Neck Reset Forecast Question

[Budha]

My new-to-me 1990 JF30-12 has proper neck relief (.006 & .005). The action is 6/64 at the bass E and 4/64 at the treble E. So all is good for me now. I plays great and sounds great. But I estimate the saddle has little if any room for further adjustment if needed in the future. The bridge is so thick I doubt it has been modified. String height in front of the bridge is 13/32. I understand 3/8 (12/32) is the acceptable minimum string height in front of the bridge. I was not able to obtain any history of saddle adjustments on this guitar. I keep the guitar tuned down 1/2 step with 10-47 strings. I know it is not possible to predict but do any of you have a feel for how long a Guild 12 string of this vintage and condition may avoid the need for a neck reset?

The bridge is not lifting and there is not much sign beyond a normal belly. I wonder how much saddle height this guitar had when new? I would like to get into the hands of a luthier but I want to wait until the covid slows down in South Carolina.

Thanks for any insight or personal experience.

 

[Westerly Wood]

My Br needed a neck reset for several years before I eventually got it done. It was more of a playability issue, and when I started to capo 2nd fret often in order to want to play it, I knew it was time. Yours sounds playable right now and as is, with no adjustments needed. Which is a great place to be. I suggest just staying there, in that place, till you just all of a sudden don't like the guitar anymore due to high action or lack of playability.

my 1984 D35 will need a reset in 3-5 years. I can already tell. But I will most likely wait 7. Neck resets are cheap, relatively speaking. It's more the hassle of how long will it take till you get your Guild back from the luthier

 

[Br1ck]

The reality is it could stay the way it is for many years, or change day after tomorrow.

 

[Budha]

I'm sure you are right but I am hoping for the many years version.

 

[davismanLV]

The reality is it could stay the way it is for many years, or change day after tomorrow.

What ^^^ Br1ck said!! Us telling you what you want to hear is pointless and you watching and paying attention to the neck angle will tell you when it's time, regardless of what anyone says here and now. So enjoy and relax and keep paying attention. The End.

 

[Rambozo96]

I keep hearing a neck reset on a Guild is particularly difficult, I imagine more so to a tech who isn’t familiar with them. Local guy wanted $1200 to reset a neck on G-37 I briefly owned which I guess is a bit on the high side but he’s the only one that will do a neck reset on a Guild.

 

[fronobulax]

I keep hearing a neck reset on a Guild is particularly difficult, I imagine more so to a tech who isn’t familiar with them. Local guy wanted $1200 to reset a neck on G-37 I briefly owned which I guess is a bit on the high side but he’s the only one that will do a neck reset on a Guild.

The claim that a neck reset is more difficult on a Guild is widely repeated but not always supported by anecdotes or hands on experience. The claim often gets discussed here but if someone quoted me a high price (and while markets vary I would guess $400-$800 is a reasonable price in most of the USA) I would take that as an invitation to take my business elsewhere.

 

[Rambozo96]

The claim that a neck reset is more difficult on a Guild is widely repeated but not always supported by anecdotes or hands on experience. The claim often gets discussed here but if someone quoted me a high price (and while markets vary I would guess $400-$800 is a reasonable price in most of the USA) I would take that as an invitation to take my business elsewhere.

If the time comes for either of my Guilds to have the neck reset I’ll shop around no doubt but my town doesn’t have much as far as techs. In fact the reason I learned to do my own set ups, wiring, minor repairs and mods is because I got burned too many times by local techs.

 

[Br1ck]

There is the cost of the reset, but IMHO this is the time to refret, possibly need a new nut, maybe bridge work too. I guess it's been about four years since I had my D 35 done, in the high priced SF Bay Area, and I sunk $1200 into it, but that was frets, reset, NOS bridge, nut, saddle and the sanded bare neck respray. I had bought it for $250 a decade earlier.

I think reluctance to do the work is that because the heel covers so much area, the extra heat causes finish damage often. Ask Mr. Fixit what he'd charge. Mine was done by a long term Guild warranty shop.

 

[davismanLV]

Hey Bud, glad you got your strings. When people here refer to Fixit (there is no Mr. in the name) they are referring to long time member and owner of Jacobs Custom Guitars in Merritt Island, FL named Tom Jacobs. He has a history of working at the Guild Westerly, RI factory back in the day and done work for many of us over the years and has a stellar reputation here on LTG. When I accidentally damaged one of my guitars it was a no brainer for me to ship cross country to Tom to do the work. He's trusted, tried, and true. If you need to get in touch with him you can find him HERE.

