Question about my D55e

[fronobulax]

When I talk about development or evolution I am talking about the manufacturing processes and not the instrument design.

Since the purpose of the prototype was to show that the factory could produce Guilds (since they had much experience producing guitars) it makes sense that at some point they would have to demonstrate that they could make the headstock inlays and the desired headstock shape.

I think of the process as Guild having a design in mind and the factory made changes so that the design could be produced in production quantities. Changes in the instruments produced mean the factory was getting better and not that the design had changed. (Although there could be design changes if the design was too difficult or expensive to produce).

I am using the word "prototype" in the way it was used in conversations with New Hartford employees but if you say "Maybe this isn't a prototype after all maybe it IS an early early stage of development guitar?" you may be using a different definition or a different understanding of the process that created the instruments.

 

[Phoenix 602]

Update: I've installed the bridge doctor with success and I've leveled the frets. I've got the new nut and saddle and was able to get it to full tension, it plays except string 1 and 2 frets 1-4. Other than that it's a player. If i shim the saddle on the treble side to clear the frets it sits way to high in the bridge. I still havent been able to get any relief on the neck. The Allen screw turns but
it doesnt seem to actually do anything. If I could literally get just hairs width of relief I'd be sitting pretty sweet....instead I'm pulling out what hair I have left. If I could afford to take this to a luthier I would do it. Because I'm only $200 into this so another $3-400, I imagine, to get it squared up would be sooo worth it except any respectable luthier here has a 1yr wait list and i just dont have the funds to do it. ....I dont even know what to do from this point. I just feel fuqn deflated rt now

 

[Neal]

Try backing off the tension on the Bridge Doctor, perhaps half a turn to start.

 

[wileypickett]

What Neal said. Give it a couple weeks and keep the guitar hydrated too.

The JV72 I installed a BD on (now belongs to Rich Cohen) was badly bellied behind the bridge and had a pronounced dip around the soundhole when I got it. The BD fixed the bellying pretty much right away (I go slow, keep the guitar well-hydrated and tighten just a little bit every couple days or so), but the dip in front of the bridge eventually flattened out too -- a bonus as I wasn't expecting it.

But it was almost a year before it got its original shape back!

 

[geoguy]

If only the B & e strings are problematic, at frets 1 thru 4, maybe the nut slots for those two strings are too low?

To test this, you could temporarily slip a piece of folded paper or aluminum foil under those two strings at the nut. See if that gives you better action on those two strings, at the first few frets.

If that works, you could either cut a new nut or backfill the B & e string slots with bone dust (or baking soda) and super glue.

 

[Phoenix 602]

Ahh yes the super glue trick I'm quite aware of but I wish It was the nut. I found a nut that was

44.07mmx4.98mmx9.30mm (for a Les Paul). It fits nicely but it put the string height to high making it difficult to even fret the 1st fret. I went with that one cuz it was little taller to try and compensate the low action on the treble side which made it a little more playable but still wasn't enough. I will upload some pics today. How does backing off the tension from the BD gonna help here? That's the opposite of what I'm trying to do. The belly bulge was almost unnoticeable from the start now it appears to be alot flatter. I believe it's the tension rod. Like the rod itself is froze or something because it does nothing when adjusted. The adjustment screw turns and I can feel when it loosens and tightens but theres no neck reaction one way or the other, and these are supposed to be double action truss rods in these are they not? ​

 

[Neal]

As you tighten a bridge doctor, it pulls the guitar top down and lowers the strings to the fretboard, in addition to flattening the top. And this continues to happen for quite a while after you tighten it, as the guitar adjusts to this pulling action. Loosening it just a bit might raise the buzzing strings just enough for you to get the playability you want. Can't hurt to try.

For what it's worth, I had a Bridge Doctor in my '73 D-35 for a number of years. It was not until I decided to remove it to see how the tone changed that I realized that the top had re-learned how to stay flat. The BD has been out of that guitar for over two years now under full string tension and has not changed.

 

[Phoenix 602]

I will certainly give it a try.

 

[geoguy]

I think I now understand what you were saying most-recently.

