1961 GUILD T-100 DP

Gerrit Cuypers · Jul 19, 2008

Hi There,

I maybe have the possibility to buy a 1961 Guild T-100 DP Slim Jim, with serial number 16179, for a nice price of €1.100 , which is about $1.650.
As I can see on a picture of it, it has two sort of P90's pickups. Or could that be Franz pickups that where used in 1961?
What are the typical qualities and characteristics of the T-100 DP
And what is the difference between a DP and a D version?
I recently played a Gibson ES-135 with P100 pickups and that is a real nice guitar too.
That would be another option for me if I can find one in second hand.
Here are some nice clips of an ES-135 with P100's ...
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=cKwvLglmOfY and http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=S2E9wvbt3Ik .

walrus · Jul 19, 2008

I can't speak to the pick-ups, since my 1967 T100D has the "Mickey Mouse" pick-ups. But when you ask about "qualities and characteristics", two things come to mind. First the great sound you can get with a hollowbody - jazzy, rock-ish, controlled feedback, etc. Another thing I love about my T100 is it's lightness. There are few electric guitars lighter than the T100, it is like you are holding an acoustic guitar, no strain on your shoulder, etc. As I get older, I appreciate this more and more!

Good luck with the hunt!

walrus

teleharmonium · Jul 23, 2008

Gerrit, DP and D are interchangeable terms indicating dual pickups. The original pickups on a '61 T100 would indeed by the Franz pickups, which compared to a P100 will be brighter, less midrange, with a more pronounced attack.

I actually like P100's pretty well but I think they sound more like a Gibson mini hum than a P90; as P90s they suck, but just as pickups I don't mind them in solid or hollowbody guitars.

If you're playing loud or in a group with a lot of stage volume, actually the ES135 with P100s might be a better choice for you since it has a center block. The T100 is a hollow body instrument and it will feed back. But personally while I wouldn't mind having a 1990s black ES135 with P100s and a Bigsby, I think an old T100 is even better and is certainly a better investment.

danerectal · Jul 23, 2008

I'm guessing that the DP and D designations would help one decipher which era dual-pickup T-100 in consideration. Were they both used concurrently or each in its specific era?

teleharmonium · Jul 23, 2008

danerectal said:
I'm guessing that the DP and D designations would help one decipher which era dual-pickup T-100 in consideration. Were they both used concurrently or each in its specific era?

Maybe Hans can tell us for sure, but I've figured the same. My '60 says T100BDP while my '66 says T100D.

hansmoust · Jul 23, 2008

teleharmonium said:
Maybe Hans can tell us for sure, but I've figured the same. My '60 says T100BDP while my '66 says T100D.

SP (for single pickup) and DP (for double pickup) were used during the fifties and into the early '60s, but you will also find T-100Ds from the late '50s, so it looks like both the DP and the D suffix were used simultaneously during the same period. By approx. 1963 the biggest part of the double pickup models did get the D-suffix on the label.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Gerrit Cuypers · Jul 24, 2008

Well, thanks guys for for the explanations depending the T-100 DP.
Yep, I think a Gibson ES-135 with P100's is a very good sounding guitar too but I think the T-100 is a more real guitar, a real vintage (with THE pickups) and like teleharmonium says :
a much better investment !
:idea: Tomorrow I'll contact the seller of the Slim Jim to ask him some more questions about
the guitar.
And I got this little problem since I diddn't have the time yet to go see and play the guitar :
From next saturday untill 8/07 I'm goin' on a holliday.
So , I hope the person who is selling the guitar will keep her on hold for me.
And here's for you Hans. The guitar is for sale in Holland.

