New (Old) Incoming Guild!

I decided to bite the bullet - I bought the ST-402 discussed in this thread. I know the price was a little on the high side, but in the grand scheme of vintage guitars it's still a good price for a high-quality archtop in great condition. Plus, I've always been enamored with the double-Florentine cutaway shape. The shop was a little quirky to deal with, but always pleasant and they answered all my questions.



I'd like to restore the guitar to its original appearance. There are few pics of this model out there, so it's hard to tell, but I think it originally had the non-hinged tailpiece. I know it was a "harp" tailpiece, but I'm not sure if it had the hinge or not. Can anyone confirm?

Also, there's someone on Ebay selling repro Guild pickguards. They're advertised as Starfire XII guards, but I wonder if they'll fit the ST-402. The main thing I'm worried about is the spacing of the pickups. Anyone know?

I plan on selling the Guildsby tailpiece once it's been replaced. What would be a reasonable price, given that the paint is nearly all gone?

Any way you slice it, congrats....she's a beauty!
Sounds like you thought it through and followed your Guilded heart! :eagerness:

Enjoy,
Joe

Oh, nice score! I love the look of that guitar! Keep us posted on the restoration!

walrus

Beautiful guitar! Congrats and enjoy!

Super cool. I dig that double florentine as well. Sweet!

^^ Yum, to both the pic AND the guitar!

I love the look of those guitars. I'd love to play one. Same for the girl. Catherine Zeta-Jones, no? Double yum.

GAD said:

Catherine Zeta-Jones,

Click to expand...

Be still my heart....yowza!! :congratulatory:

Joe

Cutaways and nice curves work for me just fine!:love_heart:

Beauty, congratulations

Hello nmiller, Congrats. I thought about buying that but the price was just too high for me. Now if it were all original already, maybe. Anyway, the 402 used the same harp tailpiece as the 302. In other words, non hinged. Also the guy on ebay that makes the repro guards will make one especially for your guitar. Would be the exact same pickguard as the 302, or 303 with HB-1 humbuckers. If you contact him via ebay and send him a trace with all marks on it for the pickups he can make you one. But you will have to see which logo was on the pickguard when that guitar was made. Probably just said "Guild". Hope this helps. If you need photos of my 302 or 303 let me and I will post for you. Best of luck. MB

Thanks for the tailpiece info. As for the pickguard, it doesn't have to be an exact replica; I'd just like a lucite one so it looks plausible. The shape looks correct, as does the logo, so I'm good with it as long as it fits.

There is actually a harp tail on ebay now for sale. check it out.

Mike,

I've been in that shop in downtown Los Angeles when I was living in California. A real hole in the wall place. Nice guy but not cheap in regards to his guitars. I notice that he has a '66 Gibson SG on ebay at the moment with a buy it now price of $6420................! jim in Maine

Very beautiful! Congrats!

The guitar arrived today; there were no surprises and no complaints from me.



One thing puzzles me: the serial number starts with DE, which doesn't seem to fit with any model (the Studio series should have an ES prefix). The label matches the back of the headstock. Anyone know what gives?

I noticed that the label says Hoboken, but I know that the Westerly plant was up and running when this guitar was built. Was the Hoboken label used by both factories?