Left handed Guild S-100's

Hi everyone, new member from Ireland here. I'm left handed and know how hard it is to find them, I've seen a few 70's models turn up on Ebay every so often but I never got the chance to bid on one, but a few years back I tracked down a lefty black Guild S-100 reissue from a Canadian seller. I've never seen another black left handed S-100 reissue from this era. The original owner didn't play it much and treated it like a baby cos its pretty much mint! The original nickel Seymour Duncan's had tarnished badly, and I wanted to make the guitar look exactly like a 70's S-100 so I scored a pair of Chrome Guild SD-1 pickups on ebay, they sound and look great! They look exactly the same as the classic HB1's but are the same size as a standard humbucker. The 5 ply pickguard has no bevel at all and doesn't stand out much on the guitar so I'm having a new one made right now by WD Music, I'll post pics when I get it. The serial number is FB001130, does anyone know if this is 2000 or 2001? And has anyone here ever seen another one of these lefty S-100's from the 00's?
Anyone else here got a lefty S-100? Post pics! Thanks, Mick

Now THAT'S a way to make an entrance!

I absolytely love the color! :applause:

I admit that the pickups threw me for a second. Great job in swapping them out for guild gear!

Don't have the answers for most of your questions, but I'm sure someone will come along and give you some answers. Welcome to the forum!

Thanks Los Angeles Great to see so many S-100 fans here! About the pickups, I had considering buying a pair of original HB1's on ebay, but after researching it I learned that they are a different size so that would mean having to find HB1 pickup rings and having to drill new holes in the guitar to accomodate them.
I found this really good guide to Guild pickups, I'm guessing alot of you have seen this already
http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/11/25/guild-full-sized-hb1-and-sd1-pickup-variations/
So when I found a pair of SD1's for sale on ebay I went for it, they cost me about $350 including shipping but it was definitely worth it. The
bridge SD1 had the 5 wire cable so I was able to keep the phase switch functional.
The new pickguard i'm having made should make it look even more like the old ones, like Kim Thayil's to be more precise!
Its quite a heavy guitar, I'd put it between a SG and a Les Paul custom weight wise. Are most of the reissues like this?
Because I keep reading that the 70's S-100s are quite light? Was there much variation in the weight of the S-100's over the years?

And so do I! She's a black beauty! Welcome to the LTG crew! I'm a lefty but I play right-handed. Enjoy your time here!

Welcome aboard, Mick6Strings! That's a beautiful lefty S-100 you have there.

Cool, Mick from Cork!
bp

Mick6Strings said:

The serial number is FB001130, does anyone know if this is 2000 or 2001?

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Hello Mick,

Welcome! Your S-100 with ser. # FB001130 is from the year 2000.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

great guitar and welcome. Just want to add that not too long ago, maybe a year or so back, someone on ebay had a picture of a black left-handed S-100, and a black left-handed S-50, together. Both were mid 1970s. any of them black and lefty are super rare. a keeper!

Very nice Mick! A black S-100 is pretty cool (I Know) & yours is in great nick. Really interested in how she sounds with the SDs & welcome to LTG.

hansmoust said:

Hello Mick,

Welcome! Your S-100 with ser. # FB001130 is from the year 2000.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

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Hi Hans, thank you for the welcome and confirming the year of production Your website is new to me, wow, what a great site, cheers!

mavuser said:

great guitar and welcome. Just want to add that not too long ago, maybe a year or so back, someone on ebay had a picture of a black left-handed S-100, and a black left-handed S-50, together. Both were mid 1970s. any of them black and lefty are super rare. a keeper!

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Thanks mavuser Yes I remember finding a photo of those 2 lefty Guilds, this guy was selling his S-50 on Ebay, these are the only black lefty models I've ever seen from the 70's. The only thing I dont like about these models is the tailpiece being so close to the bridge, but I'm still jealous of whoever owns these!



Heres one more lefty I've seen on Google searches, a natural finish S-100 from '73 I think

I got a new Pickguard made by WD Music. Heres a few before and after shots, heres the 2 pickguards, top one is the original.
Quite a large bevel on it, more than I expected. Going to get a few 3 ply pickguards made, I'll post photos when I get them.

Mick6Strings said:

Thanks mavuser Yes I remember finding a photo of those 2 lefty Guilds, this guy was selling his S-50 on Ebay, these are the only black lefty models I've ever seen from the 70's. The only thing I dont like about these models is the tailpiece being so close to the bridge, but I'm still jealous of whoever owns these!

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I agreee that I prefer the further-out stop piece in terms of both looks and function, but there is a catch.

The close-in stop piece is actually an indicator that the guitar was made in the 76/77 timeframe, and has a good number of other changes were made that I actually like very much. The neck is at a swept back angle, the heel of the guitar at the neck joint in considerably thinner, the frets are wider (which I prefer) and the bridge design is different and much more stable than the previous version of the Mueller bridge. All of the other changes made moving the stop tail completely unnecessary, but they did that for good measure to increase downward tension. In my opinion, the late 70's S-100s are much more accurate in intonation and faster feeling.

The irony here is that I am no longer a "fast" guitarist, so the benefits don't really do me any good. But I love the feel of the 76/77s.