- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
- Messages
- 995
- Reaction score
- 2,596
I received the 1961 Emerald Star II this week from Reverb. No issues beyond what I already expected. The neck is large, in a good way. Right around 1.75” at the nut and 2.16” at the 12th fret. The refret looks good and it plays really well. It does feel strange however with all of the non-Guild (Gibson inspired) parts . It just doesn’t “feel“ like a Guild. That’s something I can rectify!
This is what it looked like when it arrived. You will notice the white wax or polish residue in ALL of the cracks and paint checks
Step 1 is complete. The body has been stripped of all non-Guild items (except the bushings for the Nashville bridge). It was then cleaned with naphtha before using a rubbing compound and then polish. I am surprised how good the finish looks now on this 1961 guitar and the binding has zero shrinkage or cracks. This green is DARK.
The previous routes to install the humbuckers were done pretty good with a router and the Nashville bridge studs are reinforced properly from the inside. Pleasant surprises. I now need to wire in the HB-1 pickups and start building it back up with the proper vintage Guild parts. I have installed one of the Guild strap buttons and it already looks more correct! Pictures:
This is what it looked like when it arrived. You will notice the white wax or polish residue in ALL of the cracks and paint checks
Step 1 is complete. The body has been stripped of all non-Guild items (except the bushings for the Nashville bridge). It was then cleaned with naphtha before using a rubbing compound and then polish. I am surprised how good the finish looks now on this 1961 guitar and the binding has zero shrinkage or cracks. This green is DARK.
The previous routes to install the humbuckers were done pretty good with a router and the Nashville bridge studs are reinforced properly from the inside. Pleasant surprises. I now need to wire in the HB-1 pickups and start building it back up with the proper vintage Guild parts. I have installed one of the Guild strap buttons and it already looks more correct! Pictures: