Almost Alive!

[Default]

billydlight had a similar issue and a welding shop was the answer.

 

[BradHK]

billydlight had a similar issue and a welding shop was the answer.

If this fails that’s my next stop! Was the welding shop able to braze it and make it look good?

 

[chazmo]

I got lucky with the top (and myself!) as that piece SHOT out under full string tension like a bolt from a crossbow. It was a heart stopping moment! The top is the original finish other than under where that wooden bridge base was used. There is a very tiny nick in the original finish directly under the harp tailpiece. If you didn’t know it wasn’t already there you would not notice it. Thanks for the thoughts!

That must've been very scary, Brad. I know just when a string breaks it's scary. Having the whole bridge blow out of there like that... Yeah, you're lucky you weren't hurt!

 

[BradHK]

While I am waiting on the tailpiece I decided to address one item that was bugging me. the guitar came with the original pickguard and as with many of this era it has shrunk to where the holes in the pickguard no longer match the holes in the top of the guitar. The previous owner just removed the screw by the bridge. At least they didn’t drill another hole in the guitar or pickguard to get it to “fit”.

I do not want to drill a hole in the top or modify the pickguard. I am sure others have addressed this before but I thought I would share what I did as I am happy with the results. I made a brass adapter piece that screws into the original hole in the guitar then has another hole drilled and tapped that lines up with the hole in the pickguard. You just use a short machine screw at this location and once installed you can not see this adapter piece.

some photos:

 

[ClaytonS15]

Amazing fix!

 

[Default]

That is a great idea!

 

[AcornHouse]

While I am waiting on the tailpiece I decided to address one item that was bugging me. the guitar came with the original pickguard and as with many of this era it has shrunk to where the holes in the pickguard no longer match the holes in the top of the guitar. The previous owner just removed the screw by the bridge. At least they didn’t drill another hole in the guitar or pickguard to get it to “fit”.

I do not want to drill a hole in the top or modify the pickguard. I am sure others have addressed this before but I thought I would share what I did as I am happy with the results. I made a brass adapter piece that screws into the original hole in the guitar then has another hole drilled and tapped that lines up with the hole in the pickguard. You just use a short machine screw at this location and once installed you can not see this adapter piece.

some photos:

One thing you want to be careful of with old pickguards is rot. If they start deteriorating then they need to be taken off the guitar as soon as possible! If. Not, the offgassing can affect the finish and any metal parts. Shrinkage is ok, but once the rot starts, it won’t stop. It’s especially bad on guitars kept in the case; all the gas stays in.
Best to just replace it and keep the original separate.

 

[jp]

Maybe try sanding the the surfaces properly and trying JB Weld?

I hope this works out. If not then brazing is definitely the trick.

I like your offset mounting fix -- a simple and effective solution.

 

[BradHK]

The epoxy appears to be holding tight and everything is installed! Still tweaking some items but it‘s together and plays. Probably the first time in many, many years. Now the fun part, “after” photos:



And finally the 1954 beside the 1967:

 

[jp]

Gorgeous! I'm glad the JB Weld is holding. Gotta love those clear acrylic knobs. I'm so envious that you have a both a vintage Aristocrat as well as a hollow Bluesbird!

 

[lungimsam]

Now that’s a vintage piece!!!!

 

[DrumBob]

Very nice. I'd love to have an old M-75.

 

[wombat]

Very nice work - a bit of a labor of love, I'm sure, but I love the final result!

I also have a '67, but it currently has TV Jones T-Armonds in it. The original Guild minihumbuckers came in boxes with the guitar, but I haven't got around to putting them in (the T-Armonds sound really good as they are). That said, I don't really know what I'm missing.

I know I love the sound of minihumbuckers in the thinline SFIIIs, but how do they sound in your '67? And how do they compare with the Franzs in your earlier Aristocrat?

The very few demos of '67s I can fine on youtube don't really help if I'm honest - they're not great demos and I'm not sure they do the guitars justice.

Thanks in advance,
W

 

[GGJaguar]

Whoa!!! Awesome!!

 

[BradHK]

I know I love the sound of minihumbuckers in the thinline SFIIIs, but how do they sound in your '67? And how do they compare with the Franzs in your earlier Aristocrat?

I just played both back to back through the same amp (Carr Mercury) with the same settings at different gain levels. Same strings on both, rosewood bridge on both, and volume and tone pots maxed. It’s not scientific but there were some obvious differences. The guitars sound different but at the same time similar due to the same woods and construction. The anti-hums are much more chimey, brighter and airy in these guitars. They also seem to ring longer and maybe sound a little more complex. At times the bridge pickup can sound thinner than the Franz bridge. The Franz sounds tighter, smoother and a little more round if that makes sense. The neck pickup on the Franz is very mellow, almost jazz like. This may also be because it is much lower than the bridge pickup and the volume is slightly less. I can’t imagine how dark and muted it would have sounded if I did not remove the capacitor the factory installed on the selector switch for the neck pickup! I will probably shim it up a little to see the difference. Under gain the anti-hum goes more into the crunch with an edge and the Franz goes a little more bluesy and smooth.

The interesting thing is that I then switched to a different amp (1960 Gibson GA-5T) and the Anti-hums sounded more fat and not brittle at all. The sound seemed to blossom and was very complex sounding. The Franz sounded a little dark and not as interesting to my ears through that amp. However, it had that perfect old school jazz sound when played clean.

I can’t pick one over the other as they are very different sounding. It all depends upon what sound you prefer. I am currently leaning towards the Franz when paired with the Carr amp and the Anti-hum when paired with the Gibson amp. However, I have only had two days playing the one with Franz pickups. Ask me in six month when the new factor has worn off and I have had more time with both

 

[chazmo]

Bravo, Brad! Great work reviving that old beauty!

 

[zulu]

What a heroic rescue! Thanks for saving this guitar.

 

[Westerly Wood]

The body arrived safe. The repairs needed were gluing the back to the sides near the tailpiece, the sides had delaminated almost half way around, the binding needed replacing, and the top was touched up (to prevent further damage) where a wooden bridge base had been used and wore through the finish into the wood. It is like they used 80 grit sandpaper under the bridge to keep it from moving! All is now structurally sound and ready to go.

I have been going through parts, cleaning, polishing, etc. Things I could have been doing while I was waiting on the body to be repaired (other than final prep and polish on the body of course). I need to ream the end pin hole, remove the cap at the selector switch, and random things like that but I am ready to assemble. I laid it all out to double check I had everything and decided a photo was needed. When is the next time I am going to have a 1954 M-75 completely disassembled?

A deconstructed 1954 Guild M-75 Aristocrat:

One of the coolest pics I have ever seen on the LTG.

 

[CosmicArkie]

Okay, I admit that I'm way past 10 on the Richter Scale of jealous that you have TWO M-75s, but the retired insurance adjuster in me just can't get past the tailpiece being a grenade with the pin pulled....

 

[chazmo]

Fire in the hole!