What to do?

[Mykal!]

After a year of prevaricating I am finally about to buy myself a decent acoustic guitar. I'm an appalling player with little, if any, musical ability. Financially screwed by school fees and living in the UK I have distilled my choices to the following guitars:

1: Gibson CL-30 Deluxe - Now out of my price range.
2: Guild CV-1.
3: Guild GAD 40 Blonde.

I can just about afford the CV-1 but am unsure about it. I haven't yet seen it but it looks to be good value. However, it doesn't have a cutaway and there is no mention of a pick-up. I thought that these were standard on the CV-1. The guitar is for sale at a very respectable dealership some 60-70 miles away and I am sure that it is kosher.

The GAD 40 Blonde is affordable and looks very pretty with its flamed maple back and sides. This guitar is brand new and, again, is being sold by a highly respectable dealership some 70-80 miles from home.

Any advice will be very gratefully received.

Many thanks

Michael

 

[GardMan]

I can't help you with advice on those models, but welcome to LTG!

 

[chazmo]

Michael,

Welcome to LTG!

Have you considered purchasing a used guitar? I understand if not, but you can really get some bang for your buck (or pound, as the case may be).

On the new front, I can't advise you on any of these choices as I have not played any of them. I will only tell you that the Contemporary series (CV-1 and others) seems to have gone out of production since Guild left the Tacoma factory. There were, unfortunately, many of these instruments that were released to the public earlier this year as factory seconds that had bad necks among other things. That shouldn't necessarily stand in your way assuming this is *not* a second and the guitar plays well when you try it. I've heard some good reports from folks here on the forum that they are nice guitars.

 

[Ridgemont]

Welcome to the forum Michael

you and i have something in common. we are both appalling guitar players. :lol: you have some good choices. there are some differences about those guitars you may or may not know about. The CV-1 is made in america which adds to its appeal (and price). i believe it has mahogany back/sides for a compressed midrangy sound (something I prefer). The nut width is 1 3/4 inch which is great for fingerstyle but may be problematic for someone with small hands. others who have the CV-1 will chime in with a better analysis but i am aware that the contemporary series does have neck issues (due to the bolt on neck). This may or may not be a problem with your CV-1, but you should be aware of a potential additional cost for repair.

The GAD 40 is made in china. that is not necessarily a bad thing since it is reflected in a reduced price. I do have a GAD and have played several in the past. Some are simply outstanding while others are real duds. My advice to anyone buying a GAD is to try it first. build quality, i have found to always been great. your GAD 40 is maple (a beautiful sight i expect). guitars made of maple emphasize bright crisp trebles while de-emphasizing the low end. Some like it while others don't (I do). The nut width on this GAD will be 1 11/16 inch, which is standard.


The better of the two will be something you will need to decide. Both have lifetime warrantys if bought new (this may cover the CV-1 is something goes wrong with the neck)

 

[JimbowF212]

Let me first also say Welcome Aboard! I would go with Chasmo on the used Guild. You can usually get a better value and more guitar then if you limit yourself to a new instrument. I don't know about the UK but, over here we sometimes have jams where players get togather and play and usually you can try different guitars depending on who is there. Most of the time guitar players get a kick out of other people drooling over there Guitars so they let other people play them to get the reaction. Also at jams you can put out the word that you are in the market for a guitar and someone might be willing to sell you one. Just my thoughts hope this helps.

 

[dreadnut]

Welcome! I don't have personal experience with either of these models myself, so I will defer to Ridgemont's sage advice, but I would also recommend looking for a nice pre-owned Guild

 

[kitniyatran]

Same as they said.

 

[killdeer43]

Welcome Mykal!
I'd have to say that in recent years, my focus has certainly been on older, well cared-for Guilds. It might be another tired cliche' but they really "don't make 'em like they used to."
I've had my hands on a few newer models but I didn't really "feel" them. Of course, that's just me, and the "different strokes" rule-of- thumb applies. :wink:

Enjoy your time here,
Joe

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Michael and welcome to LTG! The 'Contemporary' series; COs/CVs ... they have their necks fastened to their bodies with a heavily-engineered graphite neck block system that has not always worked the way it was supposed to. The fact that your prospective CV might have a warranty only means that Guild and the dealer will be forced to reckon with you if or when the neck goes south ... not that the neck won't go south. The fact that Guild dropped them from their product line ... well ... that needs to sink in.

If you go look and just have to have it, bargain hard and realize that there's at least some chance that down the road, you might have troubles. Some of the new but unwarranted models are offered on eBay-US at $650-$800 ... whatever that is in pounds ... and the NOS models with warranties in the $1,400-$1,600 range ... So in the US, that warranty is worth roughly $800. By all accounts, the guitars have fine tone, look great, and are easy to play but some of them had issues.

 

[Mykal!]

Many thanks for all of the marvelous advice and for being so welcoming. I still need to see these guitars; hoepfully on Saturday. The CV is about $1500 and the GAD $900 (that's a rough, mental conversion from £ Sterling). This is a lot of money for me to spend on a guitar, or anything else for that matter. I need to see whether the CV has "Used" stamped on the headstock: if it does it will be definite no and I am still concerned about the neck mounting system. Are they easier to re-set when built in this way?

