Has anyone ever reshaped the headstock of a Guild?

[kydave]

I'm thinking of taking the curve off the sides, some of the top off the end and replacing the Rotomatics with open back Statites to relieve some of the top heaviness and overall weight of my D-50.

Anyone ever done this?

1971 D-28 4 lbs 9.4 oz (nothing like 38 years of drying out...[curing & breaking in are probably better terms] )
2006 RD-26 4 lbs 12.4 oz (Recording King Engelmann/mahogany dread)
2006 BR-260 4 lbs 14.4 oz (Blueridge Sitka/Brazilian dread)
2006 D-50 5 lbs 1.2 oz (Guild Adi/EIR dread)
1999 0000-28H 4 lbs 8 oz (no surprise there - it ain't a dread!)

 

[hansmoust]

Has anyone ever reshaped the headstock of a Guild?

Hello Dave,

Well, Guild did it a couple of times during it's history!

...... but all kidding aside, yes I did it once but not for the reason you mentioned.
I had to put a replacement Guild neck on an older Guild guitar, so I had to take off the 'center raised' top portion and turn it into a 'center dip' style headstock. Not really the same thing!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[GardMan]

Hey Dave,
Far be it my place to tell you what to do to YOUR Guild... and I debated not saying anything at all, but...

I'd think twice before modding the headstock of a D-50. To me, the saving in weight would not be worth the (what in my opinion would be a VERY significant) hit to the guitars "value." Perhaps try swapping out the tuners to a lighter open back style... that might drop you a couple ounces, and help the balance issue a bit... at least that swap is "reversable" (in principle... I'd hold on the the original tuners).

BTW... my Guild dreads range from a light 4 lbs 4 oz ('72 D-35) to a whopping 5 lbs 15 oz ('81 D-46).

In the end, it's your guitar, your decision.
Dave

 

[dapmdave]

Hey Dave,
Far be it my place to tell you what to do to YOUR Guild... and I debated not saying anything at all, but...

I'd think twice before modding the headstock of a D-50. To me, the saving in weight would not be worth the (what in my opinion would be a VERY significant) hit to the guitars "value." Perhaps try swapping out the tuners to a lighter open back style... that might drop you a couple ounces, and help the balance issue a bit... at least that swap is "reversable" (in principle... I'd hold on the the original tuners).

BTW... my Guild dreads range from a light 4 lbs 4 oz ('72 D-35) to a whopping 5 lbs 15 oz ('81 D-46).

In the end, it's your guitar, your decision.
Dave

Ditto.

Yet another Dave

 

[kydave]

Dave (gardman),
I don't know squat about Guild models numbers. Is that '72 D-35 Guild a rosewood or mahogany (or with Guild, I guess maybe even maple?) guitar? I know generally the hogs are lighter.
I'm not thinking in terms of resale particularly. Just my personal use, but thanks for the thoughts - all of you so far.

Still interested if anyone ever bought a Guild "in spite" of the headstock, then did something about it.
Thanks,
Dave (Kentucky Dave - in California)

 

[taabru45]

Sometimes Guilds had a neck that looks like mahogany but is paduk, or whatever the name is. Its quite a bit heavier than mahogany, Hans asked me for a picture of my F50R, from 77, to see if it was mahogany, and it is, I guess the other wood is darker with more pattern in the grain, so maybe you wouldn't notice a decrease in weight unless you shaved the head off at about the 5th fret. :lol: :lol:
I don't think anyone here wants the see a Guild head altered like that. :shock: My Corona D25 is as sweet as anything, all mahogony, weighs not too much, but just sings so pretty....so maybe a 57 chev might feel a little clunky compared to todays cars, but its the nature of the beast....maybe just look out for a lighter Guild, that you will enjoy, or do more pushups, and pullups, etc. Steffan

here is a mahogany neck, even grain...no dark streaks

 

[GardMan]

Is that '72 D-35 Guild a rosewood or mahogany (or with Guild, I guess maybe even maple?) guitar?

Dave, The D-35 is a no frills, spruce (probably Sitka) top, mahogany B/S, mahogany neck. I posted these weights a few weeks ago... here they are again:

1972 D-35: 4 lbs 4 oz (solid mahogany B/S)
1971 D-44: 4 lbs 12 oz (solid pearwood B/S)
1974 D-25: 5 lbs 5 oz (arched laminated mahogany back)
1974 G-37: 5 lbs 7 oz (arched laminated maple back)
1992 D-55: 5 lbs 14 oz (solid rosewood B/S)
1981 D-46: 5 lbs 15 oz ("3-piece" ash/rosewood back; ash w rosewood centerpiece)

The D-35 and D-25 have 3-on-a-plate open tuners. All the rest have enclosed tuners.

