been marketed under another name.

West

Agree with you guys on the GAD thing. Went to an open mike a week ago. Played "Honky Tonkin'" with a girl i went to high school with. Marie played lead on one of the nicest Gibson Southern Jumbos you've ever heard. I played rhythm on my D17. Just did the one song with her and sat down in the audience. Two young GAD25 players were all over me with questions about my "vintage" Westerly Guild. Always one to toss fuel on a good fire, I took 'em to the parking lot and let them play the D17. They were converted. One of the boys bought an '82 D25 that Saturday, payed too much, and didn't care. The other fellow is still looking. I rest my case. 8)

 

[Graham]

One idiot can destroy the life's work of 20 or 20,000, draw a hugh bonus and be praised by his "equals" then move on to their next disaster.

Can you say Nardelli? :shock:

 

[6L6]

not to mention of course the way Guild and its employees were treated by Fender after the takeover. That just seems plain disrespectful.

Not sure where I read it, but the story I heard was that most Westerley employees were offered jobs in Corona but only one person chose to make the relocation. If true, that's not surprising to me since I'm the type who loves staying in one place.

The eight corporate buyouts I went through just displayed indiscriminate hacking of good people with zero regard for anything they'd done to make the company something others would want to buy.

It just shows again that YOU need to look out for yourself FIRST. I'm retired now, but if I was starting my career all over as a young man, I'd have done some things differently.

Like some others above, I totally agree that the GAD line served to tarnish the name of Guild.

6

 

[fungusyoung]

Went to an open mike a week ago. Played "Honky Tonkin'" with a girl i went to high school with. Marie played lead on one of the nicest Gibson Southern Jumbos you've ever heard. I played rhythm on my D17. Just did the one song with her and sat down in the audience. Two young GAD25 players were all over me with questions about my "vintage" Westerly Guild. Always one to toss fuel on a good fire, I took 'em to the parking lot and let them play the D17. They were converted. One of the boys bought an '82 D25 that Saturday, payed too much, and didn't care. The other fellow is still looking. I rest my case. 8)

Very nice, Dr. Spivey. Very nice!

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Very nice, Dr. Spivey. Very nice!

That was the first time I played out with it. The interesting thing was, there is no P.A. It's a tiny room, the stage is small, and sort of set into a wall. Provides a bit of natural amplification. From the stage it sounded like the big Gibson was burying me.

That guitar generates a ton of interest wherever I've taken it. A lot of comments like " I never cared for all mahogany guitars 'till I heard that Guild. If you run across another one, let me know".

Whenever I let someone play it, I stand back about 10 feet with a big dumb smile.

 

[dreadnut]

Ebay is also clogged with GADs - probably 60% of the Guild guitar listings are GADs. (I estimated that percentage using the SWAG method :lol: )

 

[Dr Izza Plumber]

Ebay is also clogged with GADs - probably 60% of the Guild guitar listings are GADs. (I estimated that percentage using the SWAG method :lol: )

And most are seconds/repaired GADs and grossly over-priced.

 

[Scratch]

I visited Hill Country Guitars last Saturday in Wimberly: http://www.hillcountryguitars.com/ Absolutely gorgeous setting in the hills with the clear Blanco river running nearby. Wimberly is a huge tourist area and HQ to many central texas pickers. Hill Country Guitars is a hi end dealer; the largest Collings dealer in Texas (the Collings plant is 25 miles up the road). They were once the only Guild dealer in south central Texas, and Guild is still etched in the glass on the front door. If you look at the picture in this website link, you'll see the Guild banner on the wall: http://www.hillcountryguitars.com/wdirections.htm

He now sells Huss & Dalton, Froggy Bottom and Collings guitars as well as some customs. They haven't sold Guilds now for 2 1/2 years...
Last time I visited (about a year or so ago), the walls were full of Collings and Froggy Bottom acoustics. Now they adorn just one wall with a few vintage Martins and Gibsons in the front display (nice stuff starting 3K to 12K) and some hi-end trades... When I asked why he discontinued Guilds, he said he did so because the GAD line cheapened the brand and once-loyal Guild enthusiasts stopped buying. He was once a Guild guy and sold Guilds as the 'affordable' hi-quality guitar' to buyers who were not quite financially ready for a Collings or Froggy Bottom. He's still the largest Collings dealer in Texas and ships most of his guitars across the country and the world.

He still complements the Westerly and Tacoma models. Had nothing good to say about the Corona manufactured Guilds and, when I told him Fender moved production back to the east coast, he raised his eyebrows and said "not surprised". I mentioned LTG, of course (had on my 2007 LTG Guild T-shirt) and that I had a few Westerly Guilds and one Tacoma built in the closet. He said he'd like to see some, so I may run back down the road with a few. At the same time try to hold back the GAS for the 2005 Kinscherf Troubador beauty I picked on for a few minutes... Be still my heart... http://www.hillcountryguitars.com/966.htm

 

[Frosty]

Three pages of replies to my initial post?! Haven't you guys got anything more productive to do? :wink: As Click and Clack say... "you've wasted another perfectly good hour".

I was across the state border today and as is my wont, stopped into a local guitar shop which was new to me. Lo-and-behold, a "new" Tacoma D-55 was hanging on the wall. Ok, this was my chance... maybe I just lost my appreciation for the model... (see review three pages prior) let's give this one a try.

I learned that I have not lost my appreciation... or my ear... the D-55 sound I expected was right there on that Tacoma guitar: full, balanced, rich. A great sound for fingerpicking.

Another detail I had forgotten - the neck on the Tacoma was a fuller profile, the CT edition was a lower profile.

 

[hideglue]

Aww Man, did I miss a chance to bash M.L.??? Damn!!!

 

[taabru45]

We love you Frosty, but take it easy on us :!: We're too busy responding to posts to go crossing state lines, and such, fooling around with whatever Guilds we come across and doing the Coke/Pepsi comparison. :lol: :lol: I'm surprised that the music store(s) haven't given you a job. If you need referrals I know where you could get at least a thousand of them...Take care brother Steffan

 

[sitka_spruce]

I'm sure that if anyone on here to judge the tone of a D-55 you're among those of the finest tuned ears to do so, Frosty. Apart from the issues mentioned did it look like a continuance of the Tacoma legacy (if there's one to speak of) or was it sort of a derivative of its own, would you say?