NGD - ‘58 A-350 Stratford

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
NGD - ‘58 A-350 Stratford

The Stratford has landed! Since it’s been getting down to the 30s at night, I’m going to let it acclimate for a bit. It travelled from Texas to Ohio. I don’t want anything to happen to that finish.

News, and pics, to come.
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
The case is out of the box. Repeat, the case is out of the box.

Stay tuned for updates as events warrant.
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,790
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
The case is out of the box. Repeat, the case is out of the box.

Stay tuned for updates as events warrant.
Wake me up when you're ready to exit the capsule.
moon-landing.jpg
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
The case is just sitting there; staring at me.
Until I open it, it is both pristine and destroyed.

I believe Schroedinger was a previous owner.
 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,790
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
It's a little known fact that Shrodinger actually loved dogs.
Cast were too damned smart to actually get in the box.
 

twocorgis

Venerated Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
13,923
Reaction score
6,520
Location
Lawn Guyland
Guild Total
18
Looking forward to seeing this one. '58 is a birth year for me, but it seems that there's a lot more '59s out there. '58 was a recession year, so that might have something to do with it.
 

Westerly Wood

Venerated Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
13,327
Reaction score
6,499
Guild Total
2
if you take it out now, you might get tone flames.
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
'58 was a recession year, so that might have something to do with it.
And also might be why it went unsold and had to be refinished by Guild before finally getting its label in ‘61.
 
Last edited:

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
if you take it out now, you might get tone flames.
That’s the fear. It’s not freezing here, but I’m trying with all my might to take it slow. At least it didn’t spend a weekend in a warehouse, or locked up in a truck.
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
It’s all good, exactly as advertised. The only issue that needs addressing is the loose and deteriorated heel cap, which I knew about. It’s really only the shrunken binding (which is barely pulling away on just one bout on the back), with opened gaps in the headstock, that betrays it’s age.
I love the Kolb tuners! Solid and smooth, and prettier than any other solid headstock tuners.
Great sound, although it did come with T-I flatwounds, so it’s not stage loud unmic’d. But, I do like the sound of them. I’m going to try Newtone Archtops when I change strings, and see if I like the roundwound sound better.
As long as I don’t do much in 1st position (which I’m not expecting to), it’s perfectly comfortable.

I will have to change my jazz playing style though. I usually do straight fingerpicking, but with this, I’ll need to use a pick for full volume.
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
And now, the pics. (Sadly not GAD quality. I don’t have his setup, and it’s been grey and rainy.)

img_2516.jpg


img_2526.jpg


img_2528.jpg
 

AcornHouse

Venerated Member
Joined
May 22, 2011
Messages
10,213
Reaction score
7,210
Location
Bidwell, OH
Guild Total
21
Because it wasn’t sold until at least ‘61, it got, in addition to a factory refinish, the beautiful Kolb tuners. You can also see the leftover pre-‘56 fingerboard that they used on mostly 350 models.

img_2522.jpg


img_2534.jpg


And the deteriorated heel cap I need to replace.
img_2530.jpg
 

Nuuska

Enlightened Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2016
Messages
7,668
Reaction score
6,028
Location
Finland
Guild Total
9
That is one beautiful guitar !!!

Congratulations !
 
Top