Guild D-55

2008 Model Antique Sunburst

Sounds as good or better than my friends 1981 D-45 [Indian Rosewood] and impressed me enough to sell my Gibson Songwriter Deluxe and D-35 and then bought the "Holy Grail" of acoustic guitars . I know of nothing out there in this price range that can stand up with this guitar . You play one and you will buy one. Its that simple

Fit and Finish is same as a high end Taylor or Martin you will be impressed! The paint job is spectacular . What you expect to see on a $4000-6000 guitar..........

None of the big three will ever have the durablity of this Guild it is very solidly built and just feels "rugged"

This I cant comment on .............. I have no experence with them.

I have found a lifelong pardner in this guitar and even though I have had alot of acoustics in the past I have slowly sold them all off always looking for that would ever sound like an old antique Gibson Southern Jumbo I played 20 years ago and have never been able to find one until now ............ the search is over!

First of all this guitar was produced in 1985, and I am amazed the finish is in such great condition 23 years later not one finish check anywhere. Natural top, no electronics, 1 11/16 nut (wish a bit wider), grovers, love the neck feel and radius of the fingerboard. No fancy inlays on this one

I have two other dreads a seagull s6 and a tacoma dr28. The guild has it all over them in terms of warmth depth, clarity. The Tacoma looks very similar to the D55 but seems fragile in comparison in terms of build and sound.

The action was a tad higher than I liked when I received it so I carefully scrubbed about .015 off the saddle and now I love it up and down the neck. Saddle is still at about .155 so I will have to see a pro for anymore future adjustments.

Built like a tank, seems to weigh a ton compared to the others I own. I'm sure it will last my lifetime and one of my kids is sure to have to wrestle it away from their siblings at the point of my demise. It sleeps most of the time in it's original case when not in my hands.

It's 23 years old... Who cares.

I have been playing for about 15 yrs off and on. I am so happy I decided to buy this guitar, my wife's first comment to me upon hearing it was "wow your playing sounds great". This was after her seeing the hang tag which showed the price (I forgot to hide the little tidbit about being a $1500 setback). I thought she would kill me at 1st but I think seeing the joy I have with it in my hands put aside any desire to punch me in the head during these rough $ times. In the end you can spend a whole lot more, but I'm sure that you will stampede upon the law of diminishing returns if you do.

My Guild D55 was made 4/10/2008 according to the serial number. I bought it new in Houston Texas for $1750 on May 21 st 2008.
This guitar has the Ice Tea Burst nitrocellulose gloss finish and no electronics of any kind.

The fret board is ebony and has stunning genuine mother of pearl and abalone inlays that are impeccably done.

The neck is 3 piece mahogany/maple/mahogany and has gold Grover tuners.

Factory setup on the neck was very nice right out of the factory cardboard box. It finger picks sweetly and you can flat pick blue grass vigorously without any buzz. I would say the features on this Guild D55 are outstanding and one of the best kept secrets among acoustic pickers. It came with a very high quality hardshell case that is attractive looks like it will stand the test of time.

Sound. As beautiful as this guitar is to look at, the sound is what sold me. Rich full even tones from low to high. A satisfying crunchy bottom with base notes you can feel in your belly. Bell like ringing mids and sparkling highs- yet none overpower the other-BALANCE is the best way to describe the sweet sound of a D55. Versatile-enough bass for Bluegrass and enough balance for recording and singing vocals in the studio.
I'm giving this guitar a 9 but it is brand spanking new-I'm sure it will open up and be a 10 very soon. The solid Adirondack Red Spruce top should just get sweeter and sweeter.

Factory setup is a subjective thing The factory action is quite good though not outstanding. Finger-style play is just fine and she flat picks country and bluegrass without buzz. I'll have her set a wee bit lower by a luthier here in town.

Fit and Finish? ----> FLAWLESS! I actually got reading glasses and a magnifying glass, couldn't find a flaw anywhere-neck-bridge-inlays-tuners-back-sides-top-finish. Perfect.

Guitar is brand new-looks to built with pride and like a tank.
Just haven't owned it long enough to address durability. But I'm not at all worried.

Lifetime warranty. Doubt I'll need it.

I've been playing 45 years and I've owned Gibson ES 175's, Gibson SG's Yamaha acoustics (The venerable FG 300 and FG 180's) Eko 12 strings, Daions, Alvarez, played Gibson J45's Martin D28's D35's Taylor 310-810's you name it. I must have played 200 guitars in the last month and 75 in the store where I purchased this particular D55. I went in after a Gibson Hummingbird or a Martin D28. I BOUGHT the Guild D55 because it was incomparable.

This guitar has many features that cost literally thousands more from Martin, Gibson, Taylor and so called boutique guitar makers.

The solid Adirondack red spruce top, breathtakingly beautiful iced tea burst nitrocellulose lacquer finish,Natural Mother-of-Pearl and Abalone Position Inlays,
Bound Ebony Fingerboard,
Abalone Rosette,
Tortoise Shell Pickguard make the Guild D-55 more than a match for anything offered by the big three.

The sound is ethereal-almost heavenly it's so rich and sweet and full.
Fingerpicked delicately it's a dreadnaught songbird with rich lows,vibrant bell like mids and tinkling highs. Flat picked with any degree of firmness and she quickly turns aggressive pumping out crunchy bottom tones that embarass Martins D-28's, D-35's and absolutely shame Gibson J-200's without losing any balance and keeping it's resonance. Sustain all the way into next week. From Folk to Country to Bluegrass, this guitar can do it all!

Absolutely flawless! I thought no one could touch Gibson when it came to "pretty". Guild knows how to build beautiful guitars. Pride in workmanship shows on D-55's.

Guilds are known for their tank like construction and endurance.
Mine is only 10 days old but is solid!

No experience in this area. Doubt I'll need it.

I've been playing 45+ years I've played everything from Martin,Gibson,Taylor,Larrivee,Red label Yamahas,Daion,Eko's,Ovations,Collings, you name it.

This is the end of my lifelong search for THE one. Guild D-55.

Mine is a 2007 Tacoma built D55 in sunburst with the DTAR pickup/preamp system. These are relatively simple guitars so it is not over run with features - which is a good thing in book. I didn't want the star ship enterprise installed on the top of the body! For me this guitar gets a 10 for being all solid woods, amazing inlays, grover tuners, great pickup, TKL case, in sound hole volume & tone controls - and for being the coolest acoustic guitar I have ever seen!

I bought this guitar untried via the internet from a guitar store I have no prior knowledge of in Boston USA, may not seem like much of a risk until you consider that I am all the way over in England. I had to like this guitar when it finally arrived.

Well acoustcially the sound blew me away on the first strum. Full, rich, creamy, plenty of bass but enough top end to cut through as well. Very importantly it sounds great both strummed and picked.

Plugged in it sounds great. I don't have a great acoustic amp or PA so I can't judge it properly but I enjoy the full rich tone which it delivers very easily - and with absolutely no piezo quack!

I am using the guitar for playing acoustic rock and country covers and it fits the bill perfectly.

When this guitar arrived in the UK (after a 10 day journey by sea in the middle of winter) I was amazed to find it in almost perfect tune when I took it out of the box. The action was (and remains) perfect although I did have to make a minor truss rod adjustment after it had settled in. The quality of the finsh is pretty much flawless to my eyes. The inlays (as mentioned under features) are particularly nice (especially against the sunburst finish). I don't think I can fault it at all. Gorgeous.

I can't really score this as I have only owned it for 3 months. What I can say is that I have now gigged with it 4 times (the first being a drunken unplanned 4 hour completely unplugged acoustic session in my local pub) and it absolutely withstands playing live - no problem at all. I only take a back up for alternative tunings.
This is the heaviest acoustic guitar I have ever held (way heavier than any Gibson I have experienced) and it feels like it will last a life time (which is the plan). The finish seems pretty tough to me and has already withstood the order knock without marking.

