New guy with a project

[hugohurst]

hey gang,
found the forum when looking for info on S-90's. long story short, about 18 years ago my friend screwed one up and decided to take it apart and strip it and then never did anything with it. sat in his basement for 8 years and mine for ten, now that i'm settling into my first home and getting into having some workspace, i'm FINALLY getting around to working on it.

a few years ago, when i lived in brooklyn, my toolbox got stolen out of my car along with almost all of the hardware (luckily, a friend had taken the pickups, still attached to the pickguard, to try and use them on an old hollowbody he had. he still has everything intact and i'm getting it from him tonight). so i'm gonna be looking for a rollerbridge, a tailpiece (although i'm toying with the notion of a guildsby as this is never gonna be a collectors item and i kinda want to go somewhere between s-90 and s-100), and knobs. strap buttons and whatnot i'm fine with aftermarket, again not looking to build an all original collectors piece, just a home-refinished player.

i ordered a set of rotomatics under the impression that at least the s-100s had them, but i've read a few things here now that are making me wonder if thats untrue / if they'll even fit. anyone?

i thought that with the backplate, the serial number was lost, as i was almost sure my friend sanded it off when he stripped the guitar, but it turns out it's still there and when i prestained it i could see that it is 97836 (i think, that 8 could be a 5 or a 6) which leads me to believe this is a '74, correct?

here's a couple pics before and after i sanded off the grey automotive primer my friend put on the back (?!), there a bunch more at a blog i started about the project at http://hugohurst.tumblr.com

 

[Default]

Nothing to add, but howdy! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

 

[Qvart]

It probably had three-on-a-strip open-back tuners. Rotomatics are better though.

 

[dklsplace]

Welcome aboard! Great project & it will be well worth the effort. I have an S-90 that had gone through a sloppy refin in a previous life & I've put some time into it as well. Waiting for the weather to break here so I can get another few lacquer coats on before calling it good. Refret is also in order, but playable for the time being.

 

[hugohurst]

you know what, thinking back, i believe it did indeed have open backs.
did the s-100 come with rotomatics? i thought i'd read that somewhere. basically i'm looking to upgrade alot of the parts to s-100 spec. (no, i'm not trying to make a counterfeit s-100, i'm not gonna try and flip this thing. been playing twenty years and have never sold or even traded a guitar!)

i'm a bigger fan of the s-100 style pickguard also and intend to probably put one of those one this guitar, i'm thinking a cream one would look awesome with the stained mahogany. i'm also considering a bigsby b5 as it wouldn't cost me much more than the $85 i'm seeing tailpieces going for.

i just came across this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/HAGSTROM-GUILD-MICR ... 4aa93a5723

i just measured my holes and it's a bit over 3.25, but this listing claims this is the bridge used on the s-100. did the s-90s not use the same bridge as the s-100?

 

[Qvart]

I think more S-100's had Schallers than Grovers. The Rotomatics would be best. Schallers are decent.

 

[Qvart]

I think more S-100's had Schallers than Grovers. The Rotomatics would be best. Schallers are decent.

Here's the '72 S-90 I used to have (now touring the world with Band of Horses):

 

[krysh]

welcome, congrats to your great taste in guitars, and thanks for the great opening topic!

 

[killdeer43]

Welcome, Hugo.
To say that you have a "project" is quite the understatement. With talent like that, you'll do well here. :wink:
Keep us posted as you progress with this diamond in the rough.

Keep it tuned,
Joe

 

[hugohurst]

thanks for the warm welcome all!

i've used the locking schallers on a couple of ESP Vipers that i have (see a pattern? also got a gibby) and they hold tune great, but i'm definitely going for a more 70's vibe with this guitar so I'm glad i went with the rotomatics (although i feel like probably would have been a little cooler than chrome, but i can always switch it up).

earlier this evening i put on the first coat of stain, and man it looks awesome. got a bit darker, more like the walnut SG color, but with more reds and highlights, and the open grain feels more like a firebrand. can't wait to start the oiling process, although i might just go back and sand a few spots that has some scratches i didnt fully get out first time around.

the really awesome news is that after i stained it, i went to my brothers birthday party and saw my friend who had this guitar before me (the guy that put it into the sad state it was in until a week ago). i was telling him how i finally am getting it into shape but it was gonna cost an arm and a leg to replace all the hardware that was stolen, and he goes"no man, that stuff was in your old orange and tan tackle box out in the garage" (the party was at the house i grew up in / where the guitar lived in the basement those ten years). well, it wasnt in the garage, but thats because when i moved into my house i did bring it with me! and i just checked and indeed i have the roller bridge, the tailpiece, and the original (?) tuners (which are open back but 6 seperate tuners, not two pieces with three each). also have the backplate which confirms the serial, strap buttons, i didn't see knobs.

our other friend found the original pickguard and pickups that he had at his moms house after taking them for a few years to try and get the pickups into one of his old hollowbodies, i'll be getting those all from him this week. so all in all, i've got almost everything to put it back together, plus a set of upgrade tuners on the way. very excited!

i've read alot about the great pickups (hb-1s i think?) that came in the s-100s, is this the same for the s-90? i was thinking of throwing a set of HB sized p90s in it, but if it has the highly praised guild HBs then i may just stick with those.


by the way qvart, i'm a huge band of horses fan. glad to see they appreciate the guilds. after reading all the s-100 threads i was starting to think s-90s got no love!