 

[Westerly Wood]

I keep hearing a neck reset on a Guild is particularly difficult, I imagine more so to a tech who isn’t familiar with them. Local guy wanted $1200 to reset a neck on G-37 I briefly owned which I guess is a bit on the high side but he’s the only one that will do a neck reset on a Guild.

you could buy a really nice Guild dread for 1200.

 

[Rambozo96]

you could buy a really nice Guild dread for 1200.

You very easily could. I think my D-25 and D-35 combined ended up being just over $1200. I never had a neck reset done on an acoustic as up until last year all of my acoustics have been kinda low end and wouldn’t make financial sense to do such a procedure on. I don’t know exactly why he asked $1200 to do it and one thing I recall was for some reason he thought the big brace under the fretboard butted up against the neck block was added on after it left the factory. I didn’t know better then so I thought maybe it was until I got a D-25 and a DC5E with that exact same brace so maybe that dude shouldn’t be first choice to do the job.

 

[Budha]

Hey Tom, I put the strings from you on my dreadnaught today. I need to give them some break-in time. So far I like them. I think my ear is changing as I get older. It has been many years since I put pb string on my dreadnaught. Phosphorus bronze strings are beginning to sound muddy to me. So far these bright bronze strings have a sound I really like. I'll let you know how they settle in. Thank you very much for sharing them with me.

 

[Westerly Wood]

You very easily could. I think my D-25 and D-35 combined ended up being just over $1200. I never had a neck reset done on an acoustic as up until last year all of my acoustics have been kinda low end and wouldn’t make financial sense to do such a procedure on. I don’t know exactly why he asked $1200 to do it and one thing I recall was for some reason he thought the big brace under the fretboard butted up against the neck block was added on after it left the factory. I didn’t know better then so I thought maybe it was until I got a D-25 and a DC5E with that exact same brace so maybe that dude shouldn’t be first choice to do the job.

when i got the Br neck reset (D25 flatback all hog), it cost 400 bucks. more like 350 plus tax but i also had him crown the frets. so 1200 to me is outlandish.

 

[Budha]

Hey Bud, glad you got your strings. When people here refer to Fixit (there is no Mr. in the name) they are referring to long time member and owner of Jacobs Custom Guitars in Merritt Island, FL named Tom Jacobs. He has a history of working at the Guild Westerly, RI factory back in the day and done work for many of us over the years and has a stellar reputation here on LTG. When I accidentally damaged one of my guitars it was a no brainer for me to ship cross country to Tom to do the work. He's trusted, tried, and true. If you need to get in touch with him you can find him HERE.

I'll reach out to Tom Jacobs and get his thoughts on my JF30-12. Thank you for telling me about him.

 

[Zelja]

When the playability becomes an issue for you then it's time. I have a'92 JF30-12 and I decided to get a neck reset done for it a few years ago when I thought the action was too high & no room left on the saddle. No regrets at all. It's almost like getting a new guitar.

 

[kostask]

I did ask my luthier buddy about neck resets on Guilds (the person doing the work on my F50R). He said that the Guild resets are not that much more difficult than the resets on other guitars, but that the finish at the neck to body join is what scares off a lot of luthiers. They don't like having to score the neck to body join before starting the steaming off process. Also, because some are inexperienced and don't know to score the nect to body join, they steam the neck joint, and end up with a lot of finish damage and a hard to remove neck.

Last time I visited with him, he was doing a neck reset on a D55. It was pretty cut and dry, no real issues.

 

[Br1ck]

You could have your bridge pin holes ramped to gain a little break angle, but please don't shave the bridge.

 

[Budha]

You could have your bridge pin holes ramped to gain a little break angle, but please don't shave the bridge.

When the time comes, I'll have the neck reset. I won't shave the bridge. Hopefully it will stay stable for many years before it reaches a point of not being playable. It is perfectly playable now. There just is no room to adjust the saddle any further. No more lowering the action by saddle lowering. I would have thought a top belly would much more noticeable by the time you had reached the limit on room to lower the saddle. I wonder if the neck angle was what it should have been when it left the factory back in 1990? I have a 2005 Martin HD-28 that has an easy to see belly and yet there is lots of room for adjusting the saddle.