1980s DE500 Binding Questions

[Brian J]

I finally got to go take a look at a 1983 (?) DE500 that has been listed on my local Craigslist for over a month. The link is below. The neck binding has one break, and all of the neck binding has shrunk a little bit. All of the binding on the guitar except a small portion near the neck joint has yellowed considerably. The guitar also has more lacquer crazing than I am accustomed to seeing on a Guild. It looks pretty nice if you're into that sort of thing. There are photos attached below. The guitar plays and sounds great. The neck angle is good, and the frets have no discernible wear. The Bigsby handle still has gold plating. The owner isn't a guitar player and has kept it in the case for 15-20 years. The case is original, and there's some Guild paperwork in the neck pocket. It smells good and not like smoke at all.

What causes this to happen to a guitar that has not seen much playing time? Do the experts here think this guitar is likely to have more serious binding problems in the future? I have a couple of old guitars with shrinking binding. I have had a couple of minor repairs done but have not had to deal with significant rot.

Thanks for any assistance.

https://easternshore.craigslist.org/msg/d/easton-guild-de-500-bld-guitar-1983/7658765868.html

 

[HeyMikey]

That’s a good question. Wild guess is that lacquer was applied over the binding causing normal yellowing where it wasn’t worn off? I could be all wrong so hoping an expert chimes in.

The crazing would be due to lack of proper humidification and/or being subjected to extreme changes in temperature - like being stored in an attic.

Also, that is a great looking guitar at what seems a very fair price these days. I bet that goes quickly if it’s as good as you say.

 

[Brian J]

Thanks @HeyMikey. Does the break in the binding trouble you at all? The 80s don't seem like a long time ago to me, but it is a 40 year old guitar.

 

[GAD]

Guilds are prone to binding rot. It's just part of the package with a lot of vintage Guilds. Lots of them have cracks like that, often at the weak point where the dots are.

The break wouldn't bother me much. I've seen vintage Guilds with four inch sections completely missing and depending on the guitar/model/year that binding might not really be available anymore.

 

[Walter Broes]

Pre-pandemic price on that one though! There's one for sale in Spain on Reverb, and it looks like it has the same very yellowed binding. Maybe Guild was using lacquer that turned very amber even without a lot of UV exposure at the time?

 

[Default]

That's not rot, though. It's the fifties era ones that rot. That looks like the binding shrank and it broke the lacquer along the line of movement. Maybe a fine brush with a tiny bit of lacquer thinner to melt the cracked sections back together?

Just noticed the crazing on the heel. I would suspect, as others have said, that the guitar has been cold and heated within a short time.

 

[GAD]

That's not rot, though. It's the fifties era ones that rot. That looks like the binding shrank and it broke the lacquer along the line of movement. Maybe a fine brush with a tiny bit of lacquer thinner to melt the cracked sections back together?

Just noticed the crazing on the heel. I would suspect, as others have said, that the guitar has been cold and heated within a short time.

Perhaps rot is a more specific term then, but I have many ‘70s Guild electrics that have those same cracks always at the dot markers. Whatever you call it, the binding does not age well on these guitars.

 

[Brian J]

Thanks for all of the feedback.

 

[Archie]

I think they just went over board with the 'vintage amber' on the finish. There appears to be other areas where the binding looks to be cracking up from too much shrinkage. Rotting is not the right term but falling apart is. I assume this will be elsewhere on the body and headstock?

 

[chazmo]

Well, the owner may not know what happened to the guitar when it was new. Perhaps it saw a lot of sun.

 

[Brian J]

I assume this will be elsewhere on the body and headstock?

The binding on the body and headstock is also amber, but it shows no signs of shrinking or cracking as far as I can tell. The problem is only with the neck binding. The neck binding break and finish crazing may be from temperature change as someone mentioned above. I may go check it out again this weekend.

 

[wileypickett]

Plastic shrinks and loses its plasticity over time. On guitar necks this often leads to cracking in the finish between the plastic binding and the wood. My luthier sees such things all the time and considers it normal. Several of my Guilds had / have similar issues.

 

[chazmo]

finish crazing may be from temperature chan

Brian, if you're looking to buy this guitar, beware that the finish checking might be stress related too. Looking at it, I would suspect that the guitar has been hit in that area. Look for other damage. Anyway, not that that's necessarily a reason to stay away, but be aware of possible causes.