Here are a few pics of my T100D taken before treking her up to Houston for a headstock repair (see last pic). The pics were taken outside on an overcast day so the tint is a bit orange and dark. I'll try to do better after I get her back and cleaned up for an update posting.
I'm conveying the story of my 20yr history with this guitar partly because I might find some undertanding amoung the denizens of LTG for what most consider a misguided obsession and partly because the info might be of use to the similarly afflicted.
"Guild" has had a magical connotation for me since childhood when I first heard someone playing a Dred. The sound of that guitar haunted and inspired me to learn how to play. I don't know what model it was, "Guild" was enough.
I got deep into blues/blues rock while in Austin 20-25yrs ago (living down the street from Antoine's could do that to ya). Sans guitara, I developed an overwhelming need to work on blues fundamentals, riffs, barre chords, etc. But, short on cash and living in an efficiency apt, a Les Paul with a Marshall stack wasn't going to happen. I didn't want that anyway. I thought a hollowbody electric would best fit my needs: action like an electric and perfect for practicing without amplification. Then, if I ever wanted to take it further, I could get an amp.
Guitar store and even pawn shop hollowbodies were more than I could afford until I came across an ad for the T-100-D pictured below. From the asking price, I figured it had some issues but I took a look anyway. A headstock crack, like the one pictured below, was evident and the action/setup wasn't what it should be, indicating a truss rod problem. But, with light guage strings it played suprisingly well, plenty good enough for my immediate purposes. Judging from the first position fretboard wear, missing pickguard and deep cigarette burns in the headstock face (from keeping lit cigs under the strings), this guitar had been a player. After discussing the neck & headstock, the seller said $90 was the best he could do and, obviously, I walked away with the guitar... wondering if I made a mistake because that was serious money to me back then and it meant my Camaro didn't get a much needed Pitman arm.
I think I got my money's worth because I used it to get my chops worked out and when I moved on to more serious jamming & gigging I got a Tele. Replacing the totally worn out tuners helped the Guild, but the weakened headstock & un trussed neck made it too troublesome to keep in tune and not playable enough for my new needs. Because the truss rod problem was in its anchor at the base of the neck, luthiers weren't keen on setting the guitar straight. Until, years later...
A friend called raving about how much fun he was having with a Fender Jazz bass. He said it had a lost cause truss rod problem but a guy that we went to high school with, Thomas Bertrand (RIP) of disc golf fame, had fixed it. He said Thomas had been doing some amazing work on lost cause guitars and suggested I have him look at my Guild.
So, I brought it to Thomas and the result was phenomenal. He fixed the truss rod anchor. Apparently, he pinned it by drilling a very small hole through the fretboard at the base of the neck. He fixed the headstock crack, the cigarette damage to the front and added binding. But, the most amazing part was how well the guitar played. Thomas refinished the back of the neck, dressed the frets and set the action up perfectly. Fretting was effortless, the action fast and no buzzes anywhere on the fretboard...just a pure, clean note. All props to Thomas because he made it one of the best playing guitars that I have ever encountered, certainly the best that I have owned.
After getting home, I plugged her in and played like I never had before. Previously, I hadn't played her much through an amp and as our romance developed I found the tone to be directly accessible through my fingertips to a degree that I haven't encountered in any other guitar. I know that any turned up guitar, tuned into the amp will deliver more tone control to the fingers, but not like this guitar! The range of expressiveness that can effortlessly be squezzed out of this baby blows me away. Its like a direct connection into the base of the brain...feel it and the guitar sings it. Maybe, its the "Franz" pups, but I've not found another guitar, Guild or otherwise, that can turn me on and up like this one.
But, the romance was short lived. I hadn't played for years before Thomas infused me with Guild magic and I didn't have time to play. Also, the headstock crack began to open up again or it had gotten droped or whatever. I just stopped playing many years ago and the Guild gathered dust.
Howver, I have been jamming a bit with friends lately and I need a guitar to fill the same role that I first bought the Guild for. So, as I write, she is in the skilled hands of Neil Sargent in Houston. On the way to Neil's, I stopped by another luthier's shop to get his opinion. He said that the headstock repair would cost $100-150 and the guitar wasn't worth it. He suggested playing it until it was unplayable and then parting it out because the few hundred dollars I could get for the parts, in his opinion, is more than the complete guitar is worth. Hey, if I could find a good playing T100D for $150 I would buy it. That being very unlikely, I can, alternatively, fix this one for that price and have a great playing, fun guitar. Is my logic wrong here?
OK, that's the story. Here are my questions:
Could the knobs be original? Everyone seems to think that they are Gibson but I've seen similar on older T100s, although not in this color. If they are incorrect, what style is right?
How about the pickguard and truss rod cover? I want to make a pickguard from the template that jp posted because that is the style that I like best. Is it correct for this year/model? Anyone have a link to a close up of the chevron/guild insignia on the pickguard?
What tr cover is correct for this guitar? MichaelK has a guitar that could be my guitar's twin (link below). Is that what mine should have looked like when new?
