Neck reset?

hdrider57

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Hi, I have a 1969 Guild F-30 that I believe is in need of a neck reset. Being that I don't know how to upload (download?) a photo I 'll have to try and explain. By putting a straight edge on the fret board and bringing the straight edge up to the bridge it sits about 3/16" below the top of the bridge. Hope this helps. By the way how do I get a photo on here? Thanks, Paul
 

Stuball48

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Paul:
Do you play all over the fret board or stay on first five, mostly? How does it play? You can "buy" a little "neck reset" time unless you play, regularly, in a group for money or you have your mind made up.

Some of my friends had a "bolt on" neck replace the original dovetail neck and are very satisfied.
 

PittPastor

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Hi, I have a 1969 Guild F-30 that I believe is in need of a neck reset. Being that I don't know how to upload (download?) a photo I 'll have to try and explain. By putting a straight edge on the fret board and bringing the straight edge up to the bridge it sits about 3/16" below the top of the bridge. Hope this helps. By the way how do I get a photo on here? Thanks, Paul

https://imgur.com/

It's free. Just upload there and then you have an option from the photo. You want to select the option I circled. If you paste that in your message here you're good to go.

NmtzKkJ.png


BTW, how low is the saddle? You can also buy time, sometimes, by shaving the saddle.
 

hdrider57

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Ok , got the photo. I'm just a beginning player so right now just playing the first 5 frets. I had some buzzing so I had the nut raise a little because it looked like someone deepen the slots in the nut.
 

marius

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The saddle height is hard to see in that photo but it looks like there really isn’t any saddle left to speak of. If that’s the case you’re almost certainly in reset territory, but how is the action with the current setup?
 

wileypickett

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Hello HDR57,

Before springing for a neck reset, I would recommend you consider the possibility of installing a Bridge Doctor. They're made to reduce the bellying that often occurs behind the bridge -- the effects of decades of string pull.

Your photograph may be misleading, but it appears to me that there is significant bellying behind the bridge of your guitar. You can tell how much by laying a straight-edge across the lower bouts, parallel to the bridge, and seeing how much of gap there is between the center of the top, where the bridge is, and the edges. It's not unusual to find 1/8" to 1/4" variance, meaning that your bridge may be riding that much higher than it should be.

The Bridge Doctor flattens the top, which lowers the bridge and eliminates any bridge tilt, which can improve intonation. It also anchors the bridge to the top of the guitar -- bellied tops often cause bridge-lift, which occurs because a flat surface (the bridge) won't adhere very well to a curved surface (the top of your guitar).

Can you slide a thin piece of paper under the back edges of the bridge?

You may also find that the Bridge Doctor improves the sound of your instrument, either because it allows the top to perform the way it was originally meant to, or because the the BD transfers sound energy directly from the bridge to the sides of the guitar, as the maker claims. Or both, I suppose.

BD's are cheap -- the basic model you can find for under 25 bucks, including shipping -- and they're relatively easy to put in. I've installed them on more than a dozen guitars over the years and have had positive results every time.

Always the top is flattened and works efficiently again. Sometimes that comes with no discernible change in sound, but sometimes there is a dramatic improvement in sound.

I usually have to make a new saddle for the guitar after the BD is installed, as once the top has been flattened and the bridge lowered the strings buzz because the old saddle is too low.

I've probably owned (or worked on) between 150 and 200 guitars over the years. All but two of them were used instruments, some going back to the '50s.

I've managed to get all my guitars working again without the need of a neck reset.

Good luck!

Glenn
 

PittPastor

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4/32" at the 14th fret.....Just curious as to what it could cost for a reset.
Thanks for all your help.

Cost depends somewhat on who does it. Guilds are somewhat notorious for being challenging when doing a neck reset, which is why so many guys here are suggesting alternatives.