Gerrit Cuypers · Aug 23, 2008

Well, last thursday I drove to Amsterdam and bought the Hoboken T-100 Dp 1961 with seral number 16179.
The T-100 is in an as good as original state. The only changes it had is the replacement of the tuners with Shaller tuners and a tune-o-matic bridge. I also have the original bridge that came with the guitar.
It's in a used buth at the same time nice looking shape. I plugged her in, in my Koch Twintone amp and man : the Franz pickups sound very nice indeed.
The bridge Franz pickup gives a lot of microphonic feedback though when I turn up the volume of the Koch amp. So the Franz pups will need to be wax potted for sure, I guess.
I went to see my guitartech Henny ( guitargear.be ) today and he'll do the wax-pott procedure in a while.
Maby I'll replace the standard bridge with a Bigsby B2 in the future.
By the way, I had a DeArmond Starfire special for a while but I sold it last month for a good price.
here are some pics of my T-100 ... :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

And yes, I'm a happy man...

walrus · Aug 23, 2008

That's a great looking guitar - very nice buy! FYI - turn the truss rod cover over - it is upside down!

walrus

valcotone · Aug 24, 2008

What a beauty! Nice Slim Jim you've got there Gerrit!!

Gerrit Cuypers · Aug 24, 2008

walrus said:
That's a great looking guitar - very nice buy! FYI - turn the truss rod cover over - it is upside down!

walrus

Thanks Walrus.
Well, I didnn't notice the upside down truss rod.

I guess I've been to busy playing the guitar these days. 8)

Gerrit Cuypers · Aug 24, 2008

valcotone said:
What a beauty! Nice Slim Jim you've got there Gerrit!!

Thanks Valcotone, Yep it's a nice slim jim. She sounds real good. But I have to take care of the microfonic feedback of the bridge Franz.
And man, you sure got a real cool CE-100 DP Capri 8) 8) 8) 8) 8) !!!!!!
Those ones are hard to find, I guess ...

teleharmonium · Aug 25, 2008

I would recommend against the Bigsby bridge, it won't sound any better, the only advantage those have is the way they can pivot when you use the Bigsby.

Nice guitar. Interesting mod on your Rockabilly model, too, with the Filtertrons.

Gerrit Cuypers · Aug 25, 2008

teleharmonium said:
I would recommend against the Bigsby bridge, it won't sound any better, the only advantage those have is the way they can pivot when you use the Bigsby.

Nice guitar. Interesting mod on your Rockabilly model, too, with the Filtertrons.

Hi teleharmonium, maybe your right about the Bigsby. I'll think about that in the future.
BTW, the mod on my rockabilly model are TV-Jones classic (neck) and classic plus (bridge)
and those sound much better than the original Gretsch Filtertrons. That's for sure.

valcotone · Aug 27, 2008

Gerrit... if it's not too much trouble, could you post a shot of the tail end of your T-100 showing the mounting bracket for the tailpiece? Thanks a lot!

Gerrit Cuypers · Aug 28, 2008

valcotone said:
Gerrit... if it's not too much trouble, could you post a shot of the tail end of your T-100 showing the mounting bracket for the tailpiece? Thanks a lot!

Here's for you, Valcotone...

jp · Aug 29, 2008

Congrats on the T-100D Gerrit! You'll have so much fun with that guitar.

billydlight · Sep 11, 2008

See, now I LOVE the Bigsby bridge. I make sure all my CE's and T100's have them.

teleharmonium · Sep 12, 2008

billydlight said:
See, now I LOVE the Bigsby bridge. I make sure all my CE's and T100's have them.

I wouldn't say they produce an objectively bad tone or anything like that, they're just too bright and zingy for me based on my limited experience on one guitar with Dynas which are already on the bright side. I've heard others say the same thing, but of course we all know what opinions are like. Over just the last couple of years I've come to place a high value on the tonal effect of a wooden bridge, I changed one out last year on a Premier Bantam in favor of a Nashville/T-O-M bridge and immediately hated it and went back to the wooden bridge.

Next, I think I'm going to try a Gretsch bar bridge on my '66 SFIIISpc with Dynas. I have a bar bridge on a solidbody Corvette and like it fine on that guitar, so I want to see how it does for me on a hollowbody, I'm hoping it won't be as bright as the Bigsby bridge but with more sustain and highs than I get from my other 2 Guilds which have wooden bridges. If it doesn't work out, I'll then go to a wooden bridge on that guitar.

Walter Broes · Sep 12, 2008

I like the bass-string twang you get from a Bigsby bridge, don't like what they do to the unwound strings, too "plinky" for my taste.

A Gretsch bar is nowhere near as bright as a Bigsby bridge, they're made out of brass, much denser and heavier.

1961 GUILD T-100 DP

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