Got a chance to buy a liquidation sale Corona D-55

Allen Huang

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Hi, Guild fans. It's Allen from Taiwan again.

Since I got the JF30 I can't stop GASing...for a another jumbo or dread. And a week ago my friend brought me the news that a friend of his has a D-55 that might be for sale.
Yesterday I finally got to see it. The sticker says Corona, with following condition:
1. serial number on the back of the head and sticker were erased
2. several finish cracks on the top <-the reason this guitar did not pass QC (edit: actually it's weather checking)
3. behind the bridge, the adhesion combining two spruce plate once split but now repaired.
4. frets and saddle show little wear
5. No need for neck reset so far
6. fishman ellipse matrix blend pickup system installed
7. Other than the above, the rest is quite OK. Not much wear of playing

It plays good and sounds classic Guild, although with a little less volume and vibration than my jf30. For the playability and sound I'd love to buy it. So, anybody with an idea how much it'd cost?

Thank you :) May the Guild be with you
 
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Cougar

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2. several finish cracks on the top <-the reason this guitar did not pass QC

Actual cracks or just "finish checking"?

Ebay's completed listings shows a couple Corona D55s in very good condition going for between $1200 and $1500 (somebody got a good deal at $1200). The one you're looking at should be less than $1200. Maybe $1000? Depending on the cracks on top, maybe less than that. Being a "2nd" typically knocks a few hundred off the price.
 

Allen Huang

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Actual cracks or just "finish checking"?

Ebay's completed listings shows a couple Corona D55s in very good condition going for between $1200 and $1500 (somebody got a good deal at $1200). The one you're looking at should be less than $1200. Maybe $1000? Depending on the cracks on top, maybe less than that. Being a "2nd" typically knocks a few hundred off the price.

Just did some Google. Yes, the finish condition should be called "weather checking" instead of crack. I'll fix my statement. Thank you for pointing this
 

Rich Cohen

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Actual cracks or just "finish checking"?

Ebay's completed listings shows a couple Corona D55s in very good condition going for between $1200 and $1500 (somebody got a good deal at $1200). The one you're looking at should be less than $1200. Maybe $1000? Depending on the cracks on top, maybe less than that. Being a "2nd" typically knocks a few hundred off the price.

I'm the guy who bought the Corona D-55 on Ebay for $1,200. I consider myself very lucky. Its condition turned out to be excellent, not just very good. It has opened up beautifully, producing waves of harmonics and endless sustain. Also, it has a Fishman pickup that works perfectly. It competes toe to toe with my DV-72. All Hail Corona Guilds!
 

Allen Huang

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I'm the guy who bought the Corona D-55 on Ebay for $1,200. I consider myself very lucky. Its condition turned out to be excellent, not just very good. It has opened up beautifully, producing waves of harmonics and endless sustain. Also, it has a Fishman pickup that works perfectly. It competes toe to toe with my DV-72. All Hail Corona Guilds!

Hi, Mr. Cohen.
Good to hear a great sounding D-55 report. The D-55 did give me that feeling.
Two question for you: Is the Fishman pickup on your Guild a dual system pickup? From the Factory or installed in after purchase?
 

Rich Cohen

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Hi, Mr. Cohen.
Good to hear a great sounding D-55 report. The D-55 did give me that feeling.
Two question for you: Is the Fishman pickup on your Guild a dual system pickup? From the Factory or installed in after purchase?

Hi Allen,
I just got back from a Memorial Day hike and don't have much energy to research your questions. Maybe somebody on LTG will be able to address your questions. I can say that there is a 9 volt battery holder attached to the neck block internally and that the guy from whom I bought the D-55 said it was a Fishman pickup. I am the second owner, so I don't know if the first owner had it installed after purchasing the guitar. Perhaps I'll have more information a little later.
 

JohnW63

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I don't like the idea that things were erased. A sticker covering the original serial number, is one thing. Going to the trouble to erase them sounds like someone hiding something.
 

adorshki

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I don't like the idea that things were erased. A sticker covering the original serial number, is one thing. Going to the trouble to erase them sounds like someone hiding something.

