Russian Guy
Member
Hello everyone! My name is Vadim and I'm a Guild admirer from Russia. I've tried to access the LTG forums for a long time and couldn't for some reason no matter what browser I used (ask GAD and Hans, I've asked what could be the problem and they both tried to help me sincerely and wholeheartedly).
I managed to get the site going with the help of Google translator engine and could read the original page and let me tell you from what I've read I learned that Guild community here is one the best there is in terms of being very helpful and kind to each other. Unfortunately all I could do is passively participate by reading only which was good but certainly not enough for me.
But since I'm actually posting this message and thread (both being my first on here) it means that I managed to get the site going fully and now I'm able to explore its possibilities and take part in whatever activities there are. To do that I even considered buying an wireless Internet connection service which in Russia is both slow and expensive. Right now I'm paying $50 for a 1 Mbit\s unlimited connection (meaning I don't have to pay a fixed rate for every Mbyte I donload or upload, there are those options as well but they are a complete rip-off).
Customer service of the current Internet provider was clueless as to the reasons why I cannot access letstalkguild.com and claimed that there is something wrong with the sight. Yeah, right! It's working fine in US, the Netherlands, Ukraine etc. As it turned out all I had to do is to turn on the Turbo mode on the Opera 11 and it connected to the site without any issues. All the props to my workmate for helping me (and I thought I was not computer illiterate).
Anyway (sorry for the long post and introduction), you think since he posts here then he probabably owns a guitar made by Guild. Sure I do (otherwise I won't even be here). I am proud owner of a 1979 Guild S-300 AD (it's as mint as GAD's example but I'm more than happy with it. For a guy who lives in Russia which (as we all know) is underdeveloped in many areas (one of them guitar building) this guitar is a work of art.
Here it is by the way
Although I don't have a long history of owning a lot of guitars as you guys do but I'm getting there. All I have to compare it with is 1975 Ovation Viper and a Chinese-made hollowbody (or a semi-hollowbody) Gibson Les Paul. This Guild beats the Chinese LP in every aspect (you already know that; and Chinese LP doesn't have a right to be mentioned in the same sentence with Guilds) - playability, weight, sound, ergonomics, looks etc. Ovation Viper is a different beast altogether and I love it also but for different reasons. Well, mainly for the sound. It's a single-coil guitar with a bolt on neck and it has a different feel to it. Guild S-300 is very lightweight compared to my black Viper, Guild feels almost fragile while Viper is one hunk of wood. The slim neck of the Guild is a thing of beauty and is so comfortable to play (I don't have large hands so Viper's neck took some time to get used to) whereas the Viper's neck feels almost like a paddle to me.
Enough with the prelude, now let me cut to the chase. I might buy a natural Guild S-70 from a guy in Moscow. It's been refretted not so long ago and looks pretty good but comes without an OHSC. The guy is asking around $1160 (shipping is on him) for it which I think is way too much. Here are the pictures of it.
Front
Back
Fretboard
And that's where some interesting things come out. I hope Hans will shed some light on this matter. He already said that the pickups are not stock (the middle one for sure and the white ones are probably too because the stock ones were cream-colored). The seller claims the black one to be a DiMarzio, it may be so but it certainly is not stock. Another thing that I noticed is the lack of phase switch (on all the photos of the model I actually saw two identical switches in between the volume and tone knobs). What's more interesting is that the pickups switch is almost horizontal and not vertical like on every other picture of this model. The serial number is 206563 which according to the Guild dating system places it under 1979.
I'm really interested in your opinions, tips and general thoughts. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance and glad to be here.
P.S. Do any of you guys a spare hard-shell case for a S-300/S-70/S-60 to sell?
P.P.S. Special thanks to Qvart, Thunderface and other Guild S-100 owners for instilling the lust for this guitar in me
Russian Guy
I managed to get the site going with the help of Google translator engine and could read the original page and let me tell you from what I've read I learned that Guild community here is one the best there is in terms of being very helpful and kind to each other. Unfortunately all I could do is passively participate by reading only which was good but certainly not enough for me.
But since I'm actually posting this message and thread (both being my first on here) it means that I managed to get the site going fully and now I'm able to explore its possibilities and take part in whatever activities there are. To do that I even considered buying an wireless Internet connection service which in Russia is both slow and expensive. Right now I'm paying $50 for a 1 Mbit\s unlimited connection (meaning I don't have to pay a fixed rate for every Mbyte I donload or upload, there are those options as well but they are a complete rip-off).
Customer service of the current Internet provider was clueless as to the reasons why I cannot access letstalkguild.com and claimed that there is something wrong with the sight. Yeah, right! It's working fine in US, the Netherlands, Ukraine etc. As it turned out all I had to do is to turn on the Turbo mode on the Opera 11 and it connected to the site without any issues. All the props to my workmate for helping me (and I thought I was not computer illiterate).
Anyway (sorry for the long post and introduction), you think since he posts here then he probabably owns a guitar made by Guild. Sure I do (otherwise I won't even be here). I am proud owner of a 1979 Guild S-300 AD (it's as mint as GAD's example but I'm more than happy with it. For a guy who lives in Russia which (as we all know) is underdeveloped in many areas (one of them guitar building) this guitar is a work of art.
Here it is by the way
Although I don't have a long history of owning a lot of guitars as you guys do but I'm getting there. All I have to compare it with is 1975 Ovation Viper and a Chinese-made hollowbody (or a semi-hollowbody) Gibson Les Paul. This Guild beats the Chinese LP in every aspect (you already know that; and Chinese LP doesn't have a right to be mentioned in the same sentence with Guilds) - playability, weight, sound, ergonomics, looks etc. Ovation Viper is a different beast altogether and I love it also but for different reasons. Well, mainly for the sound. It's a single-coil guitar with a bolt on neck and it has a different feel to it. Guild S-300 is very lightweight compared to my black Viper, Guild feels almost fragile while Viper is one hunk of wood. The slim neck of the Guild is a thing of beauty and is so comfortable to play (I don't have large hands so Viper's neck took some time to get used to) whereas the Viper's neck feels almost like a paddle to me.
Enough with the prelude, now let me cut to the chase. I might buy a natural Guild S-70 from a guy in Moscow. It's been refretted not so long ago and looks pretty good but comes without an OHSC. The guy is asking around $1160 (shipping is on him) for it which I think is way too much. Here are the pictures of it.
Front
Back
Fretboard
And that's where some interesting things come out. I hope Hans will shed some light on this matter. He already said that the pickups are not stock (the middle one for sure and the white ones are probably too because the stock ones were cream-colored). The seller claims the black one to be a DiMarzio, it may be so but it certainly is not stock. Another thing that I noticed is the lack of phase switch (on all the photos of the model I actually saw two identical switches in between the volume and tone knobs). What's more interesting is that the pickups switch is almost horizontal and not vertical like on every other picture of this model. The serial number is 206563 which according to the Guild dating system places it under 1979.
I'm really interested in your opinions, tips and general thoughts. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks in advance and glad to be here.
P.S. Do any of you guys a spare hard-shell case for a S-300/S-70/S-60 to sell?
P.P.S. Special thanks to Qvart, Thunderface and other Guild S-100 owners for instilling the lust for this guitar in me
Russian Guy
