3 Questoins Re: Guild F212XL NT

[krcrisp]

I picked up a badly abused version of this guitar and have a few questions:

1. What is the difference between a 212XL and a 212XL NT?

2. Does an red "02" on a brace and the factory RI label mean it is a second? I assume it does but couldn't find any reference to this.

3. After a bridge reglue, I picked the guitar up. The #8 string and, to a lesser extent, the #10 string, sound pinched and muffled, but only when played open. Fret at any level and they sound fine. Open though, the sustain is almost non existent. Since fretting avoids this issue, I assume the problem is the nut. The luthier filed the channel open a little and that helped slightly, but the #8 string just kills a D chord and when just 7 and 8 are hit open with a pick, it sounds terrible. I've been playing an F212XL since 1975 so I know what it should sound like. The nut and bridge do appear to have been replaced with what looks like bone to me. Something about the angle of the nut, or too much contact would cause this? I can tell this guitar would really sing if not for this, so I would appreciate suggestions.

 

[guildzilla]

Welcome to LTG. The NT refers to the finish being natural, rather than sunburst, etc.

I think you should take it back to the luthier and get his further input about what to do with the nut and/or saddle to fix the problems.

 

[hansmoust]

Does an red "02" on a brace and the factory RI label mean it is a second? I assume it does but couldn't find any reference to this.

Yes, it does!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[dapmdave]

I think the "NT" just denotes a natural finish top.

Whoops! Just saw same answer above.

Dave
Department of Redundancy Department

 

[devellis]

A couple of strings may have just gone bad (a bit of work hardening) in the process of tuning up and down during the setup, although the fact that they sound good when fretted is odd and does point to the nut.

I'd have the tech look at the angle of the nut groove (should be between the plane of the headstock surface and the plane of fingerboard) and whether the string is pinched in the slot. It would seem unlikely that he wouldn't have already checked those issues, though.

I'd also check the bed of those nut slots to be sure that there isn't dust (from filing) or other debris under the strings. A poorly seated ball end at the bridge could deaden strings but I don't think fretting would make any difference.

Another odd diagnostic you could try is to tune the string down a half step and see how it sounds when fretted at the first fret (the pitch it would usually have at normal pitch when played open). If that sounds dead, then the issue may have to do with some resonance from somewhere counteracting that particular pitch. If the guitar has a resonant frequency from somewhere that matches that note's pitch, that could make it sound strange. I might also put the paired strings out of tune with one another and see if that makes a difference. Theoretically, if two strings are tuned precisely together but are struck at slightly different times (as they will be when strummed), then their wavelengths will be identical but out of phase. As a result one of those sound waves will reduce the amplitude of the other when they're combined. (That's one reason why piano strings in a given course are tuned slightly off from one another.) This could also happen between the fundamental of the octave string and the octave harmonic of the primary string. But the likelihood of getting two strings tuned together that precisely is sort of like throwing a pin up in the air and having it land balanced on its point on a glass table top.

In the likely event that none of these tuning alterations change things in a telling way, going back to the tech for a diagnosis seems like the best idea.