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Hi everyone,

I have this beautiful 1965 Guild D44 guitar and would like to lower the current action which is too high. I am in doubt what the best options are but here is what I planned to do. The guitar already had a neck reset in the past (visible because of the shim under the fingerboard extension). I might take the bridge off and shave it about 1mm... This would make the action perfect in my opinion. But there might be alternative options such as lowering the saddle (although not many saddle left). Any thoughts?
PS: on the back of the guitar inside there is a name written: Johnny Darrell... I wonder if this was ever his guitar.

Measurements bridge:

Bridge height (measured right before the saddle)= 9,37 mm or 0,369"
Bridge + saddle height (measured in the middle)= 13,95 mm or 0,549"
Bridge wings height = 3,30 mm or 0,130"

Action

1ste fret
low E= 0,50 mm or 0,020"
high E= 0,60 mm or 0,023"

12th fret
low E= 3,17 mm or 0,124"
high E= 2,53 mm or 0,100"

Photographs

First thing: you didn’t mention the relief spec of this guitar. Get the neck to around 0.15mm /.006” relief if possible before evaluating action. Truss rod working ok?

Next: The “wedge” under the fretboard doesn’t look wedge shaped, it looks flat. Or is the angle of the photo just deceptive? The glue joint for the fretboard from the 14th fret back looks badly compromised too. This could just be a hangover from prior work but it could also be evidence of another serious issue like a neck block coming loose. It’s worth investigating further before deciding on a course of action.

In general terms I would not shave the bridge on a customer’s vintage American-made guitar. The bridge is a critical structural component of the guitar and a contributor to the sound of the guitar and weakening it has both structural and tonal consequences.

Here’s a Guild that came into my shop recently. The bridge had been shaved:




I had to carve and install a replacement bridge for this customer.

How much saddle is protruding from your bridge at the first and sixth string? You may be able to run a lower saddle and although this not ideal (ideal is a good neck angle) it is preferable to permanently removing material from the bridge of a 60-year-old instrument.

It’s possible the guitar needs (another) neck reset and considering the state of that fretboard glue joint I’d consider whether the fretboard should be removed and reglued properly as part of the job. Fretwork of some type would likely follow. As you may or may not know, resets on Guilds can be troublesome at times. There may be bellying and structural issues inside the box too and a full internal inspection would be required to check that side of things before recommending a course of action.


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There looks to be sufficient saddle showing to allow some trimming.

Hi Aubry and welcome to the OLF.

So I may tailor my advice specifically to you and your abilities what is your skill and experience levels with doing repairs on vintage guitars please?

While we wait for that here are some impressions from me:

1). The bridge may have been shaved already it looks very low. It's also cracked and needs to be removed and replaced. From here it looks like it has been scooped out in the middle in front of the saddle.....

2). The saddle is leaning forward a great deal and so are the bridge pins and this strongly suggests that this guitar has a torn up bridge plate and that the string balls are migrating through the plate and into the top. This means the bridge should be replaced and the bridge plate repaired with perhaps a "cap" or replaced, I would have to see it to know what option I would take.

3). The instrument is in very poor condition and likely needs fret work, new nut, new saddle, etc.

4). The correct way to resolve this neck angle would be to reset the neck again. Necks do need more than one reset in their lives at times and we've see instruments that have had three resets in 50 years.

5). Shaving the bridge is frowned upon on this side of the pond and considered hack work. This was not always the case and there are times when it is appropriate for the instrument to keep it alive if it's not valuable for vintage or other reasons. This one was a nice guitar in the past and could be again if someone did all the work necessary.

6). So like my buddy Josh I don't see a wedge shape either and I do see instead a flat piece of wood that only elevates the fret board. This was likely how it was reset and this is NOT how you reset a neck the change of angle occurs at the heel not under the fret board extension.

With all this said and from so little information in a quality US shop the work would cost $1,500 - $2,000 and if there are issues with loose braces, need to be refretted it could be more, much more.

The residual value of this guitar in this condition is in my experience less than the repairs may cost so there is that to consider too or, more specifically is the effort and cost required worth the potential outcomes.

That's something that only you can decide it may have sentimental value to you which it still could have even if it is not repaired.

I see a lot of these old Guilds and used to own one. They are a nightmare to reset and many shops avoid doing resets on them because of two issues. First the neck was installed and then the entire guitar was sprayed with finish. This means that the finish has to be scored to do the reset and that increases the chances that more finish touch-up will be required.

Second the heel is super flat and small and they break about half the time when resetting them. This means heel repair, more touch-up, and the scope creep just keeps on creeping.....

These reasons why these guitars are difficult to reset could explain the creative hackery we see on the fretboard extension shim.

I would love to see this one in person it looks like it has an interesting past.

So more info please, thanks and again welcome.

I think you looked at the wrong picture Hesh.

Whoops I did, pardon me I looked a Josh's pic and that's what I get for not reading all the comments.

My mistake, sorry.