Your last photo appears to show that the B and e strings are touching the frets closest to the soundhole. Is that correct?

Can you place a straight edge on the fretboard, and tell us where it aligns with respect to the top of the bridge? For example, is it near the top of the bridge, or some distance above the top of the bridge?

 

[Neal]

Either the guitar is very dry, or the neck is over-set. The saddle is very tall, which would suggest the latter.

I'm not sure what you are trying to correct with the Bridge Doctor, but as it is pulling the top down, it is likely contributing to the low action.

 

[GardMan]

Looking at the last pic sighting down the neck, I see a neck with a back bow...

At this point, I think the best advice would be for you to take your guitar to a competent luthier/guitar tech for some "hands on" evaluation and adjustment. IMO, there is potentially too much going on here to be diagnosed w/o having the guitar in hand.

 

[Heath]

On a positive note, I’m not seeing much that a competent luthier couldn’t handle as a more or less basic setup.

 

[Phoenix 602]

Okay well heres the good news. I'm not incompetent as i once thought because even a competent luthier was having problems figuring out exactly what the issue was. But its come to the conclusion that it needs neck reset which is the bad news. I originally was gonna take it to Atomic Guitars. Much respect for them, but they had a 3 week turn around for a basic setup. So I took it to Sam Ash where their luthier recognized what was going on but was unsure exactly why it was going on. I asked him to do a basic setup and he said he couldn't make any promises. Well he calls me few hours later to tell me that it needs a neck reset but isn't capable of doing it there cuz Its an extensive repair.i forget his name at sam ash, nice fellow though, pretty smart, but hes referring me to Steadfast guitars in Glendale,az. From what hes telling me its gonna run me bout 350 and it's about a week turn around. So I have to go pick up my guitar today and talk with this guy at Steadfast. I know you guys dont live in my area but have any of you heard of this Steadfast guitars? The other good about it is it's only 350$, hopefully, and it's totally worth for me to have the repair done. Only problem is money is tight around here so while 350 doesnt sound like very much it's, at the very least, 250 more than Ive got. I also get the feeling that $350 prolly wont cover refinishing of the guitar which means the repair will most likely be very evident. My only hope really is that I can maybe finance the repair. I dont know for sure yet though. Regardless of the outcome I want to thank everybody on this thread who has provided so much knowledge, insight and genuine help that you've given me on my first Guild. Good to see that there are still good people in this world that are willing to give a hand up. For that I thank you. I will update with the outcome of my visit with Steadfast Guitars once I know and if all goes well ill update in a week and tell you how it sounds hopefully.

 

[davismanLV]

Maybe contact member @Darryl Hattenhauer who lives in Phoenix, AZ and see if he knows this business. He's not on here as regularly as he used to be, but he may be able to help you. He's a super nice guy. Send him a PM and see what happens. Can't hurt.

 

[Heath]

I’ve paid $350 for resets that did including finishing around the heel, so it might be considered part of the repair.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Maybe contact member @Darryl Hattenhauer who lives in Phoenix, AZ and see if he knows this business. He's not on here as regularly as he used to be, but he may be able to help you. He's a super nice guy. Send him a PM and see what happens. Can't hurt.

That's right. I'm irregular.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Okay well heres the good news. I'm not incompetent as i once thought because even a competent luthier was having problems figuring out exactly what the issue was. But its come to the conclusion that it needs neck reset which is the bad news. I originally was gonna take it to Atomic Guitars. Much respect for them, but they had a 3 week turn around for a basic setup. So I took it to Sam Ash where their luthier recognized what was going on but was unsure exactly why it was going on. I asked him to do a basic setup and he said he couldn't make any promises. Well he calls me few hours later to tell me that it needs a neck reset but isn't capable of doing it there cuz Its an extensive repair.i forget his name at sam ash, nice fellow though, pretty smart, but hes referring me to Steadfast guitars in Glendale,az. From what hes telling me its gonna run me bout 350 and it's about a week turn around. So I have to go pick up my guitar today and talk with this guy at Steadfast. I know you guys dont live in my area but have any of you heard of this Steadfast guitars? The other good about it is it's only 350$, hopefully, and it's totally worth for me to have the repair done. Only problem is money is tight around here so while 350 doesnt sound like very much it's, at the very least, 250 more than Ive got. I also get the feeling that $350 prolly wont cover refinishing of the guitar which means the repair will most likely be very evident. My only hope really is that I can maybe finance the repair. I dont know for sure yet though. Regardless of the outcome I want to thank everybody on this thread who has provided so much knowledge, insight and genuine help that you've given me on my first Guild. Good to see that there are still good people in this world that are willing to give a hand up. For that I thank you. I will update with the outcome of my visit with Steadfast Guitars once I know and if all goes well ill update in a week and tell you how it sounds hopefully.

