What do you guys think of the $800 price point for NS S-100's?

[K.O.M.A.]

I think the price point is fine but I think FMIC did such a bad job of the original NS 100 roll out with the mini-buckers that they tainted the line forever. Same thing with the Starfires too. Cordoba needs to admit the problem and go from there. Something like "New and improved S100's with real HB-1's, NOT the mini-buckers". I think if they would have re-issued these with the HB-1's they have now they would have been better received. I think any kid that picked up the mini-bucker version and quickly put it back because of the pickups will probably just walk right on by the new ones.

 

[fronobulax]

I think the price point is fine but I think FMIC did such a bad job of the original NS 100 roll out with the mini-buckers that they tainted the line forever. Same thing with the Starfires too. Cordoba needs to admit the problem and go from there. Something like "New and improved S100's with real HB-1's, NOT the mini-buckers". I think if they would have re-issued these with the HB-1's they have now they would have been better received. I think any kid that picked up the mini-bucker version and quickly put it back because of the pickups will probably just walk right on by the new ones.

For what it's worth a local dealer who stocked first generation FMIC S100 that did not sell for many months commented that the complaints were about how thick the poly finish was and the stupid orange switch tip. If anyone had a problem with the pickups they did not bother to share their opinion with the proprietor.

 

[Quantum Strummer]

Let me observe again that in my experience with "mini-hums" (they're not much smaller than HB-1s actually) the ~5KOhm DC resistance reading of the NS bridge reissue is closer to vintage correct than the ~7KOhm neck p'up. That the two pickups are of different specs is the unusual part.

-Dave-

 

[K.O.M.A.]

For what it's worth a local dealer who stocked first generation FMIC S100 that did not sell for many months commented that the complaints were about how thick the poly finish was and the stupid orange switch tip. If anyone had a problem with the pickups they did not bother to share their opinion with the proprietor.

Maybe they couldn't get past the thick finish and switch tip and didn't bother plugging one in. I also had a local Guild dealer who had the NS line languishing on his walls for a long time who would look at me and shake his head after I would come in and plug one in and put it back muttering about the terrible tone. Notice I said HAD, he is no longer a Guild dealer. Every single NS or GAD Guild he sold except for one was sold on E-Bay. He STILL has an Aristocrat on E-Bay. If the first NS S100 had good sounding full size HB-1 repros I probably would have bought one, poly finish or not. I have nothing against Korean made guitars.

 

[S100]

I would expect the thick poly to make an unplugged guitar not sound very resonant. I always strum them a little unplugged before firing it up, as I'm sure most people do.

 

[K.O.M.A.]

I would expect the thick poly to make an unplugged guitar not sound very resonant. I always strum them a little unplugged before firing it up, as I'm sure most people do.

It's funny, I've noticed on some luthier forums I lurk on that some guys are starting to sing praises about how great poly can be to work with. Works as a sealer and grain filler all in one and really speeds up the finish time. They claim the factories just spray it on way too thick.

 

[mavuser]

I think guild used poly on some corona bluesbirds, rather successfully. I can't always tell the difference between poly and "satin nitro." I think a lot of it is in the hands of the sprayer/luthier. The NS Starfire basses I've seen appear to be finished well, to me at least.

 

[danielesindaco]

Hi Guys, this is Dani writing, guitar player of The Lords Of Altamont. I endorse Guild guitars. I recently toured with a S100 NS as main guitar. I used it 100% stock. I am very happy with the guitar performance and I am still satisfied how the guitars feels and sounds.
As you all, I am a guitar fanatic. So I had to ask the Guild guys why they made certain choices in the NS (poly, humbuckers, etc). They were very open and sincerely said that with that price as a target they could not offer nitro finish or hand-soldiered circuit. Personally I do not fight the poly-nitro war, although I do like nitro better (and naked wood even better!). But when selecting a guitar the most important factors for me are: neck feel, fretwork, reliable hardware (tuners, bridge, etc), pickups. I played this guitar every night for 3 weeks in a row while on tour with a Marshall JPM2203, custom 18w plexy style and Vox AC30. Mainly no effects or clean booster only. I liked how the S100 sounded. And I got a lot of good comments about my sounds from fellow musicians or fans. My experience with vintage Guild is very limited so I cannot compare. But I like the wider neck, Gibson style. It is better balanced than a SG and I like the thicker body. Really in between a LP and a SG. I will be happy to share my experience with you. So if you have specific questions let me know. I am not biased by the fact that I endorse it. I do play other brands too (mainly Gibson) live and the Guild guys are aware of it...

