dean
Junior Member
This will probably be a long thread, so skip through it if you want. I need some opinions for an idea that I'll list at the end of the post. Ten years ago, I picked up a smashed-up 1959 T-100 for a pretty cheap price. The only thing it had going for ir was the pickup - otherwise, it was toast. Over the years, I resurrected it and got it back together. The neck was solid, but everything else was a mess. Here's what I did:
Reglued all the top laminates (about 80% delammed)
Replaced all the kerfing
Reset the top to the back and sides
Repaired the hole in the side of the body
Replaced the fretboard inlays
Leveled and refretted the neck
Installed new binding
Replaced the defunct cap on the wiring harness
In the end, I have a very nice playing Slim Jim. One of the nice things about the project was that the guitar had the original wiring harness and Franz pickup (more on that later). Here is the thread I started about 9-10 years ago. Turns out I'm slow, but pretty steady. http://letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?151453-More-than-I-can-chew-Paid-too-much-We-ll-see
Here are a few pics of the project when I got it.
Here's the guitar now.
As it stands, the guitar plays very nicely, feels great, and fits me well. While it is a vintage guitar, it is definitely not a very valuable guitar given the amount of damage and work that's been done on it as well as the addition of some non-original parts. Now, I am solely a bedroom player - I never take the guitar out, I play only for myself, and I keep this guitar because it feels great. That leads me to my next question.
Swapping out the Franz pickup?
Since this guitar is intact but sketchy in its originality, I'm thinking of selling the original Franz pickup and the original wiring harness (with a new cap) and installing a P-90 type pickup. Again, the originality of the guitar is kaput, and I figure there might be someone who needs these parts to bring their old Guild up to snuff (btw, I am not soliciting offers - I will put a FS post up when I'm ready to go). Plus, I have a couple projects that could use the funds. I've read that a basic P-90 is a little larger than the Franz and may require some body modification - is this true? I have also read that there are P-90 pickups that have been designed for a Guild pickup rout. Anyone know what these are? I know this sounds blasphemous, but I have already redone a 1956 CE-100 to vintage specs for my son, so I understand the concept of vintage restoration. The T-100 is well beyond that designation.
So, any pickup suggestions? Thanks!
Reglued all the top laminates (about 80% delammed)
Replaced all the kerfing
Reset the top to the back and sides
Repaired the hole in the side of the body
Replaced the fretboard inlays
Leveled and refretted the neck
Installed new binding
Replaced the defunct cap on the wiring harness
In the end, I have a very nice playing Slim Jim. One of the nice things about the project was that the guitar had the original wiring harness and Franz pickup (more on that later). Here is the thread I started about 9-10 years ago. Turns out I'm slow, but pretty steady. http://letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?151453-More-than-I-can-chew-Paid-too-much-We-ll-see
Here are a few pics of the project when I got it.
Here's the guitar now.
As it stands, the guitar plays very nicely, feels great, and fits me well. While it is a vintage guitar, it is definitely not a very valuable guitar given the amount of damage and work that's been done on it as well as the addition of some non-original parts. Now, I am solely a bedroom player - I never take the guitar out, I play only for myself, and I keep this guitar because it feels great. That leads me to my next question.
Swapping out the Franz pickup?
Since this guitar is intact but sketchy in its originality, I'm thinking of selling the original Franz pickup and the original wiring harness (with a new cap) and installing a P-90 type pickup. Again, the originality of the guitar is kaput, and I figure there might be someone who needs these parts to bring their old Guild up to snuff (btw, I am not soliciting offers - I will put a FS post up when I'm ready to go). Plus, I have a couple projects that could use the funds. I've read that a basic P-90 is a little larger than the Franz and may require some body modification - is this true? I have also read that there are P-90 pickups that have been designed for a Guild pickup rout. Anyone know what these are? I know this sounds blasphemous, but I have already redone a 1956 CE-100 to vintage specs for my son, so I understand the concept of vintage restoration. The T-100 is well beyond that designation.
So, any pickup suggestions? Thanks!