NGD 2010 D55 Burst

txbumper57

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Hello Everyone! This is a NGD post for a 2010 Guild D-55 in beautiful Burst finish made in the New Hartford, Connecticut facility. Personally out of all the Guilds I own I think that the New Hartford Acoustics are some of the finest if not The Finest Guitars that were ever made by any company at any time. This D55 is a testament to that belief in appearance, quality materials, quality craftsmanship, and tone. I would like to thank GeoTrio here on the forum for selling it to me. He is a stand up guy and a pleasure to do business with.

The first thing that you notice on this guitar is it's appearance. The Burst finish is absolutely gorgeous along with all of the Guild High end appointments. Whether you are looking at the beautiful grain of the Solid Ebony Headstock cap with it's mother of pearl Guild "G" shield logo or gazing at the figured Abalone chevron inlays on the fretboard it is very easy to get lost in the beauty of this instrument. Even through the burst finish the quality of the Sitka top is striking along with the wonderfully grained East Indian Rosewood back and sides. I have literally stared at this guitar and lost track of time just taking it all in.

After you get past the looks it is time to get down to the nitty gritty as they say. The tone of this guitar is haunting. The Adirondack Spruce bracing really adds a bit of sparkle to the wonderful overtones of the Sitka top and EIR back and sides combination. This guitar is an absolute cannon if you want it to be. Think of a Howitzer cannon and you are in the ballpark. While it excels at strumming chords and digging in it also has a sweet side to it that can deliver the most delicate of tones when played softly. There is also a wonderful percussive element to the tone that is not present on other similar guitars that I have played. The neck is closer to 1 23/32' wide at the nut than the 1 11/16" advertised width and I like the extra room. It plays extremely smooth all the way up the fretboard and gets a wonderful bell like quality to it as you play the 5th fret and higher. When strumming the guitar it sounds like an orchestra is playing behind you. Bottom line, this is everything I have come to expect and love from a New Hartford made Guild and more. I am just amazed every time I pick up one of my New Hartford models and just fall in love all over again like it is the first time I ever played one.

This D55 had sat in it's case unplayed for the 3 years Geotrio owned it and he bought it in unplayed condition from the previous owner here on the forum. When it arrived here at the house it was in need of some rehydration as the fret ends were protruding from the neck far enough to catch your fingers among other things. I am pleased to say that after a week of soaking up the lovely Texas Gulf Coast Humidity we have down here everything is falling back into place where it should be and she is coming back to life beautifully.

This New Hartford D55 Sitka top EIR back and sides completes my D55 Trio as I already have a D55-RS from New Hartford that came with an Adirondack top with EIR back and sides and a 2003 D55 Anniversary model with an Englemann Spruce top and Brazilian Rosewood back and sides. All three have inherent tone characteristics of D55's but all three of them have different qualities to their tone. It is really cool to play them and see the differences in tone they bring to the table. Here are some photos of the New edition to the group with a few Group shots at the end. Any artifacts you see are from a reflection of light in the pictures, Enjoy!

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TX
 
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GAD

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If you haven't figured it out by now, I am insanely envious. That thing is magnificent. Congrats!
 

Cougar

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HNGD, TX! Absolutely gorgeous!

Now to add to the F-50R's. You only have one.

Daily I appreciate the burst F50R TX was thinking about picking up (for his second one) but passed along to the boards instead, which I promptly grabbed. We're on eternal honeymoon here....

f50r557.jpg
 

Bonneville88

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Great photos TX - WOW, what a trio!
I'll have to land an NH D55 before my days are done...
meanwhile, much love and lots of playing time for my
old semi-beater Westerly D55 :peaceful:
 

walrus

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Beautiful! Love the inlays! Is the TRC a custom inlay? I see you have it on two of the guitars...

walrus
 

txbumper57

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Thanks Everyone!

Walrus it is a Custom TRC from WEC inlays in Canada. I have bought from Scott for years and have them on most of my Guild Acoustics unless they came from the factory with a special TRC like the D55 Anniversary.

GAD, I know you have a thing for it so I will consider you in line if it ever has to leave my hands. You would have been too busy messing with all of those electrics to enjoy it anyway right? LOL!

Neal, Thank you sir, I have thought of maybe getting other F50R's, even bought a JF100NT-CRV which should be the superior guitar according to nature. My F50R just eats them all alive in every category and there is nothing I can do about it. The JF100 stays in the case cause it's Skeered. Especially since the F50 Maple showed up, It and the F50R are just tone bullies and won't let the JF100 come out and play.

