Aristocrat Restoration

     The following pictorial is of a restoration that was done on a guitar owned by Charlie Greene, the son of the man whose name is ornately inlaid into the the fingerboard of this early Guild M-175 Aristocrat.    Hank Greene was a musician and salesman for a department store near their home town in Delaware.  According to Charlie, this guitar was a custom made 'employee guitar' built by Guild for his father.    With his memory a bit cloudy after some 40+ years, Charlie's best recollection is that his father received the guitar in 1953 and that it may have been a prototype.  The fact that I found no serial number anywhere on the guitar and the obvious rough construction of the pickups would seem to support this claim.

     At some point his father had sold the guitar and it was later re-acquired in the early 1980's in the condition shown in the photos below.   Although somewhat altered (note the rinestone 'custom decoration' on the peghead), the instrument was still intact structurally needing binding replacement, several parts and refinishing.  The rough-cut opening in the back was the only major damage done to the instrument.   A distinct feature of this particular model was a spruce veneer laminate top pressed into an arch.   Fortunately, the person who stripped the original finish did not sand through the veneer.

Below       The guitar after a complete binding replacement.   Although not clearly shown, the body purfling is black/white/black/white/black and approximately 1/4" thick in addition to the 3/32" white binding.    Quite a custom appointment!
              

The total restoration job took about 20 hrs.  Unfortunately, not all the parts are authentic, some are aftermarket replacements and the truss rod cover, back access cover plate (not shown), and pickup covers were custom made.

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Copyright © 1997, Steve Ryder