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10620&p=110891&hilit=t100d#p110891
OK. There ya go. The story of another fool obsessed with mystical Guild sound.
I hope to update soon,
Leo
I'm conveying the story of my 20yr history with this guitar partly because I might find some undertanding amoung the denizens of LTG for what most consider a misguided obsession and partly because the info might be of use to the similarly afflicted.
"Guild" has had a magical connotation for me since childhood when I first heard someone playing a Dred. The sound of that guitar haunted and inspired me to learn how to play. I don't know what model it was, "Guild" was enough.
I got deep into blues/blues rock while in Austin 20-25yrs ago (living down the street from Antoine's could do that to ya). Sans guitara, I developed an overwhelming need to work on blues fundamentals, riffs, barre chords, etc. But, short on cash and living in an efficiency apt, a Les Paul with a Marshall stack wasn't going to happen. I didn't want that anyway. I thought a hollowbody electric would best fit my needs: action like an electric and perfect for practicing without amplification. Then, if I ever wanted to take it further, I could get an amp.
Guitar store and even pawn shop hollowbodies were more than I could afford until I came across an ad for the T-100-D pictured below. From the asking price, I figured it had some issues but I took a look anyway. A headstock crack, like the one pictured below, was evident and the action/setup wasn't what it should be, indicating a truss rod problem. But, with light guage strings it played suprisingly well, plenty good enough for my immediate purposes. Judging from the first position fretboard wear, missing pickguard and deep cigarette burns in the headstock face (from keeping lit cigs under the strings), this guitar had been a player. After discussing the neck & headstock, the seller said $90 was the best he could do and, obviously, I walked away with the guitar... wondering if I made a mistake because that was serious money to me back then and it meant my Camaro didn't get a much needed Pitman arm.
I think I got my money's worth because I used it to get my chops worked out and when I moved on to more serious jamming & gigging I got a Tele. Replacing the totally worn out tuners helped the Guild, but the weakened headstock & un trussed neck made it too troublesome to keep in tune and not playable enough for my new needs. Because the truss rod problem was in its anchor at the base of the neck, luthiers weren't keen on setting the guitar straight. Until, years later...
A friend called raving about how much fun he was having with a Fender Jazz bass. He said it had a lost cause truss rod problem but a guy that we went to high school with, Thomas Bertrand (RIP) of disc golf fame, had fixed it. He said Thomas had been doing some amazing work on lost cause guitars and suggested I have him look at my Guild.
So, I brought it to Thomas and the result was phenomenal. He fixed the truss rod anchor. Apparently, he pinned it by drilling a very small hole through the fretboard at the base of the neck. He fixed the headstock crack, the cigarette damage to the front and added binding. But, the most amazing part was how well the guitar played. Thomas refinished the back of the neck, dressed the frets and set the action up perfectly. Fretting was effortless, the action fast and no buzzes anywhere on the fretboard...just a pure, clean note. All props to Thomas because he made it one of the best playing guitars that I have ever encountered, certainly the best that I have owned.
After getting home, I plugged her in and played like I never had before. Previously, I hadn't played her much through an amp and as our romance developed I found the tone to be directly accessible through my fingertips to a degree that I haven't encountered in any other guitar. I know that any turned up guitar, tuned into the amp will deliver more tone control to the fingers, but not like this guitar! The range of expressiveness that can effortlessly be squezzed out of this baby blows me away. Its like a direct connection into the base of the brain...feel it and the guitar sings it. Maybe, its the "Franz" pups, but I've not found another guitar, Guild or otherwise, that can turn me on and up like this one.
But, the romance was short lived. I hadn't played for years before Thomas infused me with Guild magic and I didn't have time to play. Also, the headstock crack began to open up again or it had gotten droped or whatever. I just stopped playing many years ago and the Guild gathered dust.
Howver, I have been jamming a bit with friends lately and I need a guitar to fill the same role that I first bought the Guild for. So, as I write, she is in the skilled hands of Neil Sargent in Houston. On the way to Neil's, I stopped by another luthier's shop to get his opinion. He said that the headstock repair would cost $100-150 and the guitar wasn't worth it. He suggested playing it until it was unplayable and then parting it out because the few hundred dollars I could get for the parts, in his opinion, is more than the complete guitar is worth. Hey, if I could find a good playing T100D for $150 I would buy it. That being very unlikely, I can, alternatively, fix this one for that price and have a great playing, fun guitar. Is my logic wrong here?
OK, that's the story. Here are my questions:
Could the knobs be original? Everyone seems to think that they are Gibson but I've seen similar on older T100s, although not in this color. If they are incorrect, what style is right?
How about the pickguard and truss rod cover? I want to make a pickguard from the template that jp posted because that is the style that I like best. Is it correct for this year/model? Anyone have a link to a close up of the chevron/guild insignia on the pickguard?
What tr cover is correct for this guitar? MichaelK has a guitar that could be my guitar's twin (link below). Is that what mine should have looked like when new?
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10620&p=110891&hilit=t100d#p110891
OK. There ya go. The story of another fool obsessed with mystical Guild sound.
I hope to update soon,
Leo