I suspect a small semantic glitch here (like "cracks" for "checking").
I'm willing to bet it's an MIRC and perhaps he didn't know quite how to explain it.
Allen: MIRC is a company Fender used to liquidate factory seconds and unsold inventory when they closed Corona and Tacoma:
http://mircweb.com/.
Part of MIRC's responsibility was to obliterate the serial numbers on these instruments so they could not be presented for warranty, which was specifically excluded on these instruments due to their extreme low cost to MIRC from Fender.
They're a reputable outfit with a solid reputation and the irony is that a lot of these instruments have been reported to have no discernible faults whatsoever.
Another possibility which has been mentioned before is that if the guitar was insured, and then written off by the insurance company under a claim, they would then obliterate the s/n's to prevent the guitar from ever being eligible for full value insurance again.
 
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adorshki

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Hi, Mr. Cohen.
Good to hear a great sounding D-55 report. The D-55 did give me that feeling.
Two question for you: Is the Fishman pickup on your Guild a dual system pickup? From the Factory or installed in after purchase?
I've never seen a Corona acoustic with a factory-installed "dual system pickup".
They did use a Fishman system called the "Prefix Pro-Blend" with both a soundhole mic and a UST at the end of Westerly production, but the models that used it were discontinued when Corona started production.
All the Corona factory pickups I've seen were UST only and the one Corona price list I have from spring of '04 only lists UST types, 2 Fishman types IIRC.
Still, I still get surprised about once a month around here.
:friendly_wink:
 

Allen Huang

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I've never seen a Corona acoustic with a factory-installed "dual system pickup".
They did use a Fishman system called the "Prefix Pro-Blend" with both a soundhole mic and a UST at the end of Westerly production, but the models that used it were discontinued when Corona started production.
All the Corona factory pickups I've seen were UST only and the one Corona price list I have from spring of '04 only lists UST types, 2 Fishman types IIRC.
Still, I still get surprised about once a month around here.
:friendly_wink:

Mr. Adorshki,
This is so helpful and you're very knowledgeable! And MIRC is indeed a cool business form.
I eventually gave up the chance to get the D-55 for its high price. The seller would rather keep it as a souvenir if he has to sell it with market price.
To me, I can grab an authentic Guild that can serve me well and sell it years later with little loss.
But that Guild is indeed very very good sounding
 

adorshki

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Mr. Adorshki,
This is so helpful and you're very knowledgeable! And MIRC is indeed a cool business form.
I eventually gave up the chance to get the D-55 for its high price. The seller would rather keep it as a souvenir if he has to sell it with market price.
To me, I can grab an authentic Guild that can serve me well and sell it years later with little loss.
But that Guild is indeed very very good sounding

Well, I realize you're in Taiwan but keep checking sightings here, occasionally there's a link to something pretty special in Japan, though granted we always choke on the price. :biggrin-new:
 

Allen Huang

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Well, I realize you're in Taiwan but keep checking sightings here, occasionally there's a link to something pretty special in Japan, though granted we always choke on the price. :biggrin-new:

Indeed...Imported guitars like Gibson, Martin, and Guild in Japan are really costly. I always wonder how these stores can survive.
 

Rich Cohen

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Hi, Mr. Cohen.
Good to hear a great sounding D-55 report. The D-55 did give me that feeling.
Two question for you: Is the Fishman pickup on your Guild a dual system pickup? From the Factory or installed in after purchase?

Allen, my apologies for not getting back to you about the on board pickup on my D-55. It's a Fishman Matrix.
 

Allen Huang

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Thank you, Mr. Cohen. Just that I am not gonna buy that D-55 anyway. THX to globalization I can grab one from abroad anytime.
 

adorshki

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I've never seen a Corona acoustic with a factory-installed "dual system pickup".
They did use a Fishman system called the "Prefix Pro-Blend" with both a soundhole mic and a UST at the end of Westerly production, but the models that used it were discontinued when Corona started production.
All the Corona factory pickups I've seen were UST only and the one Corona price list I have from spring of '04 only lists UST types, 2 Fishman types IIRC.
Still, I still get surprised about once a month around here.
:friendly_wink:

Just stumbled across an older thread that contains a ref to a very early Corona D50ce with the Pro-Blend, so I guess they did have 'em for a while at least:
HOW'd I forget that?
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?192971-D-50ce.
 
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