Journey back in time

I really enjoy playing my two Guild archtops, both Westerly guitars - my namesake X-170 (from the 90s) and X-500 (from the 80s). But for some time I've wanted to find a vintage Guild, particularly one with a Franz pickup. I've become more and more a fan of older single coil pickups, so the Franz seemed likely to fit my preference.

When the chance finally came, it was beyond what I had hoped. Welcome to the time capsule. First, here's what the guitar came in:



And this piece of case candy, seemingly barely used, fit the timeframe:



Alright, enough suspense, here's the guitar, a blonde T-100, with a single Franz:

Excellent first post!! Welcome!! Beautiful guitar, and I like the strap, too - what year is the T100?

walrus

I agree with Walrus and extend another WELCOME TO LTG!
Great looking guitar and a nice presentation....even the teasing part in the beginning! :rugby:

Cheers,
Joe

Welcome X-170AB, congrats on that great find and do show us your other archtops.

X-170AB said:

Alright, enough suspense, here's the guitar, a blonde T-100, with a single Franz:

Click to expand...

walrus said:

what year is the T100?

Click to expand...

Hello X-170AB,

Welcome! Looks like an instrument from 1959 to me; maybe 1960!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

That's fantastic! Welcome!

Yowza. Welcome aboard and congrats on a beautiful vintage Guild.

That's beautiful! Welcome to LTG; you came to the right place.
Let's see the rest of your collection....

Beautiful axe, congrats!

Thanks guys!

The seller wasn't sure of the date. Actually, he advertised it as a '57, but I knew that wasn't correct because The Guild Guitar book says production of T-100s didn't start until 1958. What I've gathered from the book makes me think this one is probably a '58 or '59, for the following reasons:

Open book headstock with peaked logo - on most instruments by '59
Hoboken "Ghost" Label - used in '59 and '60
Waverly tailpiece - replaced with harp ca. '60
DeArmond-style clear knobs - used through '58

The logo is unfortunately blank, with no serial number or model name. I welcome Hans, or any other "Guild detectives", to weigh in and let me know if I'm adding up the facts correctly, or can shed any further light.

Regardless of its providence, its a great guitar, really lightweight and resonant (particularly for a laminate), and full of tone. The sound of the Franz is great, and the single-pickup configuration is the one I wanted. The only real issue is the shrunken binding on the cutaway - I may try to re-fit it, but as it seems stable for now I may just leave it alone.

Here's a bit more...

Very nice, congratulations.

Hello and welcome. Beautiful T100. A couple of things to note. The T100 and CE 100 were released in 1956, but the dual pickup models T100D and CE100D came out in '58. I too would agree with Hans that it looks like a '59 or '60, but mine have amber knobs with numbers. I thought the barrel knobs were done in '57 or '58. I am sure Hans can shed some light on that though. It's a real beauty. Congrats.

Gorgeous T-100. I love those early blond Guild archtops. Welcome to LTG!