Hello LTG...New Member

[Rustbucket]

Hey out there LTG...Just thought I'd introduce myself and my '74(?) M-75CS.

I bought this guitar used about 10 years ago for $700 in Mesa AZ. Played it a lot for a couple years and then put it aside as I had joined an acoustic group during which time I played almost zero electric guitar for almost six years! I had this guitar listed on CL sometime last spring as I was moving and downsizing gear and was going to keep only my ASAT Special. While the Buyer was on his way to my house, I set up the guitar and amp and managed to knock the guitar over, splitting the neck & headstock down the middle:

To make a long story longer, I thought I'll never get decent value for a guitar with a broken headstock so I might as well have it fixed. Took it to a local repair man and though I might as well have the old frets replaced and guitar set up properly. It took a while to get my guitar back but the repair came out looking nearly flawless (no pics at the moment unfortunately). Most anybody would never even know the guitar was damaged without careful inspection or knowledge of the repair. After $500 additional investment for the neck repair, refret and setup, this guitar plays like a dream and I couldn't be happier with it. In fact, I enjoy playing it so much now I'm no longer planning on selling.

Anyways, I think all is original to this M-75CS except the (poorly retrofitted) tuning machines and the knobs. I'm hoping some of you Guild experts can help me confirm:

Also, any guidance on correct tuner/knob replacements and where to find them? Not for resale value so much as personal satisfaction. The cream colored binding is worn to white on the neck. Is this typical from this era Guilds or a sign of replacement binding?

Thanks All!

 

[killdeer43]

Looks like you slipped in under the radar but WELCOME TO LTG, nonetheless. :encouragement:
Hang loose and the 'experts' should be along shortly.

Joe

 

[davismanLV]

Hey Rustbucket, welcome to LTG! Great story on this guitar. I have no information about tuners (I'm pretty much acoustic) but on the binding, I have a guess. The binding on most of these guitars is fairly bright white, but it's been lacquered over. Over the years the lacquer darkens and yellows. You end up with a nice amber tone. I'd guess that the lacquer has worn or chipped off the neck over time with lots of playing and action. You can tell at the transition areas (from white to amber) by seeing if there's lacquer that has chipped or worn off. Anyway, that's ONE guess. I'd need to see better close up photos to be certain.

Great first post with PHOTOS!! :encouragement:

p.s. - on further scrutiny, that neck binding looks fairly evenly white ALL THE WAY down and even turning the corner. Not sure lacquer would wear evenly off like that. I can only see the one side clearly. Is it that cleanly white on the other side as well all the way up to the nut?

 

[kakerlak]

That's has at least two other sets of tuners on it before. I'm guessing Schaller M6 was original, but something with a mounting screw above each tuner was on there at one point, too. At this point, since any one tuner will leave traces of the other two, I might just leave the Grovers, which were about as common as anything else OEM, especially if they're in good working order. Guild is using knobs that are pretty much correct repros of that guitar's originals on most of the '60s reissue Korean "Newark Street" models, though they're not offering them for sale through their website for some reason. You used to be able to get the Rickenbacker-style master volume knobs at Radio Shack and they're pretty generic, so that ought to be the easiest to find. As for the binding, I'd be surprised if the finish was worn away from it in spots like the end of the fretboard, so if the whole run of binding is all white, it's probably been replaced. The original binding does tend to shrink a bit and I've seen plenty where it's cracked and then fallen off in long strips, so a re-binding isn't too unusual.

Anyway, welcome and cool guitar!

 

[JohnW63]

Another model I would like to try.

 

[jeffcoop]

Hey, and welcome! Beautiful guitar.

 

[Rustbucket]

Hey all, thanks for the welcome and the tips. Got a chance to take a couple photos with better light and to show how well the headstock repair came out. I was a hair disappointed that the guy didn't bother to patch & finish over the old tuner machine holes while he was doing it, but after several months I was just happy to get her back.

 

[walrus]

Welcome! Great first post!

walrus

 

[idealassets]

Welcome to LTG. I'm curious how the guitar got knocked over, and what did it hit that broke the neck and headstock?

I have knocked a few guitars over. The biggest culprit has been guitar stands placed on carpet where it was apparently off balance and fell over by itself. Another thing I never do is to prop a guitar upright along a wall or even in the corner of a room.

As for the binding it was most likely replaced at one point, since as has been pointed out that with age the original neck binding can crack and long pieces fall off, along with a very yellowed and cracked nitro finish on some old binding. I was working on smoothing a replaced neck binding where the guitar slipped during a vice adjustment, then when I tried to catch it- made I it even worse. The neck bounced once on a concrete floor and the binding came completely off one side, but amazingly with only one small dent that was not noticeable. It came out better than I thought since it didn't take long at all to replace the binding again, including putting the fret marker dots in.

 

[Rustbucket]

Welcome to LTG. I'm curious how the guitar got knocked over, and what did it hit that broke the neck and headstock?

Ideal -
I had set up the guitar in my garage waiting for the potential buyer to show up and I placed it in a cheap folding stand. After adjusting the amp, I backed into the stand and it fell over face first and hit the concrete floor just right. I agree this wouldn't normally split the neck, so I wonder if there was a previous fracture repair that I was un-aware of. I've since gotten rid of the stand and for one with a better center of gravity.