Bad day!

[BradHK]

My day started out great playing my newly purchased 1964 S-50. It didn’t end as well. My relocation to NYC is moving forward and I need to decide which guitars are going there and which ones are going to our vacation house as the ones going to the vacation house are being moved Friday. I am driving them down as I don’t want to risk the moving company handling them.

I decided to play my 1961 Emerald Star II as it has been a little while. This is the guitar I brought back from a really poor condition where it had been routed for humbuckers, a Nashville bridge installed in the top, chesterfield removed, etc.. I keep all of my hollow body electrics tuned down slightly just as a precaution when they are not going to be used for a few days. I got out the guitar, started to tune it up and realized something was wrong. A quick inspection provided the obvious answer. The neck joint had come loose!

The previous owner said it had a neck reset at some point in time. I would like to know who did it so I could avoid that luthier in the future! it came apart completely clean so it will be a relatively straight forward neck reset. I already contacted my luthier and he said the same thing after looking at the photos and it is on his schedule now for a neck reset. He did the reset on my 1954 Aristocrat and I was very happy. Oh well, at least it will have a proper neck reset I can trust with good angles. Here are some photos:

 

[HeyMikey]

Wow, what did they use on that Elmers glue?

 

[BradHK]

Wow, what did they use on that Elmers glue?

That’s what I thought! And, it was tuned down when this happened!

 

[GGJaguar]

Bummer! Good thing it was tuned down when it happened (I keep my guitars de-tuned as well). I hope the re-set goes smoothly so the guitar can be enjoyed for many more years.

 

[ClaytonS15]

How depressing! It does look (relatively) easily repairable at least.

 

[DrumBob]

At least you know it'll be done right this time.

 

[Harp Tail]

That's awful.
Guitar Tech on West 14th Street 212 675 3260 has a sterling reputation. The owner Paul Nieto has a long positive history of repairs here in the City, and the store is an authorized Martin assistance center. Also a pretty good guitar player.

Never mind.. I mistakenly thought you were already in NYC.

 

[BradHK]

That's awful.
Guitar Tech on West 14th Street 212 675 3260 has a sterling reputation. The owner Paul Nieto has a long positive history of repairs here in the City, and the store is an authorized Martin assistance center. Also a pretty good guitar player.

Never mind.. I mistakenly thought you were already in NYC.

Thanks! Great to know!

 

[Harp Tail]

Thanks! Great to know!

Absolutely - you're quite welcome. Thank you for the kind reply.

 

[mavuser]

cool that you are moving to town, not so cool about the separated neck on that bird. At least the neck heel is not cracked or damaged. I have a luthier out here on Long Island, that can handle that, if you need. @awagner I believe has one or two as well, in the city, and/or Westchester, or Conn. Bring the New York Guild(s) back to New York! safe journey to you

 

[BradHK]

My luthier finished the neck reset. Whoever did the previous neck reset should be taken out and flogged. I am at a loss for words so I will just let the photo speak for itself:



My luthier said the glue was still gummy. He cleaned everything up, reset the dovetail properly with wooden shims and hide glue, and It is ready to be picked up! This is a photo after the reset without any lacquer touch ups. Looking forward to getting it back as I am sure it will sound better!

 

[mavuser]

I am at a loss for words so I will just let the photo speak for itself:

I got some words for that! DM me on the side if you need to know what they are haa

 

[davismanLV]

Any time you're working with wood and glue, it's imperative that all old glue is removed. Most glues for this type of repair glue bare wood to bare wood. Glue surface to glue surface will not hold. I'm thinking maybe that's what happened here, but that's just conjecture. Glad you got it done, and not a bad timeline, considering most repair people are so backed up. Now you can move forward!!

 

[GGJaguar]

I've never seen that before. Woof! Glad your luthier sorted it out.

 

[BradHK]

not a bad timeline, considering most repair people are so backed up

Agreed. Not only did he do a neck reset on this Emerald Star, he refretted my 1962 Starfire II with DeArmonds at the same time! I will definitely miss his services when I finally finish the move from Nashville. I love being able to carry the guitar over, walk it through with him and if there are any surprises I can go over and have a look. He did the neck reset on my 1954 Aristocrat and has done fret work on a few of my other 1960’s Guilds. I do the majority of the repair work on my guitars including lacquer stuff but I want a professional with years of experience to do neck resets and fret work on my vintage instruments. It’s funny, Nashville is a city full of amazing guitars but I am the only one who brings him Guilds so he refers to me as the Guild guy.

 

[adorshki]

My day started out great playing my newly purchased 1964 S-50. It didn’t end as well. My relocation to NYC is moving forward and I need to decide which guitars are going there and which ones are going to our vacation house as the ones going to the vacation house are being moved Friday. I am driving them down as I don’t want to risk the moving company handling them.

I decided to play my 1961 Emerald Star II as it has been a little while. This is the guitar I brought back from a really poor condition where it had been routed for humbuckers, a Nashville bridge installed in the top, chesterfield removed, etc.. I keep all of my hollow body electrics tuned down slightly just as a precaution when they are not going to be used for a few days. I got out the guitar, started to tune it up and realized something was wrong. A quick inspection provided the obvious answer. The neck joint had come loose!

The previous owner said it had a neck reset at some point in time. I would like to know who did it so I could avoid that luthier in the future! it came apart completely clean so it will be a relatively straight forward neck reset. I already contacted my luthier and he said the same thing after looking at the photos and it is on his schedule now for a neck reset. He did the reset on my 1954 Aristocrat and I was very happy. Oh well, at least it will have a proper neck reset I can trust with good angles. Here are some photos:

I have a recurring nightmare about that with my D25. I think it means I'm OCD.

 

[adorshki]

Any time you're working with wood and glue, it's imperative that all old glue is removed. Most glues for this type of repair glue bare wood to bare wood. Glue surface to glue surface will not hold. I'm thinking maybe that's what happened here, but that's just conjecture. Glad you got it done, and not a bad timeline, considering most repair people are so backed up. Now you can move forward!!

I've never seen that before. Woof! Glad your luthier sorted it out.

Looks like flour in rubber cement.