How many D35NT owners here ?

Cougar

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I bought a Guild D35N back around 1978 new with hard shell case , 6-string . It was a beauty of a guitar back then and still looks very nice.... never gave up the Guild....

Well, that was a very smart move never giving up that baby! It looks like it's going to be practically pristine with a clean-up.

I'm surprised how many D35 folks there are here! Especially since we've all come to music and guitars and Guilds via different paths, at different times....

Been away from playing for over 25 yrs now....

Speaking of paths, I was thinking that was also the case for me, but no, that's not exactly right. I learned some guitar WAY back in high school in the sixties from a neighbor who was, amazingly, an excellent fingerpicker. But I'd always banged on keyboards, like, since age 4 or 5. Nothing too structured. An odd string of lessons here and there. I could read music, very slowly, and I could sight-read chords, but I mostly play by ear. I've always loved recording. Still, I typically had a guitar since that intro in high school, and I recall playing both keys and what I swear was a Candelas 12-string (open tuned to Es and Bs) with this crazy acid/experimental group dubbed BaKaDa by group crazy person Tony Selvage, who has now become a music healer, of course. :tranquillity:
 
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D30Man

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Welcome to LTG Ron!! As you see these cats here on the forum are great dudes and enthused to talk anything Guild. They That is a fine looking D-35 sir. I can't wait to see her fixed up. The D-35 IMHO is unsung hero of the Westerly era I believe. Though it's praises are sung loudly on this forum it is not as well known as the D25, D40, D50 and D55. I have made it clear to myself that when I find the right D35 for the right price she will be mine. That model was one of the first Guilds I played a few years back that blew me away. I played a beauty at the Dallas Guitar show in 2014 that was quite possibly one of nicest guitars I have ever played. The guy wanted $1300 and that was a little rich for my blood.
 

Cougar

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....so i decided before messing with nut adjustments or truss rod i'd take it to a local repair shop and see about getting the bridge repaired first and while in there let them reset the action for me....

That's definitely the right thing to do. So are they regluing the bridge, or did they determine it was stable despite not being fully glued?

Plus, what the heck happened to the headstock end of the fretboard?
 

Ron from Texas

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Thanks Cougar and D30man for the comments and welcome ! Cougar that head got chipped from having a strap with string on the neck and being stupid way back when . The dent near the fret dot on the side was , well juwell just well just shouldn't have been drinking :( ! The nut section was a new 1/4" nut that should . have been 3/8" wide . My bad .
 

Ron from Texas

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Just got off the phone talking to my local Luthier and WOW am I excited !! He has it ready to pick up and all he's charging me is $80.00 and asked it that was ok ? What he did is put me a new bone nut that actually fits properly , re-glued the bridge with better glue , polished out the frets cause they were not wore as much as a heavy player and adjusted the action to have 1/8" spacing on each end of the fret board . He actually bragged how pretty it was for being 36 years old and said that was one guitar he would not mind at all having and he said it sounded beautifully !! He was hoping to be there where I pick it up but he's off Saturday and wont be able to be there when I pick it up but he would be there Monday and if I had any problems with it what so ever just call and he would be glad to fix it ! That's the way I like hearing when I have something fixed that I really like !! I told him I always was stingy and never allowed anyone to borrow it and that's why it looks as good as it does and he said he understood and didn't blame me cause nothing worse than loaning one out and when it comes back it has damage or dirty . Anyway like I said , I'M EXCITED and will pick it up Saturday !
 
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adorshki

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Just got off the phone talking to my local Luthier and WOW am I excited !! He has it ready to pick up and all he's charging me is $80.00 and asked it that was ok ? What he did is put me a new bone nut that actually fits properly , re-glued the bridge with better glue , polished out the frets cause they were not wore as much as a heavy player and adjusted the action to have 1/8" spacing on each end of the fret board . He actually bragged how pretty it was for being 36 years old and said that was one guitar he would not mind at all having and he said it sounded beautifully !! He was hoping to be there where I pick it up but he's off Saturday and wont be able to be there when I pick it up but he would be there Monday and if I had any problems with it what so ever just call and he would be glad to fix it !
Nice news, sounds like a great guy!
I owe you an apology because I saw this thread before and meant to come back to it and pass on this suggestion for action height, but somehow forgot.
I noticed that 1/8" action spec, in my humbly outspoken opinion that would be considered high for Guild, it = 8/64".
Not sure what they would have shipped 'em with in the 80's but at that height it would tend to increase the pain on your fingers you mentioned before.
During '90's they shipped with 5-6/64th on bass E (A full 32nd lower than what he says he put it at), and 4-5/64ths on treble E, measured at 12th fret.
That's the only action spec I ever saw from them in print, not that I'm sure I've seen everything from them by any means.
Even that's considered pretty high by a lot of folks but I find it gives best balance for strumming really hard without buzzing and ease of playing scales or bareback fingerpicking. All 3 of mine were perfectly set at those specs out of the box.
That difference in height from side to side helps intonation, ie, keeps the treble strings more true to pitch as you fret up the board. If they're too high they'll go sharp.
We'll trust he's got the right depth in the nut slots, that helps with ease of fretting down at the first few frets, but if it feels hard to play even with the lights, ask him to look at those two spots first.
It's amazing what just a few thousandths of lowered height does for playability at the first 3 frets and the nut slots' depth is the biggest influence there.
Another way to increase playability ease is to go with silk'n'steel strings, they're a lot easier on your fingers while you build up some callous and strength. They're a little quieter because of lower tension, but if it makes you want to play more, I call that a positive outweighing the negative and only temporarily anyway.
And guess who makes a nice set ? :biggrin-new:

That's the way I like hearing when I have something fixed that I really like !! I told him I always was stingy and never allowed anyone to borrow it and that's why it looks as good as it does and he said he understood and didn't blame me cause nothing worse than loaning one out and when it comes back it has damage or dirty .
There's nothing like a nice 20-30 year old piece that's all original and still looks like new, be it car or guitar.
That's one reason I always store in case. And nobody but a real player will ever get their hands on my F65ce.
It's only been out of the house twice.
When I used to busk in a park with the D25 I wouldn't even let casual friends "try it out" without washing their hands first.

Anyway like I said , I'M EXCITED and will pick it up Saturday !
Keep us posted!
 
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Ron from Texas

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Thanks Adorshki for the info , when I get it and play I'll be able to tell if I need it lowered which if I do my luthier will do as I ask . Having to work right now and when I get off the music store will be closed but off Saturday so I'll get it then .
 

adorshki

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Thanks Adorshki for the info , when I get it and play I'll be able to tell if I need it lowered which if I do my luthier will do as I ask . Having to work right now and when I get off the music store will be closed but off Saturday so I'll get it then .
That was a really good price by Silicon Valley standards by the way: fret dressing, new bone nut, set-up and bridge re-glue, especially if he removed it completely and re-glued.
Really good techs/luthiers traditionally throw in a courtesy adjustment of set-up, a "Satisfaction guaranteed" gesture.
Considering that potentially requires re-stringing and R &R of saddle, it's a very fair price indeed.
IF he sells strings he deserves that business too.
:friendly_wink:
 

Ron from Texas

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That was a really good price by Silicon Valley standards by the way: fret dressing, new bone nut, set-up and bridge re-glue, especially if he removed it completely and re-glued.
Really good techs/luthiers traditionally throw in a courtesy adjustment of set-up, a "Satisfaction guaranteed" gesture.
Considering that potentially requires re-stringing and R &R of saddle, it's a very fair price indeed.
IF he sells strings he deserves that business too.
:friendly_wink:

Yes I felt like that was a fair price. And yes he removed the bridge and removed the old glue and used all new glue .
 

Ron from Texas

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Well got my Guild back today and it sounds great and is a lot easier to play now . My Luthier put a new bone nut on it which cleaned up the nut slot tremendously and re-glued the bridge , adjusted the truss rod . Glad to have it back now . Bought me a new capo and a new tuner . Got one of those tuners that clip on the head and gives a green light when string is in tune . Boy that's a big improvement over my old tuner and capo! Now to get out some old song books and re learn some new old songs .
 

Cougar

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My Luthier put a new bone nut on it which cleaned up the nut slot tremendously and re-glued the bridge , adjusted the truss rod .

Whoa kay! Yeah, I got into other things growing up, so I'm tickeled pink :tickled_pink: to let somebody else set up the guitar for me, and for sure, re-glue the bridge! That's the way to do it, Ron! I take my guitars down to Tom at a little shop called "Local Music" in town here. Took my IB64 Texan in there, and he proceeded to give me a lesson on cranking down the truss rod and exactly how that thing works, and cranking, and cranking.... OMG, Tom, shatter the neck, why dontcha? But no, he apparently KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING, and that Epiphone Texan reissue acoustic/electric I picked up for 200 bucks off ebay is indeed a working machine....

Also important is fret "dressing." Get them babies polished for 'feeling' like an expert guitar player must feel....
 

westerlyborn

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I have a G37 BL which , I hear, is the forerunner of the D30. Mine is all maple arched back and a heavy guitar! I hope your D30 is in better shape than "Trigger". Welcome to the club.
 
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