New NS Guild X-175 owner with a couple questions

[built4speed]

Hi all, new member and first time Guild owner here. I just received a new X-175 Manhattan yesterday and I'm getting familiar with it. It's quite a bit different than the Gretsch hollow body archtops I'm used to, but I love the tone and feel of this guitar.

I've got a couple questions I'm hoping someone can answer. First off, has anyone added a Bigsby to the X-175 but kept the stock rosewood bridge? I like the stock bridge just fine but I'm not sure how it would hold up with Bigsby use. I'm concerned it might wear down bridge.

Also, since the reissue Franz pickups are built basically the same as the originals, the same rules apply when it comes to reversing polarity, correct? I'd like to get rid of the hum in the middle position as that's where I play most of the time.

Thanks!

 

[cc_mac]

Congratulations on your new X175. I cannot directly answer your Franz questions regarding switching polarity but you can find some useful info in this thread if you scroll down to the last few messages.

I have seen several Guilds with Bigsby (Guildsby) and rosewood or ebony bridge saddles. I refitted a rosewood saddle to the bridge base on my Starfire IV with added Bigsby B7. I use flatwound strings and didn't notice any wear to the slots in the saddle but I suppose it could become an issue with round wounds if one were constantly on the Bigsby. You could use some graphite in the slots or nut sauce etc to lubricate it which isn't really a bad idea with any bridge and the nut too.

Enjoy

 

[Walter Broes]

Hey BFS, congratulations on the new guitar. A pickup is a pickup - if they're magnetically out of phase, and reverse wound, they'll buck hum together. Just make sure that whatever you're using as your "hot" pickup lead is not connected to the baseplate ground.

Bridge - I went to a metal saddle (tru arc) on my own NS X175, I like the extra snap and sustain you get from a metal bridge. The good news is, if you want to do that, that the bridge posts have standard "tune-a-matic" spacing.

 

[built4speed]

Congratulations on your new X175. I cannot directly answer your Franz questions regarding switching polarity but you can find some useful info in this thread if you scroll down to the last few messages.

I have seen several Guilds with Bigsby (Guildsby) and rosewood or ebony bridge saddles. I refitted a rosewood saddle to the bridge base on my Starfire IV with added Bigsby B7. I use flatwound strings and didn't notice any wear to the slots in the saddle but I suppose it could become an issue with round wounds if one were constantly on the Bigsby. You could use some graphite in the slots or nut sauce etc to lubricate it which isn't really a bad idea with any bridge and the nut too.

Enjoy

Thank you, and thanks for the feedback on the bridge!

Hey BFS, congratulations on the new guitar. A pickup is a pickup - if they're magnetically out of phase, and reverse wound, they'll buck hum together. Just make sure that whatever you're using as your "hot" pickup lead is not connected to the baseplate ground.

Bridge - I went to a metal saddle (tru arc) on my own NS X175, I like the extra snap and sustain you get from a metal bridge. The good news is, if you want to do that, that the bridge posts have standard "tune-a-matic" spacing.

Thanks Walter. I guess what I was curious about was if the reissues were as easy to disassemble as the vintage Franz pickups when it came to the magnet rotation. I'm assuming so, but thought I'd check if anyone has tried it on the reissues yet.

I usually go with a tru-arc as well, but I'm tapped out after buying this guitar, so a bridge upgrade will have to wait until after I add a Bigsby, which also has to wait for awhile. I'll happily make do with the rosewood bridge until then. Ultimately I'd like to try a serpentune tru-arc when the time comes.