Guild History

hansmoust

hansmoust

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Now, since some of you seem to enjoy the trip down memory lane, here's another one for you!

Everybody ........... meet Charles Morenzoni!

CharlesMorenzoni_1.jpg


Charlie is one of the old-timers who worked at the original Orsenigo plant. The Orenigo Company occupied the building before Al Dronge bought it. Charlie came with the factory, so to speak and he was responsible for all the woodworking machinery that stayed in the factory when Guild moved in and I believe he stayed almost till the end. He gave me a lot of interesting information about the early Westerly years.
Even though Charlie wasn't what we like to call a 'luthier', he was one of the valuable workers that should get some credit for the 'glory years' in Westerly.

The photo shows him holding up an old announcement regarding a big sale of Orsenigo furniture; that happened a long time before Guild came to town.

It's been a while since I've seen Charlie, so I do not know how he's doing but if any of you guys happens to see him ....... give him my regards!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
hideglue

hideglue

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Hans,

I'm glad you have such a good picture of CM
I haven't seen him since the closing. I hope he is doing well.
With just a point of his finger at me and then a point towards the door I knew he needed a ride into downtown after work - that happened pretty often. But just a nod in return would always evoke a big smile and a thumbs up from Charlie.


I think they're still finding artifacts that he left in long-forgotten nooks and crannies.
 
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marcellis

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Thanks Hans.

BTW, I just bought your book off EBay. I hope you get some royalties.
I'm taking it back to Viet Nam. I don't know of any Guilds in Viet Nam or
or any Guild books. When I get back, there will be 2 Guilds* and 1 Hans
Moust book.

--
Taking the F-65ce & your book back to show off.
I'm taking the 76 D-40 back for a serious restoration project.
 
The Guilds of Grot

The Guilds of Grot

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Thanks Hans!

Your posts are always so informative.

I bought some stuff from Willie Fritscher off of ebay. Apparently when Westerly closed he must have taken a big box of stuff home with him!

He didn't seem too happy when I identified him from his ebay name and asked him some Guild questions.

I wonder if he visits here?
 
hansmoust

hansmoust

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The Guilds of Grot said:
I bought some stuff from Willie Fritscher off of ebay. Apparently when Westerly closed he must have taken a big box of stuff home with him!
Click to expand...

Yes, and almost everybody else I know did that. Don't blame them! Fender would have thrown most of it in the dumpster anyway.

He didn't seem too happy when I identified him from his ebay name and asked him some Guild questions.

I wonder if he visits here?
Click to expand...

I wonder if you did get some good answers and I would be surprised if he knew about this forum!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
GardMan

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I picked up a couple of nice NOS ('60s or '70s) rosewood "dread style" Guild bridges from "Guild Willie" off eBay (AKA William Fritscher; can you share his role at the Westerly plant w/o compromising his privacy?), one purported to be (and looks like) BRW. At the time, I wasn't sure of their authenticity... guess maybe they are from Westerly. Haven't needed them, yet... but it's sort of like carrying an umbrella here in SLC... if you carry one, it never rains. I figure, as long as I have those two bridges (for my D-35, G-37, and D-25), I'll never need them (guess I oughta find a couple of ebonys for my D-55 and D-46, so they are covered as well).

Hans, Thanks for sharing the history... it all adds to the pleasures of playing my old Guilds.
Dave
 
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jwsamuel

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GardMan said:
I picked up a couple of nice NOS ('60s or '70s) rosewood "dread style" Guild bridges from "Guild Willie" off eBay
Click to expand...

Dave, do you know where I can get one of those bridges? I need a new bridge for a 1973 D40.

Thanks,

Jim
 
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jwsamuel

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guildzilla said:
Jim, I was happy with the one I got from this guy.
Click to expand...

I got one of those and it seems well made, but the string spacing is only 2 inches. My Guild D-40 has 2-1/8 inch string spacing at the bridge. I need to find one with 2-1/8 spacing.

Jim
 
hansmoust

hansmoust

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GardMan said:
I picked up a couple of nice NOS ('60s or '70s) rosewood "dread style" Guild bridges from "Guild Willie" off eBay (AKA William Fritscher; can you share his role at the Westerly plant w/o compromising his privacy?)
Dave
Click to expand...

Hello Dave,

William Fritscher was the plant manager at the time the factory was closed in 2001.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
hansmoust

hansmoust

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jwsamuel said:
do you know where I can get one of those bridges? I need a new bridge for a 1973 D40. Thanks, Jim
Click to expand...

jwsamuel said:
guildzilla said:
Jim, I was happy with the one I got from this guy.
Click to expand...
I got one of those and it seems well made, but the string spacing is only 2 inches. My Guild D-40 has 2-1/8 inch string spacing at the bridge. I need to find one with 2-1/8 spacing.
Jim
Click to expand...

Hello Jim,

Your 1973 D-40 probably would have had a Brazilian rosewood bridge; most of the D-40s I've seen had one.
Anyway, I might be able to help you with a correct period bridge in Brazilian rosewood that has the 2-1/8" string spacing. What I need to know from you is what bridge thickness you're looking for. Guild used different height bridges depending on the neck angle.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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jwsamuel

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hansmoust said:
Your 1973 D-40 probably would have had a Brazilian rosewood bridge; most of the D-40s I've seen had one.
Anyway, I might be able to help you with a correct period bridge in Brazilian rosewood that has the 2-1/8" string spacing. What I need to know from you is what bridge thickness you're looking for. Guild used different height bridges depending on the neck angle.
Click to expand...

Hi Hans,

Thanks for the reply. The bridge on my D40 is 2-1/8" string spacing and the bridge height is 1/4 inch at the center of the bridge. Does that help?

Jim
 
hansmoust

hansmoust

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jwsamuel said:
The bridge on my D40 is 2-1/8" string spacing and the bridge height is 1/4 inch at the center of the bridge. Does that help?

Jim
Click to expand...

Hello Jim,

A quarter inch bridge seems a little low for a '74 D-40, so I suspect that the bridge has been sanded down already. The lowest bridges are a little higher than 5/16" ( the high ones are close to half an inch).
I would not advise to thin down the bridge to 1/4" thickness. There's no point in glueing on a thin bridge and having to perform a neck set later on, after which you again would need a higher bridge.
Do you have a luthier or repairman near you, who you can ask for advise?

Just let me know.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 
GardMan

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Hans... Don't know whether to post this here, or in the Tech shop area (both have discussions going, but this is the most recent)... Your comments bear on a discussion re: bridge heights we had in the tech shop area a year or so ago. If Guild made bridges of different heights, were they more model specific (D-35 vs D-40, etc), or did they fit them to individual guitars to match the neck angle of an individual instrument? I thought it might be the latter, based on the differences between my '72 D-35 and my (now departed) '78 D-35, which differed by more than 1/16". Or, did D-35 bridge height change with other construction specs between '72 and '78?

Both my GuildWillie bridges are a smidge over 5/16 high... so I guess they were the lowest? But the bridges on my '72 D-35, '74 G-37, and '74 D-25 are less... closer to 1/4" (maybe 9/32"? it's hard to get the eye down to sight the ruler). None looks to have been shaved, and I bought the D-35 new in Jan '73, so I know it wasn't... Thx... Dave
 
hansmoust

hansmoust

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