 

[Qvart]

i've read alot about the great pickups (hb-1s i think?) that came in the s-100s, is this the same for the s-90? i was thinking of throwing a set of HB sized p90s in it, but if it has the highly praised guild HBs then i may just stick with those.


by the way qvart, i'm a huge band of horses fan. glad to see they appreciate the guilds. after reading all the s-100 threads i was starting to think s-90s got no love!

S-90's definitely get some props around here.

The original p'ups are HB-1's. Stick with those!

And if you didn't come across anything here about my S-90, this is Tyler Ramsey with it at Lollapalooza:

 

[hugohurst]

oh, i did! actually i was looking into what kind of rigs they used a couple of weeks ago, i've traditionally always played heavier stuff in most bands i've done but at this point i'm really slowing down and mellowing out.

can't wait to get this thing put back together and plug into my '68 Super Reverb and maybe a tube screamer and see what happens!

 

[hugohurst]

bridge! (original open back tuner is in view below, and strap buttons to the right)

and the rear cover:

and a quick look at the first round of mahogany stain. after i laid this on, i decided that i should have sanded more dilligently. for one, there are a good number of divits and cross grain swirl scratches (i think my friend used an orbital sander all those years back) various other gouges showing through the stain, and secondly because of hoe uneven it was. i think the unevenness is going to be unavoidable up by the horns where the striations and grain are just so heavy that they absorb the stain in a totally different way.
i can live with that much, especially now that i havent had to spend $400 replacing hardware!

i just sanded it all back down with 100 followed by 180 on the palm sander (and by hand in the horns) and by hand and block with 400, back to the basement to apply prestain again!

 

[Treem]

That is one heck of a project, to call a project.......Welcome to the LTG, Hugo! :mrgreen:

 

[AlohaJoe]

Welcome! I love the look of the mahogany! Thanks for the pics. I look forward to seeing the project move along.

 

[Qvart]

Huh......it was originally black. The natural is going to look sweet!

 

[hugohurst]

yeah, there were still a few areas of black left when i started (between pickups, and most of the neck). i've owned a few black guitars in my day (strat, gibby explorer, and an esp viper) and i just can't wrap my head a round why you'd paint a solid piece of mahogany black! i get it for strats and other multi ply guitars, but these babies are solid and gorgeous, anything more than a translucent finish doesn't make much sense to me.

last night i got it re-prepped and re-stained, this time i did two coats of prestain (with a real good wipe down after each) and then a coat of the red mahogany (again really spreading it thin and wiping down afterward). i feel like it is less "blotchy" now (not perfect, but good enough for a first time refinisher i guess) and a little bit lighter than last time which i love. the mahogany is a dark enough wood that when you wet it down (with naptha for example) it really shines, alot of gorgeous honey like tones etc. i wanted to hold onto some of those lighter colors.

very happy with the stain body and neck, and i used some of the ebony on the face and sides of the headstock to help blend in the plastic veneer piece where it had gotten messed up.

anybody have any experience with using crazy glue as a sealer? i know fender puts it directly onto clapton's strat necks to keep a more natural feel, and i think i read someone on here mention it. i feel like the neck should probably have something a little harder than the oil rub that the body is going to get, and also something that will fill the grain a little now for smoother playability.

also, will tung oil color the finish at all? i was going to use some leftover "Behandla" wood treatment oil i had leftover (it's actually an ikea product, i used their birch butcher block countertops in my kitchen, it needs to be coated a bunch with the Behandla oil which is apparently a mix of Linseed and Tung and some other stuff) but i think that it has a bit of pigment in it, not much but it definitely made my countertop a few shades darker / yellower and i'm hoping to keep this exact tone the guitar has now.

pictures tonight! as for now, here's ol' murph dog waiting for some stain to dry:

 

[Qvart]

I can't look right now but there's a thread in which workedinwesterly says guitars didn't start out black, they just happened. At least acoustics anyway. :lol:

 

[tonepoet]

Welcome. Great looking project !

Have fun,
tonepoet

 

[hugohurst]

oh, by the way, in the pic of my tailpiece and bridge you can see that i'm missing one bridge post. anybody know where i can score a correctly sized replacement?

also, dont know if i have the screws for the tailpiece (or pickups or anything else), anybody know where i can get a reference for what sizes of screws i'll need to put everything back together?

still tracking down a copy of hans' book.