Just got a T-100D... questions for the experts

[MichaelK]

Hi folks - this is my first posting on this Forum, cuz I just got my first Guild guitar last week. It's a 1963 T-100-D (the inside label has both dashes). I've been a fan of Guild for many decades, but I've been a keyboard player all my life... only been playing guitar for 9 yrs. I was not familiar with this model but I played it, loved the sound and feel, it was in good shape and the price was right.

It's a real beauty, the burst is perfect. As far as I know all the parts are original except the pickups, which were made by Vintage Vibe under the original covers. Excellent pickups, by the way... I don't know how Franz pickups sound, but I'm familiar with P-90s... these are different. The original Franz PUs were included in the deal, but I'm loving this sound. Very Rickenbacker-ish, but mellower.

OK, I did say "questions" in the thread title...

(A) Woods... What is the body wood on these guitars? It looks like maple on the top and bottom, can't tell about the sides. Is it a laminate? The neck & headstock look like mahogany to me. What is the wood laminated onto the front of the headstock? I believe the fretboard is Brazilian rosewood, which would have been in abundant supply. What kind of wood is the bridge?

(B) Setup questions... When I got it home I started to loosen all the strings to slip them out of the tailpiece so I could oil the fretboard... and surprise! The bridge is free-floating! OK, that's the way it is, I'm cool with that. Later for the fretboard. But it took me a good half hour of trial and error sliding the bridge fractions of an inch here and there to re-set the intonation. At least now I know the reason it goes out of tune and out of intonation if I look at it too hard.

So... I guess the strings have to be changed one at a time...?? Forget about oiling the fretboard, that will have to wait 'til I have time to deal with the bridge again.

I will post pics as soon as I have the time to shoot some. Right now I gotta plug it into my AC30 and jangle some. Thanks in advance, all!

 

[Default]

OK, I did say "questions" in the thread title...

(A) Woods... What is the body wood on these guitars? It looks like maple on the top and bottom, can't tell about the sides. Is it a laminate? The neck & headstock look like mahogany to me. What is the wood laminated onto the front of the headstock? I believe the fretboard is Brazilian rosewood, which would have been in abundant supply. What kind of wood is the bridge?

Can't help you definitively with the wood, but it's probably maple and the bridge is most likely rosewood.

(B) Setup questions... When I got it home I started to loosen all the strings to slip them out of the tailpiece so I could oil the fretboard... and surprise! The bridge is free-floating! OK, that's the way it is, I'm cool with that. Later for the fretboard. But it took me a good half hour of trial and error sliding the bridge fractions of an inch here and there to re-set the intonation. At least now I know the reason it goes out of tune and out of intonation if I look at it too hard.

That's the normal arrangement for an archtop. The bridges aren't fixed to the top, though some players with bigsbys use double faced tape or pin the bridge to the top. Yes, you have to change the strings one at a time, but I normally do it that way regardless of whether the bridge is floating.

Welcome aboard, looking forward to the pics!

 

[MichaelK]

That's the normal arrangement for an archtop. The bridges aren't fixed to the top, though some players with bigsbys use double faced tape or pin the bridge to the top. Yes, you have to change the strings one at a time, but I normally do it that way regardless of whether the bridge is floating.

Thanks, default. All these years being around archtops I never knew that...! Is that also true of Gibson archtops with tune-o-matic bridges?

I shot some pics this afternoon, I'll look them over later.

 

[Default]

Yup, that's the standard arrangement for archtops.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I just tape the bridge down to the top with masking tape so I can remove all the strings to do the fretboard.

Nice guitar, welcome to the forum!

 

[Walter Broes]

There are a lot of different ways to "'immobilize" a floating bridge. I have those double-stick photo album sticker squares under some of my bridges, a very thin layer of fine grit sandpaper stuck under the bridge feet, facing the body, on others.

Some people put a layer of violin bow resin under the bridge to keep it from wandering, others apply a layer of balloon rubber (yes - it does work!), other people just plain put two wood screws in the bridge that go into the parallel bracing under the guitar top.

If you don't use cables for strings and/or do a little bending, "fixing" your bridge is highly recommended - your guitar will constantly go out of tune otherwise.

 

[MichaelK]

G.O.G & Walter, thanks for the suggestions.

I'd thought about some of those ideas, but I'm only intending to use it in the studio. I'd rather live with it "as is" than do something that would mar the top, so I'm ruling out making holes, using anything abrasive (e.g. sandpaper), or any adhesives.

But violin rosin sounds like it might be a great idea!