No experience so far.

I have been playing for 25 years, I currently have a small selection of Teles/Strats, the D55, an (excellent for the money) Simon & Patrick as well as a couple of Mandolins. This is by far the best acoustic guitar I have ever owned. Previous to this I had a Gibson J45 - it was a complete dog. Either I bought a bad one or the J45 is the most over rated guitar in history! Before the J45 I had a very nice Taylor 414 (which I sold to buy the J45 and regretted immediately). The Taylor was a great finger picker but it did not like being strummed at all. A good friend of mine has a good collection of Taylors, Martins and Gibson acoustic - some old some new. His prized (and highly valued) J200 is his personal favourite -it doesn't come close to the D55 in my honest opinion. Hell this guitar even smells nice when you open up the case!

I spent a year or two trying to work it out which quality acoustic to buy and gambled on this purchase in the end (Guilds are expensive and relatively hard to get hold of in the UK). Happily I made a great choice - it's a keeper. I LOVE THIS GUITAR!

After playing, owning and selling numerous high end guitars over the past 10 years Ive actually owned this Guild D 55 for a whole year! No small feat. This 2005 natural finish model with Fishman pick up is as close to perfect as Ive ever seen in an acoustic guitar. It is a full size dred with Gold hardware. I wish it had chrome since the gold does wear and look crappy after only two years( typical in my experience.) Solid wood guitar and the finish seems much less resistent to polish sworls and light scratches then the Gibsons Ive owned. Beautiful inlay work which I personally like alot.Great features for very reasonable price. The guitar is very heavy compared to Taylors, Martins, Santa Cruz. About the same as Gibsons, Froggy Bottoms and lighter then Gallaghers. Feels very solid in my opinion.

Nothing short of amazing. Unlike Taylors the overall tone is not bright or shimmery on high end. I would describe the tone of this guitars as perfectly balanced from string to string, and more importantly, fret to fret. Very nice low, mid and treble balance. The factory action is very low. I am a light flatpicker and the high E string is a tad to low. For Bluegrassers or loud strummers the factory low action would not work. Everyone talks about the proverbial acoustic cannons which are nice for playing to crowds. This D 55 is the second loudest guitar Ive ever owned. The Gibson Advanced Jumbo was the loudest and I had a Takamine that was close.

Although the acoustic tone is heavenly the Fishman system really makes this acoustic sound great amplified. Please note that I run my guitar through the Fishman dred pedal followed by AFX delay and reverb pedals into a Fender Passport. The guitars sound is as good as Ive heard locally. My system is no pendulum system but it certainly sounds good enough. For a long time I tried to only use condenser mics but the feedback issues are too frustrating for me to deal with. I also tried just about every acoustic amp including AER, Schertler, Ultrasound, Fishman, Roland but vocals always sound crappy. My current set up is great however it does lack power for any large crowd or noisy background event. This Fishman system is really very adequate

Guitar is set up fairly low which is great for some but will require adjustments by others depending on playing styles and pick gauges. The top has a very noticeable seam which may bother certain folks. The bookmatching is very similiar although Ive seen some poor bookmatchings that actually seem to add character. The frets were cut and sanded very well. I would give this fit and finish category a 10, especially considering price and exceptional tone. I still like Bill Clinton even though he is a proven liar:) Perhaps this guitar also has alot a charisma which de-sensitize me from noticing flaws.

Two years w/o adjustment necessary. No problems whatsoever. My Taylors would go out of whack constantly. I like problem free. I have been looking for another D 55 in case strings break while Im playing. Alot cheaper to just change the strings but I really like the ice tea finish and am curious about DTAR?? It sounds like a planet from a Star Trek episode.

?????

