B-301

[GGJaguar]

Announcement from March 1977.

 

[acmedrygoods]

The B-301 rules! I am a complete fanboy. A B-301 natural finish was my first bass at age 15 purchased on 48th St in NYC in 1978 on a solo foray into the city from the burbs and taken home on the bus. Foolishly let go in '82 for a G&L with a warped neck. This '77 Mahogany one was acquired in 2020, the '78 Ash this year. Love 'em both. Thanks for posting that announcement.

 

[GAD]

I think I have a B301. I definitely have a B302 and maybe a B402?

I think I might have too many guitars.

 

[lungimsam]

That ad sounds like it was written by a British person.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

How do you like those Muller bridges, acme?

I've never had one, but have noticed that they don't seem to be a lot of people's favorite.

 

[mellowgerman]

Awesome basses but not really the best writing & editing on this announcement, eh?

"ghe"... "A new pick up for greater sustain"(?)... and then in the next sentence "pick-up"

I certainly don't need any more convincing that I want to play Guilds over anything else, but if I was unaware of Guild basses and saw this in 1977, I might worry a bit about Guild's attention to detail

 

[GAD]

I think I have a B301. I definitely have a B302 and maybe a B402?

I think I might have too many guitars.

So I was TOTALLY wrong. When it comes to bases I have:

Starfire I (1968)
B401 Fretless
B402A
SB602 Pilot Fretless
SB902 Pilot Advanced
Guild Ashbury

...but no B301 or the B302 I thought I definitely had. LOL

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Basses.

(You're welcome.)

 

[Canojams]

The B-301 rules! I am a complete fanboy. A B-301 natural finish was my first bass at age 15 purchased on 48th St in NYC in 1978 on a solo foray into the city from the burbs and taken home on the bus. Foolishly let go in '82 for a G&L with a warped neck. This '77 Mahogany one was acquired in 2020, the '78 Ash this year. Love 'em both. Thanks for posting that announcement.

I have a 1978 Ash b301a. The truss rod is maxed out and the relief is about .030” at 10th fret. Any suggestions on how to get more relief?

 

[chazmo]

That ad sounds like it was written by a British person.

When you see a company or group with a plural conjugation of the verb... yup!

"Guild have just introduced....."

 

[Minnesota Flats]

When you see a company or group with a plural conjugation of the verb... yup!

"Guild have just introduced....."

Yeah: I listen to BBC Radio at night sometimes and always notice that difference between American and UK English usage, as in, "Germany are..."

I guess the logic derives from it being a collective noun...or something.

The Brits seem to especially do this in respect to the names of sports teams, while we Yanks do not.

 

[lungimsam]

I have a 1978 Ash b301a. The truss rod is maxed out and the relief is about .030” at 10th fret. Any suggestions on how to get more relief?

Yes, as long as it doesn’t need a neck reset then This video may help:

 

[mellowgerman]

Regarding the truss-rod, "more relief" would be more bow, in which case, if the truss is already as loose as possible, the only easy fix would be higher tension strings. My 1970 M-85-II bass is one of the uncommon cases where this applies, so unfortunately lower tension strings are only possible with 0 relief, but medium or high tension strings result in a perfect setup.
Needing less relief (a flatter neck), while the truss rod is as tight as it will go, is a more common issue on vintage instruments and that is more difficult to address. Aside from having a Luthier attempt heat-pressing the neck, a potential solution can be carefully clamping the neck to a work bench in a slight opposite/reverse bow for a few days and seeing if that corrects the excessive relief. Alternately, adding a spacer under the truss nut, if possible, can also give you a little more threading and tension to work with. It goes without saying that either method should only be attempted with utmost care and caution, otherwise it can go wrong and damage the neck.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Just because...

 

[Canojams]

Regarding the truss-rod, "more relief" would be more bow, in which case, if the truss is already as loose as possible, the only easy fix would be higher tension strings. My 1970 M-85-II bass is one of the uncommon cases where this applies, so unfortunately lower tension strings are only possible with 0 relief, but medium or high tension strings result in a perfect setup.
Needing less relief (a flatter neck), while the truss rod is as tight as it will go, is a more common issue on vintage instruments and that is more difficult to address. Aside from having a Luthier attempt heat-pressing the neck, a potential solution can be carefully clamping the neck to a work bench in a slight opposite/reverse bow for a week or two and seeing if that corrects the excessive relief. Alternately, adding a spacer under the truss nut, if possible, can also give you a little more threading and tension to work with. It goes without saying that either method should only be attempted with utmost care and caution, otherwise it can go wrong and damage the neck.

Thanks for the suggestion. You are correct, I don’t need more relief. Lol I need less. If I did the clamp method should loosen the truss rod slightly or keep it tight? I would think loosening it slightly would give wiggle room on the truss rod instead of maxing it out.

 

[Canojams]

Yes, as long as it doesn’t need a neck reset then This video may help:

Great video thanks. It's looking like I need a neck reset.

 

[chazmo]

Just because...

Hey, Grot, do you recall what Guild called the finish coloring on the one on the right? I don't think I've seen another Guild like it.

 

[mellowgerman]

Thanks for the suggestion. You are correct, I don’t need more relief. Lol I need less. If I did the clamp method should loosen the truss rod slightly or keep it tight? I would think loosening it slightly would give wiggle room on the truss rod instead of maxing it out.

Yes indeed, you'd want to loosen the truss before clamping. Below is a step-by-step video on doing this. I think Dave (the tech whose channel this is) has a few videos of the process. Very interesting channel to explore, if you gel with Dave's sense dry of humor.



One thing to note, Dave mentions 3 days in this video, so more than a week may be unnecessary, so I will edit that in my above post

 

[Uke]

Announcement from March 1977.

Where did Guild ever get the name for their new bass?

 

[Nuuska]

I have come across guitars where truss-rod adjustment thread was not enough. Easy remedy was to unscrew the nut completely and insert a washer or two.