1996 DC5E NT True American?

Canard

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Through friends of friends, I have been offered a 1996 DC5E NT True American for $700, price probably flexible. No case. Local sale only. No listing yet. Seller is reaching out through contacts first.

I haven't seen it or even any pics. The only defects reported are some crazing of the finish on the top.

I am not at all familiar with this guitar. I have never seen one in person. What I can find online suggests that it has a solid spruce top with laminate rosewood sides and back and with Fishman electronics. It may or may not have an arched back. It appears to be a cut-away dread.

It doesn't seem to get a lot of respect in some (non-Guild) guitar forums and is actually dissed with claims that it is a budget model and that the instruments are prone to warping.

I am not generally fond of dreads. I am not really a singer. I don't use a pick or strum pretty much ever. I generally find them too bottom heavy for the way I play.

It would be about a 3 hour round trip to go see the instrument.

I am bored. Idle hands .... :devilish: Idle hands .... :devilish:

Is this a worthwhile guitar? Does anybody own one and love it dearly?
 

adorshki

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Through friends of friends, I have been offered a 1996 DC5E NT True American for $700, price probably flexible. No case. Local sale only. No listing yet. Seller is reaching out through contacts first.

I haven't seen it or even any pics. The only defects reported are some crazing of the finish on the top.

I am not at all familiar with this guitar. I have never seen one in person. What I can find online suggests that it has a solid spruce top with laminate rosewood sides and back and with Fishman electronics. It may or may not have an arched back. It appears to be a cut-away dread.
Hi Canard, yes it has an arched rosewood back, extremely rare build configuration for Guild.

'97 catalog page:
Guild-1997-Catalog-Acoustic-pg08_1600.jpeg

It doesn't seem to get a lot of respect in some (non-Guild) guitar forums and is actually dissed with claims that it is a budget model and that the instruments are prone to warping.
Ahahahahhah! :D Sadly, there's a lot of myth out there.

When I first joined I recall a couple of members who weren't sonically fond of theirs, but in the last couple of years seems like only "I like mine" reviews.

I hypothesize that the sound of arched rosewood back must have some sonic characteristics that only appeal to a narrow niche?

Our member Guildedagain has one and likes it a lot.

I have NEVER heard of "warping" in any form on those. The arched laminated backs are sometimes scorned, but those backs were pressed and shaped in plant using high-grade tonewood veneer sheets with a softwood middle layer.

The primary role of a back is reflective, anyway, as opposed to a top, so laminated backs don't detract from tone. The DCE5 (as the catalog calls it) also has laminated sides where similar principles apply, except those sides do resonate directly from the top. So since laminates tend to inhibit feedback tendency, that's a plus in an instrument that's purpose-built for stage performance.

I am not generally fond of dreads. I am not really a singer. I don't use a pick or strum pretty much ever. I generally find them too bottom heavy for the way I play.
That there'd be about the most important thing. :) And if you think dreads are already bottom heavy, I got a suspicion an arched rosewood back would not be your cup of tea as I mentioned above.;)
It would be about a 3 hour round trip to go see the instrument.

I am bored. Idle hands .... :devilish: Idle hands .... :devilish:

Is this a worthwhile guitar? Does anybody own one and love it dearly?
I wouldn't drive 3 hours even though I am curious to hear one for myself some day.
I have no doubt the playability would be every bit as good as my D25 of similar vintage.

Give it a day or so for some of the other guys to suggest ways to help you spend your money. 😁
 

Westerly Wood

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They’re great. Especially plugged in for goggling musicians. If you can get it for $600 even better. No case and all. Heck, offer 550. But 600 be ok. They are pretty rare.
I think D30 man just got one, he loves it.
 

Guildedagain

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Nothing to worry about, all warping is done at the factory under close supervision ;]

A DC5E is a fantastic guitar, maybe one of the juiciest acoustics I've owned, lots of overtones. Ebony fingerboard/bridge and black pickguard look really classy.

Crazing is common on these, because it has a nitro finish, which is a contributor to good tone.

P1390776.jpg


Late afternoon setting sun highlighting the natural checking.
 
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Canard

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@adorshki - Thank you for the very detailed and sometimes humorous response.

