Unfortunate purchase...

[geetargrl]

Well. I purchased a new Guild DV-6 in March, after finding and playing the guitar in a shop in FL. The resonation was beautiful. The price was a bit out of my league...I play for a living, and things have been a bit tight, but this was my first serious studio guitar purchase, so I went for it. I started having issues with it the next day, when I brought it home and began playing. String buzz, string "sizzle", sitar sounds, you name it. Since then it's been in shop after Guild shop...went through every known type of string, etc. They've whittled, sanded, shimmed, and chiseled this damn thing to try to make it stop, with no success. The Guild technicians keep saying they don't have a clue what's causing it, but it's "not the strings"...however, they won't admit that it's the guitar (despite also telling me it's not the way I play) - and my calls to Guild have encountered the worst customer service ever - I've been told "perhaps you weren't ready for a professional guitar," and "you have to learn to play it right."

So. That being said, if you're thinking of purchasing a DV-6, or any Guild for that matter, just be careful and know you may have horrible customer service in your future.

Also, I'd love to know if anyone else has encountered these same problems...and if any "professional" players out there are interested in a barely played Guild, there's a 2 month old barely used Guild for sale on my end.

 

[Russell Letson]

Sounds like you haven't found the right tech yet. Rattles and buzzes can be a challenge to track down, but the usual suspects for genuine string buzz (as distinct from a sympathetic buzz or rattle from, say, a loose brace or truss rod) are neck geometry and uneven frets. If the buzzing started after you took it home, then it's possible that a change in humidity caused the neck block to swell, which produces a hump in the fingerboard where it joins the body. I'm guessing that the whittling, sanding, and chiseling you mention might have been aimed at this kind of issue. Then there are neck twists that raise one side of the fingerboard--much harder to correct and, in a new guitar, perhaps not worth trying to repair.

If the guitar was bought new and the problem can't be remedied, I'd look into returning it to the shop where you got it rather than selling it at a loss. If they won't honor the warranty that way, I'd raise hell with Guild.

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome and I am sorry your initial experience with Guild has been unpleasant. I will let wiser and more knowledgeable people elaborate, but if a dealer had that much difficulty getting a car to behave, you could appeal to Lemon Laws and successfully demand a replacement. Guild customer and warranty service is provided through parent company Fender (although Guild would like to do their own service and warranty work) and you may be running into problems because Fender dealers often know nothing about the Guild line.

 

[plaidseason]

I assume we're talking about a brand new Guild DV6, correct (as not made in Westerly)? And if so, I would return it to the shop and say you want them to remedy the issue or refund your money.

with that said, I'm not sure I understand how a tech could claim to have no idea what's causing the problem.

Is there a loose tuning knob?
A broken tuning knob?
A loose brace?

Something just doesn't add up. I've seen good luthiers take an 80 year old archop, that's been sitting in dusty attic for 40 years, and make it sound like heaven.

Lastly, just for the sake of public record, the only time I ever had to deal with Guild customer service, they completely replaced a guitar for me. The key though is probably going through an authorized service center, not calling an operator in Arizona.

-Chris

p.s. Jim Inman, wherever you are: Thanks!

 

[adorshki]

WE assume you DO mean you bought a brand new guitar with a warranty, right? Where was it made? Is it a "New unsold" Tacoma? We've seen reports here that DV-6s are now made in Mexico. That might be a complication as far as finding someone who knows stuff that might need to be known about any construction peculiarites. I see you used the term "Guild tech", but if the work you had done wasn't pre-authorized by Guild or done by a Guild authorized warranty shop that could cause complications for honoring the warranty and might be why folks on the phone seem uncooperative. I'd try to find a genuine Guild Warranty shop (listed on their website) and take it there for a diagnosis. At least you'll be absolutely sure you're talking to someone who's authorized to speak on behalf of Guild, and whether what's already done has violated the warranty. FWIW I've had a couple tell me they were authorized but actually weren't. But at least if the work was done by a professional and you've got receipts you've got some leverage for proving it wasn't "abused".
I know it's not an easy answer but it's the most likely way to get a satisfactory solution if you're actually trying to get warranty compensation.

 

[FNG]

That's it...I'm selling all my Guilds.

 

[plaidseason]

At a discount I hope!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Something is very wrong with this.
If the guitar was purchased new, take it back and get a refund.
You probably won't be happy with a Guild now, so try a different brand.
Best of luck to you,
TMG.

 

[davenumber2]

This may help find the buzz.

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Luthier/Technique/Setup/BuzzDiagnosis/buzzintro.html

 

[geetargrl]

Thank you for all of your responses! To clarify, yes, I purchased the guitar brand new, at a Guild authorized dealer who also had a Guild authorized repair tech on staff. That man tried his damndest to fix the issue. It didn't work, and when I got home (I live in MO, purchased in FL) I took it to 2 other Guild tech shops here. Both of those shops are at a loss, as well. They have tried everything to make the sounds leave, but no luck. Guild told me absolutely no exchanges/compensation unless this was a "structural issue," and though the techs say it's the guitar, they say the overall structure is fine. I'm at a loss. I'm going to try to return it to the original shop, as I'll be back in FL this week. If he won't take it back...well, I guess I'll just take a loss and get a nice Alvarez. It's such a shame, though...I really loved the rich sound of the Guild. Just not a good thing when the resonance does nothing but amplify the bizarre string sounds, you know?

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Now with that new info, it could be a humidity related issue.
The guitar has had to acclimate to a different climate.
Have you kept it humidified from 40% to 60% relative humidity?

I would be going nuts it I were you. You have had 3 techs look at the guitar and none can find the problem?
If the neck is straight, this shouldn't be hard to fix.
I hope that the dealer makes it right by you.
TMG

 

[adorshki]

Thank you for all of your responses! To clarify, yes, I purchased the guitar brand new, at a Guild authorized dealer who also had a Guild authorized repair tech on staff. That man tried his damndest to fix the issue. It didn't work, and when I got home (I live in MO, purchased in FL) I took it to 2 other Guild tech shops here. Both of those shops are at a loss, as well. They have tried everything to make the sounds leave, but no luck.

Ok that's very very good, you've done everything absolutely correctly and your frustrartion is %100 understandable. The only remaining unknown is the experience level of the techs you've worked with. The link to the frets.com pages above has very good info and it couldn't hurt to ask the local guy you like the best if he's gone through some of those procedures. You can't get a good answer unless you ask the question, you know what I mean? A couple of things that occur to me are a loose bridge reinforcement, or even something as simple as the way the string ball ends are seating when the strings are installed?
As you can see, we won't let anybody get away with a bad opinion of a Guild without a fight! :lol:
And I completely forgot, WELCOME Aboard and I know I speak for everybody here when I say we hope this turns out well in the end!

 

[Default]

Also, if you give us a general location in FLA, there's a pretty good chance that one of the Florida contingent can point you to a good luthier, who can give you another opinion. Just about everything is fixable, provided you have the right guy.

Just so I can wrap my head around it, it buzzes on every string? At every position on the fingerboard? When the guy plays it for you in the shop, it buzzes for him as well? Are you a fingerstylist? A flatpicker?

My D-40 buzzed when I played it and I just thought it was my poor technique, but in large measure it turned out to need a good setup. At the very least, the store you bought it from should be trying to make it right.

 

[geetargrl]

Well, I finally found a customer service rep who was awesome. They are willing to help, at least. TMG, I am going nuts And Default, no. Not every string on every fret. It has moved as each problem was remedied...it's making me insane. First it was a rattle in the high E and B strings. Carving birdhouses and a new saddle nut made that *almost* go away. But then the G string sounded like a sitar, and would scream over every other sound. More adjustments, sanding, shimming, etc. That seemed to go away, but with that came the newest problem in a never-ending succession...the D string now makes a metallic rattle on the third fret. Nothing is loose, the neck is perfect, the strings have been changed and changed again. The tech told me to take it to the original shop and try to return it, because he's at a loss. If Guild would offer an exchange for the same guitar, I would take it. I think I got a dud. I wanted to love this thing. I just cant - I need to get to the studio, and this purchase was for that purpose. It's not going to happen, not with the way it sounds now. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

[West R Lee]

That's it...I'm selling all my Guilds.

Can I have the Deco Effin 8) ????

Nah, all seriousness aside...... my DV 72 developed a buzz one night after a string change. I thought I had looked and looked and finally I freaked out and ran in here to the computer to ask all of these guys for opinions. Before I got an opinion, I checked her again.......this time I found a loose tuning key.....problem solved. I'd assume a competent guitar tech would look for those simple things, but I will say that a new guitar shouldn't require sanding, grinding or shimming anywhere. Take that Mexican Guild back, get your money back, and buy one of these DV6's.

http://www.elderly.com/items/20U-7832.htm

Gosh I love these things....

http://cgi.ebay.com/1990s-GUILD-USA-DV6 ... 53e1989de6

West

 

[geoguy]

Exactly what are these repair people sanding, shimming, & chiseling?

I wonder if a well-intentioned "repair" person has now buggered up the depth of the string slots in the nut . . . that might produce buzzing on a single string slot that was cut too deep, whereas the neighboring strings might be fine.

Maybe you should make your next guitar purchase closer to your own home/climate, so it doesn't have to be adjusted much for dimensional changes that occur when going from a really warm/humid place to somewhere a bit drier . . . they really are nice guitars, sorry for your troubles with your first Guild.

 

[taabru45]

Call a priest. :wink: Steffan

 

[dreadnut]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck, especially the Nimrods who insulted your playing ability! :evil:

Is this a Mexican made Guild? Either way, if you bought it new I'd say it's time for an exchange. I hope the FL dealer will trade you for a different one. Good luck.

 

[kdavid]

has anyone heard how this worked out?

 

[learnintoplay62]

Better yet return that one and buy my almost brand new Tacoma DV6. She's hardly used and sounds great. I will sell it to you for probably less than what you paid. Sorry for the shameless plug. Oh by the way Welcome, Welcome , Welcome. I too am sorry about the energy that you spent on this, but it sounds like you are on the right tract now. There is NOTHING like a guild, there are however, poor customer service people who frankly just aren't happy. I would however write a note to someone in charge and let them know how you were treated :wink:
Seriously though, if it doesn't work out, pm me.