My 1971 D50 needs a neck reset - luthiers in NYC/NJ ??

[nielDa]

Hi all - I've had my 1971 D50 since it was new. It's in great cosmetic shape, but definitely needs a neck reset. Does anyone have experience with authorized repair centers/luthiers in the New York City or New Jersey area?

The nearby NYC service centers for Guild are Guitartech and Peekamoose. In New Jersey, Mac Pherson Guitarworks and Joe's Guitar Shop. I would also be okay with sending the guitar to someone not nearby, if given great recommendations.

Next topic - I'm going to see if Guild will honor its lifetime warranty. The guitar was sent back to Guild once, around 1980 (?) to Westerly, to have a splitting rosewood bridge replaced. They replaced it with an ebony bridge, and also replaced the original tortoise-pattern pickguard (which was buckling) with a black guard. When they returned the guitar they needed to shave the saddle down to almost nothing (almost no break angle on the strings at the pins). It really needed, I am realizing, a neck reset back then. I've been living with it since (although not playing it much because of that). Since it "could be" a really nice guitar again, I got the bug recently to have it put back to its potential glory. I've had this Guild D50 forever, my first good acoustic guitar, and have always taken great care of it. I'm somewhat new to this board - I'll appreciate any advice.

Thanks!! Dan

 

[twocorgis]

Hi all - I've had my 1971 D50 since it was new. It's in great cosmetic shape, but definitely needs a neck reset. Does anyone have experience with authorized repair centers/luthiers in the New York City or New Jersey area?

The nearby NYC service centers for Guild are Guitartech and Peekamoose. In New Jersey, Mac Pherson Guitarworks and Joe's Guitar Shop. I would also be okay with sending the guitar to someone not nearby, if given great recommendations.

Next topic - I'm going to see if Guild will honor its lifetime warranty. The guitar was sent back to Guild once, around 1980 (?) to Westerly, to have a splitting rosewood bridge replaced. They replaced it with an ebony bridge, and also replaced the original tortoise-pattern pickguard (which was buckling) with a black guard. When they returned the guitar they needed to shave the saddle down to almost nothing (almost no break angle on the strings at the pins). It really needed, I am realizing, a neck reset back then. I've been living with it since (although not playing it much because of that). Since it "could be" a really nice guitar again, I got the bug recently to have it put back to its potential glory. I've had this Guild D50 forever, my first good acoustic guitar, and have always taken great care of it. I'm somewhat new to this board - I'll appreciate any advice.

Thanks!! Dan

Welcome here Dan! In many ways your story seems to mirror mine almost exactly. :shock:

I have a '73 D50 that just got back from getting a warranty neck reset, and I came to realize through the process that the guitar never had a proper neck set to begin with. Same thing; very little break angle even when the guitar was young, and I never really payed too much attention because I enjoyed playing it too much.

I sent it to Nashville for a neck reset this past March. When Fender received it originally they weren't gong to warranty the job even though I was the original owner and had provided the original invoice. They also told me that the guitar had showed signs of having a previous neck reset (before I bought it "new"). I had no idea the guitar had any work done to it prior to my purchase. Once I told them that I had no knowledge of the neck reset (the guitar was over three years old when I bought it "new") they agreed to warranty the job, though not the fret work and 'board planing. Eventually they relented on that, mostly due to feeling guilty that the job took eight months...

That being said the guitar is spectacular, and I'm a happy boy. Probably more than you needed to know. :roll:

 

[GardMan]

Can't help with NY/NJ luthiers, but welcome to LTG! Of course, it ain't real if there aren't pics!
Dave

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I hope that you will be able to get your guitar repaired under warranty.
At least give it a try.
I wonder if a mention of this site and our stories about others getting their warranty repairs may help.
In any case, give it a try first.

 

[capnjuan]

Hi Dan and welcome to LTG. This thread contains names and references for luthiers all over the place ... don't know if any of them are near you. Of course, nothing's guaranteed even the quality and price of the work any of these people might offer ... but I hope there's somebody there who can help you.

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome.

The warranty issue for pre-Fender Guilds comes up one in a while and there are various answers ranging from "Fender has no legal requirement to honor the warranty" to "Yes". What has been a consistent theme is that Fender dealers and representatives and Guild dealers and representatives don't always tell the same story even thought they are effectively the same company. So if you get any answer other than "let us look at it to determine whether it is a covered manufacturing defect or something that is uncovered" you should try someone else before giving up.

Also note that you may have to prove you are the original purchaser.

Good luck.

 

[nielDa]

Sandy / GardMan / TaylorMartinGuild / capnjuan / fronobulax

Thanks for the replies. Here are some photos - front and back photos (just for fun), then two of the bridge. This is how my D50 was returned from Guild after I sent it to them way back when - meaning, these are new photos but no work has ever been done to it since. The saddle is low (approximately .060" at the high e string, .090" at the low E), giving little break angle to the pins. What bothers me is that I thought by sending it to Guild they would have examined my D50, and I trusted they would make proper recommendations (me, at the time, knowing little about things like saddle height, string angle and neck resets). As mentioned. I've been living with it since, but playing it less and less because of these issues.

The guitar tech at Mandolin Brothers in Staten Island NY looked it over yesterday - the news about the work that it needs is more involved than I thought. (The people at Mandolin Brothers are great to talk to, by the way,) Unfortunately, they are Guild dealers but not an authorized service center. I went there considering a new Guild (F-30 or F-40) - but we'll see what happens here first.

Sandy: Thanks, I searched and found that thread. I may have a few more questions for you. I'll contact Guild this coming week, and also I'll see if I can identify a good authorized luthier - hopefully Guild will honor their warranty.

Dan

 

[wontox]

Good luck with your D50. Hopefully the warranty will take care of the work and if so, it won't take eight months like the other poster mentioned. If they refuse to warranty any work and the cost of the reset is prohibitive, for what it's worth, I effectively and untraditionally repaired a '70 D40 very badly needing a neck reset at home and could PM you the details...it now plays like a dream and wasn't terribly difficult, and might be something you could do for virtually no money, particularly if you consider that you are the final owner—it's possible the cost of the work you need will exceed the resale or replacement value of the guitar.

Wontox

 

[nielDa]

Thanks wontox. That's very cool that you did it yourself. I spoke with someone at Fender today and they gave me contacts at Fender's Nashville facility. I may have to dig through some ancient paperwork to show original ownership, but I may have something...

This is very similar to Sandy's situation, including (now) Nashville - stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have a few more questions.

Dan