Dave

 

[jgmaute]

I'm thinking of taking the curve off the sides, some of the top off the end and replacing the Rotomatics with open back Statites to relieve some of the top heaviness and overall weight of my D-50. Anyone ever done this?

Hi Dave, I've never modified the head of any of my guitars, except back in the 60s when I sanded the paint off the headstock of my Harmony Sovereign (pure vanity, I didn't want folks to know I was playing a lowly Harmony...hey I was 16!) a friend has that old guitar and when she asked me what it was and I told her she was thrilled she had an old sovereign...I've also changed tuners on several guitars, but always to improve the tuning.

I understand your frustration with the weight of your guitar. I'm sure you've already done this but I was a slow learner. My D55 is very heavy (don't know the wt of it or any of my other guitars) and since I like to stand when I sing, I wasn't playing it as much because of the weight. I was actually considering selling it (much more drastic than modifying the head) to get a lighter guitar (and not a Guild). John, our local guitar shop owner, suggested before I did anything like that I just get a wide, padded strap. He showed me a planet waves that is that is 3" wide and has padding. He said he sells that strap to a lot of bass players. I got it and it's made all the difference. I'm back playing and enjoying my D55 all the time.

Maybe you can get more technical help by posting this question in the LTG Tech Shop forum.

good luck with finding a solution. Joan

 

[chazmo]

I'm thinking of taking the curve off the sides, some of the top off the end and replacing the Rotomatics with open back Statites to relieve some of the top heaviness and overall weight of my D-50.

Anyone ever done this?

1971 D-28 4 lbs 9.4 oz (nothing like 38 years of drying out...[curing & breaking in are probably better terms] )
2006 RD-26 4 lbs 12.4 oz (Recording King Engelmann/mahogany dread)
2006 BR-260 4 lbs 14.4 oz (Blueridge Sitka/Brazilian dread)
2006 D-50 5 lbs 1.2 oz (Guild Adi/EIR dread)
1999 0000-28H 4 lbs 8 oz (no surprise there - it ain't a dread!)

Dave,

Does your D-50 have the DTAR electronics? If so, I understand the Load-n-Lock system is pretty chunky and heavy. I don't know whether you're using that or not, but you could remove the batteries and see if that helps a bit.

 

[cuthbert]

I'm thinking of taking the curve off the sides, some of the top off the end and replacing the Rotomatics with open back Statites to relieve some of the top heaviness and overall weight of my D-50.

Anyone ever done this?

1971 D-28 4 lbs 9.4 oz (nothing like 38 years of drying out...[curing & breaking in are probably better terms] )
2006 RD-26 4 lbs 12.4 oz (Recording King Engelmann/mahogany dread)
2006 BR-260 4 lbs 14.4 oz (Blueridge Sitka/Brazilian dread)
2006 D-50 5 lbs 1.2 oz (Guild Adi/EIR dread)
1999 0000-28H 4 lbs 8 oz (no surprise there - it ain't a dread!)

Dave, with all the due respect the weight that you're going to cut sanding the sides is simply ridicoulus, few grams on the total weight of the instrument, since mahogany is a very porous, therefore not much dense.

For the open back statites, that design is cheap and the rotomatics are a much better design, just ask Jimmy Page who in his guitars replaced the Klusons ( that were a step forward any open back tuner) with the Rotomatics...speaking about myself, I'm gonna replace the open back gotohs that came with my CV-2C with Imperials because there is no comparison in the performance...

In short, like the others said, it's your guitar, but my opinion is that you're butchering her, you may try the same modification on your Martin D-28 tough...then you go to the Martin forum and prepare to be lynched! :lol:

 

[cuthbert]

Dave,

Does your D-50 have the DTAR electronics? If so, I understand the Load-n-Lock system is pretty chunky and heavy. I don't know whether you're using that or not, but you could remove the batteries and see if that helps a bit.

I think that the DTAR would help the balance of the instrument, if the headstock and the neck are a little heavy, but I don't really understand the problem some people have with the weight of acoustic guitars...I think they should try to play a three hours gig with a Norlin Les Paul custom... :wink:

 

[kydave]

Hmmm... probably not the best idea I've ever had. My D-28 has been a working guitar since I bought it new. I've modified it slightly over the years with abalone inlay on the fingerboard, Statite open back tuners replacing my ancient Rotomatics (with Waverly tuners to replace those somewhere down the road when I have the extra bucks), a soundhole modification ala Clarence White (Tony Rice's guitar now) only not as radical as on Tony's... Over on the Martin Forum we call it the half-Tony.

