"New" D25NT!!! My First American Guild

[Ridgemont]

Hi Everybody,

Well, I got my D25! This is just a follow up to the post:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=14966

Great guitar by the way. I couldn't wait a week for a set up, so I took it home over the weekend. I will take it back this week. It currently has PB EXP lights. The lights sound great, but I think I can get more out of it with mediums (string suggestions anybody?....My vote is currently for JP phosphor bronze). The guitar is in very good condition. It has a few nicks and scratches with some finish checking below the bridge and on the back. It is minimal and I do not think a camera would be able to get it. The neck is straight with no fretware. I did notice that the guitar does have low profile frets, which is something I am not used to. They are not rounded on top, but more leveled. Is this normal? The D25 is a 1994 Westerly (don't have the serial # right now). After I bought it I found out that the guitar has somewhat a famous backstory. It was on consignment at Austin Vintage Guitar, and the seller is the keyboardist/guitarist from the band Spoon. It came with a very obnoxious Texas Flag case that they got at the Austin City Limits festival back in early 2000s. I will post pictures shortly.

There were so many D25s on ebay and I was following everyone. I feel like I got a respectable deal ($600) on this one because the selling price lines up with the ebay ones. And I got to test it out first. I am very satisfied, but my fingers are fried from playing all weekend. I want to thank everybody here who helped me with my search (especially Tunes and Doug aka Guildzilla).

I do have a couple of questions about maintenance, because I want this guitar to last. My other two guitars have pretty heavy lacquer on them, unlike the nitrocellulose? of the D25. I bought my Sigma classical guitar new back in 1994 and still is in excellent condition with no cracks or finish checking. I do nothing to control humidity inside this guitar and it sits on my wall. Can I treat the D25 the same way? I know it is necessary for many guitars to be constantly stored in their cases with humidifiers. Is this one of them? Austin has a good amount of humidity throughout the year. Right now we are in a drought so humidity has been around 30%.

-Ridgemont

 

[Ross]

hi Ridgemont:

Congratulations on your purchase. That's a fine guitar you have.

I had some problems with my D-25, caused by dryness. The summers here are fairly humid, but in winter it gets very dry in our homes. I left my guitar on a stand for years, and it suffered as a consequence (I also suffered financially, paying for repairs). Humidification is important for a steel-string guitar, because of the relatively high string tension. Your nylon-string instrument has much less tension and is therefore more tolerant of dryness. I recommend that you use a humidifier inside the guitar, and keep it in its case or bag (especially in times of low humidity)

heers
R

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I agree with Ross.
I have 2 guitars that I got in 1981 and I have kept the humidity within the proper range over the years.
No cracks, checking or neck problems with either one of them.
Humidifying and storing the guitar in it's case is very cheep insurance.
By the way, congratulations on your D25. I hope it's a keeper.

 

[fungusyoung]

Totally agree with Ross also.

I gave my '92 D25 away because it was so damaged due to exposure to too much heat/humidity by a prior owner. It is an absolutely sweet sounding guitar... one of the best sounding dreads I've owned, but I just couldn't see doing a neck re-set myself. I recently borrowed & played it out at an open mic, and it still sounds fantastic. But, if I was anything more than a cowboy chord player, the action would be pretty unbearable.

Keep your babies at room temperature and between 40- 60% humidity (or so I've been told). Inexpensive in-case humidifiers work great. I have no option but to use them in the Northeast during the winter. Just replenish the distilled water weekly & keep that case closed.

 

[GardMan]

I honestly never worried too much about humidification until recently... my D-35 lived for 8 years in the LA area, 5 in SF, and nearly 20 in SLC, suffering all sorts of indignities due to temp and humidity fluctuations. I just didn't know any better (no one ever told me, and there was no internet with guitar care tips back then!).

Now that I have a handful of Guilds, I am a little more careful. RH in the summer in SLC drops to <15% much of the time, and winter can be just as bad or worse when the central heating comes on. While storage in a case with a humidifier is clearly one option, I want all my instruments available to be played... w/o having to get them out of their cases. Thus, I opt keep them out on stands and wall hangers, and humidify the entire room that they are in. A humidifier from Sears ($75-100) keeps them at ~40% RH year round (while 45% might be optimum for the guitars, it feels too muggy to me when I go and play them... 40% is much more comfortable).
Dave

 

[12stringer]

Hey Ridge...Congrats on the D25!!! You have got some good advice already about humidification...it also helps keep the belly flat which in turn helps to avoid neck resets etc.
Happy Picking!

 

[dreadnut]

Congrats, Ridge. Nice tone, huh?

 

[evenkeel]

Congrats on the new D25. Looking forward to the pics.

 

[kitniyatran]

More congrats, Ridge, mine appears to be a 1995; great guitars.
I've always lived in a humid environment, & never had a problem with instruments drying out. (40+ years)

 

[adorshki]

Hi Ridgemont, congratulations! On your question about frets I suspect they have been levelled once already, they should be normal round profile frets. Out here (San Jose CA) a complete refret with bone nut & saddle and set-up runs about $350.00. Bone is worth the investment. The guitars came with lights (.012-.053) and I don't think they really need anything heavier to get added volume. Also if the frets HAVE been levelled you're already losing a little tone & volume from the max possible so take that into account.
IN '96 they listed for $1199.00 (or $1299?) with case, to give you an idea of where you'd comparatively be if you did go the whole 9 yards on refret. Look inside on the heelblock to check "born on date" although it's not the actual finishing date of the guitar. There's other threads here about that.
You may want to reconsider the set up until you know how high new frets will be, for example you may not want to lower the saddle or file the nut slots unless you're willing to replace 'em later anyway.
Mine is now set at exactly factory specs (you can find on Guild website). With light strings it has the feel of a flamenco guitar (VERY high tension nylon/gut), in fact I play it barebacked finger style about 25% of the time now and that "feel" is what I prize most highly out of all my guitars.
From you intro post it sounds like you have some working knowledge so I don't mean to sound pedantic. Most important a little feedback from someone who's owned one since new, and a little food for thought about where you want to go with setup. Also a little bit of "better said than not said" in case it actually helps.
Keeping guitar in real hardshell case helps insulate it from temperature shock and sudden humidity shifts.
I agree with everybody here that you want to protect it from too dry conditions but I never had to worry about a dampit in California as long as it was stored in a case inside a house.
And finally a paraphraseof a well-known old chestnut:
"Guilds will get you through times of no girlfriends better than girlfriends will get you through times of no Guilds" :mrgreen:
Al

 

[Ridgemont]

I do agree with all of you. It is better to be safe than sorry. I will keep both my Guilds in their cases with humidifiers, and get a hygrometer to satisfy my curiosity about humidity fluctuations inside the house.

The frets may be leveled, but the guitar is definitely playable (except for the high action up the neck). I think I will go ahead with the setup for now, just to get the 12th fret playable with minimal cost. When I do decide to get a re-fret (maybe next year?) I will go all out with bone for the nut and saddle.

It turns out that my D25 is not a '94. I did check the born on date and the serial # for myself and it is a '97.

thanks for the advice everybody!

-Ridgemont

 

[Tunes]

Ridge -

Don't know how I missed this post !! Congrats on your new Guild - hope you enjoy it for many years to come.

 

[adorshki]

HI Ridge: I think you'll find inside humidity doesn't vary too much unless you keep the windows open a lot (Or run a clothes dryer inside with the windows closed). My real mistake was temperature shocks when I'd take it out to the park in the summer, it'd frequently go from about 75 to plus 90 as soon as I'd open the case. Sometimes later in the season it'd go from about 75 down to around 60. I found out later those sudden temperature shifts are murder on the nitro finish 'cause it expands at a different rate than the wood. Even so, finish cracks are only very slight. It sure did like the heat as far as volume though!
Oh yeah, if you have any minor dings/worn through areas they can actually be sealed with nail polish which contains, you guessed it, nitrocellulose! (check the label make sure it's listed). If you're real careful and neat you can hardly tell it's there. Then you don't have to worry too much about polish getting into wood. I use Martin's. Someone on another thread felt the Martin's didn't seem to gloss up quickly, but it contains no silicone (silicone BAD). It does take overnight to really dry up after first buff then buffs up pretty nice. Also nitro is VERY susceptible to sweat. Make sure to wipe down after playing or you'll get hazy spots which won't gloss up like the rest of the instrument. There's also a great product called Guitar Honey which is for restoring natural oils to fretboards and saddles. Doesn't need to be used more than once a year though.
I wouldn't be at all surpised if our instruments are actually from same or consecutive production runs, meaning I'm sure yours is every bit as good as mine, and the longer I own her, the more I love her. I think it'll happen to you, especially after you get a real fret job...something to look forward to...if you think she sounds good now, wait'll she's better than new!
Al