 

[Los Angeles]

Welcome to the forum, Dani! Can you please clarify if your NS S-100 has 60's style mini humbuckers or the more recent larger humbuckers?

 

[Los Angeles]

As to the original post - $800 is a fairly friendly price for most buyers, young or old. The critical issue is wether your $800 guitar looks, feels and sounds great on a shop wall or when you unbox it at your home.

Unfortunately, when I played one at True Tone Music in Santa Monica (just a few blocks from Guild's Santa Monica office), the first batch of NS S-100's failed in the looks, feel AND sound categories. Not one, not two, but three strikes.

I have not yet had a chance to play one of the new black or white 2015 versions, but Guild had nowhere to go but "up" in all three categories. if it gets a pass in all three categories, then $800 will be a bargain.

 

[TVeye]

Welcome to the forum, Dani! Can you please clarify if your NS S-100 has 60's style mini humbuckers or the more recent larger humbuckers?

It's the latter, tried to get a review a while ago but, Dani lost interest.

 

[S100]

I have not yet had a chance to play one of the new black or white 2015 versions, but Guild had nowhere to go but "up" in all three categories. if it gets a pass in all three categories, then $800 will be a bargain.

This kind of gets to my original question. I think we'd pretty much all consider the vintage and RI Guilds to be a bargain, so at that price would you buy a NS or hold out for a RI or even vintage since the prices aren't that far off?

 

[Default]

I would like to get a S-100 with the mini-buckers and rewind the lead pup. I think that would be a screamer. I don't agree with the 5k as being the best choice for Guild. If my SF lll had that pickup, I wouldn't have bought it. I wonder if the 5k's were just manufacturing inconsistencies.

 

[TVeye]

This kind of gets to my original question. I think we'd pretty much all consider the vintage and RI Guilds to be a bargain, so at that price would you buy a NS or hold out for a RI or even vintage since the prices aren't that far off?

I think for a lot of people a vintage one won't work due to the 1 5/8" nut width. That brings the decision down to a re-issue or a NS. If I wanted a black or white one, I would go Newark St. We all know how often RI's pop up and who's got time for that kinda waiting (you could always pay $2300 for the white one on eBay and still have to change the pickups.....but that's just silly.)
My decision would then be to either find a cheap 2013 and change out the bridge pickup or..... rock that 2015 like it's 1993. If I hadn't found my '96, I'd already have one.
I'm not sure you could find a better deal for $800......it's China that scares me not Korea......South Korea anyway.

 

[danielesindaco]

It's the latter, tried to get a review a while ago but, Dani lost interest.

Hi there, I did not lose interest in this discussion really. Thing is that sound is a very subjective thing. I like these pickups, the humbucker version that is. They sound good in my setup. If it helps I can say I like the classic rock, thick sound of a P90, PAF 59, Ttop, or 70's Superdistortion (Ace Frehley!). I don't like the thin, bright sound of Gretsch Filtertron, or the Telecaster kind of sound...

If you have a question I will be happy to answer it if I can. But again it is very hard to me to compare it to the original mini (never tried) or to other pickups mounted in other guitars, you know. As an example: last tour my second guitar was a Firebird with boutique pickups. I love that sound. But some people preferred the Guild humbucker sound...go figure. They said it suited better the band sound. Still I was using the Firebird because to my ears, that was the right guitar for certain songs.

So I would say...if you have the opportunity, try it out. That's the only way to know for sure...

