Yep, I need another guitar like I need a hole in my head but... I saw evidence of another Guild Detonator being "parted out" online and I was interested in the black Sperzel locking tuners that were standard on the Detonators, (that I believe are first generation Sperzels that have a star on the thumbscrew of the tuner). Anyway, I asked the seller what other parts he had, as I was interested in getting the Guild/Mueller trem bridge. The seller said he had all the parts still, but that there were body issues. He offered to send everything to me to evaluate. This led me to another "rescue" project.
As you will see in photos below, it is true that the routing for the bridge is larger than other Detonators, but it looks like it was done by the factory, as the original finish is not disturbed. So, perhaps Guild was going to try another bridge in this one? (Who knows... Guild had a way of changing things up during a model run.) I guess the only disadvantage to the larger routing is that the bridge can't rest on the body if you break a string or two.
Also, another issue pointed out to me was that there is a hairline crack in the wood in front of the bridge stud on the high E side and that the bridge stud on the low E side was a bit loose in the body. Researching the hairline crack issue, it was suggested to take liquid CA glue (super glue) and let a few drops sink into the hairline crack. In the first 30 seconds it will soak into the grain on either side of the crack, as well as fill the gap. This would fill the gap and create a bond between the two sides of the crack after 24 hours of curing. This appears to be true, as the crack appears to be stable, once string and spring pressure were applied. For the loose stud on the low E string side, I used gel CA glue and a toothpick to apply a thin layer of gel in the hole below the painted surface and pushed the stud back into place. Once cured, that filled any gap between the stud and body and it has a tight fit and seems stable now.
Photo showing routing and repaired hairline crack:
Photos below showing the difference between normal routing in a Detonator and the routing on this blue rescue project.
The normal routing:
The larger routing on this blue Detonator:
The only other minor issue was that the inner rod on two of the Sperzel tuners were missing and I fashioned new ones so that they would be locking tuners again.
One other small difference I saw on this Detonator (#295) that is different from the other seven Detonators I've had my hands on, is that they did not solder a wire to the trem claw as a ground for the bridge and strings. They instead grounded the bridge as you would a hardtail by drilling a hole from the control cavity to the bridge stud hole on the high E string side and running the bare end of a wire into the stud hole to make contact with the stud to ground the bridge and strings.
And here below is the rescued Detonator #295 in Electric Blue with all original parts. The light colors in the body finish are reflections of clouds yesterday. Another guitar saved from being "parted out".
As you will see in photos below, it is true that the routing for the bridge is larger than other Detonators, but it looks like it was done by the factory, as the original finish is not disturbed. So, perhaps Guild was going to try another bridge in this one? (Who knows... Guild had a way of changing things up during a model run.) I guess the only disadvantage to the larger routing is that the bridge can't rest on the body if you break a string or two.
Also, another issue pointed out to me was that there is a hairline crack in the wood in front of the bridge stud on the high E side and that the bridge stud on the low E side was a bit loose in the body. Researching the hairline crack issue, it was suggested to take liquid CA glue (super glue) and let a few drops sink into the hairline crack. In the first 30 seconds it will soak into the grain on either side of the crack, as well as fill the gap. This would fill the gap and create a bond between the two sides of the crack after 24 hours of curing. This appears to be true, as the crack appears to be stable, once string and spring pressure were applied. For the loose stud on the low E string side, I used gel CA glue and a toothpick to apply a thin layer of gel in the hole below the painted surface and pushed the stud back into place. Once cured, that filled any gap between the stud and body and it has a tight fit and seems stable now.
Photo showing routing and repaired hairline crack:
Photos below showing the difference between normal routing in a Detonator and the routing on this blue rescue project.
The normal routing:
The larger routing on this blue Detonator:
The only other minor issue was that the inner rod on two of the Sperzel tuners were missing and I fashioned new ones so that they would be locking tuners again.
One other small difference I saw on this Detonator (#295) that is different from the other seven Detonators I've had my hands on, is that they did not solder a wire to the trem claw as a ground for the bridge and strings. They instead grounded the bridge as you would a hardtail by drilling a hole from the control cavity to the bridge stud hole on the high E string side and running the bare end of a wire into the stud hole to make contact with the stud to ground the bridge and strings.
And here below is the rescued Detonator #295 in Electric Blue with all original parts. The light colors in the body finish are reflections of clouds yesterday. Another guitar saved from being "parted out".
Last edited:
of a past owner.