My first Guild guitar was my forum namesake, an X-170AB made in Westerly in 1997. You might have seen my earlier forum post when I acquired my latest Guitar, an X-180 GSR with a New Hartford label and serial number from 2012. I thought you all might enjoy a brief comparison of these two 16-inch arch tops that, at first glance, seem very similar.
First, the similarities: Both guitars are 16” single-cutaway electric archtops with laminate construction. In fact, looking at them together, it appears they could have easily been made using the same mold. They both have the same 24.75” scale length, the same slightly flat C-shaped neck profile, and a rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and rectangular fret markers. Both have 2 humbucking pickups and the standard control layout with 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way selector switch. Both have Guild harp tailpieces.
The main differences are: The X-170 is only 2.25” depth where the X-180 is a full 3”. The X-170 has a maple soundboard while the X-180’s is spruce. The X-170 has a maple neck (with center stripe) while the neck of the X-180 is mahogany (also with center stripe). Lastly, the pickups on the X-170 are Guild HB-1s while those on the X-180 are Duncan ‘59s.
Overall the X-170 seems more substantially built compared to the X-180, which seems lighter built. This is reflected in their respective weights: 6.96 lb for the X-170 vs. only 6.40 for the GSR. Interestingly, the lighter X-180 is a bit louder and also brighter when played acoustically.
The X-180 came with a Tune-o-matic style bridge, compared to the compensated rosewood bridge on the X-170. However, I’ve replaced that bridge with a similar one on the X-180 (I prefer the sound for jazz playing), so now the two have similar bridges.
There are also some smaller differences: The X-170 has a ‘stairstep’ pickguard as opposed to the ‘curvy’ one on the X-180. The selector switch is mounted on the left upper bout on the X-170, but on the right upper bout on the X-180. The X-170’s tailpiece is engraved and also hinged, while the X-180’s is unadorned and has no hinge. Another small difference is that the rosewood on the X-170 is quite dark, but very light on the X-180. There are some even smaller cosmetic differences which I’ll leave for the eagle-eyed among you to find.
As you might expect, these two guitars are more similar than different when playing electric. They’re both very much in the ‘ballpark’ of a 16” laminate humbucker guitar, and capable of classic jazz sounds. Even the different pickups are not too far apart, though I would say the Duncan ‘59s are a bit brighter sounding; I have to turn the tone down farther to get as warm a sound as the HB-1s.
You might be wondering “So which one do you like better” but, so far, I can’t decide. I like the more solid feel of the Westerly X-170, but also like the lightness of the GSR. They are both very comfortable to play. For fun, I’ve got the X-180 strung with flatwounds (TI Swing 13s) vs. roundwounds (TI Bebop 13s) on the X-170.
First, the similarities: Both guitars are 16” single-cutaway electric archtops with laminate construction. In fact, looking at them together, it appears they could have easily been made using the same mold. They both have the same 24.75” scale length, the same slightly flat C-shaped neck profile, and a rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and rectangular fret markers. Both have 2 humbucking pickups and the standard control layout with 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way selector switch. Both have Guild harp tailpieces.
The main differences are: The X-170 is only 2.25” depth where the X-180 is a full 3”. The X-170 has a maple soundboard while the X-180’s is spruce. The X-170 has a maple neck (with center stripe) while the neck of the X-180 is mahogany (also with center stripe). Lastly, the pickups on the X-170 are Guild HB-1s while those on the X-180 are Duncan ‘59s.
Overall the X-170 seems more substantially built compared to the X-180, which seems lighter built. This is reflected in their respective weights: 6.96 lb for the X-170 vs. only 6.40 for the GSR. Interestingly, the lighter X-180 is a bit louder and also brighter when played acoustically.
The X-180 came with a Tune-o-matic style bridge, compared to the compensated rosewood bridge on the X-170. However, I’ve replaced that bridge with a similar one on the X-180 (I prefer the sound for jazz playing), so now the two have similar bridges.
There are also some smaller differences: The X-170 has a ‘stairstep’ pickguard as opposed to the ‘curvy’ one on the X-180. The selector switch is mounted on the left upper bout on the X-170, but on the right upper bout on the X-180. The X-170’s tailpiece is engraved and also hinged, while the X-180’s is unadorned and has no hinge. Another small difference is that the rosewood on the X-170 is quite dark, but very light on the X-180. There are some even smaller cosmetic differences which I’ll leave for the eagle-eyed among you to find.
As you might expect, these two guitars are more similar than different when playing electric. They’re both very much in the ‘ballpark’ of a 16” laminate humbucker guitar, and capable of classic jazz sounds. Even the different pickups are not too far apart, though I would say the Duncan ‘59s are a bit brighter sounding; I have to turn the tone down farther to get as warm a sound as the HB-1s.
You might be wondering “So which one do you like better” but, so far, I can’t decide. I like the more solid feel of the Westerly X-170, but also like the lightness of the GSR. They are both very comfortable to play. For fun, I’ve got the X-180 strung with flatwounds (TI Swing 13s) vs. roundwounds (TI Bebop 13s) on the X-170.