Thanks Cougar, I am glad you wound up with that one, she is always a beauty!

Bonneville, Thank you sir, I highly recommend playing one if you get an opportunity! You won't be disappointed.

Thanks Marcellis! She is definitely a Dream!

TX
 

GAD

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GAD, I know you have a thing for it so I will consider you in line if it ever has to leave my hands. You would have been too busy messing with all of those electrics to enjoy it anyway right? LOL!

TX

Thanks! And sad, but true. :)
 

Rich Cohen

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My newly acquired Corona D-55 NT arrived yesterday. Having recently gotten my DV-72, I was prepared to not be too impressed with the Corona D-55. But, I was mistaken. What a canon! Note for note, the DV-72 competes equally with the D-55. I went to an open mic last night, having just tuned up the Corona. Though the guitar has a Fishman pickup, I didn't need it. It filled the room easily with volume, overtones and plenty of sustain. I'm in a real quandary now. I thought of flipping the D-55 as I got it on Ebay for a good price, and going after a different tone wood. Let's see what happens...
 

twocorgis

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Congratulations TX! When we saw Ronnie Earl back in 2013, he had just received that identical guitar as a gift and called it "the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen" before playing this.



And everyone knows that Ronnie is the man!
 

adorshki

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My newly acquired Corona D-55 NT arrived yesterday. Having recently gotten my DV-72, I was prepared to not be too impressed with the Corona D-55. But, I was mistaken. What a canon! Note for note, the DV-72 competes equally with the D-55.

Man, Coronas didn't used to get no respeck!
They sure do for the last coupla years.
Makes me think they may be the perfect demonstration case for guitars opening up with age, whether played or not.
I've said this before, but I always remember about 4 or 5 years back we saw a quote in a Vintage Guitar interview I think it was, pretty darn sure it was Larry Thomas, Fender CEO at the time, said he thought guitars hit their sweet spot for tone at about 10-15 years of age, and that's exactly where Coronas're at right now.
I betcha 5 years ago nobody here woulda believed any Corona could ever equal a DV-72.
And 5 years ago it might have been true.
 

merlin6666

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Congrats. I wanted to get this one when it was available a few years ago and apparently geotrio beat me to it. But I got an Orpheum Jumbo instead so can't really complain.
 

txbumper57

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Congratulations TX! When we saw Ronnie Earl back in 2013, he had just received that identical guitar as a gift and called it "the most beautiful guitar I've ever seen" before playing this.

And everyone knows that Ronnie is the man!

Thank you so much for posting that video! I knew the guitar had some special soul to it but the Ronnie Earl connection is Awesome! I love being a part of this forum!

TX
 

Geotrio

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tx, I'm glad that the guitar arrived safe. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I hope you have many pleasurable years playing the heck out of it, something I just never got around to. My intention was to add electronics as I play plugged in 90% of the time but I couldn't bring myself to alter that guitar from its original state. Kind of glad I didn't.

Best regards, Geo
 

twocorgis

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Thank you so much for posting that video! I knew the guitar had some special soul to it but the Ronnie Earl connection is Awesome! I love being a part of this forum!

TX

And the crappy video was shot by moi! The shame is that Ronnie never wants to leave the Boston area anymore other than to play BB King's in NYC, which suffice it to say is not one of my favorite venues. The last time he played on Long Island (at one of my very favorite venues) was when I shot this video, and also the last time I've seen him live. He had the extra long cord that night, and was out amongst the crowd. He ended up standing right next to me, and during one of his many quiet passages, it was so silent in there I could hear him breathe. What a night!

I might have to break my vow of not going to BB's. Here's a great video, all glorious 78 minutes of it. Time well spent, I think.

 

txbumper57

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tx, I'm glad that the guitar arrived safe. It was a pleasure doing business with you. I hope you have many pleasurable years playing the heck out of it, something I just never got around to. My intention was to add electronics as I play plugged in 90% of the time but I couldn't bring myself to alter that guitar from its original state. Kind of glad I didn't.

Best regards, Geo

Once again Geotrio I can't thank you enough. She is adjusting well to her new home getting daily play time. At night I leave her out in the music room on the stand next to the other 2 D55's and a few other Guilds so they can congregate and relax. I think my D55-RS has a little bit of a crush on her as when I wake up in the morning it seems his stand is a little bit closer to hers than it was the night before. I am going to have to leave them alone for awhile and see if I can't get some baby New Hartford D55's running around, LOL! Seriously she was packed great and I couldn't be happier. Definitely on the Keeper list for me. Have a good one my friend!

TX
 
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