Guildedagain
Enlightened Member
Oops, I Guilded again
I had to hide it until dark
I wish I was innocent.
This could be my last guitar, who knows?
I had that moment of temporary sanity, when you realize you would have to be a madman not to buy a guitar ;-)))
I did lust after it for seven days, after which I became weak*… translation I couldn't get any answers from the seller "a consignor", and when it relisted, and I finally got them to make the shipping affordable, not $142 for that miserable USPS Parcel Select, I bought it, answers be damned. All I needed to know was "one owner”, and it looked pretty clean and it really was a hog top.
*pun
It got here FedEx Ground in a huge box full of edible corn peanuts, 4" all the way around the case, which was a really good thing because the way oversized possibly vintage Guild snakeskin chipboard case with red interior had no neck support via the case pocket, so the back of the headstock was actually laying against the bottom of the case, tuned up to pitch with some really old D'addario strings .11-54.
Made it just fine though, and I finally got to look at one of these all Hog dreads in person. Played a few notes, but then instantly completely detuned it and haven’t heard it since.
“One owner” and the guy sweated a bit with some pretty corrosive sweat, left etches in the finish here and there, even up on the headstock.
I did a real thorough clean/polish involving serious amounts of elbow grease, until its beauty was revealed, large swollen stripes of grain, sometimes red sometimes chocolaty brown depending on the amount of light hitting the top.
I didn’t realized these are Cherry all the way around, and the back and back of neck have that most familiar 60’s Gibson shade of red, along with righteous finish crazing.
It was then I discovered the crack, a sound hole crack. I’ve been super fortunate with my Guilds (and I keep a lot of sponges dampened), but I don’t have a crack in any of them, not even repaired cracks, that’s across 5 guitars from ’68-73.
So I see this crack, yikes! I was just about to put it to bed in a grail Guild case, an NOS case out of Clark NJ that would be fit for a D50, and start hydrating it anyway, as the frets are sticking out of the fingerboard like knife blades…
Hydration is my fix. For that, and neck angle. It may be placebo, but it works for me. This one, the neck angle was such as a straightedge touching the top edge of the bridge, two days later in the case with sponges, the rule glides of the top of the bridge and I believe I can keep it that way with the right strings, JP Silk & Bronze.
Belief is everything
Also to note, fingerboard wood the likes I haven’t seen on any other Guild I have, wow.
It’s still not strung, the crack at the soundhole has all but closed itself, I’ve already cleaned it with alcohol prior to swelling the woodgrain back out so it it ready to glue, and maybe cleat?
So, having not played it, but having fondled it a lot, I’d have to say that for a guitar that was down towards the bottom of the totem pole, the quality is, well, amazing.
Guitars costing thousands would be lucky to have this combination of build quality and materials.
I’m hoping to glue it soon, taking it slow. And string, and play.
Any recommendations on gluing appreciated. Was going to use a little Titebond, maybe a cleat. There is a lot of other wood and braces holding that together, I don’t see a huge issue with further cracking.
Will update the post with most pics and sonic tales further on down the road.
Not only I get to try a vintage Guild hog top dread, I get to compare it to virtually same year spruce top dread, a very fair comparison.
This is the crack prior to any cleaning or hydrating, actually looked a lot worse in person, and of course it was slightly misaligned and would have had to been cleated in that state, it’s so tight now I can’t get it to move, might even be too tight for gluing?
Crazy fingerboard grain, unlike any of my D/F guitars, so this is what they saved for the low end guitars or is this one especially blessed?
Will get more pics.
Serial # is 86### making it mid 1972?
I had to hide it until dark
I wish I was innocent.
This could be my last guitar, who knows?
I had that moment of temporary sanity, when you realize you would have to be a madman not to buy a guitar ;-)))
I did lust after it for seven days, after which I became weak*… translation I couldn't get any answers from the seller "a consignor", and when it relisted, and I finally got them to make the shipping affordable, not $142 for that miserable USPS Parcel Select, I bought it, answers be damned. All I needed to know was "one owner”, and it looked pretty clean and it really was a hog top.
*pun
It got here FedEx Ground in a huge box full of edible corn peanuts, 4" all the way around the case, which was a really good thing because the way oversized possibly vintage Guild snakeskin chipboard case with red interior had no neck support via the case pocket, so the back of the headstock was actually laying against the bottom of the case, tuned up to pitch with some really old D'addario strings .11-54.
Made it just fine though, and I finally got to look at one of these all Hog dreads in person. Played a few notes, but then instantly completely detuned it and haven’t heard it since.
“One owner” and the guy sweated a bit with some pretty corrosive sweat, left etches in the finish here and there, even up on the headstock.
I did a real thorough clean/polish involving serious amounts of elbow grease, until its beauty was revealed, large swollen stripes of grain, sometimes red sometimes chocolaty brown depending on the amount of light hitting the top.
I didn’t realized these are Cherry all the way around, and the back and back of neck have that most familiar 60’s Gibson shade of red, along with righteous finish crazing.
It was then I discovered the crack, a sound hole crack. I’ve been super fortunate with my Guilds (and I keep a lot of sponges dampened), but I don’t have a crack in any of them, not even repaired cracks, that’s across 5 guitars from ’68-73.
So I see this crack, yikes! I was just about to put it to bed in a grail Guild case, an NOS case out of Clark NJ that would be fit for a D50, and start hydrating it anyway, as the frets are sticking out of the fingerboard like knife blades…
Hydration is my fix. For that, and neck angle. It may be placebo, but it works for me. This one, the neck angle was such as a straightedge touching the top edge of the bridge, two days later in the case with sponges, the rule glides of the top of the bridge and I believe I can keep it that way with the right strings, JP Silk & Bronze.
Belief is everything
Also to note, fingerboard wood the likes I haven’t seen on any other Guild I have, wow.
It’s still not strung, the crack at the soundhole has all but closed itself, I’ve already cleaned it with alcohol prior to swelling the woodgrain back out so it it ready to glue, and maybe cleat?
So, having not played it, but having fondled it a lot, I’d have to say that for a guitar that was down towards the bottom of the totem pole, the quality is, well, amazing.
Guitars costing thousands would be lucky to have this combination of build quality and materials.
I’m hoping to glue it soon, taking it slow. And string, and play.
Any recommendations on gluing appreciated. Was going to use a little Titebond, maybe a cleat. There is a lot of other wood and braces holding that together, I don’t see a huge issue with further cracking.
Will update the post with most pics and sonic tales further on down the road.
Not only I get to try a vintage Guild hog top dread, I get to compare it to virtually same year spruce top dread, a very fair comparison.
This is the crack prior to any cleaning or hydrating, actually looked a lot worse in person, and of course it was slightly misaligned and would have had to been cleated in that state, it’s so tight now I can’t get it to move, might even be too tight for gluing?
Crazy fingerboard grain, unlike any of my D/F guitars, so this is what they saved for the low end guitars or is this one especially blessed?
Will get more pics.
Serial # is 86### making it mid 1972?
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