shepke
Member
Dr. Spivey's link to Frets.com shows how to check a neck angle pretty clearly as far as I can see, and you are quite right adorshki, a twisted neck is usually a different matter altogether. I'm no expert luthier but I've done a ton of setups over the years and I've gotten pretty good at it from what I'm told - after a while you can just sort of eyeball these things. The picture I looked at that onewilyfool linked from another thread is of dapmdave's newly acquired D-50. If you read through that thread you will notice that his repair person just did a few adjustments and it was fine (no neck reset indicated – and that’s what I see also).
This is the sort of thing I'm talking about. A number of Guilds I've looked at, played, and worked on just seem to have a slightly lower saddle profile than say a Martin of comparable age and condition. Also, it’s not all that uncommon for me to do the straight edge test (maybe 3 examples in the past couple of years - including a 1978 D35 I set up and made a new bone saddle for in May) and notice that it comes to rest a little below the bridge, and that the distance from the top to the strings is a less than the ideal 1/2" (as shown in Dr. Spivey's Frets.com link). As far as my experience tells me (for whatever it's worth) this just doesn't necessarily mean very much. Usually there's still a good break angle and with a truss rod adjustment, and sometimes a new saddle, everything comes out fine.
As an example of this, my 1974 F112 has always looked kind of iffy (not much saddle left – sort of like what 12 string describes with his F112 in a previous post), but the break angle is certainly adequate and it’s been that way for years and years and never seems to change (basically I’ve stopped thinking about it – waiting for this thing to need a neck reset is sort of like waiting for Godot).
Having said that, the need for a neck reset can obviously be a problem on any guitar, but if it really requires one, believe me you'll know it. (I’ve never had a neck reset done on any of my guitars, past or present, but I’ve played a few that were definitely candidates).
Someone else above talked about how wood settles in newer guitars, which I think, is significant here, and so I'll reiterate my tentative (and certainly falsifiable) theory about the guitars in question.
1. The initial neck angles were a little off (which I still suspect happened somewhat more often in 70's Westerly built instruments, although I have no hard evidence for this – and sorry if I’m offending anyone).
2. There was some subsequent movement in these necks joints early on as the wood settled over time.
3. After a period of settling these guitars remain very stable (barring heavy strings and bad weather), showing a less than idea angle and saddle profile, but with no deleterious effects on action or tone, and with no impending neck reset on the horizon.
Another contributor here pointed out that Guild necks are notoriously difficult to remove, and I think this might be another factor that supports my hypothesis. The initial slightly “off” neck angle may continue to deepen a little as the wood settles, but once this period is over the sheer strength of the Guild dovetail joint retards any further movement.
If onewilyfool is talking about guitars that look like dapmdave’s D50, I really don’t think there’s too much to worry about. I’d sure like to see a D50 in that condition come my way at a good price.
This is the sort of thing I'm talking about. A number of Guilds I've looked at, played, and worked on just seem to have a slightly lower saddle profile than say a Martin of comparable age and condition. Also, it’s not all that uncommon for me to do the straight edge test (maybe 3 examples in the past couple of years - including a 1978 D35 I set up and made a new bone saddle for in May) and notice that it comes to rest a little below the bridge, and that the distance from the top to the strings is a less than the ideal 1/2" (as shown in Dr. Spivey's Frets.com link). As far as my experience tells me (for whatever it's worth) this just doesn't necessarily mean very much. Usually there's still a good break angle and with a truss rod adjustment, and sometimes a new saddle, everything comes out fine.
As an example of this, my 1974 F112 has always looked kind of iffy (not much saddle left – sort of like what 12 string describes with his F112 in a previous post), but the break angle is certainly adequate and it’s been that way for years and years and never seems to change (basically I’ve stopped thinking about it – waiting for this thing to need a neck reset is sort of like waiting for Godot).
Having said that, the need for a neck reset can obviously be a problem on any guitar, but if it really requires one, believe me you'll know it. (I’ve never had a neck reset done on any of my guitars, past or present, but I’ve played a few that were definitely candidates).
Someone else above talked about how wood settles in newer guitars, which I think, is significant here, and so I'll reiterate my tentative (and certainly falsifiable) theory about the guitars in question.
1. The initial neck angles were a little off (which I still suspect happened somewhat more often in 70's Westerly built instruments, although I have no hard evidence for this – and sorry if I’m offending anyone).
2. There was some subsequent movement in these necks joints early on as the wood settled over time.
3. After a period of settling these guitars remain very stable (barring heavy strings and bad weather), showing a less than idea angle and saddle profile, but with no deleterious effects on action or tone, and with no impending neck reset on the horizon.
Another contributor here pointed out that Guild necks are notoriously difficult to remove, and I think this might be another factor that supports my hypothesis. The initial slightly “off” neck angle may continue to deepen a little as the wood settles, but once this period is over the sheer strength of the Guild dovetail joint retards any further movement.
If onewilyfool is talking about guitars that look like dapmdave’s D50, I really don’t think there’s too much to worry about. I’d sure like to see a D50 in that condition come my way at a good price.