This assortment of packing materials showed up at my door, and it did not inspire confidence.
But here it is. My new buddy.
Here's the patented Guild Parabolic Death Ray laminated back. Otherwise, it's solid mahogany and spruce.
As you can see, it's got some life on the odometer.
Not my favorite Guild head stock shape, but still pretty handsome.
This was the only real bummer. I'm assuming because of the temperature and humidity fluctuations of shipping from GA to NJ, the rear binding on the waste came up and caught on the case. The plus side was being able to see into the binding channel and confirm that the back was solidly attached to the sides (and that the center ply in the laminated back was not also mahogany. Curious). But I put some wood glue in there and torqued it down with tape. As of this morning, the binding is rock solid.
This was an impulse buy. The deal was good. Not great, but likely the cheapest this model of guitar will be ever again. I've read where they used to go as low as $350 (which is just bonkers to me). But I can't imagine one of these ever selling for less than what I paid at this point, it was $200-500 cheaper than the other Reverb listings for the same. The guy probably got what he paid for it back and maybe some extra, but I suspect that I will too someday.
Condition is good/great. It's got all kinds of little dinks and scuffs. I like that because I don't have to treat it like a museum piece. The bridge saddle is very tall, so this thing at 24 years old is ages from a neck reset. The frets do appear to have been dressed down, and are now sitting at about .020"-.030". That's lower than I'm used to (especially considering my new Guild has Burj Khalifa frets). But the action is easy enough, all the notes sound clear and true.
It's loud, but not a cannon. Balanced. Not overly bassy. It frames the spectrum very nicely.
I kinda see this as a low key investment. It's my first "real acoustic" (although it's definitely as entry level as you can get for a US guitar). I'll either parlay this into a 70's D25, or just enjoy it for what it is. Either way, I think it's getting a pickup installed for gigging. Great couch buddy so far though.
