My Blem CV-1 Arrived - Trainwreck Neck

[cuthbert]

The problems were 1. nut, 2. neck (required full sanding and refinishing/redressing, refretting) and 3. the bridge was thicker than the specs call for, so Ross took it off and sanded to proper specs. No wonder this guitar didn't pass QC!

Hi Ken; for whatever reasons, it wasn't the only one. There must be close to a dozen 'used' C models on eBay and each seller claiming to have squared away problems. I sure hope your happy with it when the Magician is done with it! John

John, all the sellers I contacted about the "USED" told me that there weren't problems on the guitars and they were overstock. This is probably true for the blonde I have, for the sunburst that is on her way, I asked about the action and they said it was 3 mm on the low E, therefore reasonable.

For Scratch's guitar, redressing, nut, and thick bridge are sadly common "problems" that even first guitars have, nothing structural or a flaw in the original design of the guitar, though.

 

[capnjuan]

... John, all the sellers I contacted about the "USED" told me that there weren't problems on the guitars and they were overstock. This is probably true for the blonde I have, for the sunburst that is on her way, I asked about the action and they said it was 3 mm on the low E, therefore reasonable. ..

Hi Cuthbert; with all due respect, if they were all just 'overstock', NOS, or excess inventory, they'd have warranties. The seller of the two D models we threaded to death last week; one with a warranty, one without, the seller was asking nearly $700-$800 more for the warranted model.

If a 'C' model on eBay doesn't have a warranty, then it's stamped 'used' ... there had to have been a reason. It certainly could be something incidental ... or it could be something else. I don't think eBay sellers dealing in 'used' Guilds are necessarily a reliable source of information. The question is, if they are fault-free, then why doesn't Guild warrant them?

CD-1 ... used / no warranty
CV-1C .. used / no warranty

Edit: a few more:
CO-2C .. used / no warranty
CD-1 ... used / no warranty
CV-2C .. used / no warranty
C0-2C ... "overstock" / no mention of 'used'

This is most of the 'C' models on eBay; they are nearly all 'used' ... ex-warranty.



:? :?: J

 

[Scratch]

Home at last. Meet The Duke:

 

[capnjuan]

Outstanding! 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) J

 

[Scratch]

Meet the Duke's Trainwreck Neck... The third picture down shows the atach block. You'll see lots of glue. That's because the block was cracked and actually fell apart when the neck was removed. Unreal this guitar was not sent to the dumpster.

The good news is that as usual, it plays like butter. Doesn't even resemble the wrteck I dropped off. Ross is indeed a luther magician... Love these 'F' body Guilds... Gonna have some fun tonight!

 

[Graham]

What a beautiful guitar Scratch!

How does he sound?

 

[capnjuan]

Great pics! Thank you.

 

[Scratch]

Thanks John!

Plays beautifully and looks to match. You'd never know this was the guitar I dropped of in early May, Grammy.

 

[chazmo]

Glad to see that Contemporary brought to form, Scratch. Congrats. And "welcome home" to Duke!

 

[cjd-player]

Congrats, Ken.

When do we get to hear her?

 

[Graham]

Congrats, Ken.

When do we get to hear her?

Well.......?

 

[Graham]

I see you were wearing sandals for the photo op but thanks for wearing the shorts this time. :shock:

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Kennie; based on the pic above, it looks like it cracked right at those two bolts or just ahead of them ... over-tightened?:

Interesting piece of engineering ... could make identical copies of the mating pieces all day long on a CNC machine ... you'd think there must have been some labor savings ... particularly in the cut-to-rough-shape, trial-and-error / sand-and-test fit traditional dovetail. If it had worked well, would have cut down too on out-year exposure to warranty demands. Didn't one of our BBers just get a warranty neck job on a 30+ yo Guild? The cost of that fix in today's dollars might be within range of the Guild-to-dealer gross margin when it was originally sold. Messy business if somebody wanted to bring the neck back down by moving the heel closer to the body.

At the risk of rubbing salt in it; in one sense you are in the guitar now for what a reliable one might have cost ... that is, you've given back the apparent savings. Yes; have spent more than you would have hope'd to but I wonder what that total is v. the cost of a warranted, blem-free model? Anyway I sure hope it sounds as good as it looks because it's a very pretty guitar and, for all the heartbreak, it sort of 'owes' you something. :wink: Best, J

 

[cuthbert]

Home at last. Meet The Duke:

So in the end she looks like a guitar that is worth 1400$...isnt' it?

 

[zplay]

Hey Scratch, congratulations on the triumphant return of The Duke and many thanks from all of us contemporaries for going the extra mile with your piece and posting all of those illuminating pics. Despite the bad news damage, it was pretty cool to see the inner workings.

By the way, do I understand right that the neck did not actually have to be reset - i.e. the angle changed - to achieve the better action?

 

[guildzilla]

Glad you were able to get it fixed and making sweet music again, Ken. Thanks for sharing all this as it has made for a highly educational thread.

When your luthier put this guitar back together, was he able to do so using the original neck system (if so, how did he execute the repair of the cracked block where the bolts go)? Or did he reset the neck in a more traditional way?

 

[Jeff]

Brady just called me on my CO1. He has adjusted the neck angle & reassembled the guitar. He tells me the adjustment made a world of difference in the playability.

He also tells me the fretboard, while not as whacked out as Scratch's description, is something less than perfect. He's somewhat critical of the support system & advises against spending serious money levelling the fretboard or dressing/replacing the frets till I've had a chance to play as is for a while, giving the neck system time to decide if it's going to stay put.

I took his advice, approx cost of repairs including new saddle $100.00. He has to disassemble it again for a final tweak & build a fresh saddle to replace the original, then he wants it hang on to it for a few days & stress test it a bit.

Should have it back next week.

 

[Scratch]

Just got home:

Carl: I'll post a tune as soon as I find someone who can play... :roll: :wink:

Graham: This is the PG version. Pam has the more incriminating photos available on eBay...

John: Ross was still scratching his head concerning the unusual, unpatented system. Nothing but compliments about Guilds Dovetail joints, but I don't know how soon he'd want to tackle another one of these.

Alex: 'Duke' plays like he's worth $1,400.00, but I bought it because I expected it to be at least playable at 950.00. If the guitar was listed at $1,400.00 I probably would not have purchased. Thought I had a deal similar to the very nice 'used' Corona D25 I bought a couple of years ago. I was wrong.

Z: After repairing the cracked/broken neck block, Ross was able to correct the neck angle by shaving the bridge which was (wish I had the original specs, but I don't) huge. This brought the action to 4/32". The saddle is still at original specs (lots of room for adjustment if necessary).

Doug: A neck reset would have been even more complicated based on the graphite/wood combination construction. The major problems were that the neck block was cracked, probably from overtorqueing the attach bolt. Someone had also shimmed the original nut. He also sanded down excess nitrocellulose at the heel.

Jeff: Hope you faired better. My fretboard was a washboard and required full sanding, refinishing and refretting. The wood is breathtaking, but Ross said there is way too much nitro and the bridge was thicker than any he'd seen on an acoustic guitar. Craftsmanship for this particular guitar was apprenticelike. A journeyman would never have made these mistakes.

I'll bring it to Arlington in October...

 

[Graham]

I'll bring it to Arlington in October...

We will all gather 'round!

 

[cjd-player]

I'll bring it to Arlington in October...

I look forward to giving her a workout. :wink: