Greetings from Australia - D55 Tacoma pickup question

nrand

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Thanks to Jamie and Donald for connecting me here. I recently purchased a 2005 Tacoma built D55 with an under saddle piezo, powered by a 9v battery. The piezo is red in color.
The old battery had been neglected and had exploded inside the case but I now seem to be getting a response with a fresh battery.
Is this the Dtar system or something else?

Meanwhile,
I love the sound of the guitar for my style of singing, I also have a Martin D25K and a 12 string Cole Clark I use in performance.
All are dreadnaughts.
This guitar replaces my K Yairi DY 74C which is basically worn out.
It does not appear to have been ever set up, i.e. the saddle appears to be a virgin sitting high with no compensation, thus the action is a bit high for my tastes, so I will get it set up by my guitar tech as soon as my Martin comes back from a neck reset.


Looking forward to learning more about this guitar, as it is my first Guild.

Thanks in advance
 
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chazmo

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Welcome aboard, nrand, and g'day mate! :)

Yummy! A Tacoma D-55 is a wonderful guitar. Well, *all* D-55s are. :)

I'm not sure what Tacoma was using during their early production (2005 was their first year). I know they used D-TAR wavelength systems later on for sure (and this may be one), but they used a Load'nLock system at the endpin that took (I think) AA batteries, not 9V. This might pre-date that. I don't recall the D-TAR piezo being red, but I might be wrong about that. I think the electonics enclosure by the endpin will be red though. You should be able to put a mirror inside the soundbox and see if there's any writing on the components.

Best wishes, and again welcome aboard.
 

txbumper57

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Congrats on a Great Guild nrand and Welcome to LTG! To elaborate on what Chazmo posted, That is not either of the DTAR Pickup systems that Guild used from the factory. Both DTAR pickups that they used were 18 volt systems that took 2 AA Batteries. The DTAR Lock N' Load would have been what was used during the Tacoma Years and it has a Large Screw Cap on the endpin itself (Probably the size of an American 50 cent piece) that when removed allows you to change the 2 AA batteries. The Later DTAR Wavelength Multisource that was used in New Hartford model Guilds had an Internal battery container that was mounted to the Neck block for the 2 AA Batteries and a Condenser mic mounted to the sound hole controls.

There is a chance that you just have an aftermarket 9 volt UST in the guitar unless the previous owner specifically stated it was from the factory. I have seen some Corona made and Early Tacoma made Guilds come factory with the 9 volt Fishman Matrix UST pickup and that UST was red. The Fishman would fit the time period of your Guitar being manufactured as Fishman was what Guild used before switching to DTAR.

If you decide to upgrade to the 18 volt DTAR Wavelength Multisource you can find them on the internet new for less than $200 and they are one of the best pickups ever made for Acoustic guitars. Hope this helps and enjoy that Tacoma D55, They are Great Guitars!

Don't be surprised if it takes a while for your first few posts to show up. As a new member your first few posts have to be approved by a moderator to make sure you are a real person, LOL! They will show up eventually.

TX
 
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nrand

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Thanks for the welcome and input chasm, Joe, and txbumper. This one has a battery pack that is velcro'ed under the top near the end of the fretboard, and looks to be professionally installed, wiring wise.
Not a real convenient setup.
I use K&K pickups on most of my guitars, run through Redeye preamps on my board along with all the rest of my bells and whistles.
Now that I have this working I am trying to decide whether I like it or not.
In any case I mightiest have my neck swap in the K&K when I get it it set up, as I have a set on hand.
 
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nrand

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Congrats on a Great Guild nrand and Welcome to LTG! To elaborate on what Chazmo posted, That is not either of the DTAR Pickup systems that Guild used from the factory. Both DTAR pickups that they used were 18 volt systems that took 2 AA Batteries. The DTAR Lock N' Load would have been what was used during the Tacoma Years and it has a Large Screw Cap on the endpin itself (Probably the size of an American 50 cent piece) that when removed allows you to change the 2 AA batteries. The Later DTAR Wavelength Multisource that was used in New Hartford model Guilds had an Internal battery container that was mounted to the Neck block for the 2 AA Batteries and a Condenser mic mounted to the sound hole controls.

