I got a guild today, but nobody knows what the model exactly is

[igotafreeguild]

so i got this guitar from a buddy of mine who has had it for years. It's in rough shape, so he just gave it to me. it plays great for the shape it's in! but i would like to know what model it is. Nobody has pinpointed it , it doesn't look modified, and it's from 1976 according to all serial decoder websites. Serial is 140020 on top of headstock.

this one guy thinks it's a prototype, another said its modified S-300, another said it's a model between M80 - M80CS

can anybody identify the exact model and name?

No i will not sell it.

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome.

Serial number dates to 1976.

Pop the control cavity cover and see if there is a label on it. That would help.

The bolt on neck is "interesting". I don't recall a Guild solid body from the '70's with that feature. I'm inclined to say prototype or Frankenstein with some real Guild parts but otherwise unknown to the factory. Better answers will be along.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Welcome! Saw your post on facebook. We should be able to answer the mystery here.

There's a couple of red flags for me that are not normally Guild features. Flat head screws in the Truss Rod Cover. Flat head slotted screws in the neckplate. Neckplate recessed into the body.

It's almost like a Guild neck has been bolted to a import body.

Gonna need @hansmoust for this one!

 

[BradHK]

Welcome and interesting guitar! I don’t have any definitive answers on your guitar but if my memory serves (and sometimes it does not), in 1976 the very first S-300 guitars had a bolt on neck like yours with 24 frets. Not sure about that neck pickup (could it be a black top Mickey Mouse?), but the other parts such as bridge, knobs, switch tip, etc look correct for that era of Guild. I would find it hard to believe that somebody bolted on another body that just happened to have the right size neck pocket and swapped in all original Guild parts. I am sure somebody with more knowledge will post and I agree with the comment above about removing the control cavity cover to see if it has a label inside and also post photos of the wiring and pots in the control cavity.

 

[BradHK]

FYI - it is not a modified bolt on neck S-300. The neck bolts on at the same fret but your guitar has more material around the lower cutout so you could not “modify” a S-300 body to get that shape unless you added material.

here are some comparison photos:

Yours:


S-300 with bolt on neck:

 

[igotafreeguild]

Welcome and interesting guitar! I don’t have any definitive answers on your guitar but if my memory serves (and sometimes it does not), in 1976 the very first S-300 guitars had a bolt on neck like yours with 24 frets. Not sure about that neck pickup (could it be a black top Mickey Mouse?), but the other parts such as bridge, knobs, switch tip, etc look correct for that era of Guild. I would find it hard to believe that somebody bolted on another body that just happened to have the right size neck pocket and swapped in all original Guild parts. I am sure somebody with more knowledge will post and I agree with the comment above about removing the control cavity cover to see if it has a label inside and also post photos of the wiring and pots in the control cavity.

thank you! i was hoping for a response like this. I will post photos later of the inside

 

[Rocky]

Ralf's S-300 neckplate looks substantially different


And the shape doesn't resemble that Euro guitar the S-300 series was based off of. Definitely an odd duck.

 

[cupric]

Hans is the only resource I see for this one.
Either a odd prototype, or a Frankenstein.

 

[GAD]

Doesn’t look like a “real” Guild to me. My bet is some prototype or home/training build by an employee with access to parts.

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Quite often prototypes have an "LL" serial number so we may be able to rule that out. (But we may not!)

 

[GAD]

Quite often prototypes have an "LL" serial number so we may be able to rule that out. (But we may not!)

Yeah but I don’t think that was the case in the no-prefix ‘70s.

 

[igotafreeguild]

This the what's in the back

 

[AcornHouse]

This the what's in the back

The cavity rout is very irregular, which makes me think the body is non-factory. Or possibly altered with the way it almost cuts into that bottom screw hole.

 

[Rocky]

The cavity rout is very irregular, which makes me think the body is non-factory. Or possibly altered with the way it almost cuts into that bottom screw hole.

But it definitely looks like some factory. Not homemade. The real tell, I think, is if it looks like there were any modifications to install the pickups/hardware.

 

[AcornHouse]

This the what's in the back

That one pot that has visible codes is certainly a Guild part, according to our esteemed leader’s post.

Reference Post: Guild Pot Codes

I'm talking about vintage Guild pot part numbers here. I've collected and lost this information more times than I can count. Let's fill this in and get it right once and for all! Here's what I have: 004019: 500k Ω - [Log taper?] 004020: 500k Ω (most volume pots) - [Audio Taper?] 004026...

letstalkguild.com

 

[fronobulax]

The routing looks irregular but the copper shielding looks right. How hard is that to do by hand or in not-the-factory?

 

[GAD]

The routing looks irregular but the copper shielding looks right. How hard is that to do by hand or in not-the-factory?

It's a bit of a pain to do well, but it's not rocket surgery.

OP - is there a sticker on the cover to that cavity?

 

[jp]

This the what's in the back

Usually, the Guild 70s electric solid bodies have a label on the inside of the cavity cover that looks like this. It should have the model designation and the serial number. I'm assuming yours doesn't have one?

 

[igotafreeguild]

Usually, the Guild 70s electric solid bodies have a label on the inside of the cavity cover that looks like this. It should have the model designation and the serial number. I'm assuming yours doesn't have one?

no it does not

 

[igotafreeguild]

can it possibly be under the shielding?