Once again, many thanks and please keep the information rolling in. Who knows I may find other Guilds to consider before the weekend.

Michael

 

[capnjuan]

... I need to see whether the CV has "Used" stamped on the headstock: if it does it will be definite no and I am still concerned about the neck mounting system. Are they easier to re-set when built in this way?

Hi Michael; we have an LTG thread here My Blem CV-1 ... Trainwreck neck. Don't let the title fool you ... it's long but amounts to our CO/CV FAQ knowledge base. Apparently the assembly sequence allowed a fair amount of finish to run under the neck-body junction giving luthiers the sensation that the neck couldn't be safely separated from the body. Two members bought un-warranted Contemporary models and got stuck pumping more money into them; they posted the comments from their luthiers in the thread. The sad part is that the objective of the system - pics in the thread - was to make it so the neck didn't need to be re-set but ... you can draw your own conclusions but don't forget that there are several members here who own Contemporary models and they are very happy with them.

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Greetings, Michael welcome to the Guild Empire. You didn't happen to bring a few pints of Old Peculier, by chance?

 

[fungusyoung]

Michael,

Welcome to LTG!

Have you considered purchasing a used guitar? I understand if not, but you can really get some bang for your buck (or pound, as the case may be).

Welcome, Michael!

Completely agree with Chazmo's suggestion here. I realize used Guilds can be fairly expensive in the UK, but if you are planning to spend in the neighborhood of 900- 1500 USD, you should be able to find a nice used D25 or D35 or something along these lines. We have some other members in the UK that may chime in with suggestions on where to look.

Best of luck in your search and with whatever you decide!

 

[Treem]

Welcome to the LTG!

Get a WESTERLY.RI GUILD!!!!!


8)

 

[zplay]

Hi Mykal,

Might be coming in here late, but since I've actually owned a couple of CV-1Cs and still have a stunning CV-2C, I can speak with experience about these models. I've never played a GAD-40, though I've played other GADs and would agree with previous comments about some being great and others mediocre.

Firstly, the CV-1 doesn't have a cutaway and may/may not have the DTAR electronics. I've never played a CV that didn't have great tone. It's not quite the traditional Guild tone, but it's very strong, pretty balanced and very clear. Big dynamic range, making it equally suited to soft fingerstyle play and strumming. I personally play mostly fingerstyle, but this guitar makes me want to strum it. I wouldn't personally call it midrangy, as in a typical OM, as the bass is very strong with the treble and mids just a hair behind.
1 3/4" nut with a very nice neck carve and playability all of the way up. Of course, there's quite a difference between this body style and that of a dread, so that should also be a consideration.

The neck attachment is the issue, as many were just not set right. My present CV needed a reset to permit the low action I prefer, though because of the bolt-on attachment, it was a pretty cheap, easy fix. But, because of this, I wouldn't buy a new one without looking it over closely. Interestingly, a CV marked "used" could be a great buy, as it would probably be not much more than a GAD. Of course, always best to play before pay.

 

[Nigel Wickwire]

...................The fact that Guild dropped them from their product line ... well ... that needs to sink in.

I would like to point out that the current line up of Ensenada built DV-4s and DV-6s are using the Guild neck block system. So they haven't abandoned them completely.

For the sake of Full Disclosure, I have not played any Guild guitar with the graphite neck block system.

~nw

 

[capnjuan]

... The fact that your prospective CV might have a warranty only means that Guild and the dealer will be forced to reckon with you if or when the neck goes south ... not that the neck won't go south. The fact that Guild dropped them from their product line ... well ... that needs to sink in.

I would like to point out that the current line up of Ensenada built DV-4s and DV-6s are using the Guild neck block system. So they haven't abandoned them completely.

Thank Nigel; in the original context, them refers to the Contemporary CO/CV models; not to the neck blocks.

 

[JerryR]

I'm an appalling player with little, if any, musical ability.

Michael

Hi Mykal - we are already Guild brothers by the sound of it :mrgreen:

I personally favour US made Guilds if you can afford one - and sadly the UK prices are higher than the US prices - if it's $600 in the US it will probably be £600 in the UK

Which part of the UK are you in :!: There is a Guild stockist in Manchester - Vintage and Rare Guitars in Bath and London will also stock Guilds - otherwise I find them to be like hen's teeth - rather rare :mrgreen:

 

[Firebird]

My hearty welcome to you! Since money is tight, buying a used Guild is the way to go. All Gibsons and Taylors are over-priced. Every one of them. Find yourself a good deal on Ebay and get yourself a nice Westerly guitar. The deals are there, you just have to have some patience and perseverence. Good luck!

 

[krysh]

welcome, michael.
I played a cv-1 that had a twisted neck and some gad30, a corona d-50 and d-40 and own a d-46.
I like the gad-30 a lot and the usa d-4x and d-5x are great, so I'd also recommend a used usa guild. a gad can be a great deal because the quality varies, but as an entry guild I strongly recommend a used gad-30. if you like it you can still buy another guild later and will probably keep her as the campfire beater.