I've heard about these but never seen one or heard one played?
Anybody know the story on these?
Anybody know the story on these?
Anyone own a CO1?
- Thread starter F30
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ReevesRd
Senior Member
There are several Contemporary Series owners on LTG.
Guild produced the Contemporary Series in Tacoma between 2006 and 2008, using a patent-applied neck joint system. There were some quality control issues related to the joint adjustment and when production moved to New Hartford the line was discontinued. The remaining Contemporary Series guitars were sold off for refurbishing.
The C01 is an F-30 body with a western red cedar top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and mahogany neck.
Guild produced the Contemporary Series in Tacoma between 2006 and 2008, using a patent-applied neck joint system. There were some quality control issues related to the joint adjustment and when production moved to New Hartford the line was discontinued. The remaining Contemporary Series guitars were sold off for refurbishing.
The C01 is an F-30 body with a western red cedar top, mahogany back and sides, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and mahogany neck.
ReevesRd
Senior Member
West R Lee
Venerated Member
It seems like they had a graphite neck block and a full blown bolt on neck or something along those lines.
West
West
davismanLV
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No. No one ever... except maybe ray.... but probably no one.
ReevesRd
Senior Member
JohnW63
Enlightened Member
As my signature shows, I have a CO1. As mentioned RayK has or had at least one. I really like it. I tend to look for guitars that play well without strumming firmly and I mostly use my fingers and not a pick. Cedar over Rosewood is a good combination for that. I think it has a 1-3/4" nut. I consider it the guitar for the somber rainy day songs.
The neck is a mechanical attachment that can be completely removed in minutes. The trick that I guess Guild didn't figure out to the mm is how to make sure it all fits perfectly. If you sight from the bridge up, I can just see the slightest hump where the fret board goes over the body. My old Ovation is worse. The only time it affected the guitar is playing past the 12 fret. I removed the neck a few times to come up with an elegant shim or fix of some sort. As it is now, you might not even notice it, unless I told you to look for it. I think RayK dialed his in with some very careful sanding. Maybe someday, I might give it another try, but really doesn't need it, now.
If you find one that you like, look closely at how the neck fits and how the fretboard sits on the body. It doesn't scare or concern me. It seems to freak out regular guitar repair places because it's different. It's 4 Allen screws and figuring out what direction the neck needs to go.
They used to go pretty cheap because of the bad rep the neck issue gained. Mine sold for about $600 I think, but I asked the seller too many questions and he refused to deal with me. So, RayK bought it and then sold it to me. I had to pay him the shipping so it set me back closer $700. Post Covid, everything costs more.
The neck is a mechanical attachment that can be completely removed in minutes. The trick that I guess Guild didn't figure out to the mm is how to make sure it all fits perfectly. If you sight from the bridge up, I can just see the slightest hump where the fret board goes over the body. My old Ovation is worse. The only time it affected the guitar is playing past the 12 fret. I removed the neck a few times to come up with an elegant shim or fix of some sort. As it is now, you might not even notice it, unless I told you to look for it. I think RayK dialed his in with some very careful sanding. Maybe someday, I might give it another try, but really doesn't need it, now.
If you find one that you like, look closely at how the neck fits and how the fretboard sits on the body. It doesn't scare or concern me. It seems to freak out regular guitar repair places because it's different. It's 4 Allen screws and figuring out what direction the neck needs to go.
They used to go pretty cheap because of the bad rep the neck issue gained. Mine sold for about $600 I think, but I asked the seller too many questions and he refused to deal with me. So, RayK bought it and then sold it to me. I had to pay him the shipping so it set me back closer $700. Post Covid, everything costs more.
Thanks for the reply's I have heard them mentioned but glad to be educated now.
Love F30's and OM's so Maybe if I see one I should pick it up and give it a try.
Love F30's and OM's so Maybe if I see one I should pick it up and give it a try.
adorshki
Reverential Member
The Guilds of Grot
Enlightened Member
Recall they did actually have a precedent for that in the Westerly GX series
Well this a stretch!
Yes while the GX Series did have a bolt-on neck, it was bolted on to essentially a solid bodied guitar as the GX is one piece of wood hollowed out to be "acoustic" The Contemporary were bolted to a truly hollow, (sides, front and back) superstructure!
HeyMikey
Enlightened Member
You can read about mine here
letstalkguild.com
NGD CO-1 Cedar
Ray was right, these are great guitars! It arrived yesterday, I opened it today and gave her a spin. I like it. It has a nice warm tone with good clarity, sustain and bass end. It is responsive to a light touch with comparable volume to an F30 series. The neck width is comfortable, action...
letstalkguild.com
Yes, completely agree. The contemporary series bolt-on neck block was completely bespoke to that series and was never to be seen again.
There's a reason for that, too. My luthier called it "the stupidest design I've ever seen". I know there are good ones out there, and I played a CO-1 of Jay Pilzer's at the Arlington Guitar show. I thought about making him an offer, but then I remembered this.
My Blem CV-1 Arrived - Trainwreck Neck
Arrived Monday. This is one of the prettiest guitars I own.. A real looker... That's the good news... Now the bad: The bolt on neck is a washboard. I tried working with the truss rods; but I knew it was useless. This one had to go to Ross the Magic Luthier for major surgery. I dropped it...
letstalkguild.com
The ones that weren't reclaimed were fine, Sandy. The track record on the MIRC'd ones that were wholesaled after Tacoma is not good.
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
The end of a short-lived era.
Sadly, yes. Besides the neck block design, the Contemporary series had some very nice touches. Oh well. It wasn't the Contemporary series that brought about Tacoma's demise.The end of a short-lived era.
GGJaguar
Reverential Member
HeyMikey
Enlightened Member
Was it really the neck block design or rather the use of under-cured necks that were the route of the Contemporary series issues? Clearly there are good ones, even MIRCs, out there like mine without issue.
The one my luthier was working on on not a MIRC'd example, and had a bad neck set from the factory. My guy is usually very reserved with his opinions, but he sure wasn't about the design of the neck block system!
adorshki
Reverential Member
The original thread alerting us to the problem was "Trainwreck Neck" by member Scratch. His was a CV, the larger F40-based body size.
HIs luthier managed to untwist the neck once but the twist returned, at which time the luthier was of the opinion the neck hadn't been properly dried before construction.
Originally that problem wasn't attributed to the attachment system, but questions came up as to why Fender dropped the patent application. Some folks are fine with it, others (like Sandy's luthier) not so much.
They seem to be problematic with a "hump" at the 14th fret and a gap between the fretboard extension and the top.