Hi 602,

Despite the lame name (which sounds like it's a store for teenagers), Atomic is probably the best in all of Arizona and beyond. Three weeks is a short wait, imho. A good alternative is Boogie Music on Cactus Road at 35th Avenue, but you can wait a year with them. John Rickard just left town until next fall. Chuck Cellino died. I haven't heard of Steadfast before, but imho $350 is cheap. I'll bet Atomic costs at least $500.

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

PS, Arizona's best independent dealer in used guitars and parts is John Kally (who splits his time between Phoenix and Prescott), and he takes all of his work to Atomic.

 

[Phoenix 602]

Thank man, yeah I tried Atomic for the orginal basic setup and it was 2-3 week turnaround. The guys been pulling 14 hrs days so i went to sam ash. The Steadfast Guitars is the place that Sam Ash luthier is referring me to. I starting to think maybe I should have taken some certified luthier courses instead of welding. Lol. Thanks mr. Hattenhauer for the Info.

 

[Phoenix 602]

Update: so the luthier at Steadfast Guitars has had my guild since the middle of march. Originally he said he'd need to rehydrate it for a couple weeks to try and get it where it needs to be. He was very optimistic that it would alleviate the problem and a neck reset wouldnt be necessary. He finally called me today because I left him a vm about a status update and he trys to explain how I put the BD in the wrong spot so it was pushing on the top of the actual guitar and that even if he moved it to the right position that he didnt feel confident that it would fix it and he'd be willing to cut his losses and give me back my guitar. So he says c'mon down to the shop and we'll go over your options. I get there he opens the case and shows me that I did miss the bridge plate with the BD and you could see where it was trying to come thru the top. He hands it to me and I'm looking at it and I almost hit the floor. The guitar was severely finished checked. I couldn't even get the words out of my mouth. I felt like somebody just killed my dog, stole my car and banged my ole lady. My heart is still in my stomach rt now. The top and the sides were so checked that it looks horrible. When I finally found my voice and said what happened to my guitar it didnt look like this at all when I brought it to you cuz if it looked like that when I bought it I never would have! He turns quiet not a word out of him. Silence for almost 2 whole mins. So my guitar is pretty much fuqn ruined now. I noticed it was pretty cold in his shop about 68°-72° I'd estimate. In Az coming from the outside in to the AC you can feel the temperature. And theres is a 30° difference between night and day here But if the guitar never leaves the shop then that doesnt really come in to play. I even asked him if thought maybe cuz it was so cold in his shop it could have caused that and he denied it blaming it on the Az weather. I shook my head. I gave him that guitar in beautiful condition in a fur lined leather takamine case which us designed to help keep the guitar warm. Now I was willing to take partial blame because the pressure from the BD was pushing the top up which in turn could have had something to do with the cause of the checking. I believe it was the temperature in his shop that started it and the BD helped make it worse. ...at first I couldn't understand why instead of showing me how I put the BD in wrong he didnt just drill out his plug and move it and replug it. He should have at least backed the screw off to relieve the over pressure once he noticed it I think cuz he didnt notice until after the plug was glued in and he didn't want to redo it and I also think he knows hes the reason for the checking. Cuz only work he did was rehydrate it in its case, cut a new saddle and nut and put in a plug. I'm so beside myself that the guitar is worthless now.
I feel so deflated and saddened. Idk what to do. I would have rather of had the bridge problem and no checking then to have it playable but the finish all jacked up.