Rosewood Guild with 1 3/4" nut??

[Longnose Gar]

Does such a guitar exist? I'm currently playing a Gibson Songwriter. I love the space at the nut for open chords, but I miss the balanced tone of my Oxnard D-55, which I sold because my fingers always felt a little squeezed at the nut. Or is there another guitar that sounds like a D-55 with a 1 3/4" nut? Thanks for any help.

 

[SFIV1967]

Too lazy to select the Rosewood models, but here is a model list of all I knew:

Guilds with 1 & 3/4" nut

Many members here have said that any nut less than 1.75" wide is just too small for their freakish, baseball mitt-sized hands. I know this has been discussed in many threads, but maybe there should be a central place for a list of guitars that have 1 & 3/4" wide nuts? We can archive and...

letstalkguild.com

Probably the only one that comes close to a D-55 is the discontinued New Hartford made Orpheum 14 fret Slope Shoulder one. They are hard to find however as not many sell them. But it's still a different guitar compared to a D-55... I never played them side by side to compare, so can't really tell.

14-Fret Slope Shoulder RS Orpheum | Guild Guitars

The Slope 14 offers a distinctive difference for the discerning player--sloping shoulders that gracefully curve away from the neck in marked contrast to conventional straight-shoulder dreadnought design.

guildguitars.com

Ralf

 

[HeyMikey]

A DV72 would be somewhat similar to a D55 in that it is a higher end dread. It isn’t listed on the 1-3/4 nut thread that Ralf linked, but there have also been DV52’s reported to have 1-3/4 nuts. It is also a terrific rosewood dread, somewhat easier to find and about 1/3 the price of a DV72.

There is known variation in actual vs spec’d nut widths so I always ask the seller to double check and physically measure it. Often they list the guitar using the published specs, which are sometimes off for a specific guitar.

 

[Longnose Gar]

Thanks Ralf. Obviously I'm lazier than you because I didn't even find your thread. This is a great help to start exploring. The 14 fret Orpheum is pretty.

 

[SFIV1967]

A DV72 would be somewhat similar to a D55 in that it is a higher end dread. It isn’t listed on the 1-3/4 nut thread that Ralf linked,

It is!



Yes, if you find a DV-7x with a wider nut that's the closest to the D-55! (I didn't know about the DV-52 matching that category as well).

The DV-72 vs. D55

Is the DV-72 like a unicorn of Guild guitar lore? I hear they only made 200, very hard to find, only made in Westerly over a couple years? How does it compare to the D55? Thanks.

letstalkguild.com

Ralf

 

[Tom O]

You might consider a CV-1. It has a 16 in lower bout and about 1/2 in thinner than a dread. Has thinner waist since it is a grand orchestra. They run about 1/3 the price of a D-55. I love the sound of mine, It seems as loud as my D-40.

 

[adorshki]

A DV72 would be somewhat similar to a D55 in that it is a higher end dread. It isn’t listed on the 1-3/4 nut thread that Ralf linked, but there have also been DV52’s reported to have 1-3/4 nuts. It is also a terrific rosewood dread, somewhat easier to find and about 1/3 the price of a DV72.

There is known variation in actual vs spec’d nut widths so I always ask the seller to double check and physically measure it. Often they list the guitar using the published specs, which are sometimes off for a specific guitar.

I note your Dv72 is a '94, is it one of the 1-3/4 nut specimens? Seem to recall when we first looked into it that the majority of 1-3/4 nut sightings were clustered around that period, maybe '92-'95. @Longnose Gar those're the ones (like DV52's) you should double check if you want a 'dread.

Otherwise like the idea of the CV-1, those had 1-3/4 nut standard as Tom said, but you need to be a bit a careful as some of 'em did have significant neck twist problems.

 

[D30Man]

The New Hartford, CT F30RCE was RW back and sides with 1 3/4" nut. There are several F30R models on Ebay shipping from Japan for $200 in transport costs. Not seeing any on the verb. GC has a used F-130 RW back and sides with 1 3/4 nut. Not sure if MIC is a deal breaker. This is the second series of MIC Guilds all with a "1" added to the model number and the absence of the chesterfield logo on the headstock. Still pretty nice guits though.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Guild/F130-CE-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar.gc

 

[Longnose Gar]

The New Hartford, CT F30RCE was RW back and sides with 1 3/4" nut. There are several F30R models on Ebay shipping from Japan for $200 in transport costs. Not seeing any on the verb. GC has a used F-130 RW back and sides with 1 3/4 nut. Not sure if MIC is a deal breaker. This is the second series of MIC Guilds all with a "1" added to the model number and the absence of the chesterfield logo on the headstock. Still pretty nice guits though.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Guild/F130-CE-Acoustic-Electric-Guitar.gc

Thanks, I did see those ones in Japan. I have no experience buying used guitars from Japan, but I'm wary. I'll wait to see what comes up stateside. I do want a USA made.

 

[D30Man]

I don't blame you. Not a route I would take. They do come up from time to time. Good luck!

 

[algionfriddo]

I found this 1996 Guild JF-55 through a music store in Brooklyn. It is a full 1 3/4" just under the nut. Hans Moust mentioned that there were several mid to late JF-55's that had a 1 3/4" nut width but it was hit & miss. It took a long search to find this one. I really like it (wonderful playability 7 great tone), but I now mostly now play a 2008 Martin D-28 Marquis (1 3/4" nut with 2 5/16" at the saddle). I fingerpick mostly now and the extra room is preferable. I also have 1979 Guild F212XL NT (had it since the early 80's). Best tone for any 12 I've played. It just had a neck reset and now plays easily. Incredible chime & a powerhouse! Top end Guild's do not top out when played aggressively.
A pic of the JF-55 (I may be willing to sell) below...

 

[Longnose Gar]

Hi algionfriddo, I just sent you PM.