New memeber and I have a question about a S-100

samdjr74

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Hi All,

I'm new here, thanks for letting me join.

I just got my hands on an older S-100 that is in need of some work, mainly the bridge. The original bridge is missing and I tried a TOM but it seems to be too thick to work correctly creating exetremely high action, does any know where I might find an original bridge or some after market one that might work for me?

Thanks,
Sam
 

hansmoust

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bridge for S-100

Hello Sam,

Welcome! I should be able to help you with the bridge but there are 4 different versions of that bridge and they're not really interchangeable.
Could you show me a photo of the guitar as it is now. I need to know what kind of bushings there are in the body right now. A serial number would also be a big help.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 

samdjr74

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Hi Hans,

I'll try to snap some pictures of it later, as far as the serial number goes, well someone painted over it and they put so many coats on it that the serial number is completely unreadable. I can tell you this, the current bridge is a gotoh TOM with large studs. I can take out the bushings and get some measurements if that would be better, they fit very snug so I'm guessing they are original.

Thanks,
Sam
 

hansmoust

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samdjr74 said:
I can tell you this, the current bridge is a gotoh TOM with large studs. I can take out the bushings and get some measurements if that would be better, they fit very snug so I'm guessing they are original.

Hello Sam,

If the current bridge is a Gotoh tune-o-matic with large studs, I don't think that the bushings that are in there are original. At any rate, you will not be able to make an original Guild bridge fit on those studs or in combination with those bushings. You probably need to remove the bushings, fill the holes and redrill the body for the proper bushings that should go with the original bridge. However, let's take a look at the pictures first!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 

samdjr74

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Hi Hans,

Here you go.

Thanks,
Sam

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hansmoust

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bridge for S-100

OK Sam,

I looked at the photos. Those are not the original bushings. They came with the Gotoh bridge and the studs. You have several options here.
The guitar is refinished, so if you are going to leave the finish you will be able to see the repair, when you decide to plug the holes and redrill the body for the proper bushings.
If I were you I would try and make the Gotoh bridge work for you. It is actually a good bridge and I understand that right now it is too high to get a nice action. My question is: How much would you like to lower the bridge?
I noticed in the photos that you still have some room under the t.o.m. bridge. If you take out the bushings and remove a circular section of wood around the edge of the holes (about the depth of the bushing-collars that are resting on the top op the body right now) you should be able to set in the bushings a little deeper. By having the top of the bushings flush with the top of the body, you will be able to lower your bridge a little bit.
That would be option one for me. But first you should make the measurements, to see if that would work.

If the bridge needs to go even lower than that, you might need a different bridge. The photo doesn't give me that much info but I have a feeeling that we are talking about a very early '70s S-100. The neck on those are sometimes set in at a very shallow angle, which does not allow for a whole lot of bridge movement towards the body.

By the way, if the guitar is indeed from that particular period, then there might be a label glued to the inside of the control cavity on the back.
If there is no label you still might be able to figure out the date of the guitar by looking at the pots. If they're still the original ones they could tell you from what period the guitar is.

Keep us posted!

Hans
 

samdjr74

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Hi Hans,

Thanks for the info. I can probably sink the studs further in but the problem is to get the action right the bottom of the bridge is going to touch the top of the guitar. My thinking is this, the string and post spacing on the bridge seem fine so if I can use it, great. What I think I need to do is grind down the bottom of the bridge a little and maybe even the mounting area undernieth to lower the bridge. My other though is what you said, find a bridge that is not as tall. One good thing I have is access to afull machine shop so if I can get my hands on the correct bridge for this guitar I can make new posts that will fit into the stud and work with the bridge. I'm guessing for that I need to know the date range which I'll try to get today.

Thanks,
Sam
 

samdjr74

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Well in searching for the date when this guitar was made I ran into another problem. All the pots are blank, no numbers stamped into them at all but they seem to be old enough to be original. So my search continues for a bridge to fit this guitar before I attempt to recess the posts.
 
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Maybe this will help

I just picked up a 73 S-100 this week. The original bridge sat way to high for my taste. I did 2 things. I made the post hole bushing sit flush against the body instead of being raised about 1/32" above it. I also filed odd about 2/32" off the foot of the bridge (which only involved the two ends where the screwhples are due to the curve of the bottom. I was enough to really make a difference in the action. If this is hard to understand, I'll try to take pictures and post them.

Sshan in RI, the Real home of Guilds
 

samdjr74

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Yeah I did the same thing and the action is perfect now. The string break behind the bridge is a little poor but it does make the guitar play very easy and it also might have an effect on it's sound which is a real low growl, lots of low and mid range, very intresting and nice.

Thanks,
Sam
 
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