mroddjob
Junior Member
I am a new member to this forum and I'm here to introduce myself and tell you about the Guild S-250 (Serial #AB100218) I'm restoring.
I've owned this Guild for about 15 years, but it's been sitting in a gig bag for most of the time I've had it.
I acquired it from a friend who gave it to me after he rescued it from his cousin.
When my friend gave it to me it was in a sad but salvageable state.
He decided to give it to me because I built a couple of guitars in high school and he figured I'd save it.
His cousin stripped the body using sandpaper and then took a wood burning iron (a soldering iron) to the headstock and back of the guitar and burnt various words and amateurish designs into the body.
It also had 2 additional holes drilled in the body for mini toggle switches.
I was barely able to make out the serial number from his "craftwork", but after doing a pencil rubbing on tracing paper I was able to make it out and I wrote to Guild to ask them what model I had.
They sent me a fax, (which I still have from 1996) with a copy of the 1982 catalog page and a letter telling me it was an S-250.
I still remember being impressed with the thoroughness of their response.
When I received the guitar it was complete except for the pickups, mounting rings, headstock cover, control knobs, upper button strap and the binding on the body.
I bought the materials to refinish it but only got as far as gluing the new binding on.
As a fan of Les Paul Jrs, my plan was to refinish it in TV Yellow with black binding.
The rebinding came out great, but then I started my own business and never had the time or motivation to finish it up.
I'm back at it now and my plans are to restore it to original except for the color and pickups.
As much as I love the TV yellow LP Jr, I've decided to paint it white instead and use humbucker sized P-90 single coil pickups from BG pickups.
This way it's still an All American made guitar and from everything I've read, the combination of the mahogany body and P90s should sound great.
I've located most of the missing parts, including a Guild overlay for the headstock.
And I sent an email to Hans for the truss rod cover and upper button strap which his web site says are still available.
I've got my fingers crossed because then I'll have everything I need.
Well except for an original hardcase, so if anyone knows where I can find one...
I've attached the pics of it's current state.
I should have taken photos of the before state with all of the wood burns in the body, but this way I won't make you cry.
So far I've scraped the binding down flush with the wood surface.
My next step is to fill in the holes where the mini toggles were, but I'm waiting for a 1/4" mahogany dowel to arrive, so I can make a proper repair.
I've got grain filler, sealer and lacquer ready to refinish it, but the pickups being hand wound won't be here for 2 months so I can take my time.
I've owned this Guild for about 15 years, but it's been sitting in a gig bag for most of the time I've had it.
I acquired it from a friend who gave it to me after he rescued it from his cousin.
When my friend gave it to me it was in a sad but salvageable state.
He decided to give it to me because I built a couple of guitars in high school and he figured I'd save it.
His cousin stripped the body using sandpaper and then took a wood burning iron (a soldering iron) to the headstock and back of the guitar and burnt various words and amateurish designs into the body.
It also had 2 additional holes drilled in the body for mini toggle switches.
I was barely able to make out the serial number from his "craftwork", but after doing a pencil rubbing on tracing paper I was able to make it out and I wrote to Guild to ask them what model I had.
They sent me a fax, (which I still have from 1996) with a copy of the 1982 catalog page and a letter telling me it was an S-250.
I still remember being impressed with the thoroughness of their response.
When I received the guitar it was complete except for the pickups, mounting rings, headstock cover, control knobs, upper button strap and the binding on the body.
I bought the materials to refinish it but only got as far as gluing the new binding on.
As a fan of Les Paul Jrs, my plan was to refinish it in TV Yellow with black binding.
The rebinding came out great, but then I started my own business and never had the time or motivation to finish it up.
I'm back at it now and my plans are to restore it to original except for the color and pickups.
As much as I love the TV yellow LP Jr, I've decided to paint it white instead and use humbucker sized P-90 single coil pickups from BG pickups.
This way it's still an All American made guitar and from everything I've read, the combination of the mahogany body and P90s should sound great.
I've located most of the missing parts, including a Guild overlay for the headstock.
And I sent an email to Hans for the truss rod cover and upper button strap which his web site says are still available.
I've got my fingers crossed because then I'll have everything I need.
Well except for an original hardcase, so if anyone knows where I can find one...
I've attached the pics of it's current state.
I should have taken photos of the before state with all of the wood burns in the body, but this way I won't make you cry.
So far I've scraped the binding down flush with the wood surface.
My next step is to fill in the holes where the mini toggles were, but I'm waiting for a 1/4" mahogany dowel to arrive, so I can make a proper repair.
I've got grain filler, sealer and lacquer ready to refinish it, but the pickups being hand wound won't be here for 2 months so I can take my time.