I'll ask my guitar tech as well. If he tells me a certain kind of tape won't hurt a 45-year old nitro finish, fine... if not, no way. I don't even put masking tape on my car!

Anyone have info about whether the body is a laminate? I can't tell from looking.

 

[MichaelK]

P.S. - G of G, nice collection! That 1968 ST-302 has got to be the wickedest, coolest looking electric guitar I've ever seen.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

P.S. - G of G, nice collection! That 1968 ST-302 has got to be the wickedest, coolest looking electric guitar I've ever seen.

Thanks!

I'm in the middle of the update which should add about 20% more instruments! :mrgreen:

 

[Default]

Want to throw a little lemon juice on my papercuts while you're at it, Kurt? :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[MichaelK]

I'm in the middle of the update which should add about 20% more instruments! :mrgreen:

Very cool, looking forward to seeing it!

The S-200 cracks me up; it looks like something from a Casper cartoon. How does it sound?

 

[john_kidder]

surprise! The bridge is free-floating! Took me half an hour to re-set the intonation. I guess the strings have to be changed one at a time

Hey there, MichaelK, welcome aboard, and your guitar as well.

I change the strings on my archtops all at once. That way I can oil the fretboard, and polish under and around the bridge and tailpiece - only efficient if the strings are off the guitar - in fact, if I feel a need to clean up a guitar, archtop or flattop, I'll loosen all the strings and loop them all together near the headstock the way luthiers do to work on an acoustic, then do the job and put them back.

For me, the trick with resetting the intonation is just to use an electronic tuner. I bring all the strings from the headstock back to the tailpiece, under just enough tension to hold the bridge in place, and and put the bridge back approximately where it used to be. Then I bring the high E string up to pitch with the tuner. Now I fret it at the 12th fret and pluck it again, and see if it's sharp or flat. If flat, then the string is too long from the 12th fret to the bridge, so i move the bridge a hair or two towards the neck. If sharp, it's too short, move it away. Get it roughly right, then I do the same with the low E. Fiddle and fart about with them a few times, they'll be nailed, and the rest follow. My two archtops are older with long scales and and non-compensated bridges, so that's all there is to it for me. You might need to play an extra time or two to get the B right, but it shouldn't be a big deal. It's a max 2 or 3 minutes.

Others with more experience may have better suggestions, but this works for me every time, no hassle, and gives me the opportunity for basic maintenance with every string change. With the great big flatwounds on the X-400, "every" string change is not very often, so I get to do the maintenance there without even changing them out.

And if you don't care to keep the original Franz's, you'll find a fair number of interested parties on this board before you do the dirty and post them on any other market.

Cheers,
John

 

[MichaelK]

Thanks for the suggestions, John.

If I'm playing a guitar every day, I'll change strings maybe once every 7-10 days. It takes me a good 10-15 minutes to intonate an instrument with a fixed bridge, so with all due respect, I think I'll stick to the one-string-at-a-time method.

I don't need access to the fretboard every time. Oiling the fretboard is something I rarely do. Only when they look dry, which is maybe once every 2 - 3 years, tops.

But again, thank you for the kind suggestions.

 

[Walter Broes]

Anyone have info about whether the body is a laminate? I can't tell from looking.

Yes, laminated.

Re: marring the finish - I think IF I ever sell one of my Guild archtops, and the prospective buyer really wants to see the shape of the finish under the bridge feet, I think I'd pass, and try to sell the guitar to someone who's more interested in playing it. Not to say I don't get your point...but..well..

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

The S-200 cracks me up; it looks like something from a Casper cartoon. How does it sound?

Like a loving spoonful! :mrgreen:

 

[john_kidder]

It takes me a good 10-15 minutes to intonate an instrument with a fixed bridge

Probably simpler to intonate if the bridge is moveable, seems to me?

 

[MichaelK]

>> Yes, laminated.

Thanks -

>> Re: marring the finish - I think IF I ever sell one of my Guild archtops, and the prospective buyer really wants to see the shape of the finish under the bridge feet, I think I'd pass, and try to sell the guitar to someone who's more interested in playing it. Not to say I don't get your point...but..well...

Glad you get my point, but I'm missing yours... anyone who wants to looks it over closely isn't worthy to own it?

 

[MichaelK]

Probably simpler to intonate if the bridge is moveable, seems to me?

No, not at all.

 

[john_kidder]

Probably simpler to intonate if the bridge is moveable, seems to me?

No, not at all.

I'm not clear at all, don't know what I'm missing, Michael. Please explain?