Guild Jazz

houseisland

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My compliments! Very, very nice. A kind of Jeff Beck learns the virtues of subtly, self-restraint, and understatement thing (hah! - like this is ever going to happen for Jeff or that I want it to happen even).

I do have to say that your playing is very much deserving of better accompaniment. The canned things are always so wooden, not at all like a good band that is listening to, responding to, and supporting a soloist. But your playing is still a major carat value, brightly sparkling diamond, even if the current setting is a dime store ring.

I would love to see and hear something solo or with a good bass player and drummer.
 

houseisland

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TWhat I can say about the X-180 Park Avenue?

The pickups are not distinctively Guild in sound. They do look like HB1s, but they do not sound like them. If I had to categorize the sound, I would say that they are more of an indeterminate Gibsony nature, lacking the clarity and depth of the Guild pickups, leaning more towards a warmer, fuzzier, dirtier sound (comparatively speaking only as they are not inherently super distortion or anything even close to that nature). If one is willing to accept them for what they are and work with them, the X-180 Fender/Guild pickups are very nice, yes. But I do say again, that they are not really anything like the pickups in the older X-170.

The biggest stumbling block for the X-180 Park Avenue, I think, for a true die-hard Guild affectionado would be the Fender/Guild pickups. To replace these now with gold HB1s or to have them rewound to emulate HB1s would add greatly to the cost of purchase.

After changing the strings on my X-180 and exploring the results, I think I need to retract my statement above or at least very much tone down the "not really anything like the pickups in the older X-170" statement. AB comparisons are difficult when instruments are not played through the same gear, one immediately after the other. The X-170 and X-180 were played in relatively close proximity in time but through different amps, and the strings and setups were quite different on the two guitars. And while I have played other archtops by Guild and Gibson (things owned by friends or in used shops), I do not recall any of them having had flat wound strings. My statements above might be modified to say that an X-180 PA with quite light flat wound strings (and a very low action that precludes any variation in attack) sounds more Gibson-ish than an X-170 with slightly heavier round wound strings does. With new 52-12 D'Addario round wounds, my X-180 PA sound more like Bluespicky's X-175 above than not. Certainly not identical but definitely in the same family.
 

bluesypicky

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Thanks for the kind words gents. And agreed Wolf: I tend to forget not everyone likes big girls.... :)
 

guildman63

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The NS is an X-175, not an X-170. It has the Franz copies, while the X-170s have HB-1s.

Aren't the HB-1's only in the pre-1995 X-170's? I once had a 2001 X-170 and a 1999 (I think) X-170T and I loved them both. However, those pups were not HB-1's to my knowledge.
 

SFIV1967

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I guess the better wording in Chris statement would have been Franz copy singlecoils versus HB-1 style humbuckers. That includes the second half 90s Fender made HB-1s.
Ralf
 

JohnW63

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The NS is an X-175, not an X-170. It has the Franz copies, while the X-170s have HB-1s.

Yep. It was a typo.

I still wish I could get a list of links for the various models and pickups to go "Oooooo" over. You can READ a lot about this stuff, but HEARING goes a lot farther in understanding.
 

SFIV1967

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Golly!
Just come back to this thread to find all these discussions... I left it initially because it became a bit too technical for me, but reading through it now, well, it's a great thread.
Large oaks from small acorns do indeed groweth.
I still haven't made a purchase, but have whittled it down to a 70s X-500 or a 'new' GSR X-180, from the CT factory in USA: one of the last, I'm told.
I have to make a quick decision, though the dollar/pound rate isn't moving far these days.
Many thanks Guilders!
 

houseisland

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Golly!
Just come back to this thread to find all these discussions... I left it initially because it became a bit too technical for me, but reading through it now, well, it's a great thread.
Large oaks from small acorns do indeed groweth.
I still haven't made a purchase, but have whittled it down to a 70s X-500 or a 'new' GSR X-180, from the CT factory in USA: one of the last, I'm told.
I have to make a quick decision, though the dollar/pound rate isn't moving far these days.
Many thanks Guilders!

If you haven't bought anything, yet, there is an X-180 PA here in the UK: http://www.wehavesoundguitars.com/guild-x-180-park-avenue.html
 

Sleeko

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For what it is worth, I have an x-170 (1989 model) and I am taking Jazz guitar lessons and I can tell you that my teacher really likes the x-170. To me the tones are beautiful and it is easy to play because of its size. My teacher loves the size of the guitar as well -- it is very playable.

Steve

HB1's can sound very jazzy warm. Now why would you retrofit an ES-175 with HB1's when you can get one of those:



Very nice playing as always. Speaking of size, is that guitar 17" on the lower bout? It looks big. In a goOd way of course.
 

marty grass

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I'm a new member but not new to Guild.

I'm concerned about the future of the Artist Award, my favorite Guild. Will it continue?

In the 1970s I swapped an old Gibson L5 for an Artist Award. From a collector's viewpoint I lost on that deal. But as a player I came out way ahead. The Gibson was from the late 1930s and was well made, but the neck was fatter than a 58 Les Paul, which is how Gibson built them in the early days prior to inventing the truss rod. Even with the truss rod, Gibson persisted with fat necks and for no good reason.

The AA I got was from the mid 60s and had a more medium neck. This was a strong advantage in chord solo work because of the ease of wrapping the thumb around to fret the 5th and 6th strings.

From an acoustic sound fullness viewpoint, the guitars were similar. Both were fabulous.

Over the years I've played some great Gibsons, Heritages and Guilds. None were better for old school jazz than the Artist Award. I own a couple and am completely happy with them.

My 2 cents.
 

mbuc

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I'm concerned about the future of the Artist Award, my favorite Guild. Will it continue?

Valid question since the AA is not shown on the new website with the other two American Patriarchs. Could it be that they don't have the qualified personel to carve the tops and backs (yet) in Oxnard?
Does anyone know if they have started to produce M-75s and X-500s in Oxnard?

I am also quite irritated that one of the AAs from New Hartford that is for sale on ebay doesn't find a new home although it is offered at a substantial discount. What's wrong with this guitar?
 

cc_mac

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Valid question since the AA is not shown on the new website with the other two American Patriarchs. Could it be that they don't have the qualified personel to carve the tops and backs (yet) in Oxnard?
Does anyone know if they have started to produce M-75s and X-500s in Oxnard?

It's been a while since I visited the Guild web site but I did this AM to see if there was any info about the just announced Newark St T50. I noticed the two AP models shown and wondered if they are just leftover stock from the closed New Hartford, RI facility. The AP AA on ebay is listed at $4300 and it's on reverb for $6999.

The APAA has a 1 5/8" neck width at the nut and that for some seems to be an immediate deal breaker.

I do hope that a time will come soon when Guild begins to produce archtops in Oxnard, CA.
 

guildman63

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The APAA has a 1 5/8" neck width at the nut and that for some seems to be an immediate deal breaker.

I do hope that a time will come soon when Guild begins to produce archtops in Oxnard, CA.

Not quite correct. I have the AP AA, AP X-500, and the AP Aristocrat. The nut width on each is 1.7"

1 5/8 = 1.625"
1 11/16 = 1.68"
1 3/4 = 1.75".

Therefore, the nut width to me is right where it should be, in between 1 11/16 and 1 3/4.

As for why FUllers hasn't sold their AP AA at such a low price, I don't know. I can say that my AA is off the charts good! Texas is a long way from me, so I can't try it out. Perhaps there is an LTG member in that area that can?

Fullers dropped their last AP Aristocrat to a ridiculously low price as well, and I bought it! :laughing:
 
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