NGD soon coming

[Blamalam]

So, after having to sell all of my gear back in February (including a Guild D4 I'd owned for almost 12 years) I'm finally getting back in the game. The Big Brown Truck is bringing me a GAD-30R, hopefully all in one piece.

 

 

Tuesday--or perhaps Wednesday--will be the unveiling. Plus, I got an absolute STEAL of a price

[TCBronson]

Take some pics!

[Hudman]

Congrats!

 

I feel your pain. I was forced to sell my guitars a year and half ago (including a Larrivee OM-03, a Guild GAD 30R and a Washburn Cumberland Jumbo).

 

I got back in the game with a little help from the forum. They bought me a Larrivee OM-03R. Since then I added a Alvarez RF20SM and a Yamaha CG171FS to the collection.

[Blamalam]

IT CAME IN TODAY!!!!!!

 

 

So after missing yesterday's delivery (I had to go to work), I finally met the UPS truck dude today and got my guitar.

 

 

Holy. Smokes.

 

 

This thing is beautiful, and I think it's even louder than my old D4 was--and THAT thing would drown out Pavarotti. I thump the low strings and I can feel the guitar's back vibrating in sympathy.

 

The neck will take some getting used to. I've never owned or played a 1 3/4 nut, and the neck is THIN. Jeez, I might have to learn proper left-hand technique! String tension seems high, but I'm going from memory as compared to my old Guild dread. The 30 has what I'm guessing to be factory strings on it--tomorrow I'm off to the music store for some Pearse lights. After the guitar and I get used to each other, I'll probably sand down the saddle a bit--the action up the neck is a bit higher than I'm used to.

 

 

I'm soooooooo stoked. And to think that I was second-guessing myself on buying this...

 

No pics yet--I've been too busy playing accompaniment to my squeals of joy (seriously, I scared myself a bit). I'll post some in a few.

 

 

 

Edit: Hud, how would you compare the Larry to the Guild? I looked at OM-03s for a bit, but really couldn't justify the extra cash.

 

I remember reading the threads on your forum guitar. I don't post much here any more, but that was a class act all around...and not the first one from this group.

[Hudman]

 

IT CAME IN TODAY!!!!!! So after missing yesterday's delivery (I had to go to work), I finally met the UPS truck dude today and got my guitar. Holy. Smokes. This thing is beautiful, and I think it's even louder than my old D4 was--and THAT thing would drown out Pavarotti. I thump the low strings and I can feel the guitar's back vibrating in sympathy. The neck will take some getting used to. I've never owned or played a 1 3/4 nut, and the neck is THIN. Jeez, I might have to learn proper left-hand technique! String tension seems high, but I'm going from memory as compared to my old Guild dread. The 30 has what I'm guessing to be factory strings on it--tomorrow I'm off to the music store for some Pearse lights. After the guitar and I get used to each other, I'll probably sand down the saddle a bit--the action up the neck is a bit higher than I'm used to. I'm soooooooo stoked. And to think that I was second-guessing myself on buying this... No pics yet--I've been too busy playing accompaniment to my squeals of joy (seriously, I scared myself a bit). I'll post some in a few. Edit: Hud, how would you compare the Larry to the Guild? I looked at OM-03s for a bit, but really couldn't justify the extra cash. I remember reading the threads on your forum guitar. I don't post much here any more, but that was a class act all around...and not the first one from this group.

 

 

The Guild GAD Series are really nice.

 

Edit: Hud, how would you compare the Larry to the Guild? I looked at OM-03s for a bit, but really couldn't justify the extra cash.

 

I am biased towards Larrivee guitars. I love the Larrivee neck profile and the Larrivee sound. Not to mention, the build quailty is exceptional for a guitar in the sub $1500 range.

 

The Guild GAD 30R neck profile never felt comfortable to me. The tone and volume was great. Unfortunately, I didn't own it long enough to see if I would ever get use to the neck profile.

[Ugaman72]

[Simon76]

Whoa Black Betty!

Blamalam!

 

Whoa Black Betty!

Blamalam!

 

Congrats!

[rhythmdoctor]

Congrats! I have a Guild D4 as my beater and I love it. I also owned a GAD 50 for about 2 days - returned it immediately as it was too sloppy sounding for my taste. My Guild D4 is such a fantastic player and I don't think I would ever sell it. I hope you don't end up missing your D4 - the GADs just don't do it for me.

[Blamalam]

As promised, I have pics. First, some playing impressions after a couple of days:

 

1. The neck is seriously skinny. REAL skinny. "I'm not sure I like that" skinny.

2. Neck angle is marginal. The bridge is REALLY thin, as a somewhat blurred pic will show.

3. Did I mention the skinny neck?

4. There's a slight hump at the 12th fret, after which the fingerboard extension slopes down--again, a blurry pic will show what I mean.

 

I'm yes/no on whether to keep it. It sounds wonderful, don't get me wrong, but I keep comparing it to my D4. Then again, memory is notoriously inaccurate for stuff like that. I've emailed the guy who bought my D4 to see whether he'd be up to selling it. Kinda cheesy, I know, but I miss the ol' beast. I've also picked up some bone saddle blanks (more than one because I KNOW I'll screw one up) and will attempt to make a new, slightly lower saddle to help with the high action. We'll see.

 

 

The pics:

 

 

Not much bridge left (check the wings):

 

HIGH action at the 12th fret:

 

See the dip?

[Blamalam]

Update: I spent two hours' quality time with some files, sandpaper, and one of the two bone saddle blanks I purchased earlier. Ta-DAAAA! New, lower saddle. I also bought a machinist's rule that measures down to 64ths--string height @ the 12th fret is now 5/64 under the low E and slightly less under the high E. I can definitely live with that. This was my first attempt at shaping a saddle, and I'm very happy with the results.

 

I've cheated as well--I've located a used D4 that I'll be purchasing this week.

[Absent]

Congratulations!