NGD (Almost) 1959 T-100DP

jp

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If you want to avoid a costly neck reset, I'm almost certain you can lower the pickup sufficiently. On Franz-equipped T-100s, the original routing under the bridge pickup is smaller than the footprint of the entire pickup. It's a thinner horizontal rout that allows the wiring to go through. I think you should be able to rout just enough to sufficiently lower the pickup the necessary minimal amount.

You'll have to sand down the pickup cover as well, as you mentioned. Try the trick in which you place sandpaper rough side up on the place where the cover comes in contact with the top, and sand to the contour of the top. If you want to preserve the original pickup cover, there's someone that sells reproduction covers on eBay. He posts an auction about once a month. I think they cost around $35/pair.
 

Guildadelphia

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If you want to avoid a costly neck reset, I'm almost certain you can lower the pickup sufficiently. On Franz-equipped T-100s, the original routing under the bridge pickup is smaller than the footprint of the entire pickup. It's a thinner horizontal rout that allows the wiring to go through. I think you should be able to rout just enough to sufficiently lower the pickup the necessary minimal amount.

You'll have to sand down the pickup cover as well, as you mentioned. Try the trick in which you place sandpaper rough side up on the place where the cover comes in contact with the top, and sand to the contour of the top. If you want to preserve the original pickup cover, there's someone that sells reproduction covers on eBay. He posts an auction about once a month. I think they cost around $35/pair.

That's a really good low budget option providing you can get your hands on one those Franz repro covers and sand that down. Eventually a neck reset will be needed as your bridge is sitting flush on the base without any room for adjustment unless you get a lower profile replacement bridge or get a new bridge and file/grind down the bottoms of the ends. It looks to be a really nice vintage guitar and anything you opt to put into it will be well worth the investment.
 

zizala

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Beautiful guitar ClaytonS15.....congrats!

As others have said....I'm thinking you might get the clearance you need over the bridge pickup by sanding the cover down a bit.

I have a very nice '62 T-100D that also has what looks like an even shallower neck angle and I've had to reduced the bridge height by taking some off the feet and a little off the saddle to get the string action as low as I'd like.
I use a regular rosewood bridge on it (it came to me with a Guild/Hagstrom) style "adjustomatic" saddle....but I prefer a wood saddle.
StewMac sells a rosewood bridge that happens to be a very good match to an original Guild bridge so I shaved one of those down and set aside the original.

With the bridge pickup string clearance....I took some off the cover by careful sanding against the contours of the top.
That got the string clearance over the cover where I needed them to be.....but I also sank the pole pieces as far as they would go (with string balancing variances in mind).
If I frequently picked right over the bridge pickup I might want this to drop a bit lower, but as it stands all is working well. Doing that (without a neck reset) would involve lowering the pickup by removing more material underneath or refashioning the pickup rout as jp suggested. I want to avoid that for the time being.

All that being said....even with the lower bridge it has plenty of break angle off the harp tailpiece and plays and sounds very well.
I don't often use a Bigsby and have another guitar for that if needed, but as it stands this one might not be the right guitar for that purpose anyway.

I'd be interested to hear from anyone who has had or done a neck reset on a T-100 or early Starfire of this vintage. It strikes me as being difficult the way the back has a tongue that overlays the heel. I can see even after some success that the finish work might be a challenge.
This is one reason I've gone to extra lengths to avoid it. That and "bigger fish to fry" in my luthier/repair guy's yearlong backlog!
 
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Walking Man

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I'm aware this thread is not about "neck reset". It's been mentioned so many times I'm compelled to ask:
Is it the actual reset or the cost that induces a shyness or phobia to the procedure?
The luthier here, in the sanctuary, charges a flat-rate of $300.00 per Guild reset.
I can drop off an acoustic Guild on a Sunday morning, pick it up a week later and the world spins in greazed grooves. Just saying...
 

zizala

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Mike....

I like the greasy grooves....especially on an old B3....
Yes.....the discussion got into neck resets and I'm pretty sure that the OP's guitar does not really need one.

Where I live.....with the guy I know and trust to do great work, the price of a neck reset is a bit higher and the length of turnaround time is almost anybody's guess.
That and his backlog are the reason I hesitate with my own T-100....(plus the fact that I can make it work as it is).

If you could provide me some contact info for the sanctuary's luthier I'd appreciate and might go ahead and get it done.
 
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Default

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Hey zizala! I presently have a neck reset being done on my 68 Starfire by Chris Seeger, who worked at New Hartford. I think it's around four bills, but he is doing a full refret too. He is located in CT too.
 

Quantum Strummer

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I'd be inclined to get the neck reset done now rather than putting up with it as is. This way you'll maximize the amount of time you'll get to play the guitar in optimum structural condition. IMO it's well worth doing this, when needed, for any guitar you value highly.

-Dave-
 

Walking Man

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Mike....

I like the greasy grooves....especially on an old B3....
Yes.....the discussion got into neck resets and I'm pretty sure that the OP's guitar does not really need one.

Where I live.....with the guy I know and trust to do great work, the price of a neck reset is a bit higher and the length of turnaround time is almost anybody's guess.
That and his backlog are the reason I hesitate with my own T-100....(plus the fact that I can make it work as it is).

If you could provide me some contact info for the sanctuary's luthier I'd appreciate and might go ahead and get it done.


Zizala:pM sent.
 

zizala

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Mike....

Tried a PM but your message box is full.....
 

Neal

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I'd be inclined to get the neck reset done now rather than putting up with it as is. This way you'll maximize the amount of time you'll get to play the guitar in optimum structural condition. IMO it's well worth doing this, when needed, for any guitar you value highly.

-Dave-

I agree wholeheartedly. I recently purchased a very early X-150 (very similar to the one in zizala's avitar), and after trying to play it as is (worn frets), I decided on a full refret and fretboard leveling job (to fix a slight hump where neck meets body). Going to set me back some $, but the playability will be superb after it is properly brought back to spec.
 
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