Hesitant to try another new Guild, X350

[freddyfingers]

Hi all. Trying to figure out if i want to step into a new X350. But i see very little in hand reviews. My recent history has been mixed with new Guilds. I purchased the snow crest white A150, the limited edition with the step tuners. It had a neck issue that no matter what i did, or local luthier, we couldn’t get this rattle sound to go away. Sent it to guild, and they said it was a broken truss rod. good side was they replaced the guitar, and its a keeper. Although it took about 6 weeks to resolve, Guild did have good communication amidst a pandemic with no employees around. It plays very well and the neck pickup is very warm. The second guild i bought unseen was a starfire 3 from a company in Canada. After two weeks of no response they finally told me they never had it instock, so i got a refund. Which led me to try and purchase a X350. That store shipped me what appeared to be a used manhattan in red. Look very store used, old strings and finish scratches. It was a let down. They took two weeks to figure out that they shipped the wrong one, and never had the 350 in stock to begin with. All this happened after the virus hit. Prior to that, i never had issues buying guitars unseen. This has made me a bit gun shy on new guilds, or more importantly not trying before buying.

So short story made long, i am looking again for a X350. I like the idea of how they wired the middle pickup so i can bring it in and out at will. But without more in hands reviews of the actual guitar, i am hesitant. I did see a video here a short while back of a store that got one in. But not a lot since. Plus there are not many stores online that seem to have it in stock, and no used ones anywhere outside of vintage models that are beyond my price point. To bring in another guitar i need to sell one off, but dread the possibilities of the new one arriving and under whelming. So, any one else here got one?

 

[GAD]

I’ve been wanting to buy one to review but I generally don’t like to pay full retail and haven’t seen one less than that.

I think your history is just bad luck. Buy from somewhere like Sweetwater and I bet you won’t have those issues.

 

[SFIV1967]

Some discussion about the Newark St. X-350 was here:

Winter NAMM 2020: X-350 Stratford in Scarlet Red

I thought this guitar justifies its own thread now. Press Release: https://guildguitars.com/a-fresh-take-on-a-revered-classic-the-x-350-stratford/ Guild model page: https://guildguitars.com/g/x-350-stratford/ A few specs: Body Type Hollowbody Body Shape Like Guild X-175 Body Top...

letstalkguild.com

Ralf

 

[freddyfingers]

i too have been looking for price breaks. Not sure of the resale in the future. The 350 i did purchase and never received would have been about 20 percent off, as they sent me that offer when i was emailing them about the guitar. I wonder if the lack of used versions is more about how good the guitar is, or how few they made/sold

 

[SFIV1967]

I wonder if the lack of used versions is more about how good the guitar is, or how few they made/sold.

Mind this model just started shipping during 2020 and it was during the Covid pandemic! So supply chain might be not as normal. Also, it is to early to see a used market. But Guild in California had them in final inspection in March already. They ship from SPG Korea to California, get a final inspection and setup there before going off to stores.

Ralf

 

[freddyfingers]

Mind this model just started shipping during 2020 and it was during the Covid pandemic! So supply chain might be not as normal. Also, it is to early to see a used market. But Guild in California had them in final inspection in March already. They ship from SPG Korea to California, get a final inspection and setup there before going off to stores.

Ralf

now if I could just go and visit that place and play a few.

 

[guitarlover]

I have seen one in my local guitar store ( Guitar Bar in Antwerp ). These are really nice guitars. On the one I saw everything was really flawless. The neck was quite "fat" as I recall.
I have a few- more than a few to be completely honest- korean made newark guild guitars and I have always been very happy with them.

My Guild X 500 is in another "league" but really this has more to do with the "magic" of that guitar.

To be honest I have never seen hollow body guitars at this pricepoint that reached this level of quality. My aristocrats and x 175 guitars really have that vintage "vibe". I just had one time problems with the electronics of my x 175 - bad connection- but this was easily solved.
My starfire st is also a very, very nice guitar.

Always been happy with the pickups in the guitars ( yes there is some kind of a mismatch in the bridge and neck pu of the starfire but I can live with that). Maybe the switches and pots are not absolute top level but they are certainly not crap either. Even if you have to replace some of them over time, I think the guitars are really worth buying.

 

[freddyfingers]

I have seen one in my local guitar store ( Guitar Bar in Antwerp ). These are really nice guitars. On the one I saw everything was really flawless. The neck was quite "fat" as I recall.
I have a few- more than a few to be completely honest- korean made newark guild guitars and I have always been very happy with them.

My Guild X 500 is in another "league" but really this has more to do with the "magic" of that guitar.

To be honest I have never seen hollow body guitars at this pricepoint that reached this level of quality. My aristocrats and x 175 guitars really have that vintage "vibe". I just had one time problems with the electronics of my x 175 - bad connection- but this was easily solved.
My starfire st is also a very, very nice guitar.

Always been happy with the pickups in the guitars ( yes there is some kind of a mismatch in the bridge and neck pu of the starfire but I can live with that). Maybe the switches and pots are not absolute top level but they are certainly not crap either. Even if you have to replace some of them over time, I think the guitars are really worth buying.

I agree that some of the korean models are put together well, at least from other vendors. I have kept an eye out for the starfire 3 Looking for a deal. I have seen used starfire III list for 650 and maybe sell for less. Thats half of what they are new. Which is about ballpark for imports. When you say the neck is thick, do you have a A150? If so, thicker or thinner? Wider? Deeper? I find the neck on the A150 i have very comfortable and i usually dont like what some call thick necks.

 

[guitarlover]

I do not have an A150 so I cannot compare. Maybe Walter (Broes) can help if he sees this topic ?

 

[guitarlover]

Mind you in my memory the neck was thicker but certainly not a "baseballbat".

 

[shihan]

Based on my NS X-175, I would not hesitate to buy a NS X-350. My only complaint was the huge square frets, but a set up/fret dressing took care of that. Fit and finish are really good. I, too, have an X-500. Of course the NS isn’t in the same league, but definitely holds it’s own. If such things as gigs were happening, I would definitely take it.

 

[fronobulax]

You are allowed to be wary but most of your bad experiences sound like they were with dealers, not with the product (broken truss rod excepted).

 

[Walter Broes]

If you like the Newark Street guitars, you'll like this one too. It's a nice guitar for the money.

 

[mad dog]

I would still love to get my hands on one of the new x350s. None anywhere around here last I checked.