onewilyfool
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How about a Westerly R.I., circa '99 in good condition??? Thanks....
bluesypicky said:My observations on the D55 used market, place it closer to $1500 than $1000, but I agree with the range....
Most likely the $1000 priced ones will not qualify for the "good condition" etiquette, unless you get a good deal.
I never had any of mine set up until the first fret job on the '25, other than a little truss tweaking myself. Even then I have it set to factory spec, I think the factory setups are great. I'm always leery of those ads that say "low action". I think, "OK, does that mean it's already had the frets levelled and the nut and saddle shaved so it's gonna need that stuff AND a real fret job to be the way it's supposed to be?" I'd almost rather see: "Original frets all notched to h-ll so it's gonna need a fret job for sure" Then I'd be pretty sure the nut & saddle were ok at least. :lol:GardMan said:Still a great player... haven't even had it set up in the 3 years I have had it.
GardMan said:I think the market fluctuates a lot... but I think the '90s D-55s are probably at the lower end of the overall D-55 price scale (especially the early '90s, before the pearl rosette was added). They aren't really old enough to be "vintage," and thus command less than the '70s and '80s 55s, but have "depreciated" more than those from the 2000s (Westerly's) and the Tacoma models. I think that probably makes them the best overall deals, if you find one in good shape. My '92 cost me <$1200, and would have been in exc condition if it hadn't gotten cold-checked in transit. Still a great player... haven't even had it set up in the 3 years I have had it.
Taylor Martin Guild said:The kid that I purchased it from knew nothing about humidifying a guitar.
I told him that it needed to be humidified and he said that it came with a Dampit and he always kept it with the guitar.
He didn't know that you need to add water to it.
JC: I can't remember ever hearing that a neck reset was associated with humidity. It's always associated with the years of accumulated tension of the strings. Cracks in the wood are the common problem associated with humidity. I suppose it's possible that a dry top is more likely to crack if the strings are pulling the guitar's body up around the heelblock, which is what's really going on when people say the neck is being pulled towards the bridge.jcwu said:I always thought that humidifying a guitar is for those who live in extreme conditions, and not a problem for those of us in California.
Well, within the last two weeks I diagnosed the possible need for a neck reset on my DV-52. So now I'm getting ready to eat my words.... if indeed the lack of humidification contributed to the problem.
adorshki said:It's possible that if the guitars are stored in an HVAC controlled environment maybe they do get too dry since typical industrial air conditioning dehumidifies air.
I'm thinking is it stored in your church, especially outside its case?
Some people think the need for a reset is inevitable but I think it also depends on what string gauges you use, I've always used the lights spec'd for the guitars. Didn't you mention recently you used mediums for quite a while? I think that's much more probable cause of the need for the reset.
Well, having eliminated the humidity question, you might be right. But I still think string tension is the primary cause of necks going out of line and less can only be better in gthe long term. Before I noticed the bellying getting exaggerated on my F65 I used to keep her strung with lights even though Guild spec'd "EXTRA lights". I thought, hey, it's a Guild, it can take it. Now I think they spec'd the strings for very good reason. Do you know what the DV-52 was originally designed for? I admit I don't.jcwu said:...so I've switched back to mediums. I'm guessing the neck alignment problem was there before I switched to the lights, but I just never noticed it..
...and now that I think about it, maybe I was having problems with the mediums not because my fingers were getting weaker, but because the neck misalignment was causing the action to go up. :idea:
I know what you mean. My D25 with lights is as easy to play as nylon, with all the snap of steel. I still haven't felt any other guitar like it, although the F65 comes very close. The D40 has a thicker neck so it's just a tiny bit harder for me to play.Treem said:All my acoustics have mediums on them right now. But the mediums playability feels like the lights on my Guilds!! And I dunno why? :lol: 8)
But it makes me
AWESOME PLAYABILITY!!!! 8) :lol: 8)adorshki said:I know what you mean. My D25 with lights is as easy to play as nylon, with all the snap of steel. I still haven't felt any other guitar like it, although the F65 comes very close. The D40 has a thicker neck so it's just a tiny bit harder for me to play.Treem said:All my acoustics have mediums on them right now. But the mediums playability feels like the lights on my Guilds!! And I dunno why? :lol: 8)
But it makes me