@Westerly Wood - "goggling musician"? Do we need snorkels or scuba gear? ;) The seller is moving and needs, desperately needs, to downsize. If the guitar does not move, I might wait until moving panic sets in and throw out some very low-ball offer.

There is isn't a huge motivation on my part. It's a Guild, and although not in a form factor that generally appeals to me, it is still a Guild, and I am bored.

It must be a relatively uncommon guitar as there no Youtube videos with any decent sound quality featuring one. There is one guy in the Ozarks standing in his living room doing a demo, and he can actually play, but the sound quality doesn't offer much to make any kind of judgement on.
 

adorshki

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They’re great. Especially plugged in for goggling musicians. If you can get it for $600 even better. No case and all. Heck, offer 550. But 600 be ok. They are pretty rare.
I think D30 man just got one, he loves it.
No he got the DCE3, the maple-body version. (He said without verifying first :D)
 
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I have a d3ec which is the same guitar with maple instead of rosewood b/s. it is a great guitar for gigging as the pickup and eq is great.. the least favorite part of mine is the weight.. its considerably heavier than basically any other acoustic ive ever played.. i paid 400 cash for mine which was in "player condition" had a few finish scratches and dings and dents.. it was my primary gigging instrument pre covid
 

richardp69

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I also have the DCE 3 Maple model and nothing 2nd class about that seies of guitar. They sound and play wonderfully. Mine is in the Tennessee Orange color and it looks pretty special, at least to me it does.

I don't pay a lot of attention to online reviews of Guild models except for what I hear here. The folks here know their Guilds and tell it like it is, good or bad. As is typically trtue to be absolutely sure it's the guitar for you, you need to pick it up and play it. As the buyer, your opinion is the only one that matters.
 

plaidseason

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A friend of mine, who's a touring semi-professional singer-songwriter swears by her DCE5. It sounds great unplugged as well as plugged. Deep and rich. Plugged in, it sounds just as wonderful. You'd expect her to have a 000 of some sort, but it's the DCE5 that's her life-partner acoustic.

I think the DCE series are kind of underrated.

I mostly hate cutaways, but I just picked up a used DCE1 for 400 bucks because I oddly miss the DCE1 I sold off years ago (it had a truss rod issue).
 

dreadnut

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I agree that the D5CE is underrated, seeing as it has pretty much the same specs as the D50, except for the arched back. Ebony bridge and fingerboard, gold-plated tuners, ebony headstock overlay with Chesterield inlay, not sure about scalloped bracing...
 
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Canard

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As is typically trtue to be absolutely sure it's the guitar for you, you need to pick it up and play it. As the buyer, your opinion is the only one that matters.

The plague situation here now is such that making a local purchase is sort of like doing an online purchase - there is a leap of faith. Unless the seller has a safe well ventilated space such as a car port or open garage, it is not safe to do any lengthy try-out of instrument. On CL people who live in apartments and condos often have statements now saying that "if you need to try the instrument out, it is not the instrument for you." You can make a quick visual inspection at the door which is better than just looking a pictures, and your spidey sensors can pickup any suspicious vibes from the seller, but there is still a bit of a leap of faith.
 

richardp69

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All true. We typically have very little as far as good quality instruments that show up on my local CL. Most of it is junk. It's a pretty depressed area so folks don't often have the luxury of owning really good gear. We also have no quality music stores anywhere in the area. Heck, my stash/collection of guitars is likely better than any music store North of Elderly.

So, I'm left to buying sight unseen typically from Reverb and at times Ebay. For the most part it's worked out well. I've gotten a couple nasty surprises but both Reverb and Ebay are pretty good about taking care of the buyer. (maybe sometimes, even too much so, at the expense of the seller)
 

Westerly Wood

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Nothing to worry about, all warping is done at the factory under close supervision ;]

A DC5E is a fantastic guitar, maybe one of the juiciest acoustics I've owned, lots of overtones. Ebony fingerboard/bridge and black pickguard look really classy.

Crazing is common on these, because it has a nitro finish, which is a contributor to good tone.

P1390776.jpg


Late afternoon setting sun highlighting the natural checking.

you mean tone flames.
 
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