I'm going to look at a DV-52. What should I watch out for?

[theflyingturtle]

I know nothing about them except that they get rave reviews. Do they have any concerns that I should know of or ask the seller?

 

[West R Lee]

If you can get the seller to, ask him for some shots of the bridge. Check between the pin holes for cracks, but really check out the saddle height and the string height off the fretboard. Other than that, a good set of pictures to check general condition. If you're buying from an eBay seller, seller rating is pretty important to me. And in shipping this time of the year, if she arrives on a cold day, give her several hours to acclimate in the box prior to opening.

By the way, the DV52 is the only guitar that I regret selling. Man, it doesn't get much better than I nice DV52. Also, you do know they were built in two finishes? There is a high gloss version and a hand rubbed version. I prefer the high gloss, but some prefer the other......all should have great tone.

Good luck,

West

 

[dreadnut]

ditto re: the bridge and other stuff Westie said.

The older ones have a herringbone rosette and the newer ones have abalone. They're all really sweet sounding, the DV-52 was an outstanding combination of materials.

Still the best deal going on vintage Guilds, or any other vintage hand made American guitar for that matter. In my hugely biased yet humble opinion. :wink:

 

[theflyingturtle]

Well it is finally official; I am staying around here for good! The guitar was a little dinged and it had a repaired crack at the neck, which didn't go all the way through but it sounded great, the bridge is fine, and the price was right. Nice people too. The guitar will be dropped off tommorrow (It was a CL deal) and money will trade hands. I am still unsure if I did the right thing. I use my guitars to sing with and, at least so far, the only guitar that really matches my voice and I feel supremely comfortable singing with is my Gibson J-45. Every rosewood guitar I have sung with up till now has felt uncomfortable to sing with. I can sing with the DV though. I am not sure how comfortable I am with it but I will find out tommorrow when I get it into my studio. I was unsure if I wanted to get another dreadnaught. I was hoping to try another body style but after trying several concert sized guitars, a couple of OMs, and some jumbos nothing really caught my attention. Maybe I am a dreadnaught guy? Who knows.

One of the criteria for getting a new guitar was that it HAD to sound better that what I already have. I don't think this one sounds better that my J-45. The J is sweeter but the Guild is more articulate. When I really hit the Gibson with some hard strumming it turns into a gong but no matter how hard I was strumming the Guild it wouldn't break up so it does have it's strong points but the jury is still out until it is in my hands for a few hours tommorrow. It is also very loud and the tone is really substantial. Will that be enough for me? I was gassing HARD for a Guild so at least for right now I am calling this one mission accomplished. This will be either the end of my GAS for a Guild or just the beginning. I hope, I hope, I hope! I want to love this thing so bad. I hope it works out. Fingers and toes crossed.

 

[hojo199]

I know nothing about them except that they get rave reviews. Do they have any concerns that I should know of or ask the seller?

Congrats Flying Turtle!

 

[bluesypicky]

Hi turtle!
Congrats on your deal, you did the right thing.
And since you mentioned the word "studio", let me add to the numerous praises on the DV52, with pointing out that it is THE best recording acoustic I have ever had. Whatever equipment you use and regardless of how you use it, that guitar seems to always come out shining for a strange, but delicious reason.
And yes, I am biased too, but I only became biased after owning mine and realizing that it really is one of the best possible dreadnought deal available today, if not the best one, if you're looking for this classy vintage tone (a la HD28).
See? I'm a little less radical than Dread here, I leave the door opened to different opinions.... (but I share his 100%) :lol:
Enjoy it much and keep us updated!

 

[dreadnut]

Of course, you should reserve judgment until you've got a fresh new set of your fave strings on her...mine likes D'A PB mediums.

 

[dapmdave]

Congrats... and don't forget the pictures!

Dave

 

[chazmo]

Congrats, turtle. That's great.

As time goes on, be sure to try some of the Guild jumbos and give us a comparison opinion...

 

[evenkeel]

Congrats!! Looking forward to some pics.

 

[theflyingturtle]

Of course, you should reserve judgment until you've got a fresh new set of your fave strings on her...mine likes D'A PB mediums.

