Ngd 1999 x-150

[Neal]

Thanks to some serious enabling from my new buddies over here in the Archtop forum, I am now the proud owner of a '99 X-150 in sunburst. To be completely true to the facts, this one found me.

I was walking home from my first day at my new job, toward my new house, down the downtown mall in Charlottesville, Virginia, and this beauty just happened to be winking at me from the window of a pawn shop. It is the first Guild I have ever owned (except for my original '73 D-35) that I did not buy sight-unseen. So, I guess it was meant to be.

Here she is. Not a single mark on her, anywhere. The tailpiece and pick-up are a little pitted, and there are two tiny cracks in the bass-side neck binding at position markers, but other than that, I found just a few pick marks and swirls, which I made short work of with EternaShine scratch remover. Here she is, all shined up.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to play some jazz licks!

Neal

'71 D-25
'71 F-20
'73 D-35
'81 D-212
'99 X-150
'12 F-50 Std
'13 M-120
'13 F-47R
'13 Orpheum 12-Fret D
'14 orpheum 12-fret 000 RW

 

[twocorgis]

Lots of late Westerly goodness there Neal. Play it in good health!

 

[AcornHouse]

Veddy nice!

 

[Walter Broes]

Very nice! No use even looking at the Newark Street Korean guitars if these go for prices like what you paid! Great score!

 

[jcwu]

The case lining... so soft... and fluffy...

Happy NGD!

 

[cc_mac]

Congratulations! It's a beautiful guitar and has chosen you wisely. The pickup appears to be a bridge pickup based on the two height adjustment screws being on the bottom but the pole pieces being closest to the neck. That's not a problem by any means but just an interesting choice made at the factory.

 

[walrus]

Nice!

walrus

 

[Sleeko]

Did I tell ya or did I tell ya Neal. ride:

 

[hansmoust]

The pickup appears to be a bridge pickup based on the two height adjustment screws being on the bottom but the pole pieces being closest to the neck. That's not a problem by any means but just an interesting choice made at the factory.

Not necessarily! The Fender-designed humbuckers were made so that the tilt-adjustment screws could be on either side; they may have turned the mounting ring 180 degrees. It could be a bridge humbucker though, but the real proof is in the pole piece spacing.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[cc_mac]

Not necessarily! The Fender-designed humbuckers were made so that the tilt-adjustment screws could be on either side; they may have turned the mounting ring 180 degrees. It could be a bridge humbucker though, but the real proof is in the pole piece spacing.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Thanks for pointing that out, Hans. That's made me curious about my X-150D. I'll get out the machinist's rule and check the spacing on the pole pieces for each pickup. I'll also put a meter on the pickups and see what's happening there and report if for posterity. In any case, Neal has a beautiful new (to him) guitar and I know he'll enjoy it.

 

[JavelinaJoe]

Way to go, Neal! She's a beauty. You're gonna love it.

JJ

 

[dane]

Got the drool factor for sure. Very nice!
Congratulations.

Peter

 

[JohnW63]

Got this as part of Christmas gifts...

http://www.skepticalguitarist.com/jazz/jazz.htm

That beauty was in a pawn shop ?! Should I dare ask how much they sold it for ?

 

[cc_mac]

Fender Pickups HB1 (close adjustment screws AKA FB1) pole piece spacing E-E on center as measured from 2000 X150D
Neck 1 15/16"
Bridge 2"

DC Resistance measured somewhat sloppily on an old analog meter
Neck 9K
Bridge 9K

 

[Neal]

John, I can only say that the cost compared very favorably to a Newark Street Savoy, which is exactly what I thought it was when I first spied it. But one glance at the headstock and then the label confirmed that it was a true blue Westerly.

The case is in equally pristine condition.

I know that some folks are not fans of the Fender HB's. What is the real deal on these pickups? Keep? Replace? If so, with what?

Neal

 

[mcflavin]

Congrats -- great looking, great guitar!

 

[rampside]

Beautiful presentation of that exceptional looking X-150, Neal. Big "WOW" factor for sure.

 

[cc_mac]

I know that some folks are not fans of the Fender HB's. What is the real deal on these pickups? Keep? Replace? If so, with what?

