Played a new Oxnard Made D55 Today

Bonneville88

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TX, thanks for posting the write-up... definitely not what I was hoping to hear.
 

davismanLV

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I wish there was somewhere here in Vegas to test drive one, but there's not. (for those of you DYING to tell me who the Guild dealers are here, shut up, there's maybe one foreign Guild.... THE END, okay?)

Anyway, I'm focused on the all Myrtle wood Breedlove Concerto!!

Sorry to hear your test drive was so underwhelming. Size isn't everything. Sound is...... :chargrined:
 

Zelja

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I also know these new Cordoba models are built for Light gauge strings only where as New Hartford models were mostly made for Mediums.

WHATWHATWHAT


Is this the official line from Cordoba? I can't see the rationale behind that, makes no sense to me.
 

txbumper57

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WHATWHATWHAT


Is this the official line from Cordoba? I can't see the rationale behind that, makes no sense to me.

LOL! Yes it is listed in their specs on the website. One of the Major Changes in the specs from New Hartford to Cordoba.

TX
 

Walter Broes

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What a shame. And it's surprising to me - I've spent some time with an Oxnard D-40 traditional, and I thought it was glorious. Big and bold sounding with huge bass, and beautifully finished too.
 

txbumper57

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What a shame. And it's surprising to me - I've spent some time with an Oxnard D-40 traditional, and I thought it was glorious. Big and bold sounding with huge bass, and beautifully finished too.

I here ya Walter. I am hoping it was just a dud. I have played Oxnard's D20, M20, D40 both regular and Traditional, and a M40 and while none of them really blew my hair back they were not by any means duds on the sonic side of things. I am not a fan of the Satin finish guitars but they all played pretty good with adequate tone and volume which is why this D55 was disappointing on several levels. One trend I have noticed is that the Oxnard Guild offerings, even the all hog models, had an inherently brighter tone to them which immediately reminded me more of a Taylor than a Guild. I'm not knocking Taylor with that statement as I know a lot of folks like that, Just using that as a generalization tool to summarize the tone. I would be interested to hear your review of a new D55 if you get one in the shop for sure.

TX
 

peashooterjw

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I played a Cordoba D55 (and a myrtlewood Breedlove...) a couple of weeks ago. This particular one sounded amazing to me. It was the best-sounding acoustic in the room, by far. I can't compare it to any other D55's, as the only other one that I've played was a Corona model that was uninspiring, to say the least. I didn't inspect it for finish issues, so I can't speak to that, either. I have some time this afternoon, so I may go back and make a closer inspection.
 

richardp69

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I hate Utube /videos like this one. They merely serve to remind me how truly good I am NOT. Guys like this could make a steel shovel strung with fish line sound good. I can't offer a lot of insight on the Cordoba built Guilds other than to say I bought new a D 20 and it was a fine sounding guitar in most every way, at least to my ears which admittedly seem to be made of tin at times.
 

dapmdave

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Thanks for the review, TX. Food for thought, for sure.
 

fronobulax

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Thank you. Not the first impression we were hoping for but...

I don't follow the market for new acoustic guitars that closely but lots of folks talk about a Taylor tone that is comparatively light and tinny. Is it possible that CMG tweaked the specs (including light strings) because someone there thought they were competing with Taylors rather than continuing the Guild sonic tradition? I'm not saying that was a good decision but it might explain what was observed.
 

ClydeTower

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Thank you. Not the first impression we were hoping for but...

I don't follow the market for new acoustic guitars that closely but lots of folks talk about a Taylor tone that is comparatively light and tinny. Is it possible that CMG tweaked the specs (including light strings) because someone there thought they were competing with Taylors rather than continuing the Guild sonic tradition? I'm not saying that was a good decision but it might explain what was observed.

I don't want to start a debate about the Taylor sound, but as a Taylor and Guild owner, I can attest that Taylors get a bad wrap when generalized as sounding "light and tinny". If I were to directly compare my Taylor 810 dread vs my Guild D55 dread, I would say the Taylor has a scooped midrage vs the Guild which is relatively balanced. By design in both cases. Contrary to what you might think, my Taylors all have bigger bass response than my Guilds. That's not to say that one is better than the other, just different. Generally speaking, I prefer playing my Guild acoustically & unplugged, and prefer my Taylors for recording or playing plugged-in. Each has its applications.

