Guild D-5E

The pickup is the only extra here but it is passive. Needs a preamp for proper use.
I added brass bridge pins to replace the plastic ones and this improved both tone and appearance.
(Using Elixar strings are also encouraged here for great sound.)
Rosewood fingerboard with white dots, also visible on the side of the neck.
Medium frets.
Grovers with Guild imprinted on the tuners.
Dreadnaught body with an arched back.
Hardcase, molded plastic with aluminum trim, plush lined in black.

Perfect guitar for fingerpicking or flatpicking, but really excels at open tunings, drop D, open G, etc.
A great recording guitar with no boom and very musical sounding.
Intonation was adjusted by me after the saddle was cut to the right height, and it is very good up and down the neck.

The pickup is ok but needs a preamp for proper control of boom and feedback.
No internal back bracing because of the strength added in the formed archback eliminates the need.
The guitar could use a little inlay or color around the soundhole since black and white is a little boring. Black binding with a thin strip of purfling on the top is all there is.Edge inlay also would look good.
I have added a thin strip of blue self stick trim to my guitar and it is nicely highlighted with the black background. Easily removes when it is time to sell.

Very reliable. Dings do show up more though through the black finish.Touch up is easy with a black magic marker.It is solid since I added the bridge truss.
A good workingman's guitar! Dependable.

This model no longer available and very little info anywhere, therefore I'm writing this review to help others.

The top was bellied at the bridge when purchased and action was too high to live with.
So taking my cue from Breedlove Guitars, I made and installed a truss, modelled after the JLD Bridge Doctor. It transformed the top to be perfectly shaped with no belly, resulting in needing to re-cut the saddle to match the new low action.
What a great improvement in sound and projection.
The sound is its greatest asset.

I bought this D5E Acoustic from Guitar Center in 1998. Its an american made jumbo or dreadnaught body style with a solid spruce top. The laquer is black with white piping. The headstock is also black. There is a fishamn pickup inside which sounds almost exactly like the guitar unplugged, but much louder through my amp!! I don't know what the body and neck woods are. I bought an SKB flight case to go with it. The price of the guitar was $599, the case about $79

This was an impulse. It spoke to me and said, take home, I belong with you. I love the sound. I realize that it's not top of the line, there are nicer sounding guitars out there, but this one's mine and I love it. It's very full, with wonderful reonating harmonics and sustain. The guitar shows it's true colors in a open G or double drop D tuning. (I guess most guitars sound good like that)This D5E is very warm and friendly sounding, and not harsh or bluesy unless you really try.

The action is good and low, and there is an occasional string buzz which is not to much of a problem. Two years later, I notice my top has a small (1/2") expansion/contraction crack showing in the top below the bridge. This is probably due to my once taking to wet, rainy, Scotland and back, when normally I live in dry, sunny Calif.

This guitar is certainly good enough sounding to play professionally, although if you were really big named, you might want to get something higer end. It's definitely good ol' American made quality though, I am happy, and the tuners and stuff are Grover brand which I think has a good rep.

The wierd thing about the D5E is that I can't find any info about it anywhere else. I suspect that it was a "Guitar center only" promotional model. I did see one in an movie once, while a band was playing at a party in one scene but that's the only time. Guild has nomention of this model on their website, I am tempted to write them and ask what's up. So, I have no background information.

I've been playing casually for 7 years, and still am not good enough for my tastes. I own 1 other epi acoustic and 1 fender tele and 1 Route 101 strat style. Also an ampeg sj12t 50 watt tube amp. I would definitely buy this guitar again, if I could find the same model, it was a good price, and the fishman pickup is great. I love the black finish, without too much white piping (or whatever you call that stuff on the corners that hides the joins to the body, where the top meets the sides)It's understated design is classy.