1971 S100 project, the story begins.......

[davismanLV]

Golly, Chris!! Thanks for sharing that video! I remember helping Don on his last guitar build. No matter how organized and prepped you are, gluing the binding seems like wrestling with an octopus on meth. Great video! :encouragement:

 

[AcornHouse]

Golly, Chris!! Thanks for sharing that video! I remember helping Don on his last guitar build. No matter how organized and prepped you are, gluing the binding seems like wrestling with an octopus on meth. Great video! :encouragement:

Actually, this was a Whoops! I meant it for a different thread ( on the '58 F-20).

 

[TVeye]

Does anyone know what truss rod cover I need for this? I don't think the engraved S-100 version came on the '71.
A pic of the original '71 cover would be awesome.
Thanks,

 

[SFIV1967]

Does anyone know what truss rod cover I need for this?

I'd say it was the one on the left lower side. Not sure when exactly in 1971 or 1972 the standard molded one without S-100 engraved (upper right side) was introduced.
So the one you need is made from metal with the shield symbol on it.
http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/guild/catalogues/1971_7.php

Hans' website shows them as "sold out" but Ken Nash still has some: http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/GuildKnobsPickguards.html

Ralf

 

[AcornHouse]

I'd say it was the one on the left lower side. Not sure when exactly in 1971 or 1972 the standard molded one without S-100 engraved (upper right side) was introduced.
So the one you need is made from metal with the shield symbol on it.
http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/guild/catalogues/1971_7.php

Hans' website shows them as "sold out" but Ken Nash still has some: http://www.theguitarmechanic.com/GuildKnobsPickguards.html

Ralf

The empty shield is indeed the one I have on my '71 S-90.

 

[TVeye]

Thanks guys, that's the one I thought but wasn't sure.
Also, thanks to Ralf for steering me toward Curtis Novak. Seems like a great guy and confident he can get the HB-1 back to humming and bucking.

Mike_

 

[K.O.M.A.]

Hey Mike, if I wasn't broke at the time I would have jumped on that S100, but I'm glad you got it. Looks like you'll do it justice. I saw your comment on how stable the neck looks, well mine was probably set at the wrong angle from the factory so I had Fixit re-set it. It should be good now for eternity. I'm going to have to contact Curtis also, one of my HB-1's doesn't sound right. Great thread, keep the pics coming.

 

[TVeye]

Thanks. The machine heads showed up yesterday so I think I'm gonna string her up tomorrow and see what I got.
Pickup is already on it's way to Yucca Valley so Curtis can work some magic on it.

Also, shined an intense light on the headstock and found the faint outline of the standard plastic trussrod cover (yes, the one no one has to sell.)

 

[drc]

Hey man I think I have a couple of plain TRC covers... but they may not be period correct?

 

[drc]

Hey man I think I have a couple of plain TRC covers... but they may not be period correct?

 

[TVeye]

I tried to put the cover from my DC-1E acoustic on there. The faint outline, I referred to earlier, does match the standard cover shape but, only if mounted upside down (bell end on bottom near the nut.)
Also, the mounting holes don't line up. The plastic cover holes are a bit too far apart to get one of the screws to go in straight.
There are some other marks and small dents in that area which kinda line up with an SG cover (mounted opposite from Guild correctly.) Thinking a previous owner put an incorrect trussrod cover on when the original disappeared. Not sure if that means the metal cover is the one that was on there or not but, I'm gonna find out with Ken Nash's help.

I have had no luck in trying to figure out why the neck is unbound on this one. Even the 1971 catalog, that Ralf linked to above, shows and details a bound neck with no other option. Seems to be a real oddity.

 

[S100]

That is strange. I didn't even notice the binding.

 

[SFIV1967]

I have had no luck in trying to figure out why the neck is unbound on this one. Even the 1971 catalog, that Ralf linked to above, shows and details a bound neck with no other option. Seems to be a real oddity.

I wouldn't give too much about the catalogs, Hans had shown plenty of examples where Guild catalogs showed wrongly assembled/photoshopped pictures. But Hans might know about your serial number and probably has info in his records if that guitar was special ordered without a bound fingerboard, or if the fingerboard was replaced over time.
Ralf

 

[hansmoust]

I have had no luck in trying to figure out why the neck is unbound on this one. Even the 1971 catalog, that Ralf linked to above, shows and details a bound neck with no other option. Seems to be a real oddity.

Hello TVeye,

Looking at the photos I see that most of the original edges and corners of the body and neck have been altered by excessive sanding.
It seems to me that this guitar originally had bindings and that the binding channels were simply sanded away.
If that's indeed the case then the width of the neck must be narrower than standard.
Maybe you could measure the width of the neck at the nut and if it's close to 1-9/16" (about 4 cm) or less, then that's probably what happened.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[TVeye]

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Seems unlikely but.....it falls into that range on the ruler. Wouldn't the frets need re-dressing on the ends after the neck was re-shaped? Possible re-fret?
Must have had someone else do it 'cause I don't see that kind of skill coming outta this guy.

While I have your attention, where can I get the solid ground wire needed for the bridge ground? (only thing Ken didn't have for me)

Mike_

 

[hansmoust]

Seems unlikely but.....it falls into that range on the ruler. Wouldn't the frets need re-dressing on the ends after the neck was re-shaped? Possible re-fret?

Hello again Mike,

No, that would not be necessary. The frets do not extend any further over or into the neck binding.

When you remove the neck binding, the fret ends will be flush with the edge of the fingerboard; no fret dressing needed!

I'm quite sure that that is what happened. Width of the fingerboard at the 22nd fret will probably be somewhere around 2-1/16" or less on your guitar now.

While I have your attention, where can I get the solid ground wire needed for the bridge ground? (only thing Ken didn't have for me)

You should be able to get that in a store that sells electronic supplies; should not be all that hard. However I'm located in the Netherlands and I do not know what the situation is where you live.

Good luck!

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[TVeye]

Thanks for the help Hans, I now agree you are completely right.
After stringing her up last night, with the nut that came with it, it's obvious that the binding has been removed.
The 22nd fret does indeed measure just a hair over 2".
I suppose I could replace the binding and, with some mahogany strips, build up the neck and re-shape but not sure it's worth it or necessary.
Playability seems unaffected and she sounds good acoustically.

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Still need to sort out and clean up the wire harness. Was able to dig out the broken screw for the neck pickup bezel without too much damage.
Should be ready to finish the initial set up by the time I get the repaired pickup back from Mr. Novak.

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[TVeye]

Also...... could someone please scan a full size tracing of their S100 pickguard for me?
I made this one for my Epiphone F100 a while back but it's based on an SG and not even close to the right size.
Thank You generous LTG'er.

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[hansmoust]

...... could someone please scan a full size tracing of their S100 pickguard for me?

Here's a link to a scan that I made of a period correct pickguard.

http://www.guitarchives.nl/fotos/S100_pickguard.jpg

It's a pretty big jpg file, but if you print it out it should be the right size for your guitar.
You can verify the size by measuring the squares in the background, which should be exactly 5 x 5 millimeters.

If it doesn't work just let me know and we'll try something else.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[TVeye]

Thanks again Hans.