1970 D-55 Advice!

[AKCanon90]

Hey everyone,

Long time reader, first time posting. I came across a 1970 D-55 at the ole GC in town, asking price is $2499, and I’m curious as to others thoughts and opinions on the guitar and price. I spent a few minutes strumming the guitar and it is an absolute canon, good sustain, and it seems well balanced. The top has multiple cracks spanning from the bridge to the base on the guitar. The action and playability seemed really good and I wasn’t able to produce any buzzing or oddities as I moved up the neck.

When I saw it hanging on the wall I had my fingers crossed that it may be one of those oddball transitional year guitars built with Brazilian, but after getting a good look at the grain it looks like EIR, at least to my untrained eye. Also it doesn’t have the 3 piece neck that I thought was standard on the D-55.

Anyhow, please let me know what you think. Am I crazy if I don’t buy it, or is this a total pass?? Thanks for reading!

Nate

 

[Norrissey]

How is the action at the 12th fret? For me a lot would depend on that and whether the guitar is likely to need a neck reset any time soon. Guild Dreads usually need them when they are about 45-50 years old.
I'm not an expert on D-55 pricing, I'm more familiar with D-50s, but if it has already had a neck reset, that seems a fair price. If it hasn't, that seems high but don't take my word for it, some more knowledgeable people will be along soon : )
Beautiful guitar BTW, I can see why it caught your eye!
Also, just looked up D-55s in the Guild Book, they were special order until 1974, when they became a standard model. So this was a special order guitar.

 

[AKCanon90]

I plan on swinging by on wednesday, I work 24 hour shifts and I’m on duty tomorrow. I’ll get a good look at the action at the 12th. From memory I can’t say I noticed anything out of the ordinary. I’m sure I played near the 12th fret, just kind of noodling around, and everything seemed comfortable.

I’m hoping to get some photos inside the body as well. I’m not sure what work has been done previously on the guitar, hopefully I’ll see signs of any previous repairs. If I do get some more photos I’ll be sure to add them.

thanks for the quick reply!

 

[kostask]

This guitar is like any other used guitar, and the same basic checks need to be made. Check the neck angle, but while doing that, make sure to check the height of the bridge, just to make sure that the bridge hasn't been shaved down in an effort to stave off a neck reset. This can give the guitar an acceptable action for a period of time, but when the neck reset is eventually required, you will also need to have the bridge replaced. It is hard to see from the pictures, but I would guess that it is the original height bridge. The strings should be about a 1/2" off the top of the soundboard, when measured at the front of the bridge, as a rule of thumb, but even saying that, the bridge saddle also plays a part. The other basics should be covered as well; fret wear, finger board gouges, finish cracks, etc.

Check to see if there is a vertical displacement of the cracks, which is an indication that the cracks haven't been repaired. With a mirror, check the soundboard cracks from the inside of the guitar, and see if there is glue or cleats along the soundboard cracks. If not, you may need to have the guitar repaired; not expensive, but good to keep in mind. If the cracks have been repaired, you may want to consider some finish repair to seal up the cracks on the top side of the guitar; being a nitro finished guitar, it should be pretty easy to make the cracks disappear pretty much.

In general, the soundboard cracks are an indication that the guitar has been dried out at some point in the past. Due to that, you may want to have all the glue joints for all the braces inside the guitar checked out by a qualified luthier. The drying of the guitar can make some glue joints fail, but which glue joints will fail is pretty random, and while you haven't noticed any buzzing, it may show up sometimes when you play different chords or notes.

Other than that, it looks really good. The top has some nice silking, always nice to see. And the rosewood is also very nice.

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG! Guitar looks cool, but Kostask pretty well outlined what you need to consider. Good luck!!

 

[Stuball48]

Welcome to LTG and awesome looking guitar. Never seen a bad D55 - just some better than others. You seem to understand guitar construction so it comes down to a couple questions:
1. Would you buy it if it were $2100 - if so offer $2100
2. How difficult is it to walk away from
The human mind operates in a "yes" or "no" response -- no "maybe".
Kinda elementary but the way I solve conflicts in my mind is to flip a coin.
"Heads" I buy it and "tails" I don't. Then I flip the coin --- and, immediately, my heart starts cheering for "heads" or "tails" and I catch the coin in mid air and put it in my pocket without looking. Then I do what my heart told me -- which is, usually, "yes".

 

[awagner]

I own #46781, just 2 later than yours, and it is definitely Brazilian (at least the back is).

Belated NGD - 1970 D55

Here it is. Have not had a chance to have it checked out and set up, but it sounds and plays great.

letstalkguild.com

If the one you are looking at is also Brazilian, then $2,500 is a steal. And if not, it is still a good deal, even if it needs some work.

Good luck!

 

[Uke]

Then I flip the coin --- and, immediately, my heart starts cheering for "heads" or "tails" and I catch the coin in mid air and put it in my pocket without looking. Then I do what my heart told me -- which is, usually, "yes".

Good advice -- I go through this coin flipping routine as well -- just without the coin. The only problem is that my heart sometimes gets me in trouble. I'd really be in trouble with this guitar, because I've never met a D-55 I didn't like!

 

[davismanLV]

Take a 24" straight edge with you so you can check the neck angle as shown HERE. Looks like the saddle is okay, but as has been mentioned check the bridge height and saddle. That guitar is SOOO dry so if you buy it you're gonna have to humidify the hell out of it. When you do over the course of a couple of weeks, those cracks should close up quite a bit. Then you can have them cleated. That should stabilize them. Beautiful spruce and rosewood. If Brazilian the price is great! And if not it's very fair. Let us know how it all turns out. And welcome out of hiding out there in the dark!!

