Stopped at Elderly today

dreadnut

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To my surprise, their featured guitars on special display were Guilds! Several Oxnards, some Newark St., etc. They had an F-512, An F-55, an F-55ME, but no D-55 to my disappointment. They had one in the display but someone bought it.

The little gem I found was in the used rack - 2005 Tacoma-made D-50 Bluegrass Special; it fairly lit up the room when I played it. It was a beauty, too, really nice rosewood. $1,485 w/hsc, which is right about what it sold for new.

Played a nice looking Collings Herringbone Dread, boy I've got good taste apparently - $5,995 yikes! :ambivalence: They just have it hanging there with a couple hundred other "good" guitars, you can just take them down and play them. Pretty laid back as opposed to many other stores, but you might say Elderly caters to people who tend to be more "careful."

I don't usually play many in there because I'm more looking than buying most of the time. It's fun just to look at all of them; there were about a dozen Collings, about 40-50 Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Guilds, Huss & Dalton, and a bunch of vintage high-end stuff hanging on the back wall.
 

JohnW63

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When we were in Michigan, this summer, I couldn't convince my wife that we should leave her 90 year old aunt early, so I could swing by Elderly. Sure, it was hours out of our way, but come on woman ! :)
 

JF-30

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To my surprise, their featured guitars on special display were Guilds! Several Oxnards, some Newark St., etc. They had an F-512, An F-55, an F-55ME, but no D-55 to my disappointment. They had one in the display but someone bought it.

The little gem I found was in the used rack - 2005 Tacoma-made D-50 Bluegrass Special; it fairly lit up the room when I played it. It was a beauty, too, really nice rosewood. $1,485 w/hsc, which is right about what it sold for new.

Played a nice looking Collings Herringbone Dread, boy I've got good taste apparently - $5,995 yikes! :ambivalence: They just have it hanging there with a couple hundred other "good" guitars, you can just take them down and play them. Pretty laid back as opposed to many other stores, but you might say Elderly caters to people who tend to be more "careful."

I don't usually play many in there because I'm more looking than buying most of the time. It's fun just to look at all of them; there were about a dozen Collings, about 40-50 Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Guilds, Huss & Dalton, and a bunch of vintage high-end stuff hanging on the back wall.

As far as the really expensive guitars sitting next to good guitars, I don't think to many 16 year olds are interested in Collings guitars, unless they made cellphones. I played one Collings in Nashville. It was all that and a bag of chips, but at 5k I would rather buy 2 really nice used guitars.
 

Grassdog

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So, did you go home with that Tacoma D-50 Bluegrass Special? I seem to recall those were made with scalloped bracing and maybe a couple other attributes of the DV-52?
 

adorshki

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So, did you go home with that Tacoma D-50 Bluegrass Special? I seem to recall those were made with scalloped bracing and maybe a couple other attributes of the DV-52?
(Apologies for butt-inski)
Tacomas got adi bracing, don't recall mention if they were scalloped.
Doubt it on the D50 since the adi was used so they could make the bracing thinner anyway.
Not much else to in terms of DV build details to have in common with DV-52's except possibly "lighter body" said of Tacomas in general, possibly borrowed from the "sanded down backs and sides" used for all DV's according to Guild Gallery #1 in '07.
Other differences:
Tacoma D50 Bluegrass also had adi top, not so DV52's, and DV-52's always got Gruhn's "snakehead" headstock while Tacoma used original D50 paddle style stock.
 
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dreadnut

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I believe Tacoma D-50's were upgraded with DV-52 specs including scalloped bracing, ebony bridge and fingerboard and maybe some other stuff.
 

F312

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I believe Tacoma D-50's were upgraded with DV-52 specs including scalloped bracing, ebony bridge and fingerboard and maybe some other stuff.

DV52 also had abalone or herringbone rosette inlay.

Ralph
 

adorshki

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I believe Tacoma D-50's were upgraded with DV-52 specs including scalloped bracing, ebony bridge and fingerboard and maybe some other stuff.

'08 price list:
https://web.archive.org/web/2008091...celists/2008_summer_guild_MSRP_price_list.pdf
Note DV-4's described with scalloped sitka bracing; D50 Bluegrass says only "red spruce top and bracing."
Granted we know everythings' subject to error but considering scalloped bracing was considered an upgrade and a selling point, one's pretty sure they would have mentioned it,a s they made sure to in the DV-4 because they were sitkaand an exception to the standard adi bracing.
Original Westerly DV4/DV6 were only shaved, for that matter.
:friendly_wink:
 

dreadnut

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After researching the catalogs posted here, I was wrong about some aspects of the D-50; apparently they always had ebony bridge and fingerboard, and scalloped bracing was added later, in the '90's I think. Then it appears they abandoned the D-50 for the DV's and the DCE's; the last D-50 I see for a while is in the '93 catalog. I think the D-50 was then reintroduced by Tacoma, including some features of the DV-52.
 

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I am jealous.. Hardly anywhere in the DFW area to check out US Guilds.. Sam Ash and GC mainly carry the WC / Designed in CA models.. If I see another 240 series I am going to scream.. They are all over the place and truthfully I feel like the MIC Guilds have slipped heavily from the early GAD series guitars..
 

Guildedagain

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That sounds like an amazing day.

I did the same at Gryphon once, more than once actually, but I don't remember any Guilds.

Nowadays, all the best guitars are already in my room ;)
 

D30Man

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Weird my local shop Morrison ( where I get a lot of my strings, tuners, cables and repairs done ) has either Eastmans or Collings with a few recording kings and some used stuff.. I wish they would carry Oxnard Guilds.. Or even if they could still get some NOS from New Fartford that would be cool..
 

dreadnut

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I was looking at the 1990 catalog, and the D-50 was listed as having scalloped bracing. There were no D-52's or DV-52's in the lineup at that time. Looks like no more D-50's long after that until re-introduced in Tacoma.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Elderly is a great place to hang & try out guitars. I typically pay 'em a visit once per season…it's an 80–90 minute drive each way. They've pulled a lotta $$ from my wallet over the years. ;)

-Dave-
 

dreadnut

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One of these times I might snag a mandolin at Elderly- they always have several 1920's Gibson "A" style mandos and what a distinctive sound!
 

adorshki

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After researching the catalogs posted here, I was wrong about some aspects of the D-50; apparently they always had ebony bridge and fingerboard, and scalloped bracing was added later, in the '90's I think. Then it appears they abandoned the D-50 for the DV's and the DCE's; the last D-50 I see for a while is in the '93 catalog. I think the D-50 was then reintroduced by Tacoma, including some features of the DV-52.

I know I seem like I'm piling on my friend, but purely for sake of historical accuracy, ALL the 3 current DV's DV4, DV6 And DV52/(52S) were dropped at close of Westerly.
There was a D50 in Corona and even a D50ce.
Tacoma DID reintroduce the DV4 and DV6 but their DV6 was rosewood instead of 'hog like the Westerly original.
I don't see any features in the Tacoma D50 that could be said to have been specific to the DV52
Ebony board/bridge and abalone rosette were not specific to the DV52, several models used 'em.
And if somebody can show us a pic of scalloped braces in a Tacoma D50 I will thank them gratefully for clarifying the historical record.
 
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