OM 120 neck joint

[docfishr]

I recently acquired a lightly used OM-120 with a greatly overset neck angle.
I can't find any info on Guild's site about what kind of neck joint this guitar has. I would like to reset the neck and am able to handle a dovetail or mortise and tenon joint. But I have come across Chinese made guitars with necks that are attached with 5 dowels that seem to be epoxied together. No amount of heat stick or steam will loosen those joints so they have to be cut off and made to bolt back on.
I want to avoid the frustration of trying to drill into and heat up a dovetail or M/T that is not there if It will be necessary to do a kung-fu reset.
On the other hand I don't want to cut off a neck that is removable with heat/steam.
Help?

 

[SFIV1967]

The previously existing GAD series marketing literature showed:
"GAD series guitars feature all-solid tonewoods, dovetail neck joint construction "
Now you are right, the Westerly Collection literature gives no indication anymore, but I'd say chances are hight that it is still a dovetail.
I cannot remember anybody taking a neck off a Westerly Collection model yet, they are all too new.

Ralf

 

[Rambozo96]

I think it’s also entirely possible that the dovetail is epoxied in. I believe Yamaha did that in the late 70’s. Makes you wonder how that one cleared QC

 

[SFIV1967]

I think it’s also entirely possible that the dovetail is epoxied in.

We never ever have heard anything about using Expoxy in construction from Guild, so I would not think so.
Ralf

 

[Rambozo96]

I would really hope to be wrong. I had to retire a Yamaha and a Daion because the neck angle needed be reset but they had epoxied neck joints. I guess nothing stopped me from having them converted to bolt on.

 

[docfishr]

i have spent 3 hours this morning attempting to remove the neck from a 71 Yamaha FG-75. I don't think they used epoxy in 71 but whatever glue it is has a lot of resistance to heat. 3 hrs and only half way through the fretboard extension.
I hate to think how the dovetail will go. might have to cut it.

Thanks for the info on the GAD's. That's encouraging enough that I will give the OM-120

the ol' heat stick.

First time I have ever encountered an overset neck angle. the saddle is currently so high it looks like a mandolin bridge! Action at 12th fret is a low .070.

 

[marius]

That's encouraging enough that I will give the OM-120 the ol' heat stick.

Looking forward to hearing what you find!

 

[docfishr]

Might be a while. Other projects demand completion.
Meanwhile I have the OM-120 set up so that it is playable with minimum string buzz and only when playing hard above fret 7. What I have found its that this all mahogany box sounds terrific In fact it sounds as good as the Martin 000-17m. No noticeable difference in tone quality just different in neck size as the Guild is 1 3/4 and Martin 1 11/16. For fingerpicking I like the string spacing on the Guild better except when playing the F cord shape with thumb on the bass. But WOW, WHAT A SWEET GUITAR! And less than 1/2 the price of the Martin.
Cudos Guild.

 

[docfishr]

Oh, and did I mention the Guild is prettier than the Martin?
Oh yes, it is so.

 

[chazmo]

i have spent 3 hours this morning attempting to remove the neck from a 71 Yamaha FG-75. I don't think they used epoxy in 71 but whatever glue it is has a lot of resistance to heat. 3 hrs and only half way through the fretboard extension.
I hate to think how the dovetail will go. might have to cut it.

Thanks for the info on the GAD's. That's encouraging enough that I will give the OM-120

the ol' heat stick.

First time I have ever encountered an overset neck angle. the saddle is currently so high it looks like a mandolin bridge! Action at 12th fret is a low .070.

That's quite a saddle!!!! Giddyup!

 

[docfishr]

OK, as much as I enjoyed playing this OM-120 it was just to tenuous. That ultra tall saddle just looks like it is going to split the bridge at any time. So I removed strings and it will sit in its case until I can do a neck reset. I will update this thread when that happens.

 

[Slammey]

i have spent 3 hours this morning attempting to remove the neck from a 71 Yamaha FG-75. I don't think they used epoxy in 71 but whatever glue it is has a lot of resistance to heat. 3 hrs and only half way through the fretboard extension.
I hate to think how the dovetail will go. might have to cut it.

Thanks for the info on the GAD's. That's encouraging enough that I will give the OM-120

the ol' heat stick.

First time I have ever encountered an overset neck angle. the saddle is currently so high it looks like a mandolin bridge! Action at 12th fret is a low .070.

My wife bought me an OM120 for Christmas from Sweetwater and it had the same problem. They swapped it out for another one that was setup perfectly when it arrived.

 

[docfishr]

My wife bought me an OM120 for Christmas from Sweetwater and it had the same problem. They swapped it out for another one that was setup perfectly when it arrived.

Sweet! Unfortunately I got mine used so don't have that option. How do you like your new one?

 

[Slammey]

Sweet! Unfortunately I got mine used so don't have that option. How do you like your new one?

It took me a little while to get used to the 1 3/4 nut width, but now I really like this little acoustic very much. I strum and finger pick, and it is loud without overpowering my vocals, a nice mahogany sound. I like to use GHS Silk and Bronze strings which may enhance that effect. The neck profile and gloss finish is very comfortable for me. I did file the nut slots a bit and rounded off some rough edges on the frets, other than that, it came beautifully setup from the factory. If you can get the neck angle corrected, you should have a sweet little acoustic. This is my first Guild and I am very impressed.

 

[docfishr]

That's cool. The full spectrum. Your first Guild and my 54 years (and at least that many Guilds) and we are both impressed by this guitar. Very cool!

 

[docfishr]

OK, back to the OM-120 neck reset. I have spent about 3 hrs trying to get the fretboard loose from the top. Whatever glue they use in China is damn tenacious stuff. Heating the board to 350 deg and coming in from the end and the bass side (treble side has pick guard in the way) with hot palette knifes I managed to get in about 1/4 of the way. At that point the knife hits hard metal so the truss rod tube is blocking further progress. Stubborn persistence resulted in the knife diving into the mahogany and splitting the top. At that point I decided to re-think this project. Perhaps I will remove the frets and sand down the fretboard. I should be able to get it lower and level enough to reinstall the frets and have more clearance for the strings, eliminating the buzz. Not the best fix since I still have the excess force on the bridge from the ultra high saddle. Fortunately the saddle slot is quite deep so it may hold up. This may turn out to be a slack key guitar!

 

[chazmo]

doc, I'm just curious if you have a picture of a straight edge running down the neck and touching the bridge. I.e., I'm curious how you concluded that this needed a neck reset.

 

[docfishr]

Well chasmo, I tried but sometimes this digital gear just baffles my 74 yr old brain. I shot several pics with my iPhone but cannot get them to my computer via the two pathways that usually work. Anyway the straight edge rises above the bridge by about 3/16". So it takes a very tall saddle to get playable action. If the pics show up on this MacBook, I will post them.

 

[adorshki]

Well chasmo, I tried but sometimes this digital gear just baffles my 74 yr old brain. I shot several pics with my iPhone but cannot get them to my computer via the two pathways that usually work. Anyway the straight edge rises above the bridge by about 3/16". So it takes a very tall saddle to get playable action. If the pics show up on this MacBook, I will post them.

I believe that's what they call a severely overset neck. Was thinking along the lines of planing the 'board myself, see you already considered that. Sorry to hear it turned into such a a tough project, but thanks for the update!

 

[docfishr]

I managed to email the pics to myself and drop them on my desktop but when I try to attach them here I get some kind of problem notice and they will not load.
I do not understand since the first one showing the high saddle was taken in the same way and it loaded just fine. Sun spots?