My luthier, Stuart Day told me $450 for a neck reset if everything went right. What he couldn’t predict was how much forcing he would have to do to get the neck free. My guild is a high gloss lacquer finish. If that cracks when the neck comes free, he needs to do some serious work to remove all traces of the reset. That’s where things can get pricey, and turn a $400 neck reset into a $1000 neck reset.

I decided to spend that $1000 on a new guitar instead. He did something to my guild he rarely recommends, he shaved the saddle and bridge down. My neck actually has been very stable so I figure I have 5-10 years before I might need top pop for the reset now.

Meanwhile, the action on my guild is better than anything you’ll find off the wall in a GC, and I’m lovin my Guild Savoy (that I bought for considerably less than $1000)

I guess what I’m saying is not every guitar that needs a rest needs a reset... if that makes sense?
 

fronobulax

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Sure looks to me like you need a reset.

Dave works for Jacobs Custom Guitars http://www.jacobscustomguitars.com/ which is probably the most recommended (on LTG) repair facility for Guilds. I'd believe him.

Reset prices vary but I'd say at least $400 and perhaps double that on the West coast. Also note that the quotes don't always include the same work. There are other mechanical (and perhaps cosmetic) tweaks that are often done with resets. Some folks include those in their quote but others don't and expect you to ask if you want them.

You should also be open to the possibility that, as a beginning player you might not notice the things that would be corrected by a reset. Indeed it could be as you improve, you start looking for other things in an instrument and for your playing purposes there may be better investments to make than a reset.
 

Rayk

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Sure looks to me like you need a reset.

Quite possibly both that and the belly fix .
Tough the pic is blurry kind of looks like the bridge was possibly reglued to ? I get that from the whites lines around the bottom though could be trick of the light.
 
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That bridge looks quite thick, I'd try shaving that down first and re taper the pin holes
 

philfish

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This is a 1970 vintage instrument, dose it have the label inside saying where it was made.
The bridge looks like the long thin tapered of that area
I have a D40 69 or 70 that has similar issues, these are great made and sounding guitars
And deserve the attention of a good luthier.
dapmdave what can be done for a belly in the top ?
 

Br1ck

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Please don't ruin the bridge by shaving it. If you don't want to spend for a neck reset, sell it to someone who will. I was lucky to get one of two NOS Brazilian rosewood bridges from Hans Moust to put my D 35 right. Likely your bridge is Brazilian. These old guitars should be well cared for. If it is a '70 it might have a Hoboken label, but that is meaningless as the guitar was made in Westerly.

This is just a part of the responsibility that comes from being caretaker to an old guitar. Maybe you don't remember when folks used to route out their 50s Teles for humbuckers. Ouch.

This era Guild is going to be a special guitar, built light before Guild and everyone else went to heavier guitars. With the break angle a reset will give you, the guitar will come alive.
 
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Christopher Cozad

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Sure looks to me like you need a reset.
+1

...Before springing for a neck reset, I would recommend you consider the possibility of installing a Bridge Doctor...
+1, especially for anyone who may be hesitant or presently unable to invest in a neck reset. There are two versions of the JLD Bridge Doctor available:

Screw Mount - requires drilling a hole through your bridge to secure the bridge doctor components to the bridgeplate.

Brass Pin Mount - completely non-destructive. Replaces your bridge pins with special brass pins (one of which acts to secure the bridge doctor components to the bridgeplate. The balance of the pins may be used to secure the strings, or you can use 5 of your existing pins in the remaining 5 open holes.

I have installed both styles on guitars of various makes and models. I believe the JLD Bridge Doctor to be an effective tool. For many, it may be just the trick to restore a playable action and work satisfactorily for a good long while. For others, it may convincingly demonstrate the benefit to be gained by going ahead with a neck reset.
 

billymox

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Should we be suggesting / requesting he post a better picture of the saddle before investing in a Bridge Doctor? Maybe just shaving the saddle can be a 25 minute $0 fix for several more years of playing with good action.....However, the guitar being over 45 years old, it has done well if this would be its first neck reset.
 
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