New to Guild

JohnW63

Enlightened Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2012
Messages
6,293
Reaction score
2,217
Location
Southern California
Guild Total
4
"Do you guys suggest Guitar Center for repairs? " My response was have been a more emphatic NO, than you got from other posters.

I used the sponge in the travel soap container method to humidify. Like shown in this video:


A good luthier or repair place can make that crack almost go away. It depends how old and rough the crack is. That's where the two halves of the top of the guitar are glued together. If it gets really dry, the two halves shrink and the glued seam opens up.

Once you find a GOOD place, have them check the setup on the guitar too. It has been played hard , in the past. It might need a few more things done to it. If the action is too high, it's harder to play and when you press down on the string the note sound will go slightly out of tune. It is a quality instrument. It's worth putting some money back into.
 

Aarfy

Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2020
Messages
226
Reaction score
181
Guild Total
4
Welcome - good folks around here so stick around! Yes humidify humidify humidify - I don’t have anything else to add than those more knowledgeable than me already have but wanted to say welcome - they’ve been good to me over the past year and I’ve learned a lot!
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
Mandolin Brothers used to be on Staten Island. And by "used to be" I think they closed up about ten years ago.
Right, that is 300 Miles away!
And since we talk about Mandolin Bros.: The name of the business was sold in 2017 to a guitar collector in California and he even operates an online shop. "The buyer is the type of person who bought and sold instruments for most of his adult life. He never had a brick and mortar store, and was looking for a brand,..." For repairs he refers to other businesses on the new webpage:


A bit of history about the selling process and the reasons for it:

Ralf
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Guild Total
1
I searched Mandolin Brothers Syracuse, nothing came up obviously but a place called Gorham Brothers did. I think I'll go talk with them and see what they say.
 

dreadnut

Gone But Not Forgotten
Gone But Not Forgotten
Joined
Jun 15, 2005
Messages
16,082
Reaction score
6,442
Location
Grand Rapids, MI
Guild Total
2
Guess it's been awhile since I visited Mandolin Bros. online...
 

chazmo

Super Moderator
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
25,457
Reaction score
7,114
Location
Central Massachusetts
Definitely follow Taylor's instructions in the viddies Tom posted and get that thing humditty'd up. You should see the crack close up rather quickly when you over-humidify it in its case with the dampits/sponges. I'd strongly recommend that you get that long crack looked at by experienced eyes and get it cleated (minimum). Hopefully there's no damage to the bridge plate. If not, it won't be a costly repair. The other crazing on the soundboard is not structural (unless I missed something).

Final comment is that you'll need to re-evaluate how you're storing the guitar while you're getting it fixed. You either need room humidification or case humidification, depending on what you're doing with the axe.
 

beecee

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2016
Messages
3,569
Reaction score
2,411
Hey Sleepy Otter, sorry for the delayed response.

Call Robert MacBlane in Preble, just south of Tully. He is great. I had a similar issue w/a guitar that was severely dehydrated when I bought it. Brought it to him and he re hydrated then did the fix. Well under $200. Took a few weeks but he did the fix when it was ready.

He has worked on all my guitars.

I just pm'd you.

Gorham has a couple good guys but I think you'd be better served at MacBlane.
 
Last edited:

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,790
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
The buzz for sure comes from the dry condition the guitar is in! Humidity and temperature change the wood.

For string height measurement see here:

Ralf
Welcome aboard SleepyOtter!! Not only the humidity issue, but I'm 99.9% sure that's not the original saddle. Guild didn't use compensated (the offset "notch" for the B string) saddles on jumbo flattops until about '05 in Tacoma, as far as I know. Putting it right may help solve the buzzing, since right now the bass strings are probably too low.

Saddles are normally a little taller on the bass side and gradually lower on the treble side. Also the curve along the top is supposed to match the curve ("radius") of the fretboard, which as you may have noticed isn't perfectly flat.
 

Br1ck

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2014
Messages
1,671
Reaction score
1,414
Location
San Jose, Ca
Anywhere will be a better choice than Guitar Center. A repaired crack will not effect performance. It might take longer, but a luthier could handle the humidity issue. In addition to the crack, have a setup done, and I'd personally have the frets dressed as part of that. The guitar will then give you many years of use. Ask the luthier how best to maintain proper humidity.
 

79D25MMan

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 17, 2021
Messages
54
Reaction score
37
Location
Eagle, ID
Guild Total
1
So I recently purchased a Guild guitar without knowing much about them. When I got the guitar I was amazed at how it played ( the cosmetic condition was subpar but I didn't care that much). After owning the guitar for a while I noticed it didn't play as well. Being a Novice player I just figured it was my own lack of practice. After some frustrating sessions I started to notice the guitar was beginning to show some fatigue I hadn't noticed before. I need of some direction on what to do.
Guild 1.jpg
Guild 3.jpg
Guild 2.jpg

Just curious, how much did you pay? Thats a nice axe!
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
879
Reaction score
58
Location
North Hollywood/Burbank, CA
That’s a nice guitar, and you’re getting great advice here! Humidify, crack repair, thorough inspection, new strings, fresh setup, and you should be good to go for a long time, as long as you keep up occasional maintenance! Welcome aboard!
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2021
Messages
8
Reaction score
1
Guild Total
1
Just curious, how much did you pay? Thats a nice axe!


Got the guitar in the case with a dampit now, crack is closing up but still going to have it looked at! Thanks for all the responses.

I paid $800 for the guitar and when I got it it smelled like it was in my grandparents basement for 40 years and it was covered in dust.
 
Top