In order of cost Ive owned a Froggy Bottom, a half dozen Taylors including a 915CE/ciny vine inlay, Santa Cruz, Breedlove, half dozen Gibsons, 5 Larrivees, 3 high end Takamines, 4 alvarez Yairis and many others. I currently own a Guild GAD, Gallagher, Larrivee and this D 55. Ive played the other guitars about 10 time while Ive owned this D55. I really could not see living without this D55. I actually will usually plug it in when I play since I can fool around with the great Fishman AFX delays and reverbs. With the Fishman goodies this guitar sounds better plugged in which is remarkeable to me. Any comments or questions are welcomed since I love talking acoustic guitars, acoustic amplification and golf!!

Without doubt this guitar is the best value Ive had to date. Plus, since Im so happy with this guitar Ive got more money for golf and my coin collection.

1977 Westerly made Guild with the usual specs except for jumbo fretwire (now quite low because of several dressings) and Shaller gold tuners. The neck is fuller than current necks, but probably more comfortable. Around 1990 the braces were "voiced" by a well regarded luthier.

The tone is very balanced between bass and treble. The overall tone is bell like in quality. The bass is extremely mellow and deep, but the trebles are very clear and distinct. Although the guitar has wonderful depth, it is not really boomy. Even though the guitar has good volume, its not the loudest acoustic I have played.

This guitar was 29 years old when I got it and I had to do some remedial repair to get it up to snuff. The nut slots and some of the frets were worn, and the truss rod needed some tweaking. With new strings, the guitar came back to life. I had intended to turn it around, but have decided to keep it.

Structurally, the guitar is in fine shape with just some dings and scratches. Even after 29 years the guitar is still only about half way to neck set city.

This sucker is a tank. The guitar is extremely heavy and Guild used enuff wood in the neck and tail blocks to make two guitars. But it has held up better than most 29 year old Martins I have known.

Never needed 'em

I have owned about every quality acoustic known to man and this guitar stands right up there with about any of them at a fraction of the price.

please see the other reviewers for these . i say it is top of the line all the way . impeccable!

now let's talk rich,creamy,booming and presence . strum a chord sitting down and your whole body resonates with this guitar . the first time i played this guitar was after playing a room full of martins,taylors,breedloves,gibsons,alvarez and santa cruz guitars . for some reason i kept looking at this d55 and saying to myself " i'll play that one later because it looks so pretty..." then finally i picked it up and played....reaction? wow! chords , fingerpicking and single note pick solos were heavenly . i have played for more than 25 years and have owned the best along the way . this guitar was like a ray of light in a dark room . full deep resonant sound from your fingers to the top of your head to your toes . i own a martin d35 and a custom shop hummingbird from montana . the hummingbird beats this d55 slightly . but the hummingbird was $1500 more . like everyone says here...why spend the money? mine is a carona california model . i have not had the pleasure of playing a rhode island factory guitar but i can't imagine it to be so much better than this one . this guitar makes me want to play well . sound is on par with custom shop pieces from other companies , and believe me taylor's top of the line guitars don't touch this california d55 no way , i know because i have played them .

flawless in every way period .

i bought this one with a crack on the back which way from a drop . fixed with a kleat inside . hey it was $1300 . well below other new guitars that sounded like crap in my opinion . everything else is amazingly well built .

can't comment never had to use them

Guild D-55 - 1968 ( do i need to say more )This was the first year for this guitar- I bought this in 1976 (used) from an add hanging outside of a college book store- was going to search for a D-50 , which was pretty much the same guitar but didnt have all the glitz.

used it to play college coffee houses, latter at local restaurants- one of the brightest sounds Ive ever heard- guess you can say the first time I saw her, it was love--today the sound is more mellow than ever- have played newer Guild D-55,s - just to let newer buys know, they only get better with time- If you love it now , youll wish you could take it to heaven with you when you die !

Hard to say how this was set up at the factory, since i bought it used when it was 8 years old- The top on this baby is perfectly bookmatched Bear claw spruce-- I have a few guitars with master grade tops and this is one of them - dont think the new ones are this nice, but the one i played yesterday was decent ! The binding on the fretboard as well as the Craftsmanship of the instrument is phenominal-

Well, this is where she gets a 200 out of 100, shes been around since 1968- no serious problems- have played out many times with her- shes strong and shes a lady ! and shes better with age !