Perhaps, for curiosity I would have tried a Alnico 4 or 5 for a bit more or bite...but again, using a clean boost and a plexi style amp these pickups work well for me.

 

[danielesindaco]

Welcome to the forum, Dani! Can you please clarify if your NS S-100 has 60's style mini humbuckers or the more recent larger humbuckers?

Hi, for the clarity, yes, mine has the full-size humbucker pickups (no mini)

 

[Quantum Strummer]

I would like to get a S-100 with the mini-buckers and rewind the lead pup. I think that would be a screamer. I don't agree with the 5k as being the best choice for Guild. If my SF lll had that pickup, I wouldn't have bought it. I wonder if the 5k's were just manufacturing inconsistencies.

Like most pickups of their time the original anti-hums vary from sample to sample in the number of windings used. Most of the ones I've measured come out in the low- to mid-5KOhm region. A handful have been above 6K. But we're talking a dozen guitars (and most of the measurements not written down), not enough to be authoritative.

As to best choice, depends on what you're going for. I'd want hotter pickups in an S-100 'cuz I see that instrument as a quintessential rock machine. For my Bluesbird I wanted clarity and nuance, not so much push, so its anti-hums are just the thing. To my ears they sometimes sound like Filtertrons, sometimes like PAFs (which is to say, clearer & brighter than what most people think PAFs sound like). The Bluesbird gets played loud & clean through a Hiwatt. With a boost pedal for some midrange emphasis when needed/wanted.

-Dave-

 

[Default]

It's no wonder they went to the HB-1s, if 5K was the norm toward the end of the run. It's not a good pickup, compared to my 68's. FWIW, as soon as the NS line debuted, there was a British company on Ebay rewinding them to the 6.8K they had in their vintage Starfire. WHat were the dates on those guitars? Were they from a specific time period? It really does not make sense, other than a bad batch of pups, as Al Dronge wanted it to sound as close to a Gibson as possible and he did not want a trebley pup.
When I was talking to the guy who designed the minibucker and the Micky Mouse, he said Al would come in, listen to what test pup they had mounted to a guitar and reject it as not sounding enough like a Gibson. Aaron said they never quite got it "right". Guild wasn't competing with Gretsch, it was going after Gibson's market.

 

[Quantum Strummer]

What were the dates on those guitars? Were they from a specific time period? It really does not make sense, other than a bad batch of pups, as Al Dronge wanted it to sound as close to a Gibson as possible and he did not want a trebley pup.

The guitars were mostly from the late '60s & mostly Starfire IVs. Pre-Internet my fav guitar shop often had '60s SF IIIs and/or IVs in stock. Afterward too but not in the same quantities. If it had occurred to me earlier I coulda collected pickup data on many more than I did…

If Guild was going for a PAF-like sound with the anti-hums the pickups in my Bluesbird are certainly in that ballpark. Nothing "bad" about 'em at all. They're clear sounding but not trebly in a razor your ears manner. Like PAFs but with better midrange clarity. Or like Filtertrons but less sweet and more dry. Now if they were going for a mid/late '60s darker Gibson sound, with more midrange emphasis…well, my Bluesbird doesn't by itself do that. I've played SF IVs with anti-hums that sounded very much like 335s from the same period, though. Hotter wound pickups? Could be…

If I were to buy an NS guitar with reissue anti-hums, given that Cordoba is sticking with the initial specs (until they use up current stock anyway), I'd swap the pickup positions and find out what happens. I'd also record a direct signal of myself playing, before and after, to minimize possible confirmation bias/placebo effect. IMO it's almost worth doing just to satisfy my curiosity.

-Dave-

 

[Default]

Aaron told me that Al was a pretty decent jazz player, but he liked that (in Aaron's words) "muddy"tone. My impression was that the was never satisfied with the minibuckers.

Fwiw, Aaron told me that he was intimately familiar with the Gibson patent for humbuckers, and Guild wanted to get as close as possible to that pickup without being sued. Al's prefered market was jazz players and that was the focus until Mark Dronge started having input.