I am glad you mentioned this because I tried out a lot of strings before I settled on DR Sunbeams for the Gibson. Those strings were my favorite by far. I pick and strum with my fingers most of the time instead of using a pick and the DRs were the best at that so far. This Guild, on the other hand, is an unknown quantity so I guess I will have to play around with string types for a while. Suggestions are welcome. The nut and saddle are the items from the factory and appear to be plastic so would you reccomend a bone replacement? I will of course string it up with what I've got on hand to get a baseline of what I like and don't like about the tone but from what little I did play on the guitar it seemed loud enough with light strings. I am curious as to why you like mediums. With the Gibson I have heard that they respond well to med. strings and having tried it I have to agree to some degree but after a while I seemed to lose interest in the increased volume because it was too hard to fret notes and I only do this for fun. I adapted eventually but discovered that the overall song was more important to me that squeezing every last drop of tone out of the instrument. However, with the Guild are the meds. to correct a deficiency, to accentuate the characteristics of the guitar, or just a personal preference? Thank you for all the replies folks. Oh, and Chazmo, this all started with me getting interested in Guild jumbos!!! If I could have found one I probably would have bought one. Despite having agreeing to buy a guitar it still isn't a JF-55 like John Denver played so there's that loose end to consider...

 

[taabru45]

Be sure to uncross your fingers, or you could hurt yourself... :lol: Steffan

 

[dreadnut]

I've never tried DR Sunbeams, might have to give those a whirl!

Mediums are definitely personal preference, not to correct any deficiency. Just about everyone here has a different opinion on brands and guages of strings. I believe most Guild dreads were shipped with mediums. I prefer them for the increased tone, and I play with a flatpick and a plastic thumbpick/brass fingerpick combo. I also do a lot of bluegrass, so the mediums cut through the prominent banjo tone pretty effectively. And I lead a lot of sing-alongs with multiple guitars, so as lead guitar I have to use my guitar to lead.

 

[chazmo]

[ ... ] Oh, and Chazmo, this all started with me getting interested in Guild jumbos!!! If I could have found one I probably would have bought one. Despite having agreeing to buy a guitar it still isn't a JF-55 like John Denver played so there's that loose end to consider...

Depends how deep your GAS runs. I had an F-512 rock my world a few years ago, and since then I've put 5 of those big chunks of wood in casa Chaz, which admittedly is a bit ridiculous.

Anyway, Guild's dreads are terrific, and guiltars like the DV-52 truly represent the pinnacle of value from the Westerly mother ship. I know you're going to love it.

As far as the plastic saddle is concerned, my advice is try one thing at a time as you live with the guitar. Strings are the biggest contributor to tone, and try a few sets early on to see what you might like. But indeed you might want to swap that saddle for bone down the road, and maybe the nut too. Pins are often cited as affecting tone. If there are any playability issues with the guitar a nut and saddle replacement might be in order right off the bat.

Oh, and watch your humidity. Not sure where you're located, but if you're not familiar with the effects of dryness/humidity, spend some time on the Taylor web site; there are some informative videos and documents there to bring you up to speed. I learned the hard way, unfortunately, by cracking guitars due to my ignorance.

 

[hideglue]

Check the braces. Early examples of DV-52s have braces that are shaved far too short of the kerfling.

 

[theflyingturtle]

Check the braces. Early examples of DV-52s have braces that are shaved far too short of the kerfling.

I'm afraid I am a bit too far along in the process to go back now but I am actually not sure what you just wrote :lol: ! I didn't even know I had a "kerfling"?! I thought it was the sound a bullet makes when it hits a rock?

 

[fronobulax]

From this.

As far as purfling and kerfling are concerned, these are quite different, and refer simply to the ways in which the lining of a guitar is attached to the top, the back and the ribs of an acoustic or classic guitar. On acoustic guitars, the wood used for these parts of the body is very thin, sometimes being only just over a millimetre in thickness. So help strengthen the guitar, flexible strips of wood are placed in the corners of the inside of the body, especially where the rib meets the top of the guitar, and the back. In some guitars, particularly classical ones, these reinforcements are solid, but in acoustics, in particular those that are steel strung, the lining curved, or scored, and this allows it to bend in with the ribs. This is known as kerfing, and in some cases the outside joints of a guitar are routed out, and then filled with strips of material which help to bond the seams of the guitar together, often in a decorative way, this exterior, decorative binding is called purfling.

Both kerfling and purfling can be made using either wood, or in many cases today, plastic. On an acoustic guitar, if you turn it over to see the back, you'll almost always notice that it is made from three sections of wood, and where these three sections join, there is a strip of material, usually decorative to some extent, and this is a good example of purfling. If you are looking at a steel string guitar, then look inside the joints, and you'll be more likely to spot the kerfling.

(Spelling inconsistencies in the original).

Image from here showing kerfling being clipped in place while the glue dries.

I saw this done at LMG2010 but did not recall what words described it.

 

[wontox]

re: purfling


To even complicate matters more, purfling is actually the specific term for the inlay material used inside the edge binding or soundhole ring...the binding being the containing exterior strip at the top/bottom edges. Inexpensive guitars often have binding but no purlfing.

Wontox

 

[dreadnut]

Hide, my back braces were loose & had to be re-glued. My tech guy at Elderly knocked on the back with his knuckles and you could hear that they were loose. Mine was built in '98.