S-100 woes...action too high, worth repairing?

Hi there.

I have a 1978 Guild S-100 that I quite enjoy. Sadly the action is too high at the 12th fret onwards, with the bridge all the way down. I see that after the neck joint, it slightly bends back, nothing major, but it's there.

The truss rod is adjusted with a little relief, so I suppose the only thing that I could do is get a neck reset done? Is this a normal thing to happen with older SG-style guitars?

I like everything about this guitar, but considering that repair, along with the refret it needs, I may have to let it go...

Thanks.

It really depends on how much you like it. I've got a 12 string that needs a reset and bridge. By the time I'm done with it, I'll be into it for about two bills more than I paid for it, with no regrets. If you just want to punt and sell it, do so. I think it would be worth repairing, but see how much it costs. I had my SFlll refretted and now it's a beast!

First off, welcome to the LTG, adam. I think that you'll find we will always say an S-100 is worth repairing. Or if you decide to part with it, I'm guessing there's a few of us who would love to take it off your hands. If you could post some photos, we may be able to diagnose the problem more accurately.

Thanks for the replies. I probably should of worded the title better...I am hoping to repair it, but hopefully it wouldn't need a neck reset as the bill would get a little pricy!

I'll post some pics when I get home from work tonight. I would be amazing if I'm just overlooking something and it just needs some tweaks.

Thanks,
Adam

Here's some pics. They aren't the greatest (from an iPhone) but hopefully they are of some use.

The guitar is setup nicely. Neck is pretty straight with no twist. Very little relief, a piece of paper can barely slide through at the 8th with it capo'ed at the 1st fret and fretting at the last.

Bridge is all the way down:


Action is too high starting at about the 9th fret. The neck ever so slightly bows back at about the 17th fret (hard to see from the pics), but I think the neck could of possibly been reset improperly, as the neck does look pretty good:




I believe the guitar is actually a 1972 after checking the serial. Any info would definitely be appreciated!

Thanks,
Adam

Actually upon further inspection, the neck is pretty straight now after a truss rod adjustment. But! the action is definitely too high (about 4mm at the 12th fret) with the bridge all the way down.

Aside from a (dreaded) neck reset, would a low-profile tuneomatic bridge do the trick? Anyone have some worthwhile options?

Thanks again.

Great S100 !! Find a good luthier,Fix it and Keep it.

I agree with Hagmeat... fix it and keep it! You won't regret it.

I think you should get rid of it..... TO ME!! :lol:

This is a question of economics.

Obviously, everyone on a Guild forum will tell you to fix it, keep it alive, etc but there's a very good chance that costs associated with repairs may exceed the ultimate value of the guitar at which point paying to have it fixed is a money loser.

At that point, the right economic decision is to sell it (and yes, the sale prices of guitars 'needing significant work' bear no resemblance to the prices of that same guitar in need of no work- they sell cheap) recoup some cost and buy another one. You're going to have to live with the fact that the guy who buys it cheap is going to fix it himself and love the hell out of the guitar that you wish you could've kept.

If you have some sentimental attachment to it (this is your #1 and you love it), then that's different, but sentiment is not the same as economics, so paying to have it fixed would be on the basis of emotion, not value.

I'm a net buyer of broken, cracked, damaged guitars because I can fix them myself. On the occasions when I've bumped into the original owners and they've seen the guitar once repaired, they almost always express regret for selling it like they made some huge mistake and should've kept it, without considering the 30 hours I have invested in fixing it, employing skills that they do not have.

The decision is either economic (sell) or emotional (keep and repair). Either way, you're gunna lose a little money, but life is too short to fret abut small sums of money.

The dark-horse third option is if you're skilled with woodworking, lutherie isn't quite as intimidating as some would have it seem, so you might want this to be your rookie showing (although that particular job is about a 8/10 in terms of difficulty and probably not a good first project)

There's a whole lotta truth right there......

I like with Guitar said, but I still say "fix it." Or maybe FIXIT? :wink:

well what is the final verdict?

drc said:

well what is the final verdict?

Click to expand...

It seems that besides the re-fret, there is a slight hump where the neck meets the body and the back of the back has raised from apparently the previous owner sanding down the neck allowing moisture into it.

It's still definitely playable, but with the re-fret the repair would be 400-500, close to what I spent on the guitar. It doesn't need a reset, my tech said something about applying heat to the neck without removing it or something...

I may keep it as a slide guitar, but probably going to part it out. I just want to get the most out of it as a I can, and with me being honest about it's situation, I highly doubt I'd get very much.

We'll see though...gonna miss it...if anyone is interested please send me a PM/email and I'll give you more information.

Thanks folks.

Body joint hump happens. It's possible that applying heat could have a positive impact. You may also try to clean the fretboard, get it in a properly humidified space for a few days time, apply some linseed oil to the neck to get moisture back in a fill in the open grain. Can't hurt and won't cost a lot and will remove that as a possible issue.



Here's something else you can try. Measure the distance between the top of the 12th fret and the bottom of the low E string. 5/64 (.070") is in a good range of playability. Let's say yours is too high - .100" (7/64"). Your bridge is at the deck already so the question in this case becomes can how to get the bridge lower.

Option A - Will pulling out the thumb wheels allow the bridge to drop enough to lower the action to the correct range? Thinner thumbwheels or spacers could do it too.

Option B You remove some material from the bottom of the bridge if it will maintain the structural integrity of the bridge. For example, if you wanted to lower the action .030" (3/64") at the 12th fret you would have to be able to remove .060 (4/64') of an inch. That translates into dropping the bridge about twice the distance. If there is enough meat on the bottom of the bridge then a machine shop can do that accurately.

Keep in mind that the body hump can be a buzz point so consider measure the distance from the top of the highest fret to the bottom the string above it.

decimal inches to fraction inches conversions are approximate.