I got the D-50 on a trade, because I wanted to play around with an Adi topped guitar, this one sounded good and I didn't have to lay out any cash. The tuner swap would be more for the weight/balance in the headstock direction. The curve adjustment would be for aesthetics more than weight. Also the curve interfers with ease of use of a standard Dunlop style string winder a bit.

Definitely no Lock 'n Load on this guitar. I wouldn't have a guitar with that "feature". Looks like an abomination on an acoustic guitar. And speaking of which, this one fortunately did not have some nimrod having put a strap button into the side of the guitar. What is with them doing that at the factory?

The weight per se, isn't a big deal. I used to play a Telecaster bass - THAT was heavy! The balance toward the headstock is definitely off, though. When I was weighing the acoustics the Guild kept tilting off the scale toward the neck end - it wouldn't balance on the scale like the others. I ended up having to stand it on end.

Hmmm, it doesn't look bad photoshopped...

 

[cuthbert]

Hmmm... probably not the best idea I've ever had. My D-28 has been a working guitar since I bought it new. I've modified it slightly over the years with abalone inlay on the fingerboard, Statite open back tuners replacing my ancient Rotomatics (with Waverly tuners to replace those somewhere down the road when I have the extra bucks), a soundhole modification ala Clarence White (Tony Rice's guitar now) only not as radical as on Tony's... Over on the Martin Forum we call it the half-Tony.

I got the D-50 on a trade, because I wanted to play around with an Adi topped guitar, this one sounded good and I didn't have to lay out any cash. The tuner swap would be more for the weight/balance in the headstock direction. The curve adjustment would be for aesthetics more than weight. Also the curve interfers with ease of use of a standard Dunlop style string winder a bit.

Definitely no Lock 'n Load on this guitar. I wouldn't have a guitar with that "feature". Looks like an abomination on an acoustic guitar. And speaking of which, this one fortunately did not have some nimrod having put a strap button into the side of the guitar. What is with them doing that at the factory?

The weight per se, isn't a big deal. I used to play a Telecaster bass - THAT was heavy! The balance toward the headstock is definitely off, though. When I was weighing the acoustics the Guild kept tilting off the scale toward the neck end - it wouldn't balance on the scale like the others. I ended up having to stand it on end.

Hmmm, it doesn't look bad photoshopped...

Brrr...the idea of that reshaped headstock is an abomination for me, personally I think that the heavy weight of Guild is due to their thickness of the wood they use for the body, not much the neck unless you have one with a maple neck, that's a heavy wood. Ironically, if the balance of the instrument is a problem for you, I'd suggest to buy the dreaded DTAR in order to add weight above the center of weight, you may not like it, but it's the less invasive piezo in production.

My Cv-2C is so wonderfully balanced that the guitar stand on its own on my leg if I don't touch it...while I can't say the same thing about heavy neck guitars like...12 string martins...these ones are seriously unbalanced IMO.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

The Headstock is a big part of what makes a Guild a Guild.
There were a few years that Guild offered a different, smaller headstock.
I don't like it at all.
Please leave the headstock as is and look at other options that may even include trading the Guild for a different Addi guitar.

You are a Martin man, born and bread.
It will take time for your Guild to grow on you.
If it doesn't.
trade it for something you like better.
Just DON"T cut it up!!! PLEASE!!!!
TMG

 

[6L6]

Excuse me while I step over to the vomitorium... ;^)

Bill

 

[kydave]

Excuse me while I step over to the vomitorium...

Aww... come on Bill. We're friends. You can tell me what you really think!
:lol:

Dave

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

Dave, I've changed my mind on this.
Go ahead and cut the headstock down.
Now take the pieces that you cut off, and glue them to one of your Martins.
Martins have wings, don't they?

 

[kydave]

Martins have wings, don't they?

Not mine. :lol:

 

[taabru45]

Way back in about '69, I bought a Martin, that didn't sound that great, I didn't think, now at that time I had my precious 66 Braz D50. This Martin had the name in pearl inlay type vertically. I think it was braz, but can't quite remember. The top was arched, and had a round hole. Never was able to find much about it, lately I found something, There were 54 of these made, and very few in original condition, because many of them were converted to flat tops....I didn't have it too long, but wonder what the value of it would be now :shock: :shock: . Steffan
http://www.provide.net/~cfh/martin.html#c3

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

So you're looking to get banned from this board, eh? :wink: