Thanks for the welcomes everyone! I wondered where my post went.. lol. I did spend the evening playing the guitar. The action & playability are surprisingly perfect! I believe the original strings are still on it because they're dull sounding. I'm scoping out what strings to put on her. Your suggestions are absolutely welcome!
I'm so notorious for recommending what Guild put on 'em it's become a running joke around here:
D'addario EJ-16 (pb lights)
D'Addario actually supplied these to Guild labeled as "L-350" Guild strings, with one small exception:
THE "L350" 's had a wound .025 G-string whereas the EJ-16's have an .024 G.
If you hammer a lot like me, that .025 makes a bit if difference, and I still buy the single G (PB025) D'A offers and sub it into the set, since Guild doesn't actually offer strings anymore.
Personally I recommend against trying mediums in hopes of getting better volume, I think it'll be counterproductive on those, because they were
designed for lights.
Also, they put less stress on the neck, which is probably a big reason your neck is still straight and not pulled out of alignment after 20 years in storage.
The neck on this Guild is as straight as an arrow & based on the playability and action no truss rod adjustments are needed.
Sounds like that one's confirming Westerly's rep for quality.
Perhaps they had it adjusted before they brought it to the store to sell?
I'd kind of doubt it if they weren't knowledgeable themselves, as "laymen" usually aren't aware of such things.....and....an even bigger clue:
the Truss Rod Cover is still right-side-up.
Almost invariably if it's been off, it's put back on upside down, in the Gibson orientation, wide end at the bottom.
It's so common it's another running joke around here.
Probably still has a dab of corrosion inhibiting white grease on the threads and adjusting nut.
I'm as tickled as I can be. Rarely am I in the right place at the right time so yesterday was my turn. Yea!
When I go my D25 I used to spend a few minutes every night for the first couple of weeks just eye-balling it, looking for any little flaws in construction.
Couldn't find a one: nary a glue squeeze from the kerfing inside, seams all perfectly smoothly matched, fret ends all perfectly angled and smooth with no protrusion (if they are sticking out a bit it's sign the guitar needs hydration)...
When you see the kind of attention to detail that was paid to the
inside of the guitar you just know you're looking at true craftsmanship.
Then one night I noticed a date stamp on the beveled edge of the neck block.
It takes holding the guitar at just the right angle to see it through the sound hole, but that's when the "superstructure" was completed prior to final finishing and hardware installation.
Not exactly a "born-on date" but it can't be any older than that..usually guitar was actually completed within a couple of weeks to a couple of months of that date, depending on demand.
One thing I did notice that made me realize that arched back is actually laminated:
I realized one night that the grain pattern inside the guitar was running in the exact opposite from the grain outside but it was obviously the same pattern.
Lots of folks think of laminated wood as a sign of cheapness or a tone-killer, but in Guild's case, laminated arched backs are a hallmark for them, and I took the grain reversal as a normal laminating technique to improve strength through grain-crossing.
Later on after I joined here, a member who had worked in Westerly explained that actually Guild tried to match the inside and outside grain patterns (and there's a center sheet of a different wood), and that technically my back would have been considered a cosmetic defect(!).
Anyway, laminated backs are stronger than solid wood and resist cracking better, especially after being put through the steam-pressing process that creates the arch.
And the arch's purpose is to enhance sustain and volume, it makes for very luscious chords although it can muddy up the sound a bit if you "push" the guitar really hard.
Since the back's purpose is primarily to reflect and 95% + of a guitar's sound is generated by the top, a laminated back really doesn't dampen tone the way some laminated tops can.