'73 F50 bridge height question; shaved down or original?

[gilded]

Man, all this talk about F50s got me so excited, I went out and bought one! All it needs is a neck set,
a fret job, some binding reglued, a pickguard crack fixed and a new set of strings!

Okay, so this is a '73 F50 (Maple), Ebony bridge, Grovers, w/ original beat-up, blue-interior Guild case. I haven't had one of these since Jahn was in the 2nd Grade :lol: .

Here's my query. You guys look at the bridge height, please. Does it look right, or does it look shaved down a bit?? Inquiring minds want to know!!

As usual, I apologize for my cell phone pic quality:

A little blurry, no??

Bridge height view:

What do you think, original unmolested bridge, or has it been 'shaped down' a bit? gilded

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Harry; can't offer anything one way or the other about the bridge. Maybe it's just the reflection but the back looks so good, it's hard to imagine that it'd been played enough to need so much attention but congratulations on you new guitar! CJ

 

[chazmo]

Gilded, we'll need some better pix, but the saddle looks bottomed out to me....

But, HEY, CONGRATS!!!! What do you think?

 

[gilded]

Chazmo, the saddle is definitely bottomed out, though I don't know if the bridge was taken down at some point before the saddle was lowered. A lot can happen to a guitar in 35 years, you know! Congrats accepted, by the way!

CJ, the back does look good, with 'very good' but not spectacular figuring. Cosmetically, the guitar is in pretty good shape. The worst thing, finish-wise, is the top. It has some 'arm-stain' spots and the lacquer is worn in a few places. The sides are in good shape, the neck is fine, too. The binding on the fingerboard is loose in several spots, but the body binding is fine.

The neck set? Well, it definitely needs a reset, just one of those things that happens when you leave a guitar in a car trunk in our Hot Texas Climate, on and off over 30+ years (my best guess, anyway). The body doesn't seem twisted, the shoulders of the guitar haven't flattened out, the guitar's geometry is fine, it just needs a neck set.

And frets. It's been re-fretted before, with big wire, but the first three wires are just 'done', with deep pits on several strings.

Somebody played this guitar for a long, long time. If playing can make a guitar sound good, this guitar ought to be pretty special!

It goes to the Luthier on Thursday. I'll have it at the booth at the Arlington show in October. Come by and see it.

Harry

 

[GardMan]

Gilded,
I think that, short of obvious tool marks, finish inconsistencies, or a paper-thin bridge, it can be hard to tell if the bridge has been lowered. From past threads, it seemed that bridges came in varying heights and were fitted to individual guitars depending on their neck angle. The bridges on my five dreads vary considerably, the shortest being that of my '72 D-35, which is only a smidge over 1/4" under the low/high Es (measured at the front of the bridge, right under the strings) Since I am the original owner, I know bridge has never been shaved. In contrast, the bridge on the '78 D-35 I sold last winter was nearly 3/32"" taller under the low E (and markedly asymmetric under the low/high Es). I think Hans also mentioned that Guild bridges tended to get taller thru the years (meaning '80s bridges were on average taller than '70s bridges for the same models). So a '70s bridge might be lower than others you might be used to. I guess, if the bridge was in decent shape (no obvious tool marks), at least 1/4"+ high under the strings, and firmly attached to the soundboard, I wouldn't worry about it (much). I am sure your luthier can give you a bettr idea...

Is there much belly to the top behind the bridge? If the low saddle is compensation for pronounced bellying, a bridge doctor might buy you time before a neck reset...

Looks like a nice blonde...
Dave

 

[gilded]

Gardman, I didn't see much (if any) bellying behind the bridge. It just needs a neck set!

Say, I appreciate the input about the bridge height, especially based on your personal experience.

I didn't bring a 6" steel ruler to the store when I bought the guitar. I saw the guitar on Sunday, noticing neck-set and fret issues, one pickguard crack, loose binding on the neck, etc. I called the Luthier Monday (today). When he said he'd fix it, I drove back to the store and bought it, only to find there was a police hold on the guitar until Thursday or Friday. At that point, we packed the guitar in the case and put it in the back.

As I was putting the guitar in the case, I thought that the bridge looked not so much 'low' but rather 'softly shaped'. At that point, I took some pics of it with the intention of asking my fellow LTGers if it looked funny. Since I only had my cell phone camera, what you guys see is 'what I got'!

Thanks, gilded

 

[GardMan]

As I was putting the guitar in the case, I thought that the bridge looked not so much 'low' but rather 'softly shaped'. At that point, I took some pics of it with the intention of asking my fellow LTGers if it looked funny. Since I only had my cell phone camera, what you guys see is 'what I got'!
Thanks, gilded

Hey gilded... I don't think that the contours of that bridge on oyur F-50 are outside the norm... the bridge on my '74 D-25 has a softer contour overall than my othger dreads, but I don't think its been lowered (here are partial bridge shots of my D-25 and G-37, both from '74... note the more rounded back edge of the D-25s bridge as it comes off the left "wing"):

1974 D-25M

1974 G-37bld

There is also variation in how the sides of the bridge are finished. In some of my dreads, the sides of the bridge are rounded/tapered down towards the soundboard, while on others they are left fairly "straight up." Don't know that it follows models ("high" vs "low" end) or years... I imagine that after the bridges are cut out from stock, they are sanded to their final shape using a disc, belt, or drum sander (or all three)... and that the end result show some variation from piece to piece (and from the different folks doing the finishing).

 

[gilded]

Gard',

Very good pics, plus those are some seriously nice bridge pins. Tell me about 'em!

 

[Jeff]

Gard',

Very good pics, plus those are some seriously nice bridge pins. Tell me about 'em!

Gilded,

Just a guess, but Gard's pins look a lot like the work of Gordon Orth. Gordon made the pins for my GF 60.

 

[GardMan]

Yep... those are Gordon's pins. Bone with 4mm tortoise in the D-25, and bone with 4mm ab in the G-37. I have Orth pins in all my dreads... Gordon's great to work with, and his pins are lovely. I think the bone pins are $35 a set. Here's a horn set with 4mm gold pearl I had him make for my D-46 (I think I paid $40 for them):

The pic doesn't do them justice!

If you are interested in some of Gordon's pins, send me a PM, and I'll send you his contact info.
Dave

 

[gilded]

I know Gordon from the Texas shows! He and his lovely wife are very nice people, plus we like the same kind of guitars.
I'll PM you for his particulars, thanks.