GAD40 Dilemma

stormin1155

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That's a great deal... buy it! I'm a luthier/tech, and repairing or replacing a bridge isn't a big deal... probably under $100.
 

adorshki

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That's a great deal... buy it! I'm a luthier/tech, and repairing or replacing a bridge isn't a big deal... probably under $100.

He did, but, ah, you may want to review Cutrofiano's trials and tribulations with attempting to replace the bridge of his F150rce.
Basically wound up having to get one fabricated because even Guild under new owners Cordoba didn't have accurate spec info, sent him two different ones neither of which worked.
Cutrofiano's woes are recounted here, see post #'s 22 and 23 in particular:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?195384-Repaintig-F-150R-CE-(GAD)&highlight=bridge

I don't think there are actually any repair spares in the US, (for the first 2 generations of MIC lines, at least) because for one thing, under Fender, the normal warranty repair procedure was to replace the whole instrument because it was literally more cost-effective for 'em than performing actual repairs.
There are a couple of old old threads here from owners who loved their GADs but were forced to decide between paying for repair themselves in order to keep the specific instrument, or accept a newer model of comparable value from Fender.
So suspect D30man will be best served by attempting the fill-the-crack method, first.
 
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cutrofiano

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Ah, you may want to review Cutrofiano's trials and tribulations with attempting to replace the bridge of his F150rce.
The 1:1 bridge reconstruction alone was 140 € ($ 160), German wages, while the old bridge had already been taken off by me (or sanded away, to be precise :pride:).

Moritz
 

steve488

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I cannot speak for any knowledge of activities at GREE, but I know that for the Chinese manufacturing house a previous employer used, there was a notable turnover in the factory force every Chinese New Year period. Apparently many workers came from rural China and worked under a contract basis for a given time period. They would save most of their pay and when the factory shut down for Chinese New Year, they went home and did not return. The factory then would have an influx of new untrained workers hired to replace those that went "home". I would suspect that even with the best quality control, that type of shift would have an effect on the production output. That said, it would not have any real impact on design tweaks so the questions on differences from the original GAD series, to the GAD 1XX series to the Westerly Series is still out there....
 

adorshki

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I cannot speak for any knowledge of activities at GREE, but I know that for the Chinese manufacturing house a previous employer used, there was a notable turnover in the factory force every Chinese New Year period. Apparently many workers came from rural China and worked under a contract basis for a given time period. They would save most of their pay and when the factory shut down for Chinese New Year, they went home and did not return. The factory then would have an influx of new untrained workers hired to replace those that went "home". I would suspect that even with the best quality control, that type of shift would have an effect on the production output. That said, it would not have any real impact on design tweaks so the questions on differences from the original GAD series, to the GAD 1XX series to the Westerly Series is still out there....
Oh - come on...

Moritz

Nope, it's true, it was a known problem until about 5 years ago I think, because most of the high-paying manufacturing jobs were located in urban centers far removed form the home towns where much of the labor migrated from.
Since then the infrastructure has become more developed, and now that there are finally enough jobs to be had closer to home, there's no longer a need for 'em to flock to the urban centers in the numbers they used to, and the annual turnover spike has been flattening.
Still, this recent CNN headline shows it's still a genuine phenomenon:
"World's Largest Annual Human Migration Now Underway In China"
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lunar-new-year-travel-rush-2019/index.html

Granted I never heard of the problem being ascribed to GREE, and actually seem to recall reference to the fact that they take measures to retain the skilled labor pool.
Was it in part because most of 'em are locals?
Can't recall and running short on time to search old threads.
I even wished 'em Happy New Year over here:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?198415-Happy-New-Year
 
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D30Man

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The multiple short vertical lines in this top are very similar to the top of my 2014 Gibson J-15, which also has a fair amount of cross-silking. It was one of the first J-15s produced, and has a custom-shop label, which I've never seen on another natural-finish J-15. I've wondered if the custom shop aspect of the guitar was this lovely top, which also carries a more light-brownish hue.

Regardless of where the top came from on the J-15, it is incredibly responsive from top to bottom - notes literally leap off of it. If your GAD F-40 has any similar characteristics, it's gotta be a winner!

I can tell you Bobouz this top is super responsive and just light fingerpicking it rings like a bell.. strums beautifully too.. just a great little guitar at a great price. Been enjoying the heck out of her..
 

D30Man

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That's a great deal... buy it! I'm a luthier/tech, and repairing or replacing a bridge isn't a big deal... probably under $100.

Stormin as Al pointed out I certainly did.. Dan McCarthy ( highly reputable Dallas luthier ) will make / install a new bridge for $150. The crack seems to be stable so no hurry on this end. But even if I did that would have me at $375 invested in the guitar. Still well under value. Especially given it’s super clean condition aside from the crack. Just a great find.
 

beecee

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So much gushing over this guitar...you're not going to change your user name are you??
 

adorshki

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So much gushing over this guitar...you're not going to change your user name are you??
I know it was a joke but it's a little more complicated than one might guess.
I picked mine just to be able to register, assuming I could just change it later when I came up with a "better" one....but it ain't that easy...and IIRC you'll lose all the posts under your old username besides.
You can imagine how that makes me feel....
:glee:
 
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