N/A since i bought it used from a private person.

Ive made mistakes in my life as we all do, but this guitar has never been one of them- it makes me feel good every time i play it, and has given me great joy for the past 29-30 years- and its worth a whole lot more than i paid for it- thou I would never sell it- youll have to hunt down my widow when i kick the bucket - if shes smart shell keep this one for my childrens children- Yes i would definitely buy it again- When I was in my twentys most of my friends told me that Guilds were not as good as Martins ,and that i made a big mistake by spending every penny i had on a Guild-( even thou it cost about one half of what a martin did ) - many years latter most of them have traded in their Martins , one of my friends recently told me secretly that they wish they bought a Guild back when I did because it was a better value than their Martin and that they had all kinds of problems with it, such as the Neck warping etc- So much for whats popular eehh !!

Heh, it says up here, "Be critical! Superficial, glowing reviews will not get published!" Yet it seems like almost every review on here, about anything, is either raving about how great something is or how much it sucks. I'm afraid this will be no different. I will tell you right away that I believe this may be the best guitar I'll ever own.

Well, anyway...

My baby is a natural finish Guild D-55. I bought her from Stan and crew at Mandolin Brothers on Staten Island, New York, August 2001 (a few weeks before 9/11). It was a blemish model. Stan wasn't sure what the blemish was. After owning the guitar since 2001, I've come to the conclusion that the blem is actually a little spot on the top binding on the treble side of the upper bout. It looks like the black bled a little into the white with a teensy dot that ruins the otherwise straight line. Does that even make sense when I describe it? It's not noticible unless you either squint really hard from 2 inches away or poke your eye out with the bottom-right corner of the neck (yeah, I've done both). Other manufacturers (um, like Fender) would likely not have even considered it a blemish.

It's one of the last Westerly, Rhode Island D-55s. I think it's either a 2000 or a 2001. I kinda wanted a sunburst, but I wasn't gonna argue with a great deal. And this way the wood's aging will be obvious when she and I grow old together. :) Although Guild does a beautiful sunburst which still shows the gorgeous wood grains.

As far as a rosewood/spruce dread goes, it's got what you'd want. The features have been listed a zillion times. Impeccable ebony fretboard... sublime two-piece back (not arched)...

The only things keeping it from elusive and impossible-to-define perfect is that the binding is probably a white plastic (some prefer this to wood). I had something else to say, but I forgot already.

Unfortunately, it has yet to find my soulmate for me. Oh, that's not a documented feature anyway, though.

No electronics.

Perfection is different for everyone; that's the point I'm trying to make. A feature here or there--what's that? I see no reason to deny this guitar a 10. It's not a friggin' toaster. It's even got fancy decorative crap. Toasters don't have abalone. It's more beautiful and featured than a Martin D-45, and it cost a fair price rather than an absurd one. You do the math. (Sorry--I'm just not a fan of overpricing.)

What do you want to use it for? The dreadnaught has turned out to be a pretty vertsatile shape, I think. It is a jack of all trades, a master of none. This dreadnaught in particular, however, comes close.

I've honestly never heard a better lead acoustic guitar sound than this. As far as strumming, it will give any Martin D-28 a run for bass boom, yet it's balanced enough that the bass will never drown the rest out (in my opinion--some have accused my guitar of being too bassy, but I think they're just used to Takamine, tinny crap). It will give any Gibson a run as far as chunky mid-range and treble, yet, again, it is balanced.

The bass booms. The midrange jingles. The high-end rings like a bell.

Can one guitar have it all? I don't know, but if it were possible, it would be embodied in this rosewood dreadnaught.

Tone is a personal choice. I, personally, would never be able to find a guitar whose sound I deemed "better" than this. I played J-200s, Martin HD-35s, Rainsong jumbos, Taylor 800s, boutique guitars...

Is this guitar better than a Martin HD-35? Maybe, maybe not. Is it cheaper? Yes. Does it have more character? Yes.

