Wow, Medium gauge strings saved my D35...

[Westerly Wood]

I do not know how the dude did it, but I brought my D35 to the Guitar Sanctuary in McKinney TX. The owner has a couple Guilds himself, so he looked over my D35. The idea was to increase the tension on the neck and then do a truss rod adjustment that actually lowered the strings closer to the fretboard. My D35 is very slick to play now, and the approach gave the guitar a bolder tone. I was not sure how I would acclimate to medium gauge strings but I really like them. Great sustain, projection and playability, and the guitar/tech/owner of the shop was impressed with my D35s overall condition considering its age. He also mentioned that Guild Dreads are great for medium gauge strings, that light gauge didn't even come to the market till the 70s. So, it is quite possible that my D35 left Westerly at the end of 1972 with .13-.56 on them.

Anyway, who knew. Guild D35 1, Neck Reset 0....

I will keep my D25 as it is, for whatever reason, she plays really nice with lights...I do not want to mess with that one at all. But it sure is good to have my D35 tip top.

I still am perplexed as to what he actually did with the truss rod adjustment. He said, "well, younger guitar techs and luthiers will say 'You can't do what I just did', but clearly you can".

 

[killdeer43]

You night try these on your D25. Nice combination of mediums and lights. And who knows, you might like 'em. :tranquillity:

Joe

 

[Westerly Wood]

You night try these on your D25. Nice combination of mediums and lights. And who knows, you might like 'em. :tranquillity:

Joe

My D25 is a hog top, so will not PB kind of deaden the sound? I always thought PB was best for spruce tops.

 

[killdeer43]

My D25 is a hog top, so will not PB kind of deaden the sound? I always thought PB was best for spruce tops.

Others might have a more definitive answer for you, but I just know that these strings worked for a D15 I had, so.... :torn:

Joe

 

[Westerly Wood]

thanks Joe.

 

[PhilD]

It's great to get nice surprises once in a while, particularly when it comes to your guitars ! I do most of my own work but it is nice to have skilled hands work some magic when times call for it. Phil D

 

[Westerly Wood]

It's great to get nice surprises once in a while, particularly when it comes to your guitars ! I do most of my own work but it is nice to have skilled hands work some magic when times call for it. Phil D

yes, good find for sure!

 

[Neal]

Still trying to figure out how that would work. Use heavier gauge strings to add additional pull on the neck, then make a truss rod adjustment to pull it back? That might make sense if the neck relief was out of whack more than the neck angle.

Worth a try on my D-35, which is in borderline neck reset territory.

Neal

 

[Westerly Wood]

Still trying to figure out how that would work. Use heavier gauge strings to add additional pull on the neck, then make a truss rod adjustment to pull it back? That might make sense if the neck relief was out of whack more than the neck angle.

Worth a try on my D-35, which is in borderline neck reset territory.

Neal

the difference was amazing. I still prefer my D25, but this "adjustment" saved me for the D35.

 

[taabru45]

Sometimes uneven contact at the bottom of the saddle makes a big difference it's out of square or not quite flat.. Steffan

 

[Neal]

Woody, I work out of my house, and today I played my D-25 a good part of the day when I was supposed to be working. Damn thing is going to get me fired!

Neal

 

[Westerly Wood]

Woody, I work out of my house, and today I played my D-25 a good part of the day when I was supposed to be working. Damn thing is going to get me fired!

Neal

Those flat back, hog topped, early 70 D25s are deceptively awesome till you realize they are just plain awesome. I want to a/b mine against a D50. I bet the warmth is very similar.

 

[Neal]

Totally different, guitars, Woody. I would not describe a D-50 as "warm". I would describe the D-50 as "cannon".

The D-25 is simply awesome in its own way; warm, almost smokey sounding, but punchy when you want to emphasize a note. There is a fairly quick decay to the sustain, providing good separation between notes. "Sweet" is the word I would use. Excellent fingerpicker.

The D-50 is bright, resonant, ringing, in-your-face loud, with the rosewood imparting a "grand piano" quality to the tone. The sustain is just forever. Downside is that individual notes can sometimes get lost. I have yet to find a way to overdrive the top of my D-50. Excellent strummer and flatpicker.

Not that the D-25 can't sound great flatpicked and strummed, and not that the D-50 can't sound great fingerpicked. I have just taken to naturally picking up one or the other depending on what I am looking for musically.

By the way, there is a really cool-looking D-50 on ebay right now that has the most interesting crazing and weather checking I have ever seen. Worth checking out.

Neal

'71 D-25BR
'73 D-35NT
'77 D-50NT
'81 D-212SB

 

[Westerly Wood]

Totally different, guitars, Woody. I would not describe a D-50 as "warm". I would describe the D-50 as "cannon".

The D-25 is simply awesome in its own way; warm, almost smokey sounding, but punchy when you want to emphasize a note. There is a fairly quick decay to the sustain, providing good separation between notes. "Sweet" is the word I would use. Excellent fingerpicker.

The D-50 is bright, resonant, ringing, in-your-face loud, with the rosewood imparting a "grand piano" quality to the tone. The sustain is just forever. Downside is that individual notes can sometimes get lost. I have yet to find a way to overdrive the top of my D-50. Excellent strummer and flatpicker.

Not that the D-25 can't sound great flatpicked and strummed, and not that the D-50 can't sound great fingerpicked. I have just taken to naturally picking up one or the other depending on what I am looking for musically.

By the way, there is a really cool-looking D-50 on ebay right now that has the most interesting crazing and weather checking I have ever seen. Worth checking out.

Neal

'71 D-25BR
'73 D-35NT
'77 D-50NT
'81 D-212SB

Thanks for the info Neal. I got to try a D50 one day. My D35 is just a lost guitar to me now, and I don't want to invest in it. It is a good backup and I will give it to whichever of my kids takes up guitar. My main guitar is the D25. I am in no hurry to add more, but when I do, it will be a Guild. I am going to try and stay Westerly if I can, but if I meander over to CA, WA or CT, I know it will be ok. .

 

[Westerly Wood]

Not sure if I put this here or in member's music section. Here is clip of D35 with mediums. I now want to do same with my D25. Mediums are great, the D35now really projects, fuller tone.

http://youtu.be/dTpWF6OnUQs

 

[john_m]

Not sure if I put this here or in member's music section. Here is clip of D35 with mediums. I now want to do same with my D25. Mediums are great, the D35now really projects, fuller tone.

http://youtu.be/dTpWF6OnUQs

Sounds excellent! I want to try mediums on mine, but I'm afraid the guitar would collapse on itself. The bracing needs to be reglued first!

 

[Westerly Wood]

Sounds excellent! I want to try mediums on mine, but I'm afraid the guitar would collapse on itself. The bracing needs to be reglued first!

Thanks John. I want to put them on my D25 now. Really made a difference.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

I do not know how the dude did it, but I brought my D35 to the Guitar Sanctuary in McKinney TX. The owner has a couple Guilds himself, so he looked over my D35. The idea was to increase the tension on the neck and then do a truss rod adjustment that actually lowered the strings closer to the fretboard. My D35 is very slick to play now, and the approach gave the guitar a bolder tone. I was not sure how I would acclimate to medium gauge strings but I really like them. Great sustain, projection and playability, and the guitar/tech/owner of the shop was impressed with my D35s overall condition considering its age. He also mentioned that Guild Dreads are great for medium gauge strings, that light gauge didn't even come to the market till the 70s. So, it is quite possible that my D35 left Westerly at the end of 1972 with .13-.56 on them.

Anyway, who knew. Guild D35 1, Neck Reset 0....

I will keep my D25 as it is, for whatever reason, she plays really nice with lights...I do not want to mess with that one at all. But it sure is good to have my D35 tip top.

I still am perplexed as to what he actually did with the truss rod adjustment. He said, "well, younger guitar techs and luthiers will say 'You can't do what I just did', but clearly you can".

"Light gauge didn't even come to the market till the 70s"? I started using Lights in '66 or '67, so he's probably only off by a few years, a decade, tops, anyway!

 

[Westerly Wood]

"Light gauge didn't even come to the market till the 70s"? I started using Lights in '66 or '67, so he's probably only off by a few years, a decade, tops, anyway!

Yes, I didn't take his word as gold on this one