So lets not label Oxnard Guilds as sounding "Tayloresque" in a derogatory sense. Lets call this particular Oxnard D55 for what it is: a bad sounding guitar :courage:
 
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Bonneville88

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What a shame. And it's surprising to me - I've spent some time with an Oxnard D-40 traditional, and I thought it was glorious. Big and bold sounding with huge bass, and beautifully finished too.

Me too! Angling for one of these when timing and funds are right...
 

merlin6666

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It mostly reminded me of that Bright Tinny sound that Taylors are known for so that was extremely disappointing coming from a Guild Flagship model.
LOL that's a good one. Given that Taylor is very popular with younger players and by many considered the modern standard of what is considered "great" sound this may be a step in the right direction to claim some market share from this segment of players.


Now on to fit and finish! The sides were of a Beautifully figured rosewood but the back pieces were kind of Blah in their appearance and even had a completely different color to them. The top looked nice and had some silking to it. However there were some finish issues that I think were unacceptable for a $3500+ guitar to leave the factory with. There was a considerable notch in the side of the ebony bridge wing. The Nitro finish was much thicker than any of my other D55's including my Corona Models. Also there was already finish crackling along the entire fretboard extension where it meets the top along both sides from the neck joint to the soundhole. There was also a small but noticeable amount of run out in the top.

It is surprising that the new Oxnard facility seems to have QC issues after the long time it took them to get producing and the supposed experience Cordoba is providing. It's even more surprising that that small store that also seems to do some guitar maintenance and repairs has accepted a guitar with flaws into their inventory. Stores like that don't have wide margins and high quality guitars are essential for their survival. Why did they not send it back?
 

chazmo

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As Fro said... not the review we were hoping to hear.

Well, I do look forward to seeing these in the store, but sad to hear that it's not likely to be a Maxell moment.
 

Westerly Wood

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My guess is the focus is on the MIC Guilds, the factory been running and churning out good quality instruments for years and years.
But I try to follow Frono's take in that, we need to give it more time. Still a tad early to tell...
Most days, in a lazy thought way, I figure they sell Guild brand within a year or two.
 

Aristera

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" I was in there to get a thorough evaluation done on a Guild that just showed up at my doorstep last night"

TX,

I'm surprised no one asked, NGD??

James
 

txbumper57

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" I was in there to get a thorough evaluation done on a Guild that just showed up at my doorstep last night"

TX,

I'm surprised no one asked, NGD??

James

It is a possibility. I am currently awaiting a ruling from Reverb on an instrument that was "Not as Described" so we will see.

TX
 

adorshki

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The guitar in the video sounds like a typical D55 to me. Are we certain it was made by Cordoba, or may it be a carry over guitar from New Hartford?
It's from their website, it's new, and I can't believe Cordoba would risk the fallout from having it shown that they used an NH D55 to promote their flagship model.
I do believe they'd do everything they could including selecting a guitar from many and using recording sweetening techniques to make it sound real good though.
I take into account this guitarist's light playing touch as being his particular style. Is it perhaps that this is perhaps the type of sound that Cordoba is constructing guitars to sound like?

A legitimate question.
 

adorshki

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I don't follow the market for new acoustic guitars that closely but lots of folks talk about a Taylor tone that is comparatively light and tinny. Is it possible that CMG tweaked the specs (including light strings) because someone there thought they were competing with Taylors rather than continuing the Guild sonic tradition? I'm not saying that was a good decision but it might explain what was observed.

I suspect there is a whole lot of validity to that proposition.
And I really don't have anything against Taylor either.
I don't think of 'em as "tinny" but I do think they sound thin and "airy", and they do have a very distinct and consistent "sound".
That consistency is actually probably very desirable for some professionals who like knowing that their primary performing/recording instruments can be easily replaced, sound-wise, if needed.
 

Taylor Martin Guild

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This a lot of talk about one persons thoughts on a single guitar.
I will wait for more reviews on more D-55 Guilds before deciding anything.

I have seen it several times where one person dislikes a certain guitar only to have someone else love the same guitar.
 
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