Re-building my Guild D15M - photos

[killdeer43]

I ride a motorcycle cross country every year and seldom ever bring a camera. My friends and family always get twisted over this but well, they just don't understand!

Colin Fletcher, the Welshman and noted author of 'the Complete Walker' tells the story of how his friends/cohorts urged him to take a camera along on his long walks. He didn't want to but they convinced him that photos would add to his books.
He obliged but always referred to "the tyranny of film." He got more out of the experience without that mechanism demanding that he use it. I certainly see his point.

I'm a landscape/wildlife photographer and I find that I usually see more when I'm without a lens, so I do prints in "the darkroom of my mind" for future reference. :wink:

Joe

 

[chazmo]

[ ... ] I usually see more when I'm without a lens, so I do prints in "the darkroom of my mind" [ ... ]

Joe

That, my friend, is a song in the making!

 

[killdeer43]

[ ... ] I usually see more when I'm without a lens, so I do prints in "the darkroom of my mind" [ ... ]

Joe

That, my friend, is a song in the making!

I'll get busy on the rest of the lyrics so stay tuned.

Given the amount of time I spent in photo darkrooms over many years, there could be something there.
Of course, it's all digital now so there would be room for a heap of nostalgia. :wink:

Thanks,
Joe

 

[chazmo]

[ ... ] I usually see more when I'm without a lens, so I do prints in "the darkroom of my mind" [ ... ]

Joe

That, my friend, is a song in the making!

I'll get busy on the rest of the lyrics so stay tuned.

Given the amount of time I spent in photo darkrooms over many years, there could be something there.
Of course, it's all digital now so there would be room for a heap of nostalgia. :wink:

Thanks,
Joe

I really loved my days in the '70s in the darkroom back when I was a summer camper... I went to an arts/crafts camp for many summers, and a guy named Frank Sauerwald was an expert in photography. A bunch of us got a great "exposure" to the art (all black and white) back in the day. As I recall, he was primarily the video tape expert (reel-to-reel!!!), but he did 35mm photography as well.

Oh man, that was a real moment for me... Haven't thought about that in many, many years!

 

[killdeer43]

As I recall, he was primarily the video tape expert (reel-to-reel!!!), but he did 35mm photography as well.
Oh man, that was a real moment for me... Haven't thought about that in many, many years!

Yeah, I was a reel-to-reel guy and reluctantly moved with the techno-flow. Still reluctant, after all these years. Didn't Paul Simon do that one? :roll:

Joe

 

[Telenator]

Wow, memories! I too spent countless hours in my darkroom for days on end. You could make a lot of money once you got your system down. And it has helped me enormously in learning Photoshop which is largely darkroom based.

I was self-employed for 12 years and then in 2003 became staff photographer for American Iron Magazine and RoadBike Magazine. Both motorcycle publications. I dig bikes so it was a natural move.

 

[Telenator]

OK, I strung it up last night and it didn't collapse! Yahoo!

When I first strung it up the guitar sounded very sterile and wouldn't tune properly. After an hour of playing and tweaking though, the sound improved dramatically and so did the tuning. I guess it needed to get used to being a guitar again.

Here's the headstock. There are some flaws in the peghead layout. The holes aren't exactly in the right places, (as supplied from Guild) and the fretboard positioning is off a bit making the neck join the body not quite at the 14th fret. This has to do with the peghead angle and where it meets the fret board so, I couldn't install the fret board in the exact right location. I'm beginning to think the neck I bought was a factory second or reject. Maybe that's why they never went ahead and shaped it.

I left the neck a full 1 3/4" wide at the nut and shaped the neck into a soft V profile. I can play stuff on this guitar I never could play on any other! The neck is big but handles so beautifully.

Here's the bridge. I offset the B string section of the saddle and it tunes great! The stain behind the E string is from pricking my knuckle with the a string and then bleeding on the top! I tried to get the stain out but it looks kinda stubborn! Dang!

In all it's unfinished glory! The bare wood D15MS. I have some more minor shaping to do on the neck and other small details before it goes out for finishing.

 

[capnjuan]

Really fine 'Nator; sorry if I missed it earlier ... are those BB hot dots on the bridge? Also... to the (picture) right of the bridge ... is that pick rash? If yes, what made you decide to let messing with it go? Great stuff! J

 

[adorshki]

HI Tele: You're probably right about the neck being a "second". Looks ok from here though. And yes somehow Guild necks always just seem to feel wonderful. Can you bleach or lye or peroxide the blood? One of our members Hideglue was a Westerly employee and mentioned in one of his threads that he strung up guitars as they came out of production, and every once in a while a "dog" would improve overnight for no apparent reason...Congrats!

 

[killdeer43]

Tele,

The close-up of the headstock took my breath away.
I'll just go ahead and be redundant (all over again) and say what a talented fellow you are. Absolutely stunning work!

The patience of Job is alive and well! :wink:

Joe

**On a tech (non-musical) note, from one photog to another, what's the camera you're using?

 

[Telenator]

Really fine 'Nator; sorry if I missed it earlier ... are those BB hot dots on the bridge? Also... to the (picture) right of the bridge ... is that pick rash? If yes, what made you decide to let messing with it go? Great stuff! J

BB Hot Dots? Never heard of 'em. I had a few extra pearl dots lying around so I drilled a couple holes and stuck 'em in there. The bridge pins are whatever lmmi sells.

