Priority (Air) Shipment of Fine Guild Guitars.....

HoboKen

Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2005
Messages
443
Reaction score
0
Location
Central PA
Let me start this stringer of our collective thoughts off by saying that the truth can possibly be stranger than fiction sometimes.....but where the odds are is what we usually end up with as being the truth we live with.

Question: Would someone who claims to know all about fine guitars normally:

1. Miss the correct year of manufacture - Guild serial numbers by year lists on the web and the neck block date stamp itself - advertise it as a '98, when it is really a 2000?

(What year did Fender buy Guild??)

2. Mis-advertise the guitar's year of manufacture and sell the guitar on E-
Bay?

3. knowingly, only de-tune medimum strings on a Westerly Guild D-55 one step down from 440 standard (3/4s of a turn of the tuning pegs) for shipping and send it priority U.S. mail that most likely will include time spent in an unpressurized cargo hold of a plane at altitude and low temeratures in a custom -raised arch Guild hard shell case and outer card board box to a buyer??

Hans & company.....I really need you thoughts on this one.....
 
Joined
Nov 19, 2005
Messages
458
Reaction score
0
Location
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Detunation

Ken -- Why someone who claims to be an "expert" would missdiagnose the year of manufacture is pure and simply stupid oversight and could possibly be construed as trying to sell "a pig in a poke" to some unsuspecting buyer. Why people do strange things is beyond me, but then, I think it's rampant on E-bay.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I did a concert with Irish guitarist Gerry O'Beirne and like me he plays in Open C. He shipped his two guitars (a Fylde 6-string and a Martin 12-string, if I remember correctly) in regular hardshell cases strapped together with packing tape. Inside, the guitars were still in their open tuning. I asked him why he didn't de-tune for air flight and his response was simple - the tension ratio on open tuning is so low already that it poses no jeopardy and it isn't good to completely release the tension anyway. I checked with my luthier and he agreed. Since then, I place my guitars in their flight cases in open C and haven't had any problems yet - though the first time or so found my pulse quickened until I checked the guitar at journey's end.

Hope that helps - I'm no expert. dbs
 

jp

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2006
Messages
4,850
Reaction score
1,764
Location
Pacific Northwest US
Guild Total
4
Hey there Hoboken

I've bought several guitars as well as vintage audio gear over the net, I've opened the boxes to find the most asanine things in the world. One guy who was supposedly a vintage audio buff sent me a beautiful Marantz turntable with the arm taped down with packing tape, the heavy platter on, which came off, of course, and scratched the deck, and shattered the dust cover.

The most shameful incident had to be the guy who sent me his treasured Les Paul (won on eBay) with it only in the HSC in a box--no padding, no neck support, and no peanuts, no bubble wrap, and with the strings fully tensioned. No surprise that it came with the headstock snapped off at the nut.

Then he proceeded to rant and rave about UPS's blatant mishandling. He filed a claim as well.

Everyone's an expert nowadays.

I'm so extremely thankful that the shops who shipped me my Guilds had a little more sense. :?
 

West R Lee

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2005
Messages
17,741
Reaction score
2,663
Location
East Texas
Ken,

Fender bought Guild in 1995 and if I'm not mistaken, continued to build in Westerly until 2001.

You know I wish you good luck on the D-55.

West
 

john_kidder

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
3,103
Reaction score
6
Location
Ashcroft, BC, Canada
When I buy eBay guitars, I've learned to be completely un-embarrassed about sending the seller detailed instructions on packing - this after an old T-100D arrived with, just as above, the heastock snapped off from shipping whiplash.

If someone questions me ("Who the hell are you to tell me how to ship guitars?", etc.) as they sometimes do, then I refer them to http://www.archtop.com/ac_shipping.html where there's a greater sense of authority.
 
Top