Guild 12-String with Slotted Headstock?!

wileypickett

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This just turned up on the local craigslist, less than a mile from me. I have an appointment to check it out:

http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/msg/2039712308.html

Made in '66, it says, but with a slotted headstock (and, I assume, homemade truss rod cover)? Possibly a custom job? Possibly a replacement neck? (Though it has the enlarged truss rod cover, and appears to have the three-piece Guild neck, and Guild heel cap.)

I'll report back if y'all are curious. If there's anything anyone wants me to look for or ask, let me know ASAP.

Curious.

Glenn Jones
Cambridge, MA
 

dapmdave

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The Guilds of Grot said:
Looks like the headstock has been modified with slots. :(

On mine (just 136 higher s/n) the light center strip in the neck extends all the way to the top of the headstock. This one does not?

Dave :D
 

GuildFS4612CE

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Believe that year would have had a volute.

Pic of rear not clear, but looks like maybe a new headstock grafted onto that neck, possibly after a 'snap'.
 

dapmdave

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GuildFS4612CE said:
Believe that year would have had a volute.

Pic of rear not clear, but looks like maybe a new headstock grafted onto that neck, possibly after a 'snap'.

Did Guild ever make a 12-string guitar with a slotted headstock? I guess it would've been made up from scratch.

Dave :D
 

GardMan

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dapmdave said:
Did Guild ever make a 12-string guitar with a slotted headstock? I guess it would've been made up from scratch.
Dave :D
Not that I have heard of... but that's not saying much. The only slotted headstock flat top steel string Guild I have heard about was the Josh White guitar.
 

chazmo

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GardMan said:
dapmdave said:
Did Guild ever make a 12-string guitar with a slotted headstock? I guess it would've been made up from scratch.
Dave :D
Not that I have heard of... but that's not saying much. The only slotted headstock flat top steel string Guild I have heard about was the Josh White guitar.
Glenn, keep us posted. I agree it's probably a different neck grafted onto the Guild body.

And, I agree with Dave. Hans, are you aware of any other slotted headstocks from the factory(s) other than the Josh White proto?
 

Brad Little

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My guess would be with the poster who suggested just a new head. My '64 has the volute and the strip goes through the head, plus that head doesn't look like a Guild shape.
Brad
 

wileypickett

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Well folks, it's not the holy grail of Guild 12-strings, I'm sorry to say!

It's had a neck replacement, as a couple of you guessed. Not a bad job, as those things go, but you can tell by the dimpling where the neck and body join, and the clumsy lacquer job, that the original neck was replaced at some point.

Other concerns: The bridge is coming up and will have to be taken off, cleaned up and reglued, or possibly replaced altogether. And there's significant bellying behind the bridge.

I was impressed that the action was as good as it was, but when I mentioned the bellying to my guitar tech he pointed out that a guitar's action is affected by the bellying, which has the effect of raising the bridge behind the saddle, thus tilting the saddle angle forward, which lowers the string height -- and not in a good way! He says the intonation is usually off as a result as well.

It'll need some work to address all these problems, somewhere in the area of 300 / 400 bucks, was the guess.

The guy selling it was young, and really nice, and had some interesting stories about his granddad, who was a performer on the folkie scene down in Virginia in the '60s, and pretty much played anything he could lay his hands on. Everyone in the family seems to play music.

No idea what the guitar might be worth, but nothing like the seller's asking price of $2495.00. Probably less than your average F-212 in playable condition.

Glenn Jones
Cambridge, MA
 

dapmdave

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wileypickett said:
Well folks, it's not the holy grail of Guild 12-strings, I'm sorry to say!

It's had a neck replacement, as a couple of you guessed. Not a bad job, as those things go, but you can tell by the dimpling where the neck and body join, and the clumsy lacquer job, that the original neck was replaced at some point.

Other concerns: The bridge is coming up and will have to be taken off, cleaned up and reglued, or possibly replaced altogether. And there's significant bellying behind the bridge.

I was impressed that the action was as good as it was, but when I mentioned the bellying to my guitar tech he pointed out that a guitar's action is affected by the bellying, which has the effect of raising the bridge behind the saddle, thus tilting the saddle angle down, which lowers the string height -- and not in a good way! He says the intonation is usually off as a result as well.

It'll need some work to address all these problems, somewhere in the area of 300 / 400 bucks, was the guess.

The guy selling it was young, and really nice, and had some interesting stories about his granddad, who was a performer on the folkie scene down in Virginia in the '60s, and pretty much played anything he could lay his hands on. Everyone in the family seems to play music.

No idea what the guitar might be worth, but nothing like the seller's asking price of $2495.00. Probably less than your average F-212 in playable condition.

Glenn Jones
Cambridge, MA

Thanks for the report, Glenn. Another interesting path taken through the life of a Guild 12-string.

Dave :D
 
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