There might be a little pick rash on it. The wood is still bare. I'm playing it for a week or so before I finish all the little details so it's going to get marked up a bit. No biggie. The guitar is far from perfect and I'm not going to get crazy over it. A few months of gigging and it'll be pretty mauled up anyway. LOL!

 

[Telenator]

And yes somehow Guild necks always just seem to feel wonderful. Can you bleach or lye or peroxide the blood? One of our members Hideglue was a Westerly employee and mentioned in one of his threads that he strung up guitars as they came out of production, and every once in a while a "dog" would improve overnight for no apparent reason...Congrats!

Thanks man. The neck was essentially a block of wood with no fret board and a peghead veneer on it that wasn't even sanded. The truss rod was half installed as well. The contour I ended up with is very different from anything Guild has ever made and wider too. I really enjoy making my own nck profiles/contours because each guitar is different and when I string one up for a few weeks (before the finish goes on) I can custom shape the neck exactly to my liking. Maybe I'll bring this one along to New Hartford and see how Guild likes the neck! nyuk nyuk nyukl

I'm going to let the finish guy worry about the stain. Finishes are not my thing and I'm horrible at it! It's interesting you mention the guy from Guild and the production line duds that come into their own over night. All of my guitars have done this. It's always scarey especially when you string it up after working on it for a few months and it sounds like dog meat!

 

[Telenator]

Tele,

The close-up of the headstock took my breath away.
I'll just go ahead and be redundant (all over again) and say what a talented fellow you are. Absolutely stunning work!

The patience of Job is alive and well! :wink:

Joe

**On a tech (non-musical) note, from one photog to another, what's the camera you're using?

Hi Joe, I'm using a Canon 40D (which I think is a piece of crap) and just taking snapshots. Nothing serious. The previous photos in the shop were done with an older Sony point & shoot.

And thanks for the kind words everyone. This has been a tense little project at times. I essentially took a functioning guitar, tore it apart and re-built it not having ever done an acoustic before. Major learning experience! I have learned a lot about "what not to do" on the next one!

In the meantime, this one sounds a lot fuller, more complex and just plain richer all around. The new neck shape is a joy to play and I think I'm done shaping it. I hope the tone remains this good after the finish is done and I put the pickguard on.

 

[adorshki]

In the meantime, this one sounds a lot fuller, more complex and just plain richer all around. The new neck shape is a joy to play and I think I'm done shaping it. I hope the tone remains this good after the finish is done and I put the pickguard on.

I would expect the finish to inevitably mute the sound for a bit, but nitrocellulose should give the best results over time. It will dry out as it ages and become more resonant. But I'm no expert, in fact you may not hear a difference when finished. I would expect the pickguard to have more impact, but I sure love the shape of the traditional Westerly style 'guards! As do many others here.

 

[jcwu]

THREAD VEER WARNING!

Hi Joe, I'm using a Canon 40D (which I think is a piece of crap)

What don't you like about the 40D? I've shot Canons since the D30, then the 10D, then 20D, and 1D MKII, and they've all been fine cameras. Even the D30 at 3MP was putting out buttery smooth images.

What lens(es) are you using?

 

[Telenator]

THREAD VEER WARNING!

Hi Joe, I'm using a Canon 40D (which I think is a piece of crap)

What don't you like about the 40D? I've shot Canons since the D30, then the 10D, then 20D, and 1D MKII, and they've all been fine cameras. Even the D30 at 3MP was putting out buttery smooth images.

What lens(es) are you using?

I have the 70-200 ISM 2.8 zoom and the 24-70 2.8 zoom. Both very pricey lenses. The problem is, the camera system does not take sharp images. I had a serious go round with Canon for over a year before they finally shipped me a replacement body this is only marginally better than the previous one.

You would think that a camera mounted on a tripod, using a shutter release cable, on a windless day, shooting 1/250 at f8 could capture a staionary motorcycle sitting in the sun. It can't.

I'm a member of Nikon Professional Services (NPS) so I borrowed a similar Nikon system. I took several controlled images side by side and then submitted them to the art department without them knowing which images came from which camera. Everyone, without exception picked the Nikon images.

I've had a very bad experience with Canon and if it were up to me, would not be shooting their gear.

 

[capnjuan]

Really fine 'Nator; sorry if I missed it earlier ... are those BB hot dots on the bridge?

BB Hot Dots? Never heard of 'em. I had a few extra pearl dots lying around so I drilled a couple holes and stuck 'em in there.

Hi 'Nator; Barcus Berry Hot Dots are small piezo(?) pickups that were available on some Guilds factory-mounted where your pearl dots are set. More on BB Hot Dots here. Great work!

 

[Telenator]

Really fine 'Nator; sorry if I missed it earlier ... are those BB hot dots on the bridge?

BB Hot Dots? Never heard of 'em. I had a few extra pearl dots lying around so I drilled a couple holes and stuck 'em in there.

Hi 'Nator; Barcus Berry Hot Dots are small piezo(?) pickups that were available on some Guilds factory-mounted where your pearl dots are set. More on BB Hot Dots here. Great work!

Cool. I've never seen those before. Like I said, I just had a few extra dots and wanted to spiff it up a little.