Greetings and thanks for the add, CE-100 question

[Bill G]

Hi all, thanks for adding me. My friend BluesDan suggested that I ask the group about this CE-100 that I stumbled on and bought. I'm told by the seller that it was made in 1978, the sticker is from Westerly. It plays nice, it's reasonably intonated, action is good and it sounds great. I've never owned an archtop but the guitar seems much less fussy with amplifiers than my other hollow body electric guitar, and it's got a rounder sound. What type of strings do you use on these? I can't tell the gauge by feel but it's not .13 and it's not .09. Anything else I should know? Thanks in advance!

 

[walrus]

A beauty! Welcome to LTG!

I guess one question is whether that bridge is set up for a wound third string or not. That will impact your decision.

walrus

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG and great first post with your beautiful CE-100D! I have an '81 and use roundwound pure nickel .011 - .050 on it with a wound third string. You'll need the wound third because that it was the bridge is compensated for. If you bend notes a lot a wound .017 or .018 will work. You can read a little more about the CE-100D here:

GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 1981 Guild CE-100D

 

[Default]

<drool>

 

[shihan]

Welcome! That’s quite an entrance! Strings are, as you know, a very personal choice. I’m with CG jaguar, I use pure nickel strings on my X-500. I prefer an unwound G.
Enjoy that beautiful guitar!

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Lovely guitar, and welcome! I also prefer an unwound 3rd string although the bridge on your guitar is compensated for a wound third. I can never get a wound 'G' to last very long; the winding always gets broken at a fret and that results in a thin plinky, buzzy sound.

 

[Bill G]

Thanks all! It seems like the controversy is -- wound or unwound G string. How do you tell which the bridge is set up for?

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Thanks all! It seems like the controversy is -- wound or unwound G string. How do you tell which the bridge is set up for?

If the G string bridge section is shorter than the B string it's compensated for a wound string - being the thinnest of the wound strings. If that section is longer than the B string then it is for a plain G string.

 

[krysh]

welcome and congrats, nothing more to add but post well, post often!

 

[SFIV1967]

If the G string bridge section is shorter than the B string it's compensated for a wound string - being the thinnest of the wound strings. If that section is longer than the B string then it is for a plain G string.

Or in a picture:

Ralf

 

[jp]

Hi Bill -

Welcome to the forum. Beautiful CE-100D! I would start by thinking about what kind of music you're playing and what kind of sound you want out of it and which gauge you're comfortable with. Flatwounds for a warmer tone? Roundwounds for a brighter snappier tone? Half-rounds for somewhere in-between?

Also, as others mentioned, you'll want to accommodate with the bridge for whether or not you have a wound or plain (G) third string, since flatwounds and half-rounds usually have a wound third. On my '68, which I use mainly for jazz, I currently have flatwound .12s with a wound third.

 

[mad dog]

Here's my go to custom set for archtops. Roundwound:

.050
.040
.030
.021 wound or .019 plain
.015
.012

This was suggested to me by a luthier buddy who worked on one of my hollowbodies. Sounds and feels just right, so I use it on every hollowbody I get.

 

[Guildedagain]

What's the weight on these?

 

[Bill G]

What's the weight on these?

It is less than my Telecaster and more than my D-4. Half a Les Paul?

 

[GGJaguar]

Mine weighs 8 lb (3.6 kg). The early ones from the 1950s and 1960s are much lighter.

 

[Bill G]

Hi Bill -

Welcome to the forum. Beautiful CE-100D! I would start by thinking about what kind of music you're playing and what kind of sound you want out of it and which gauge you're comfortable with. Flatwounds for a warmer tone? Roundwounds for a brighter snappier tone? Half-rounds for somewhere in-between?

Also, as others mentioned, you'll want to accommodate with the bridge for whether or not you have a wound or plain (G) third string, since flatwounds and half-rounds usually have a wound third. On my '68, which I use mainly for jazz, I currently have flatwound .12s with a wound third.

I dug through my box of strings and somehow, I have a set. I'm going to try them and thanks!

 

[Bill G]

I put a wound G on there and you all are right, the intonation is now correct. I bought some flat wound 11/50's but I want to play it with the rounds for a bit first. Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Shakeylee]

i have a 76, i use darco heavy electric . another string that's great for this guitar is dean markley jazz

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Looks like a sibling to my 1982 CE-100!

 

[Bill G]

Looks like a sibling to my 1982 CE-100!

For sure!