Neck reset for Guild M-20? Suggestions?

NinaC · #1 09-26-2015, 12:07 PM

Hey all, I'm new to the forum and looking forward to discussions.

I recently bought a nice 1964 Guild M-20 (aka the alleged "Nick Drake" model) and it is truly lovely with the exception of terrible action. Looks like the saddle has been filed down as much as it can be so there's not a lot of room to do much. Playing anywhere above first position is torture and I do love my barre chords.

My go-to luthier for fixing my best vintage guitars and ukes has been Ross Teigen out of Naples FL, about a 2 hour drive from me, however I have not worked with him in about four years. Ross is not answering his phone, you can't leave a message, and the email I have for him has bounced back. I think he's still alive but I don't know what his situation is.

Anyway, I understand Guild neck resets can be very tricky so I want to make sure to have this done by someone who has done them before and can do a good job. I asked the Guild factory folks in the northeast if they do vintage resets at the factory, but have yet to hear back.

Any recommendations for a capable, reasonably priced luthier with Guild neck-resetting experience? Thanks in advance.

JLS · #2 09-26-2015, 12:39 PM

Guild resets are not likely to be, "reasonably priced". I just did an F50 that had been previously reset--badly--and I'd rather do Yamahas any day. One of the best repair shops in the USA had passed on this repair, BTW. The owner is going to pick it up at my place in a couple of hours; I'm looking forward to his reaction.

I hope you can find someone for this.

AcornHouse · #3 09-26-2015, 03:22 PM

You need to contact Tom "Fixit" (his LTG username). He's in Fla. and has worked on vintage Guilds for years, as well as being an authorized Guild repair person. He knows what he's doing and does incredible work.
http://www.jacobscustomguitars.com/

dbintegrity · #4 09-26-2015, 05:13 PM

I've done a few Guild neck sets... such a bear... The toughest part for me was cutting the angle into the heel... dulled every chisel I had ... lol ....Good luck

mirwa · #5 09-26-2015, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinaC

Anyway, I understand Guild neck resets can be very tricky so I want to make sure to have this done by someone who has done them before and can do a good job. I asked the Guild factory folks in the northeast if they do vintage resets at the factory, but have yet to hear back..

There are two ways to do a correction of the neck / fretboard angle

The first which is done by about 99.5 percent of the repairers, is to cut and steam the neck of the guitar, then redo the heel angle, refit the neck, put a shim under the fretboard extension area and then follow up with lacquer work to hide the damage from removing the neck, envisage it as open heart surgery, some scarring will occur.

The other option, is you do not touch the neck heel itself, leave it alone, its been like that forever and a day. You pull the fretboard of, glue a blank piece of fretboard back on, level this new piece of wood out so the angle of the dangle is corrected and refit the original fretboard, at completion of the job, you have a sliver of a shim full length under the old fretboard, barely noticeable, with no scarrs no paintwork needed and so forth, IMO the best way of approaching a guitar that needs a neck reset

Steve

NinaC · #6 09-27-2015, 07:48 AM

Thank you for all the speedy answers and advice! Looks like I need to contact Tom "Fixit," thanks AcornHouse. Being that he is just across the state from me is a bonus, it will just take a day for Fedex Ground to get the guitar to him. Nice to know there is a Guild expert nearby.

JLS, I didn't mean "reasonably priced" to mean cheap. I know these things don't come cheap. By that, I meant realistic and fair. You know, reasonable. Within reason.

I'll report back on my experience. Thanks again for the help, everybody.

6L6 · #7 09-27-2015, 09:04 AM

Gryphon in Palo Alto, CA has a legendary repair shop. If you're willing to ship it, give them a call.

sfden1 · #8 09-27-2015, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6L6

Gryphon in Palo Alto, CA has a legendary repair shop. If you're willing to ship it, give them a call.

Just an fyi, the last time I was there a couple of years ago, I was told that Gryphon's policy is to take repair work only from the Bay Area. You must be able to bring in the guitar and pick it up when finished. They don't ship.

That may have changed since then, but I doubt it. They had more repair work then they could handle.

sfden1 · #9 09-27-2015, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JLS

Guild resets are not likely to be, "reasonably priced". I just did an F50 that had been previously reset--badly--and I'd rather do Yamahas any day. One of the best repair shops in the USA had passed on this repair, BTW. The owner is going to pick it up at my place in a couple of hours; I'm looking forward to his reaction.

I hope you can find someone for this.

JLS, could you tell me what makes Guild neck resets more difficult than the average guitar? I too have an old M-20 that needs a reset (also needs the bridge replaced or repaired).

NinaC · #10 09-28-2015, 05:26 AM

I bet someone else can provide more details, but from what I understand, the neck is glued on in such a way that the usual drill and inject steam method for removing the neck won't work.

John Arnold · #11 09-28-2015, 08:53 AM

The reason Guilds are more difficult is that the wide, thin heel is glued directly to the body before finishing the guitar. That means there is a lot more glue surface to loosen when compared to a Martin.
This is no different than Gibson....other than the fact that the thinner heel is more delicate.
The fact that the body and neck are finished together means that there is more finish touchup to do after reattaching the neck.
I just reset an old D-35 and it went well. I charged the same as resetting a Gibson, which is 20% more than a Martin style reset.

sfden1 · #12 09-28-2015, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Arnold

The reason Guilds are more difficult is that the wide, thin heel is glued directly to the body before finishing the guitar. That means there is a lot more glue surface to loosen when compared to a Martin.
This is no different than Gibson....other than the fact that the thinner heel is more delicate.
The fact that the body and neck are finished together means that there is more finish touchup to do after reattaching the neck.
I just reset an old D-35 and it went well. I charged the same as resetting a Gibson, which is 20% more than a Martin style reset.

Thanks for the information John. Much appreciated.