NGD - GSR X-150D

[GGJaguar]

I love Guild archtops. I can’t help it, I just do. I’m like a “crazy cat lady”, but with Guild archtops. The latest stray that I took in was this GSR X-150D. Spoiler alert – it was released back into the wild.



The model was introduced in 2013 and was limited to 26 guitars which sort of adds to the excitement. The body is 16” wide and 3” deep which is same as the Corona-made X-150D. It has a laminated 2-piece flame maple back and flame maple sides with a 3-ply laminated spruce top. I think the spruce top is pretty cool because it’s a throwback to the original X-150 of the 1950s (though they had 17” bodies). Too bad the body doesn’t have the cool 1950s Epiphone inspired shape like the GSR T-500. And speaking of the T-500, both it and this X-150D have a thick rosewood bridge plate that sits between the parallel braces just behind the pickup cutout. I’ve never seen this type of plate used on archtops before. Very odd.



The body is mated to a 3-piece mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard. I know a lot of you dislike maple bodies with mahogany necks, but I’m kind of used to it. My Westerly-made X-150D, among others, has a mahogany neck. Like its Westerly compatriot, the GSR version has block fingerboard inlays, 24 2/4” scale length, and HB-1 type pickups. Instead of the usual rosewood bridge and Guild harp tailpiece, the GSR is fitted with a Graph Tech ResoMax tune-o-matic bridge and a Guildsby vibrato. The only weird thing about the guitar is the pickguard shape. It’s sort of like if a vintage 1961 pickguard got shrunk and distorted in a clothes dryer. That’s the nice way of saying it’s ugly.

As a side note, the GSR X-150D and GSR X-180 appear to use the same body/neck and hardware with the main differences being the X-180 has gold hardware, a Guild harp tailpiece and Duncan ’59 pickups. I’d say the X-150 was meant to be the rocker and the X-180 was aimed at the jazzbo crowd.

 

[GGJaguar]

Now let’s discuss the elephant in the room – where was this guitar really made? Well, the short answer is that it was assembled and finished in New Hartford. Digging down a bit, it seems no one is really sure where the body (and possibly neck) was made and I refer you to this thread for some good discussion on the topic:

would like to by GSR x150 w/ Bigsby. Is this a Korean guitar

I was researching the GSR guitars and there are a few threads saying the bodies were made in korea. Is there truth to this. For GSR X150 owners, how do you like them? Any assistance you can provide would be great. THANKS. I happen to like the specs of the neck profile and radius. THANKS IN...

letstalkguild.com

My opinion is that the body was made in Korea. This conclusion is based on the 2-piece back (like the Newark Street series) and what the interior of this GSR X-150D and my GSR T-500 look like. They are well-constructed, but the interior attention to detail is below what I’ve seen from Westerly, Corona, Tacoma and New Hartford. It’s also below what I’ve seen from Terada in Japan via my Gretsches. My gut feeling is that the neck was made in New Hartford because it is constructed differently than Newark Street necks, doesn’t use the NS logo and Chesterfield inlay and looks and feels like the NH necks I’ve encountered. This is all circumstantial, of course, and we may never know the real story. It just adds to the mystique.

Putting aside the “where and what” of the guitar, let’s see how it plays and sounds. That’s all that matters in the long run anyway, right? The neck profile is C-shaped and the nut width is 1 11/16”. The neck feels very similar to my 1998 X-150D so there’s a comparison for those who have played a Westerly example. It’s easy to play and I imagine a lot of players would love it.

The ResoMax bridge was having some buzzing issues so I replaced it with a Tune-a-matic that I had. The action was set to my liking and I was ready for some sonic testing. That’s when I notice the bridge was adjusted high. Like really high. More on this later.

The HB-1 pickups in this guitar were made in Korea and also used on some Newark Street models, like the S-100. If you go to GAD’s review of the NS S-100 you can listen to the soundbites of them. They are pretty decent! The DC resistance measures 6.9K ohm for both and as GAD noted in his review, they are articulate. I will add that they are brighter than typical PAF type pickups and the bridge pickup has plenty of chime. I think they are really good and well worth considering.

Overall, I’d say this is a versatile guitar for jazz, blues, pop and rock. It’s unique in that few 16” electric archtops have spruce tops (most are maple) and its origins are enigmatic. The bad news is Guild only made 26 of them so finding one may take a while. The good news is that I believe the NS X-175 Special (17” body, spruce top, DeArmond pickups, Bigsby) would be a very good substitute. They are bright and chimey and abundantly available (at least for now). A Westerly-made X-150D would also be a good choice. The FMIC HB-1 pickups aren’t as articulate as the Korean HB-1s, but they are a standard size so there are many replacement options available.

Now, back the bridge being high. A really high bridge on an archtop either means an overset neck or, more commonly, a sinking top. The top didn’t overtly look to be sinking, but it didn’t look very arched either. Out came the inspection mirror and bright lights to check inside the body again. I didn’t catch it during my initial look-see, but sure enough, the braces had partially become unglued. This caused the top to sink to a point where the TOM had to be raised to near maximum to get the action set to where the guitar was playable. The pickups also needed to be raised. The unglued brace issue wasn’t something I wanted to mess with so I returned the guitar. I am sad because it’s a neat guitar and a 16” archtop with spruce top is not very common. On the other hand, I do have other guitars that fall into the same sonic territory so I’m good in that regard.

Onward and upward…

 

[Walter Broes]

And speaking of the T-500, both it and this X-150D have a thick rosewood bridge plate that sits between the parallel braces just behind the pickup cutout. I’ve never seen this type of plate used on archtops before. Very odd.

Gibson's ES225's had a similar arrangement - not sure what it was made of, probably maple.(?) Apart from the ES-295-alike "Les Paul" trapeze tailpiece, it's the main structural difference between an ES225 and the cheaper ES125TDC.

Terada, the Japanese guitar factory has been doing something similar on some of the Gibson-alike guitars they're building for "Kingsnake guitars", and some of the earlier Gretsch MIJ guitars.

The body is mated to a 3-piece mahogany neck with a rosewood fingerboard. I know a lot of you dislike maple bodies with mahogany necks, but I’m kind of used to it.

I love vintage X175's and Gibson ES175's, so no dislike for that configuration from me whatsoever!!

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Excellent write up, but it might be helpful to mention where you bought (and returned it) to so that nobody here buys the same problem. An unscrupulous dealer might just re-sell it without repairing (or mentioning) the issue of the loose braces.

It's unfortunate you had to return it. Also unfortunate if the body was actually made in Korea because the price point was for an American-made instrument.

Do I need to worry about the same thing happening with my GSR T-500?

 

[GGJaguar]

Gibson's ES225's had a similar arrangement - not sure what it was made of, probably maple.(?) Apart from the ES-295-alike "Les Paul" trapeze tailpiece, it's the main structural difference between an ES225 and the cheaper ES125TDC.

Terada, the Japanese guitar factory has been doing something similar on some of the Gibson-alike guitars they're building for "Kingsnake guitars", and some of the earlier Gretsch MIJ guitars.

Interesting, I did not know that!

 

[GGJaguar]

Do I need to worry about the same thing happening with my GSR T-500?

All I know is that I will be monitoring my GSR T-500. So far, mine is fine.

 

[Default]

I wouldn't be concerned. The T-500s were made years apart from the X-150, and it's not a big repair anyway. My biggest decision would be Titebond or fish glue, and since I'll be busy finishing the glue-up on the CE tomorrow, that decision has been made for me.