 

[chazmo]

Welcome to LTG AKCanon90!

That's a pretty instrument. From where I'm sitting, the sides have some likely signs of being Brazilian, but the back looks like EIR to me. Yours is from the timeframe where they made some like that. But, in any case, looks like a terrific axe. I had a 1971 F-50R that was really best in breed (if you ask me). I'm sure you'll love your D-55!!

Oh, and yeah, follow folks' advice here if you intend to keep the D-55. As Kostas said, you're gonna want to cleat those soundboard cracks if they haven't been repaired, and stabilize humidity. Yeah, lots to consider with an old axe like this.

As for the 3-piece neck, what you need to make sure is that the back of the headstock is branded with the same number as the label. If it's not, or if the brand is missing from one of these old axes, then you should be suspicious about originality. Although the fretboard and headstock veneer look correct.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

If (a) you've got the money, (b) it checks out structurally, as Kostask outlines, and (c) you love playing it, it seems like a fair price for a great instrument.

 

[Norrissey]

D'Addario make Humidipaks that will humidify a dry instrument. Guitar Center sell them. Below is a link to the "Restore" Humidipak which is for very dry instruments. After you use that for 2-3 weeks you switch to the "maintain" Humidipak. I had success using these with a very dry D-50 that I purchased a few months back.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/DAddario/Humidipak-Restore-Kit-1500000349823.gc?rNtt=D%27addario%20humidpak&index=4

 

[dreadnut]

That's a whole lotta moolah considering the cracks, but if it is truly Braz...

 

[AKCanon90]

Wow, thanks everyone for the response. I’ve got a lot to think about now I’m going back by tomorrow and I’ll be giving the guitar a closer look. Thanks for all of the information. I’m up in Anchorage, AK so protecting guitars from the elements is a constant job. I imagine this guitar has lived unhumidified and unprotected from temperature changes for some time now. We also have a pretty limited selection for experienced Luthiers, I know of two up here that I would trust to do the work, but I’ll likely have to wait several weeks to have it looked at.

I truly appreciate all of the info and advice. I’ll update the post tomorrow after I get another look at the guitar.

 

[wileypickett]

If the cracks HAVEN'T been repaired, I'd use that as a bargaining chip to try to haggle with GC.

Make sure you speak to the manager of the store BTW, as employees on the floor may not have the flexibility to negotiate prices. I was interested in a guitar at a GC store some years ago that had a few issues. The guy I showed the guitar to said he had no "give" on the price. ("Sorry.") The manager came in while we were talking and not only gave me a 10% discount but threw in a good quality hardshell case for free.

 

[mavuser]

back and sides do look Brazillian to me. it looks like there may be some cracking in the bridge, between the bridge pins, and next to the e pin. i'm not too concerned about those, but something to keep an eye on if you buy it. the bridge does not look sanded at all (u took good photos), so that is a good sign.

my first offer would be 2000 plus tax. my final offer would be 2500 after tax. if it is definitely Brazillian and they know it (looks like it is), they could be pretty firm on the price. If you must have it, ultimately 2,500 plus is not so terriblly unreasonable. good luck!!

 

[donnylang]

I think it’s worth noting that an early D55 such as this is quite rare. Whether you care about the 1970 date vs. the more common later ones would be relevant. If I were in the market for a D55 and this one played and sounded good- I would snatch it immediately without hesitation. In fact, if this popped up on Reverb or eBay, I might buy it.

 

[davismanLV]

OKAY, whoa.... AK, that's gotta be similar to Las Vegas.... the land of NO HUMIDITY, so no wonder. I humidify 24/7/365 because, well it's just SOOO dry here. I have no choice.

 

[JohnW63]

There is a frequent posted in the Acoustic Guitar Forum from Alaska. I think Anchorage as well. I can send him a private message and ask about luthiers in your area.

 

[AKCanon90]

Hello again,

So I made it over to guitar center again and got a little more information from an employee who was there when the guitar was traded in. The previous owner stated the guitar had been sitting in its case in the closet for years unplayed. The guitar has been at the store for about a week.

They didn’t have any information about the repairs done to the guitar, but in my opinion they seem sub par. I was able to get a good look at the interior of the body. There’s a crack near the treble side of the upper bout that I hadn’t noticed before and several smaller cracks on the lower bout running parallel to the two large cracks. It was easy to see them from the inside because they were all filled with glue. The two larger cracks had some sort of felt binding to help hold them together. No cleats anywhere to support the repairs. I also found the bridge plate has a significant crack running across it.

I spent a lot more time playing the guitar and loved it. The guitar has awesome tone in the first position and really solid low end, the kind that you feel in your chest when you’re strumming. However, I noticed that as I moved up the fretboard into the higher strings the guitar lost a lot of tone and produced a hollow almost tinny sound. I decided to give the top and back a tap test. The top bracing was stable but the back produced an obvious rattle when I tapped across the lower bout, which seemed indicative of loose bracing.

The last thing I did was check the neck angle. I brought a straight edge with me and the neck was about an 1/8th lower than the bridge. I thought that wasn’t to bad, but the saddle appears to have been lowered to compensate for the rising action. It’s so low the strings are almost touching the bridge. It makes me pretty nervous about the need for an immediate neck reset.

After spending more time with the guitar I feel like this might be more work than I’m willing to take on. By my account this guitar needs about 5-6 crack repairs, a new bridge plate, work to the lower bracing, and a neck reset. I’m not sure what the cost would be but it seems sizeable. I guess the hunt continues. Thanks for all the help and information!