There is a chance that you just have an aftermarket 9 volt UST in the guitar unless the previous owner specifically stated it was from the factory. I have seen some Corona made and Early Tacoma made Guilds come factory with the 9 volt Fishman Matrix UST pickup and that UST was red. The Fishman would fit the time period of your Guitar being manufactured as Fishman was what Guild used before switching to DTAR.

If you decide to upgrade to the 18 volt DTAR Wavelength Multisource you can find them on the internet new for less than $200 and they are one of the best pickups ever made for Acoustic guitars. Hope this helps and enjoy that Tacoma D55, They are Great Guitars!

Don't be surprised if it takes a while for your first few posts to show up. As a new member your first few posts have to be approved by a moderator to make sure you are a real person, LOL! They will show up eventually.

TX


Thank you for these details txbumper. From what I can see it looks like the Fishman setup, noting that as well as the Red UST, it also uses the nylon / velcro battery pouch such as I have seen with the Fishmans. It sounds Ok, though not as defined as my K&Ks in my other guitars.
Once I get my Martin back from the shop, i'll try the existing set up alongside the Martin to see if I can get the balance between the two guitars where I need it.. Everything acoustic goes through Redeye preamps on my board and then to the mixer.
The D55 will stay tuned to Eb while the Martin is for Standard / or DADGAD.
 
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JohnW63

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Do you tune to Eb for more bass or to better suit your voice, or for some other reason ? I've never experimented beyond "Drop D" tuning really.
 

txbumper57

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Thank you for these details txbumper. From what I can see it looks like the Fishman setup, noting that as well as the Red UST, it also uses the nylon / velcro battery pouch such as I have seen with the Fishmans. It sounds Ok, though not as defined as my K&Ks in my other guitars.
Once I get my Martin back from the shop, i'll try the existing set up alongside the Martin to see if I can get the balance between the two guitars where I need it.. Everything acoustic goes through Redeye preamps on my board and then to the mixer.
The D55 will stay tuned to Eb while the Martin is for Standard / or DADGAD.

No Problem Nrand, I like tuning a few of my guilds to Eb as well with Medium gauge strings. They have a wonderful Growl to them and the lower tuning really brings out a lot of Color in the tone that you don't get in Standard Tuning. It seems to be more so in my Guilds than other brands for some reason. Also with the mediums tuned to Eb the tension on the neck is almost identical to a set of lights tuned to Standard.

TX
 

nrand

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Do you tune to Eb for more bass or to better suit your voice, or for some other reason ? I've never experimented beyond "Drop D" tuning really.

Hi John
I have a deeper voice than most who sing covers and this allows me to play chords in open/first position for many songs I would not otherwise be able to cover - this often sounds more authentic to the original key of the song than transposing or capo'ing up would.
 

nrand

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No Problem Nrand, I like tuning a few of my guilds to Eb as well with Medium gauge strings. They have a wonderful Growl to them and the lower tuning really brings out a lot of Color in the tone that you don't get in Standard Tuning. It seems to be more so in my Guilds than other brands for some reason. Also with the mediums tuned to Eb the tension on the neck is almost identical to a set of lights tuned to Standard.

TX

Before i bought this I had been reading that the Guild's are good like this. This fills the role my K Yairi used to for stage work. TX - I am guessing you are from Texas - have you ever tried the Redeye preamps? They are hand-made in Austin Texas by a retired electronics engineer named Daren Appelt, originally designed for fiddle players who wanted something for Texas swing, acoustic guitar players soon discovered them too. I purchased my first unit when Daren was still making them all himself, and since then his company 'Fire-Eye' has grown substantially on the strength of his work
 
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