Sounds like typical price resentment to me based purely on cost without considering the whole picture.
I agree with Kitarkus and Brad Little.
I think the real issue is that they put the bling on the highest-end guitars so that folks will be able to recognize 'em as high-end models at a glance.
It's been said here before as well that nobody does "bling" like Guild.
As for topwoods, it IS true that their top-level guitars got the AAA spruce, (but I've only seen that specifically mentioned on the
'01 price list, don't know when they actually started stating it).. And usually ebony boards and bridges. And 3-pc necks (resist twisting).
And we've talked before about whether a D55 might get a little bit better attention while being made, and I'm sure that during certain periods, the best-sounding tops, at least,
were probably reserved for 'em.
And F50's.
For Guild specifically, there's a common perception that the "blinged down" models of higher-end guitars are simply that: Equal except for the "bling", but in almost every case that's not quite true.
Differences in fretboard/bridge woods and neck construction are 2 of the most common subtle differences. Bracing and bridgeplate woods would count, too, and there's very little documentation about that stuff anywhere, even in Hans' book.
Owner reports here seem to indicate that Guild would change these (bridgeplates, at least) at whim.
Another thing is that between D55 and D50 it depends a lot on which period they're from.
The original D55's were actually "D50 Specials" ordered by Tommy Smothers even when they first came out: D50's with
F50 necks. HE
wanted that bling!
It became its own special order model in '68 and finally became a regular production model in '74.
What we don't know is if they started paying more attention to D55s when they were special-order instruments (seems likely) and whether subtle tweaks like bracing difference were incorporated into it.
I can't remember exactly when but I'm pretty sure I recall that at some point (early '90's), D55's graduated from shaved to scalloped bracing.
We've also seen over time that D55's were developed to have a more balanced voice than D50's, better suited for vocal accompaniment (maybe because of Smothers?), whereas the D50 was "voiced" to be the cannon between the 2, true to its original "Bluegrass Special" name.
Last but not least, Guild actually spent time developing a model that was supposed to sound like a vintage guitar right out of the box, and it
was a "blinged-down" guitar, at least a mid-range model, by their standards:
The DV-52, which traced it roots to the D50.
According to the '97 catalog, the DV formula include sanded backs and sides (for lightness/resonance) scalloped braces (on the '52, they were shaved on the hog-bodied DV-6) , yet they only got Chesterfields, plain fretboards, and Hand-Rubbed ("satin") finishes and when introduced.
And while it's tempting to assume they did sort for the best-sounding tops for these guitars (and D55's and F50's), and/or perhaps even tap-tuned 'em, I can't ever remember a reference to Guild actually doing this during regular Westerly production.
And you'd think if they did they would have proudly mentioned that in their summary of the DV build techniques.
Maybe they didn't need to, because it's also been frequently mentioned here that their topwoods always seemed to be a cut above the big makers' stuff anyway, largely due to the special skills and efforts of their wood selector, Willie Fritscher:
http://www.westerlyguildguitars.com/articles/woodselection.pdf
Just take a look at the tops of 99.9% of the Westerly era flattops pictured here and on eBAy and Reverb and you start to see not only are the gorgeous but usually perfectly bookmatched and with such nice grain they're occasionally assumed to be Adi. (Never used in Westerly as far as we know)
Anyway, toss the DV-52 grenade at 'em (and Tommy Smothers special ordering the extra bling on what was already their top-of-the-line dread) over at that other place and see who runs for cover.
:glee: