Lucky Chicagoans

[stclrob]

I started playing a nice burst Guild dread today and was pretty impressed by the sound (loud, great lows, nice highs) and looked in the soundhole to see the model and noticed its a New Hartford! So for those of you in the Chicagoland area, Chicago Music Exchange has started getting CT Guilds! Unfortunately, they're not uploaded to their webpage yet, but the D 50 is a dark burst much like their D 55, and their F 40 is natural.

I also got the chance to side-by-side test the CT F 40 vs a Tacoma F 40, and on that matter, the Tacoma has a slight edge. I agree with Frosty that the tuners are...up for one's opinion. They seem to get the job done though. I'm not sure if the price is standard because CME also had a '66 starfire XII and wanted $3595 for it! Hopefully someone else can give a more thorough report soon as this is coming from an electric guy. :?

 

[chicagowineguy]

I'm going down there for sure!

 

[tjmangum]

Was in Chicago Music Exchange last Friday and had a go with the Ct. Guilds. Only 2 to be found, a D40 and D50. Appeared to be nicely built, although the strap button above the neck, on the upper bout, really looks hokey to me. IMHO they don't sound like a Tacoma, nor a Westerly; not bad sounding, but for even money I would go for a Tacoma all day long. They also had a nice looking sunburst Tacoma D55, which of the Guilds they had on hand, was the best sounding to my tone deaf ears.
I was hoping for some magic and I didn't find it!
tj