Stack any guitar in the world up against this one. I dare you. You may be able to find a better guitar for something specific--a Martin 00-18 for fingerpicking, a jumbo for strumming (incidentally, if you're in the market for a jumbo, Guild does these as well as anyone else, too). You'll never find anything that can do it all as well as this guitar, though. If anything else can, it will likely cost twice as much.

Match this guitar against anything in its price range, and it will mop the floor. Match it against instruments costing twice as much, and it will still hold its own. You can't go wrong with a Guild D-55.

The action, in my opinion, was a little high when I got it. I set it up with mediums and got a luthier friend to play with the action, and now it's like butter. It didn't lose any of its tone.

The appearance of the guitar? I'm out of adjectives to describe it. Guild takes (took?) great pride in their guitars, from the bottom to the top, but the D-55s are above even that. In the lower-end, you may find teensy blobs of glue. So what? Yet on the D-55, you won't even see that.

Everything about this guitar is perfect (other than the aforementioned blem).

Even though the action was a little high for me, I'm going to give this category yet another 10. I think it is understood that the set-up of a guitar is a personal choice and that nearly every guitar will need some set up work done. If anything, it's the cheaper guitars that need less set up (they come with low-action for beginners, who are likely just gonna hack away at first). The expensive ones need to be personalized.

Others have described their D-55s as being priceless works of art that hardly leave the living room or the humidified, temperature-controlled case. Guilds are made to be played, though, and while I'm not planning to check my D-55 as baggage on an airplane anytime soon, not even in the best of cases, I would not hesitate to tote it around with me. I gig with it. I use it when I see fit. It's a tough guitar. Guild makes tough guitars, and this one is no exception. Honest to God, it's still as flawless as the day I bought it. I've been careful with it, but it isn't as if it's never left the house either. It's my main guitar, and I treat it as such.

I don't bring a back-up. I should, really. Who knows what one might break a string? But I don't, and she's never failed me yet. Not once.

I firmly believe this guitar will outlast my own body. After this guitar and I grow old together, I'll pass it on to someone else.

I'm not saying that because it's a delicate, priceless treasure. Who wants a treasure that you have to baby? I'm saying that because it is, simply, a great guitar. It will last. It will perform.

I actually have no warranty. That was part of the stipulation when I bought it at a huge discount. I haven't had a single problem with it, though, nor do I expect to. If I do have a problem, I'll get someone to fix it. I have the utmost confidence that this material object will last at least 100 years. I also believe it's far more deserving than the stuff Gibson and Martin are putting out. I'm not saying those Martins and Gibsons aren't neat guitars. They are... They just cost 4 times as more.

No rating here, as I do not have a warranty and have had no dealing with Guild other than playing this wonderful guitar they created and I bought. Guild is now under Fender, so I suppose whatever people have to say about Fender applies here as far as service.

Take everything you hear with a grain of salt, though (even my unabashed love for my D-55).

This was a deal when I got it. I don't think Guild has ever made a guitar that wasn't worth the money. I actually just bought another Guild, a used JF-30, and my first quality guitar ever was a Guild DCE-1. I honestly think I may never buy anything ever again that is NOT Guild.

The Fender buy-out of Guild saddens me. I wish they'd've been able to continue as a stable, independent corporation. Guild no longer really exists. The intruments they made exist, though, and, that said, their designs still exist, whether they're made in California or China. If you want a guitar like this, and can't get a used one, you'll have to go with either the Chinese Guilds or the Fender American Guilds. The Americans, for now, are built in the Guild custom shop in California. This includes the D-55s, F-50s, and F-50Rs (I believe).

The Chinese Guilds are still amazing... A Chinese Guild D-50 would compare to my D-55, as much as people hate to admit it (and as much as even I hate to admit it).

Play everything, but never overlook these marvelous designs.

Long live Guild.

Guild guitars were, and still are, even built in China, probably the best value in the world. Really.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Please don't flame me or try to change my opinion, though.