Was I too big of a coward?

[Clem]

I spent the last half of this week at CAAS (Chet Atkins Appreciations Society annual convention). A lot of great pickers there. One of the vendors had a used Guild X170. It was blonde and not a mark on it, looked brand new. I’m not sure of the year but it was Corona made. I played it acoustically and it played really nice, had flatwound strings on it. The price was $999, which I thought was a really good price. I thought about it and decided I was going to buy it. On the way back to look at it I made a mental note to check the bridge to make sure it had plenty of room for adjustment. When I looked at it again I realized the bridge (which I believe to be the original - rosewood with gold thumbwheels) was absolutely as low as it could go. This made me think that it possibly needed a neck reset. Does that seem likely for a guitar that is not that old? So I chickened out and didn’t buy it. I wish I would have thought to look to see how much clearance their was between the bridge pickup and the strings but I didn’t think of that at the time. I’d be interested in any comments.

 

[krysh]

go for it, you can even sand the base of the bridge if necessary.

 

[yettoblaster]

I've noticed that the geometry on X 170's I've seen is a bit "straighter" than my X-150.

There's a used one in San Jose from 1988 (Westerly) that is low on the bridge. 'Course it's also 22 years old. They want a lot more than $999 though ($1699). I'd go for it. I've been known to grind down tune-o-matics if need be.

 

[Walter Broes]

X170's are known for having a weak neck angle, I've even seen one where the owner discarded the bridge base altogether and installed a tune-a-matic bridge with the posts straight into the top, Gibson ES335-style.

Not necessarily a problem at all if you don't plan on installing a B-6 style Bigsby.

 

[yettoblaster]

I never thought of that!

That would be a great fix on a guitar with a strong maple top like that. You could even leave a set of thumb adjust wheels down on the top on some guitars for support if it was on a spruce top.

 

[Walter Broes]

Yep, if it works on a hollow laminated guitar like an ES330 (and those often came from the factory with the double thumbweels), it should be no problem on an X170.

 

[yettoblaster]

...it works on a hollow laminated guitar like an ES330...

Oh yes, I had an old Kalamazoo Epiphone Casino like that (same thing really). It did have some extra support wood under there (which I pried out to get more "jazz" sounds, not that I would admit that here ), but I do remember it had extra wheels.

Geez, I've forgotten more than I ever knew.

 

[Walter Broes]

X170's even have a fairly big, large soundpost ,so it should be no problem at all.

Grant Green got some wonderful Jazz tones out of a 330!! :!:

 

[yettoblaster]

X170's even have a fairly big, large soundpost ,so it should be no problem at all.

Grant Green got some wonderful Jazz tones out of a 330!! :!:

Yeah, the '88 locally has that big post. Kind of a Gretsch thing, to my mind.

And yes, Grant Green definitely a fave. Liked the sounds on his ES-300 too. George Benson was influenced by Grant Green. Especially the tones!

I love P-90's and had a '54 ES-175 that was perfect sounding. Unfortunately at that time I was playing in a piano bar that had a pinball machine in the next room, lots of neon, etc. Very noisy, even after I sheilded it as best I could. Everytime somebody dropped a coin into that pinball machine, a huge "Ka-CHUNK" blasted out of my amp! I could turn away from my amp and the neon lights for hum, but nothing stopped that "ka-chunk" every five minutes!

 

[Walter Broes]

Ouch! Plenty of experience with annoying lights, but a pinball machine? Who'd have thought?!?

 

[Brad Little]

Very noisy, even after I sheilded it as best I could. Everytime somebody dropped a coin into that pinball machine, a huge "Ka-CHUNK" blasted out of my amp! I could turn away from my amp and the neon lights for hum, but nothing stopped that "ka-chunk" every five minutes!

A few of these placed on all exposed cables (including the power cable) as close to the amp as possible might solve (or at least diminish) the interference.
Brad
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=3012599

 

[Clem]

Thanks for all of the great responses. The guitar is gone but at least I'll have a little more knowledge the next time.

 

[Smiert Spionam]

Good info here. I'd still have been a bit cautious, though. An archtop with a weak neck angle, even if it can be made playable, will never play and sound as good as one that's got appropriate tension on the top. It matters less with a slim soundpost guitar like the X170, but it's still not ideal. $1k is a great price for one that's ready to go, but not a deal at all if it needs a neck reset.