Just wanted to let anybody who cares that I have not abandoned this post, and the luthier has not stopped working on the guitar. We are just awaiting the convenience of the postal services to deliver the tints/pigments along with some other items that he ordered. Seems to be taking a while, but as soon as the materials arrive, he will get back to working on the guitar.
And so it begins.....F-50R repair/resurrection.
- Thread starter kostask
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chazmo
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Awesome. Thanks for the update, Kostas. Can't rush a fantastic restoration!
davismanLV
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Yeah, thanks for letting us know..... still awaiting more updates. I love posts like this one..... 
Thanks for update.
Taylor Martin Guild
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Still following and enjoying the post.
Sorry about the very, very long delay.
The guitar really had not progressed much. My luthier had tried colour matching about a dozen times, with usatisfactory results. So, after a long, back and forth discussion, I agreed to let him sunburst it. The next couple of pictures are of the guitar being taped up in preparation for sunbursting/re-spraying it. The old bridge will be replaced with the new Guild factory bridge to bring the action back to normal without the pickup under the saddle.
The guitar really had not progressed much. My luthier had tried colour matching about a dozen times, with usatisfactory results. So, after a long, back and forth discussion, I agreed to let him sunburst it. The next couple of pictures are of the guitar being taped up in preparation for sunbursting/re-spraying it. The old bridge will be replaced with the new Guild factory bridge to bring the action back to normal without the pickup under the saddle.
davismanLV
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Sometimes it's best to change tack, and go for something with a better effect!! I like that you took this direction. I'd have loved the chance to try on this but even then..... when so many years have passed and his grain matching is EXQUISITE!!! you still have to get real and shade a bit. Keep us up to date, my friend!! I still hope he's not starting a burst with this much contrast, is he? He'll need to get a lot closer even with a burst. But I think you're leading us somewhere, eh??
I still hope he's not starting a burst with this much contrast, is he? He'll need to get a lot closer even with a burst. But I think you're leading us somewhere, eh??He said that he would reduce the contrast between the new wood and the existing wood in some way. He hasn't sprayed anything yet; these pictures are from about 4 hours ago. Only posted because I felt bad about leaving people hanging on the original thread.
Not leading you anywhere; to be honest, I'm very aprehensive about this, and just hoping it comes out decent. This has been about a 6 year process so far, and I am anxious to bring it to a close. I liked playing the big guy a lot, in terms of sound, and I am looking forward to playing it again.
Not leading you anywhere; to be honest, I'm very aprehensive about this, and just hoping it comes out decent. This has been about a 6 year process so far, and I am anxious to bring it to a close. I liked playing the big guy a lot, in terms of sound, and I am looking forward to playing it again.
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davismanLV
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And the sound is what it's all about!! It'll all be okay.... it really will.
Westerly Wood
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Sunburst is a brilliant idea. Can’t wait to see the finale of this thread.
Love the road you have taken. We are a patient group when it comes to someone like you and your luthier giving new life to an old Guild. Got a good feeling about how this will end.
spoox
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Whether or not the luthier winds up doing a sunburst finish on the guitar, the new pieces can be matched closer in color to the rest of the top by using
water base aniline dye. Often on antique furniture I've had to stain new wood to match the existing color for repairs. On oak table tops for example, new pieces spliced in are quite obvious--even after the whole thing had been sanded down. The aniline dye would get the new wood to match the base color, then I could stain the whole top with oil based stain and finish it with lacquer. I used the same method on vintage coin-op items a friend used to bring me--no one
could tell which were original or replaced wood pieces. Being water based, the stain does raise the grain a little, so it requires some light sanding afterwards.
water base aniline dye. Often on antique furniture I've had to stain new wood to match the existing color for repairs. On oak table tops for example, new pieces spliced in are quite obvious--even after the whole thing had been sanded down. The aniline dye would get the new wood to match the base color, then I could stain the whole top with oil based stain and finish it with lacquer. I used the same method on vintage coin-op items a friend used to bring me--no one
could tell which were original or replaced wood pieces. Being water based, the stain does raise the grain a little, so it requires some light sanding afterwards.
Brucebubs
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Now might be the perfect time to put a mustache bridge on it.
I don’t even like the fact that it is being sunburst, much less that adding an abomination like a moustache bridge. I have always felt that the moustache bridge on the J200 is one if the reasons that they sound so bland (to me) in comparison the an F50/F50R or J40. I think the unnecessarily large bridge size is restricting the top movement, hence the poor sound. I would love to hear a J200 with a plain/regular bridge some day, just to see if it makes a difference.
To be honest, I don’t even like the look of the moustache bridge; it is over the top for me, and serves no purpose, aside from its suspected adverse effects on tone.
To be honest, I don’t even like the look of the moustache bridge; it is over the top for me, and serves no purpose, aside from its suspected adverse effects on tone.
Westerly Wood
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While I also not a big fan of the mustache, I can see it’s relevance fir country artists.
But if a double pick guard causes very little if any noticeable choke on tone, I doubt the mustache will either. Just like removing a pick guard is totally aesthetic. It makes little negligible tone difference.
I agree, I would like a J200 with regular bridge. Like same bridge they use on a J45 be great.
Cougar
Enlightened Member
Oh, bursts are great. See if your luthier can put on one something like this one on my JF30-12....
I don't know, but maybe Bruce was joking (since he recently got his J200). I'm not a big fan of the moustache either, but the one on my "rosewood burst" Songwriter 12-string is growing on me, especially since the guitar sounds so good....
Double pickguards are less of a tonal issue than the moustache bridge, because the double pickguards are in an area where very little sound/vibration is happening. The moustache bridge is sitting in the middle of the lower bout, which is where the sound originates. I think of the moustache bridge, or any excessively large bridge for that matter, as acting as an added brace, on top of the soundboard. I can see no way that it can be other than a tonal detriment. Take any guitar with a normally sized bridge, and temporarily stick a piece of wood that adds enough size to the bridge to duplicate the area of a moustache bridge, and see if it doesn’t make a tonal difference. I bet you see that it will.
J45s/J50s, SJNs can be great sounding guitars, so I don’t think all Gibsons are bad. I justhave never heard a J200 that sounded good. It may be that I expect a different sound. I have heard Martin J40s before, and they sound good, as did my F-50R before it went in for repair. Maybe I expected more from “The King of the Flattops”, but it comes across as more of a minor noble than a king.