I'm offering my '05 SD-50 guitar for sale. Hate to do it, being so great, but am pursuing another guitar. This is the same one that Jim Holler had on his site for a while, the former owner being "mannish". Thought it was an '06 until I did a build request from Matthew, he telling me it was an '05. It was purchased from Guitar Adoptions on 11/16/06 by mannish, me buying it from Jim while waiting for the F-III build to finish. A crack occurred during shipping when Jim & mannish made a trade. Jim remedied this by expertly bonding a spruce patch on the inside of the bout where the crack is & applying some resin over the crack. It isn't going anywhere & isn't an issue. It has the same few dings that were there when I purchased it. The neck has some "blushing" or "hazing" under the finish on the back of the neck. Is not visible @ times, other times stands out more, depending on the light hitting it. NOTHING about this guitar affects the awesome sound & playability of it. Norman, mannish, & others (some have played it @ Jim's) will attest to the incredible sound of this particular guitar.
It was recently compared to, by a friend that played it, to his Collings dread that he owns. Even said that he thought it sounded better! Plays like a dream & sounds the same. I'm selling this guitar & my Baden A-Style, another fantastic guitar. Am keeping my '93 L-10 & F-III guitars, for obvious reasons. This is one I said I'd never sell, but made the choice of this one based on how often I play it. I'm so used to light strings that playing mediums, as this has on it, is just hard for me to do, esp. with my arthritis getting worse.
The guitar is in overall great shape & I would rate it v.good, only because of the neck marks, which, again, aren't an issue for a great playing guitar. The case is near-mint, being built like a tank. I'm not describing the tonal qualities of this SD because like all, it is just a cannon & a player's dream. Want a guitar that you've always wanted & now can afford (due to some minor cosmetic marks, which you only notice on close inspection), this is it. I'm not representing it otherwise & never would. Probably with the best sounding & playing SD-50's of all of them, & I'm not kidding!
One quick thing I found out from Matthew was that this guitar was started in Jan. '04 & finished in March of '05. Bought it thinking it was an '06, being purchased then. Matthew & Jean are the only ones that carve the volute, so he'll put the neck on the shelve for a month or more, getting back to it when he had finished his higher priority stuff. This might explain the slight "blushing" on the back of the neck, suggesting that maybe some moisture got into the wood before the finish was applied. Not an issue, just an explanation given to me that makes sense & all is stable on this instrument.
Jim Holler played this guitar ONLY for about a month, not being able to put it down & used it for playing @ church also, if I understood him correctly on that point. Just found it to be so complex in sound & a dream to pick!
I'll post some generic pics, but if interested, please email for more, showing any dings, the great repair, & the "blushing" issue. Again, none of these affect the great sound or playability of this fine guitar. I am asking $800 firm, + S/H. One a year older just sold for $1200 here on the Forum, so it is priced according to the issues I've presented & what I consider a good price. It has maybe 4-5 hrs. of my playing it, or less, playing in spurts & probably overestimating that range. My email is:
jjpestalozzi@sbcglobal.net You can email me or PM if you prefer. I can send pics by email, but only answer questions by PM'ing.
Thank you for any interest. It is well worth it!
Jeff
Forgot to mention that it has a Fishman Matrix P/U professionally installed, but has no volume control. Plugs in through end-pin. Also, has a little bearclaw by the bridge!
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sent you a PM but I'm not sure it got though.....had a forum hiccup :bgrin:
Here's a couple more pics, 2 showing the outer crack (if you can notice it), the other showing the spruce patch that Jim permanently bonded on. Don't want any surprises for potential buyers. Jim actually lost money selling this one to me, after all he put into it! It's the sound & how it plays that are what's so great about this guitar.
Jeff
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I sent you an eMail yestrday, I will take it.
mossrob@pacbell.net
Rob