F50R and D55 - new toys

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Not sure how it happened but I woke up one day obsessed with Guild and a violent hatred of Gibson. One SJ-200 costs more than both of these put together and doesn't sound as good with my limited experience in playing the Gibson flagship jumbo. Bought both of these used on reverb for very reasonable prices. Buying used guitars over the internet is something I said I'd never do but obsession is stronger than fear it seems. Both of them are the best acoustics I've ever played but they're certainly different. Most of the time I lean to the F50R but if you're in the mood for more bass response the D-55 is the ticket. I know there's been a lot of speculation on which of the two is louder, for me the jumbo is a bit louder but not by much. Had the action setup on the two to be identical so the comparison on volume is definitely fair.

These are Tacoma's, and extremely easy to play considering I have the string height set to where I can beat the hell out of them without getting buzzing or rattles. For strings John Pearse 12's seem to be the best middle ground between tone and playability. I've tried D'addario EXP's 80/20 and Phosphor bronze, GHS Phosphor bronze, Elixir nanoweb, but always come back to John Pearse. Very sparkling high's, booming bass but not muddy, strong mid presence, tons of volume, just really really balanced tone which I've never gotten out of the big 3 (martin / gibson / taylor), and I've tried most of their flagship offerings. Sorry the photos are not better quality, certainly don't do these justice for how they look in person. Seems like the logical thing to do at this point is get my hands on a Tacoma F512 in natural finish in the same excellent condition these were in, would finish out the collection of these rosewood Tacoma Guilds quite nicely. Isn't easy thing to find these days though.

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chazmo

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Welcome aboard.

Two gorgeous instruments there!

Funny story about turning Gibby hatred into Guild love!

I'm also a big fan of the Tacoma-era F-512, by the way. Good luck in the hunt!
 

txbumper57

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Nice pics and Nice Guitars! Another Rosewood Guild from Tacoma for your collection would be a D50 Bluegrass. They have an Adirondack top instead of the Sitka on the D55 and F50R. D50 Bluegrass models are excellent guitars that sound a bit different from the Sitka offerings. Just a suggestion of course. Welcome to LTG!


TX
 

Zelja

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Whoa, you don't muck around, straight to the flagship traditional models! And this will only be the beginning...

Welcome iHG.
 

rampside

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That's quite an impressive entrance, iHG! Welcome.

One no messing around way to start.

I will be looking forward to seeing and hearing about ALL your future Guild acquisitions.:eagerness:
 

Westerly Wood

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Very nice representatives of Guild acoustic prowess. Also like your take on John Pearse strings. The PB lights are great in nearly all situations.
 

Ron from Texas

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I'm still a newbie also but I will welcome you also ! Wow that is a great pair of guitars looking great ! I would have to play pro before I could invest in some like that . I can barely play and hope to soon as mine comes from the shop .
 

Cougar

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Bought both of these used on reverb for very reasonable prices. Buying used guitars over the internet is something I said I'd never do but obsession is stronger than fear it seems.

Great score! Don't you just love those ebony fingerboards? And yeah, welcome to the boards. I've bought probably a dozen guitars off the internet. Sold a few back. It's working so far.

Both of them are the best acoustics I've ever played....

Ah yes, same with my two Guilds. I came to Guild through its 12-string door....

These are Tacoma's....

My 12-string's Corona and the F50R is New Hartford. They're apparently all good. :encouragement:
 

Taylor Martin Guild

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Nice intro to Guild.
I like the thought of adding the F-512 to finish the collection.

I'm a huge fan of the big Guild Rosewood tone.
You have it in Aces!
 

adorshki

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That's quite an impressive entrance, iHG! Welcome.

One no messing around way to start.

I will be looking forward to seeing and hearing about ALL your future Guild acquisitions.:eagerness:

Yep, second all that.
And trust us, there will be more.
Very few of us can just stop at 3.
It's just the minimum requirement to ensure you still have a spare for a buddy who drops by, if one's in the shop.
 

gjmalcyon

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These are Tacoma's, and extremely easy to play considering I have the string height set to where I can beat the hell out of them without getting buzzing or rattles. For strings John Pearse 12's seem to be the best middle ground between tone and playability.

Drop the mike is right.

Welcome.

I loves me my Tacoma-built examples too. Beautiful craftsmanship and tone. Mine like Curt Mangan strings as well as the John Pearse.
 

bobouz

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Congrats on your new Guilds, but too bad you hate Gibsons.

Owning quite a few of both brands, I find them to be equally enjoyable - including jumbos, small jumbos, and dreads.

Still, at least you're on board with part of the equation!
 

Cougar

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Congrats on your new Guilds, but too bad you hate Gibsons.

Yes, I think our new member went a little over the top with that. Of course, it's perfectly fine to point out that he got both those gorgeous Tacoma Guilds for less than the price of a Gibson SJ-200. That's pertinent information! Nevertheless, I think I'd be quite happy with a J-45 myself, or any number of other Gibson models. They are indeed expensive. My finger had begun to squeeze on the trigger for a rare new burst J-15 with abalone rosette... when TX noted a nice New Hartford F50R showed up on reverb. I'm not even wondering what the J-15 would have been like!

Still, to trash Gibson in a post is one thing, but IHG's handle is kind of like a face tattoo. :nightmare:
 
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