Pround new Guild owner needing advice on setting up my 1988 D50

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New owner and new to the forum. I have a few different questions.

1. I just acquired a 1988 d50 at the pawn shop. It sounds great, but compared to guitar that i gig with the action is just a bit high. The saddle looks like it has been filed about as low as it can go before the strings are on the bridge and the nut action is great. Looks like there is a bit of neck relief. This is my first vintage guitar so I'm apprehensive about tightening the truss rod due to the guitar's age. Is this a valid concern or should I just assume that it will be able to handle a little flattening of the neck without buckling? obviously I'll take it very slowly and not go to reverse bow.

2. This guitar is in what i consider great shape. Quite a bit of finish checking (cracking) on the top, which i think is normal. Other than that it has just 3 or 4 minor scratches and smudges that might even be buffed out. neck and bridge seem to be in good shape and not lifting. What do you guys think would be a good price to pick this up for (with hardshell case)? I'm not selling it. Just curious if it was the deal that I think it was.

Thanks for your responses!
 
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Congrats on the new axe. I have a 1980, and she is a workhorse. Mine was like that too. I considered a neck reset --- but ended up having her refretted and a new nut and saddle installed, and she has been perfect ever since -- and that was five years ago.
 
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1988 D50 adjustments

New owner and new to the forum. I have a few different questions.

1. I just acquired a 1988 d50 at the pawn shop. It sounds great, but compared to guitar that i gig with the action is just a bit high. The saddle looks like it has been filed about as low as it can go before the strings are on the bridge and the nut action is great. Looks like there is a bit of neck relief. This is my first vintage guitar so I'm apprehensive about tightening the truss rod due to the guitar's age. Is this a valid concern or should I just assume that it will be able to handle a little flattening of the neck without buckling? obviously I'll take it very slowly and not go to reverse bow.

2. This guitar is in what i consider great shape. Quite a bit of finish checking (cracking) on the top, which i think is normal. Other than that it has just 3 or 4 minor scratches and smudges that might even be buffed out. neck and bridge seem to be in good shape and not lifting. What do you guys think would be a good price to pick this up for (with hardshell case)? I'm not selling it. Just curious if it was the deal that I think it was.

Thanks for your responses!
 

gjmalcyon

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You need to check the neck angle to see if you are in neck reset territory. See this link from Frets.com for more info. In that article is a link to another Frets.com page on using truss rod adjustments.

And welcome to LTG - that's a very fine guitar you have. Much love here for the Guild rosewood dreadnoughts.

And we love photos.
 

sixx

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Any truss rod adjustment it's a good idea to loosen it a quarter turn first to make sure it's not stuck, then tighten.
 

PittPastor

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So much of that is "It Depends." I've seen them as low as $1000 and as high as $2100.

But a guitar that sounds so great to you that you can't help but pick it up and play it... is priceless...
 
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Wow you guys are fast! I'm from Port Huron, MI and Ill post some pics soon. so far I have only snapchatted it and those pics disappear! I'll post some soon. I will read up on the neck angle, but as of right now probably not putting any money into since the action really isn't that bad. It's just not what i'm use to with my martin that is really dialed in. I adjust it a few times a year with season changes. This will be my home strummer so I just want to get it setup similar to the martin that i play at gigs so I can practice on a similar feeling guitar. Gonna keep this girl away from the bar scene since she is so nice, and the martin already has plenty of wear from years of performing. I really love the sound! My friend's dad had a d35 when I was growing up and I played his every time i went there.

Good tip about loosening the truss before tightening. I wouldn't have thought of that.
 
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Here are some pics of the guitar. My wife is getting jealous! https://photos.app.goo.gl/SYKlgqYW4SJXEM9w2
The last picture I was trying to show the belly. I'm Not sure how much bow is acceptable, but now that I've noticed it i think that is where my high action is coming from. I don't think the picture shows it very well, but you can see that the bridge is angled towards the neck. I'm gonna have a look with a straight edge tonight and post some pics of that. This guitar is roughly the same age as me, and over the years I also have developed a belly under the tension and stress of life. with that in mind I guess I can't be too upset if she let herself goo a bit too.

I threw the humidifier in the case to see if that helps. I think the pawn shop would be more concerned about keeping their guns dry than keeping their guitars humid since this was the only instrument that was not low end junk.
 
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Rayk

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Nice ! That top to me almost looks like bear claw maybe it’s my eyes 👀 lol
Pretty either way . Congrats let’s hear it !
 
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I traded second born child for it :very_drunk:

JK... I got it for 600, which seems like a deal to me. I'm not selling, but if I do that will definitely not be my asking price. That is what has me worried about the saddle belly. I hope i didn't look over bad braces or broken bridge plate.
 
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https://photos.app.goo.gl/16o36pxGoLsqLWkj1
There is a pic of the bridge belly. 3 quarters total fit under the strait edge. By my math that makes the bridge a tenth of an inch higher than the edges of the top. Is that normal or too much. The neck angle isn't bad when the neck is straight. The straight edge just barely clears the top of the bridge. I think if I shave a little off the saddle on the bass side intonation and should be good.

I'm just curious if the bridge being that high is normal.
 

nielDa

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When you say "when the neck is straight," did you adjust the truss rod yet - that can make a significant difference. What's the relief at the 7th fret when the E string is pressed at the 1st and 14th fret? And as you mentioned, let it humidify for a while. In that bridge belly photo, is the bridge lifting on the right side? It looks like some light is getting through, but maybe it's just the photo.
 
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Yeah I tightened the truss til there was about a magazine paper thickness relief at the seventh fret. Basically flat. As for the bridge I can slide a sixteenth inch of paper under the side opposite the sound hole. Just the very edge is lifted so far. It is very angled though
 

kostask

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It is hard to tell about the bridge belly from pictures, but it looks a little high. The straight edge barely clearing the top of the bridge is fine.

The bridge belly can really only be determined by an experienced luthier, in person. If it is deemed excessively high, this is probably an issue with a cracked or broken brace (probably one of the braces that makes up the X brace), and should not be an expensive repair. The guitar is not dried out, as this would normally cause an excessively low action and buzzing, not a high one (as the guitar top dries out, the top shrinks, which reduces the curvature and belly of the top, making the action excessively low). The guitar needs to go into the hands of somebody who can assess the amount of belly, and if excessive, why it is so, and what the cause is.
 
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