Guild Savoy 150D 2003 Addition of a Bugsby?

Mark WW

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Been in the background mostly enjoying the posts. Well I had a case of GAS and just added another Guild to my collection. Just received a Savoy 150D. Have a thing for non-gold metal and I always liked Guilds. I have a SF III and several Gretsches w-Bigsby's.

Can anyone tell me if I can put a Bigsby on this guitar without leaving exposed holes. I would like to be able to do this mod and retain the D for possible future resale without any exposed holes.

Thanks for ya'll's input in (yes I am in the South) advance!

Happy Friday!
Mark :D
 

Mark WW

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Been in the background mostly enjoying the posts. Well I had a case of GAS and just added another Guild to my collection. Just received a Savoy 150D. Have a thing for non-gold metal and I always liked Guilds. I have a SF III and several Gretsches w-Bigsby's.

Can anyone tell me if I can put a Bigsby on this guitar without leaving exposed holes. I would like to be able to do this mod and retain the D for possible future resale without any exposed holes.

Thanks for ya'll's input in (yes I am in the South) advance!

Happy Friday!
Mark :D
 

dklsplace

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Welcome Mark, glad to have another Savoy owner around!

I was just eyeballing mine with a B3 I have in stock & it would work without leaving any exposed holes. I'm not sure about a B6 though, but may have one on hand in a week or so.

Stock B6 photo

Stock B3 photo
 

dklsplace

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Welcome Mark, glad to have another Savoy owner around!

I was just eyeballing mine with a B3 I have in stock & it would work without leaving any exposed holes. I'm not sure about a B6 though, but may have one on hand in a week or so.

Stock B6 photo

Stock B3 photo
 

Mark WW

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The D tail has three holes and is chrome/silver which may be a better fit. Have you personally made this mod?
 

Mark WW

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The D tail has three holes and is chrome/silver which may be a better fit. Have you personally made this mod?
 

dklsplace

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Hey, just did some digging & found a shot I took of my X-150D with a B6 laying over the harp tailpiece. That particular Bigsby is now rockin' around Europe on Walter's travel guitar.

[img:605:783]http://home.att.net/~dklsplace/P1010001_edited.jpg[/img]
 

dklsplace

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Hey, just did some digging & found a shot I took of my X-150D with a B6 laying over the harp tailpiece. That particular Bigsby is now rockin' around Europe on Walter's travel guitar.

[img:605:783]http://home.att.net/~dklsplace/P1010001_edited.jpg[/img]
 

dklsplace

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Mark WW said:
The D tail has three holes and is chrome/silver which may be a better fit. Have you personally made this mod?

The gold B3 is just a stock photo from Allparts website. I have the nickel finish in stock.

Here's the thread mentioned above. Walter bought an DeArmond X-135 & modded it so he didn't have to travel with his babies. There are some decent pics. I haven't put a Bigsby on any of my Guilds yet. Haven't had the guts. I'm sure WB will have something solid to say on this subject.

X-135 mod
 

dklsplace

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Mark WW said:
The D tail has three holes and is chrome/silver which may be a better fit. Have you personally made this mod?

The gold B3 is just a stock photo from Allparts website. I have the nickel finish in stock.

Here's the thread mentioned above. Walter bought an DeArmond X-135 & modded it so he didn't have to travel with his babies. There are some decent pics. I haven't put a Bigsby on any of my Guilds yet. Haven't had the guts. I'm sure WB will have something solid to say on this subject.

X-135 mod
 

Mark WW

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Guild Savoy 150D 2003 Addition of a Bigsby?

Well I fixed the Bugsby to a Bigsby and it would be a B6. I remember Walter's project.

Thanks for the pics and advise. I am very nervous about drilling holes in guitars. :shock:

Mark
 

Mark WW

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Guild Savoy 150D 2003 Addition of a Bigsby?

Well I fixed the Bugsby to a Bigsby and it would be a B6. I remember Walter's project.

Thanks for the pics and advise. I am very nervous about drilling holes in guitars. :shock:

Mark
 
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Yup, B6 is the way to go. You won't have any extra holes on the top that way, and it's the best feel. You may be able to avoid drilling any new holes in the end block, too -- you can drill new holes in the B6 mounting bracket to match the existing holes in your guitar. Make sure you align it so the hinge is above the level of the top (look at another mounted Bigsby for comparison).

Good luck!
 
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Yup, B6 is the way to go. You won't have any extra holes on the top that way, and it's the best feel. You may be able to avoid drilling any new holes in the end block, too -- you can drill new holes in the B6 mounting bracket to match the existing holes in your guitar. Make sure you align it so the hinge is above the level of the top (look at another mounted Bigsby for comparison).

Good luck!
 

Mark WW

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Drilling the bracket would be my preference. Good tip on the alignment.

Thanks again.
mark
 

Mark WW

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Drilling the bracket would be my preference. Good tip on the alignment.

Thanks again.
mark
 

Walter Broes

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Sorry for chiming in late - I was in Spain with that modded DeArmond guitar, haha.

I honestly don't know whether a Guild harp tail will hide the holes of a previous Bigsby installation or vice versa, I think there are different versions of the harp tailpiece, and different bigsbies (of different vintage too) have different hinges.
Re-drilling the hinge is always an option of course, though I could personally never be bothered - We're not talking modding vintage Johnny Smiths after all, and I've personally never turned down a guitar for one hole more or less in the tail block. I actually think a lot of people would see a Bigsby as a plus if you ever decide to part with the guitar later, IMO, YMMV, ........:?

A B6, or Guild's increasingly harder to find version, the B2, is definitely what you need for a full-size archtop with a floating bridge.
 

Walter Broes

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Sorry for chiming in late - I was in Spain with that modded DeArmond guitar, haha.

I honestly don't know whether a Guild harp tail will hide the holes of a previous Bigsby installation or vice versa, I think there are different versions of the harp tailpiece, and different bigsbies (of different vintage too) have different hinges.
Re-drilling the hinge is always an option of course, though I could personally never be bothered - We're not talking modding vintage Johnny Smiths after all, and I've personally never turned down a guitar for one hole more or less in the tail block. I actually think a lot of people would see a Bigsby as a plus if you ever decide to part with the guitar later, IMO, YMMV, ........:?

A B6, or Guild's increasingly harder to find version, the B2, is definitely what you need for a full-size archtop with a floating bridge.
 
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