The Resurrection Of Phoenix by BJ Neblett
Meet Phoenix, an aptly named 1971 Madeira A-30M guitar built by Guild. I rescued her from a long life of inactivity, languishing away as wall decoration. While the Madeira line was considered Guild's budget line, one can not overlook the skill of Japan's craftsmen in the '60s and '70s. Guild would select the pieces from its own stockpile of woods, ship them to Japan for assembly, and then make the final adjustments and settings upon the guitar's return to the USA. Listing for just under $200, by 1979 the price of a new A-30M had escalated to around $330. Not exactly cheap, considering that is around $2,200 in today's money! But the Madeira line was never meant as a budget guitar, but rather an affordable alternative to the likes of Martin (1971 list of around $700 and up) or even Guild's own line of fine guitars (1971 list starting around $340).
Phoenix is a full-size, dreadnought guitar, made from fine maple and a
multi-layered spruce laminate top. As you can see, her back and sides have a very beautiful tiger maple grain. Her neck is rosewood, and the same bridge and hardware are used as found on Guild guitars.
I picked up Phoenix at a garage sale, along with a very nice Makala ukulele for a bargain $20. She was in very good condition for a 50-year-old instrument, needing mostly a good cleaning and some TLC. But while servicing her, I notice she was starting to 'belly', a term used when an acoustic guitar's wood starts to concave just in front of the bridge. This causes the rear of the bridge to start to lift, and if untreated can cause the bridge to separate from the body. In a high-quality instrument, bridge separation can be a rather expensive fix. For an older budget guitar, it is a death sentence.
Recently, with huge amounts of downtime at home due to Covid, I decided to get back into guitar repair and do some custom building. The process is relaxing and the creative juices spill over into my writing, as I find myself working on my latest novel, Planet Alt-Sete-Nine: War Of The Wizards, in my head. I've taken some online classes in guitar repair, and so far have completed two projects. Keep watch her in the next week or two for the reveal!
With the Bridge Doctor installed, and a little bridgework, today Phoenix is better than new, with a nice, easy to play action and the big booming sound befitting a quality dreadnaught. A little pearloid dot covers the screw hole and matches Phoenix's fret markers.
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