Doc Hanson
Junior Member
Here are a few photos of the CD-1 I purchased on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. I'm a bit hesitant to make this post for a couple of reasons. First, I've read a number of posts on this forum where people bash the Contemporary Series because of their "infamous" neck issues and the MIRC guitars. I really don't want to read or respond to such negativity. Second, I selfishly don't want people to know what great guitars these are and start bumping their prices up. So, I'm going to respond proactively to the neck issue, and I'll contribute my opinion, for what it's worth, about the Contemporary Series guitars.
1. The neck issue - Yes, this is a real issue. I've now had three contemporary series guitars and all of them had needed work of varying degrees on the neck angle. Two of the guitars, this one and my CV-2, required simple adjustments because the necks had not been properly attached. Both took about 10 minutes of work once I figured out how to properly do this. The third guitar, a beautiful "non-MIRC" CV-1C, required some sanding of the neck heel to get the proper angle. This is something any knowledgeable repair person or luthier can do. Bottom line is if the neck is the only thing stopping you from trying one of these, you might reconsider.
2. My opinion of the Contemporary Series - As I mentioned, I've purchased three of these guitars. As one who has owned around 20 Guilds over the last 40 years, and counts my 1979 D-40SB as one of the top 3 guitars I've ever owned, all three of the Contemporary models I've had, have been exceptional guitars. All of them have wonderful tone and are great to play. They have wider nuts and relatively shallow C necks (some might consider them a D shape), making them very easy to play, especially if you're a finger-picker like me. I would compare the tone of the CD-1 to the couple of D-28s I've owned, except better because it's a Guild. The CV-2 is the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. I've loved maple guitars ever since I bought an Alvarez with maple back and sides in college. When combined with the red spruce top, the CV-2 just sings. I've had many people ask me about the guitar after hearing it, commenting how much they like the way it sounds. And it's not because I'm such a good guitar player
.
Looks-wise, they are just beautiful guitars. The CV-2 was designed by George Gruhn and is stunning. I like bursts. All of these guitars have bursts. The CV-2 is a full burst (front, back, sides, and neck). The iced tea burst on the CD-1 is elegant. Guild does the best bursts in acoustics. The flamed maple on the CV-2 is good enough to eat. You can see on the photos below how nice the Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides are on the CD-1. And the Madagascar rosewood they used on the bridge, fretboard, rosette, and headstock provides a lovely contrast.
Finally, I buy and sell a lot of guitars because I like to try guitars I think would be fun to play. I pretty much stick to guitars made by Guild, Martin, Gibson, and Ovation (I don't care to hear from Ovation haters). I'm somewhat of a tightwad so I'm always looking for a good deal. I paid $825 for the CD-1, and $750 for my CV2. Outstanding value in my mind. I don't see many Contemporary models up for sale. I'm sure part of the reason is they didn't make many of them. But I also suspect people that own these know what they have and are not willing to sell them, especially given their low value in the current marketplace.
My recommendation is if you see one of these for sale, Don't Buy It. Instead, send me a message and I'll take care of it.
Keep on Pickin' - Doc
1. The neck issue - Yes, this is a real issue. I've now had three contemporary series guitars and all of them had needed work of varying degrees on the neck angle. Two of the guitars, this one and my CV-2, required simple adjustments because the necks had not been properly attached. Both took about 10 minutes of work once I figured out how to properly do this. The third guitar, a beautiful "non-MIRC" CV-1C, required some sanding of the neck heel to get the proper angle. This is something any knowledgeable repair person or luthier can do. Bottom line is if the neck is the only thing stopping you from trying one of these, you might reconsider.
2. My opinion of the Contemporary Series - As I mentioned, I've purchased three of these guitars. As one who has owned around 20 Guilds over the last 40 years, and counts my 1979 D-40SB as one of the top 3 guitars I've ever owned, all three of the Contemporary models I've had, have been exceptional guitars. All of them have wonderful tone and are great to play. They have wider nuts and relatively shallow C necks (some might consider them a D shape), making them very easy to play, especially if you're a finger-picker like me. I would compare the tone of the CD-1 to the couple of D-28s I've owned, except better because it's a Guild. The CV-2 is the best sounding guitar I've ever owned. I've loved maple guitars ever since I bought an Alvarez with maple back and sides in college. When combined with the red spruce top, the CV-2 just sings. I've had many people ask me about the guitar after hearing it, commenting how much they like the way it sounds. And it's not because I'm such a good guitar player
.Looks-wise, they are just beautiful guitars. The CV-2 was designed by George Gruhn and is stunning. I like bursts. All of these guitars have bursts. The CV-2 is a full burst (front, back, sides, and neck). The iced tea burst on the CD-1 is elegant. Guild does the best bursts in acoustics. The flamed maple on the CV-2 is good enough to eat. You can see on the photos below how nice the Sitka spruce top and Indian rosewood back and sides are on the CD-1. And the Madagascar rosewood they used on the bridge, fretboard, rosette, and headstock provides a lovely contrast.
Finally, I buy and sell a lot of guitars because I like to try guitars I think would be fun to play. I pretty much stick to guitars made by Guild, Martin, Gibson, and Ovation (I don't care to hear from Ovation haters). I'm somewhat of a tightwad so I'm always looking for a good deal. I paid $825 for the CD-1, and $750 for my CV2. Outstanding value in my mind. I don't see many Contemporary models up for sale. I'm sure part of the reason is they didn't make many of them. But I also suspect people that own these know what they have and are not willing to sell them, especially given their low value in the current marketplace.
My recommendation is if you see one of these for sale, Don't Buy It. Instead, send me a message and I'll take care of it.
Keep on Pickin' - Doc