Neal

It's true that some have expressed dislike of the Fender HB1s and in many cases that is based on their experience with the Guild made (1971-1994?) HB1 which they liked a great deal more. I have no idea what if any variations of the original HB1 there might have been. As far as I can tell the same HB1 was used on a range of instruments from solidbody to archtop and musical styles ranging through blues, rock, country, jazz, etc. You will also find those who dislike the Guild HB1 but not many here on LTG.

There are so many factors that interact to create the tone that comes from the guitar/amp and most notably how the player interacts with the strings. The Internet is replete with anecdotes, opinions, and arguments about "chasing" tone, endless pickup swaps, amps, cables, picks and on and on. I don't have any real answers but have adopted a practice of taking what I have in front of me and patiently working with it to hear what is going on with the gear and my playing. I also listen to a lot of music and when I like the way something sounds I try and think about what it is about it that I like. I try to hear what is gong on with my playing, the pickups, and the amp and make adjustments according to what I want the end tone result to be.

When I got my X150D with Fender HB1s, I'd read a lot on LTG over the years that was unfavorable regarding the Fender HB1 but I wanted the guitar and decided that I'd work with the pickups as best I could and if after a period of time I was dissatisfied then I'd make a swap. Initially, I liked the way the guitar played once I'd done a thorough setup on it but didn't like the tone through the amp. I knew the amp well and had used it a great deal with my 1969 Starfilre with mini hums ( a fine pickup for so many styles of playing) so I made adjustments to the amp settings but still wasn't totally satisfied. My playing in recent years has shifted away from high gain/distortion to a clean tone and played mostly on the neck pickup. Early one morning shortly after getting the guitar I was having a cup of coffee and grabbed the guitar off the stand and played it unplugged for a while and noticed the unplugged tone wasn't entirely pleasing. It was slightly choked and stiff and in a strange way seemed to have tight and barely discernible buzz to it. I spent some time focusing on that sound and thinking about what could be the cause and then it hit me. I grabbed a screwdriver and adjusted the pickup height down a bit and it the acoustic tone changed a small but noticeable amount. I lowered them another 1/8" and the change was dramatic. Although I'd not thought the pickup height was originally too close to the strings it was in fact close enough that the magnetic pull of the pickups was choking the string movement. All of this was discovering in the quiet darkness of the morning playing the guitar unplugged and listening. I then spent some time with the guitar plugged up to the amp and getting the pickup height and pole pieces adjust for evenness. I'm very satisfied with the end result and don't feel the need to change to a different hum bucking pickup.

In summary, I like the Fender HB1 but had to spend some time getting to know it and learning how to work with it.

I just acquired a 1997 Starfire 2 with The Seymour Duncan version of the HB1 that was transitional from the Guild to the Fender version. I'm stilling getting to know that pickup and learning to work with it but I don't think there will be any reason to swap it out for a different humbucking pickup.

 

[guildman63]

Don't worry about the pickup. I have had identical models with HB-1's and with the more modern pups, and while they sound slightly different I found each to be very good. Enjoy it!

 

[Neal]

Very informative, Chris. Thanks for thaking the time and thought to delve into this with me. I have also read GAD's excellent piece on the HB1's for a frame of reference.

I have spent the last two years chasing acoustic tone which, in the end, has taught me what I like and what I can live without. As it turns out, what doesn't float my boat is certain to please another member of this forum, so buying doesn't necessarily mean "stuck with". Once that became clear, experimenting with different body styles, sizes and tonewoods becomes a lot less stressful, assuming each guitar is bought well, and priced fairly on LTG when its time has come.

What I learned is that tonewood matters less to me than size, shape and (especially for me) scale and nut width. I can do things with a 12-fret short-scale wide-fretboard instrument that I just can't do with a standard size Guild acoustic. It just fits me, in terms of both tone and playability. And it would have been hard to learn that without hours of playing on each guitar I have recently owned. Fortunately, this X-150 is 24.75 scale, right down my alley.

The good news with pickups is that they are way cheaper than chasing tone in acoustic guitars. I could see maybe running through a few before settling on the "right" one. But you are correct in your assessment. Chasing tone starts with what you have in front of you.

I have decided to start with the easiest change, strings. I went out yesterday and bought some D'Addario Chrome flatwound light jazz strings, because the tone I am looking for is mellow, almost dark. I am playing for now through my acoustic amp, a very simple Ultrasound that has no reverb or effects, so what I am getting back is clean solid-state tone.

So that is where I start the chase.