My damn GAD 50

[Siwash]

Oh I'm in a bind!

I really like my GAD 50; close to love it. It just sounds great, and a very skilled and experienced luthier compared its sound to a Martin and told me to never let it go.

But I feel plagued by feelings of guitar inferiority! It's a GAD, for gad's sake, and it made in China, home to considerable exploitation and oppression.

And boy would I like to find a good D-55 or GF 30.

So I gotta guitar I can't get rid of!

 

[chazmo]

Shoulda' thought of that before you bought it, Siwash!

Just givin' you grief... Sounds like you've got some good ole American Guild GAS! I don't think anyone around here will fault you for that.

 

[Graham]

No worries Si, they are very good guitars. Keep it and add to the inventory. :mrgreen:

 

[chazmo]

By the way, I don't know if this Tacoma-built D-50 is still for sale, but here's one way to satisfy some GAS... the Tacoma D-50 is a really great axe: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=13624

 

[Qvart]

And boy would I like to find a good D-55 or GF 30.

So I gotta guitar I can't get rid of!

Look at the signatures of the LTG'ers around here. Nothing wrong with owning multiple guitars!

 

[cjd-player]

Just because it was made in China doesn't mean it can't be a great guitar. All of the manufacturers put out some less than stellar instruments along with some fantastic ones. That's why it's always best to play before you buy.

Some companies or manufacturing locations may be more consistent than others, but nobody is perfect. Everyone makes the occasional dud.

In terms of politics, your purchase helped some Chinese folks to have a job. Did some of your money help to support an oppressive goverment ... I don't think there is a simple answer or solution there. You can say the same about buying at Wal Mart.

If it's a great sounding and great playing guitar, I would not worry about the names on the headstock and label.

 

[bighouse]

Siwash,

Don't get rid of it - build the stable, fill the quiver ...

I recently bought a GAD 50 myself and am extremely impressed with it. It is very cleanly built, it plays well and sounds great! In fact, my Lowden has spent most of its time in the case the last month. I gave up my (American made) D 25, for it, because I wanted a spruce rosewood guitar, and couldn't afford a D50/55 or DV model, and I have no regrets. The GAD 50 is outstanding value, imho. I play it alongside my buddies' Collings and Santa Cruzes and it easily holds its own. I've put a HIghlander p/u in it and is has become my main gigging guit (with the band, at least - solo, I'll use the Lowden).

my $.02 worth

Bill

 

[dane]

Like the others have said, keep it, enjoy it, and add to the collection. It’s a good guitar. As far as where it’s made…so what? We live in a time of global manufacturing. I can pretty much guarantee the some of the components in your computer came from Hong Kong. For years I worked on John Deere equipment, and I use to smile to myself when ever I heard someone say they buy JD because it’s American made. Technically that’s not entirely true. John Deere is manufactured in the US, but the parts and components come from all over the world including China, Indonesia, Ukraine, Spain, Germany, France, Mexico, and on and on. It’s like looking at the United Nations on wheels. And I have no doubt that many things in our homes are the same way, including your car. I have a relative that works for a major clothing manufacture here in the US, and although the tag says MADE IN THE USA, all the buttons come from China. It’s just the way it is. I’m not saying you have to like it, but as I said we live in a time of global manufacturing and I can’t see any practical way around it. So again, enjoy your GAD and don’t think twice about where it was made. My DeArmond M75T was made in Korea and is a real honey of a player and VERY well built. :mrgreen: This gets me wondering…does anyone here know where the pots and switches come from for lower end Fender and Gibson guitars? Hummm… :?

 

[zzrider]

Now you have a great sounding guitar and you don't have to sweat over every nick and ding because you're trashing the resale value. A win-win!

I bet in 20 or 30 years people will be talking about those "...good old Chinese guitars from the early-2000's..."

 

[Appalachian Blues]

Siwash, I'm waiting earnestly for the GAD JF30-12 that Guild is replacing the broken (fingerboard separated from neck, about the width of a nickel) GAD F212E with. The F212E had a tone that was hard to put down and when it broke, it broke my heart. I finally had a Guild 12 string, regardless of where it was made, it was a Guild to me and that was all that mattered. Of course I was mad too, when Guild at first gave the dealer a hard time about converting it to a lefty. But then they stepped up to the plate and offered to replace it with the JF30-12, at no charge.
Enjoy that D-50s' tone, it's a Guild!!!

 

[killdeer43]

I really like my GAD 50; close to love it. !

That's all I need to know. It's your guitar for better or for worse and if you're close to loving it, embrace it and make it your own. If you didn't know where it was made, would you care? Does it sound great? Does it feel good? As others have said, it's still a Guild.
Love it or send it to me. I have plenty of room for another Guild.

Joe

 

[Dr Izza Plumber]

Siwash; it's all good. :wink:

 

[mrmanley]

Interesting thing about Chinese musical instruments: they can either be complete junk or fabulous values. If a company demands the lowest possible cost, then the Chinese will obligingly produce the cheapest crap they can. If the company insists on high quality and good fit and finish, the Chinese will do this also -- for a price. It used to be that quality inlay-work was simply beyond the Chinese instrument-makers: badly done, cheap, garish. But nowadays, a high-end Chinese-built guitar is probably, dollar for dollar, as good or better than a guitar made anywhere else. Technology, particularly the advent of CNC machines, has made the manufacturing end almost glitch-free. And even on the high-end, Chinese-made instruments will run you anywhere from 30%-70% less than comparable American-made guitars. (Labor costs are the main difference.)

When guitars first came out of Japan, the same quality issues came up; ditto Korea. But as the manufacturing technology matured, all these countries have achieved the same high quality bar.

So why buy American (apart from patriotism or supporting local businesses)? Well, for me, it's a question of craft and wood-quality. American luthiers seem to get their hands on better-quality wood than their Asian counterparts, and this shows in the tonal qualities of the guitars. (Listen to, say, a Blueridge and then to a real Martin D28. The Blueridge sounds great...until you hear it next to the "real" D28.) And I think (perhaps irrationally) that it's important to keep musical-instrument manufacture in more of a craft-oriented mode rather than an industrial mode, even if it drives up prices a bit.

 

[12stringer]

I just played a GAD50EAMB (Electric/Amber) and it blew my socks off...I am out of town and went into a local guitar store to see what they had and there was the GAD50...so I thought, what the heck...let's see how these Chinese guitars stack up...well...the sound was just excellent and tons of sustain...a real singer! Plus, I love the rosewood as well...this dread played very evenly across bass mids and highs...nothing was jumping out...such a smooth rich sound with loads of character when you really picked or hammered out a note or two.
I see why you said you "close to love it". One awesome sounding dread for the money imho...I'd hang on to it. :wink: