![]() The electronics work as intended, the compensated saddle has plenty of height, and in terms of cosmetic wear, there is sparingly little to report. ![]() On the headstock, the original Grover tuning machines turn smoothly and hold pitch reliably. The rosewood fretboard boasts dot inlay and the nut measures 1 11/16" in width. The mahogany neck has a medium C shape with a smooth gloss finish and original frets that retain their full factory height with zero wear. Professionally setup here at Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar, this Guild is dialed in with 12-53 strings and comfortable action. For a tone that retains the warmth and detail of an acoustic, yet with great feedback rejection and easy EQ shaping, the S4CE is a perfect companion and an instrument suited to a unique task. Of course where this guitar really shines is when plugged in via the Fishman preamp, notable for being the more modern (and infinitely more tweakable) four-band version. The 2” body depth and 14” lower bout makes for a very comfortable playing experience indeed, and the instrument has a surprising amount of presence and bark when played acoustically. The result is an acoustic electric instrument that is the size of an electric guitar, but with the sound of a true acoustic. The body is then fitted with an "X" brace solid spruce top. The body is the size of the famous Guild Bluesbird, with an acoustic chamber that is routed from a solid piece of mahogany. Arguably the most unique Guild model, the S4CE was an idea that came to Guild from Nashville. I didn't even know about "set-up", I just thought they had to be "built right" from the get-go.Up for sale, a 2000's Guild S4CE acoustic electric guitar in excellent condition and in perfect working order. and also makes me realize that it was possible the D25 "in the back" may not have had the TRC, or even been "set-up" yet.Īt the time all I knew was that the one I wanted was the one that had the best playability of 3 I had to choose from. I just knew the '25 had the best neck and playability I'd ever felt in my life and when the salesclerk offered me "a brand new one still in the box from the back", I said "No thanks, THIS one".įor this story the point of that anecdote was that unlike today, it was possible to find multiple examples of the same model even, in a single store. The whole point was I was buying my first really good guitar and it had to be American-made, and that TRC just drove the point home.Īt the time I had no clue about the "significance" of those little details or that the TRC might actually have been swapped from the D4ce in the store, if for example they both happened to have been getting "tweaked" at the same time. When I was shopping my D25 I had a choice of 3 on display if you count a DCE-1, and I don't remember that one having the "True American" cover but I do remember preferring the pearloid inlay on the D25 headstock as well as the script on the TRC. ![]() However, in counterpoint, all 3 of mine came out of the box right at factory set-up spec so I always assumed that stores had to do minimal if any set-up work. ![]() It might also be a way for the "swap" between a D4 and that piece to have happened. Back then (early-through-late '90's) a store like a Guitar Center could get several at a time, and might actually do the truss-rod check or even a full set-up, especially for display instruments.I suspect it might have been reversed then, although still, that's a pretty glaring goof when the script's obviously upside down. The '97 catalog has a "NEW TRUE AMERICAN" header over the D4HG which had just been introduced, for example.Ĭlick to expand. You can see the DCE-1 has the "True American" TRC on the Westerly Guild Guitars site, and the photo is from an earlier catalog than the '99 dated spec sheet, but the 2 other DCE's shown there don't have the TRC and appear to be photos from later catalogs. I think they just made a whole lot of TRC's and started putting 'em on D4's and D25's too (mine has one) until they ran out. Nothing "special" about the builds, just the TRC, which is gold silk-screen, not engraving. They were supposed to have the most natural amplified acoustic sound of any instrument on the market at the time. It was a marketing logo more than anything else, used by Guild to call attention to their line of acoustic-electric dreadnoughts starting with the DCE-1, DCE-3 and DCE-5, which were new and priced to fight the Japanese influx of low-priced A/E dreadnoughts in the early '90's. Click to expand.I've only seen that TRC on dreadnought bodies, never on "F" bodies. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |