Recommendations on a Hollowbody?

krysh

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every guild is mostly equal or better in built quality with all other high class brands. other brands have established kind of "trademark sounds" but there is always a guild willing to beat them in their territory - which is my experience. I. e. I'll always prefer a starfire 4/5/6 over a es-335/345/355. I just compared my 2014 T-400 to a 1969 E-335 with original '59 P.A.F s. Some people at this meeting actually prefered the guild soundwise (me. too ;) ) but built quality was equal. (actually this was the best es-335 I ever tried and almost the exact twin of larry carltons guitar).

in the end - if you have a decent quality instrument - the bigest difference of tones is in the players fingers.
 
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guildman63

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I also find Guilds to be equal or better than the other big G's. I had the GSR T-500 that out twanged any Gretsch I have ever played. The 1956 CE-100 I once owned sounded better to me than my former instructors early 60's ES-175, and my GSR Starfire VI, along with the Starfire V I had as a "yute" to me are noticeably better than any ES-335 I have ever played.

As for the Byrdland pickups, they are traditionally used for jazz, despite the Ted Nugent connection. It's a short scale as well (23.5, I think), so that will require a certain preference. Gretsch, to me, does not do jazz as well, but my AP X-500 does jazz very well, and also gets twangy and gritty very nicely. Very versatile! (See my avatar).
 
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Neal

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I had a Gretsch 5120, upgraded it with genuine Filtertrons and open-backed Grovers, and still didn't bond with it. Could not seem to rid it of the ice-pick tone it had.

A '99 Guild X-150 found me in a pawnshop in my hometown back last winter...Ahhh. Much better. Huge guitar (17" lower bout, 3 1/2" thick), warm and bluesy, especially with flatwounds. I get complements on its sunburst glory every time I pull it out of the case.

Neal
 

txbumper57

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As far as Guild Hollowbodies go I personally prefer them to Gretsch or Gibson. The build quality of the American Guilds is what draws me to them. My Starfire 4 and 5 will run with any Gibson 335 or Gretsch 6122 all day long and then some. I'd put my X160 up against any Gretsch 6120 or Gibson 175 with the same results. As far as Starfire 2/3's go, I don't think there has ever been another guitar made that actually compares to them in Quality and Tone. You can also find them for Considerably less than the other "G" manufacturers. As far as pickups go, The late 90's/early 2000's Guilds mostly have standard sized Humbuckers in them which means you can install any pickup you want for the precise tone you want without major modifications and it is completely reversible if you decide to sell the guitar. I have owned both Gretsch professional series and Gibsons and can say from my experience that Guilds are More versatile, Equally Well made if not better, and Less expensive than previous two. You can pick up an American Made Guild Hollow or Semi-Hollow for Half of what you would pay for a Japanese made Gretsch and 1/3 of what you would pay for a Gibson. Not to mention I prefer the neck profiles of the later Guilds. Hope you find what you are looking for and Good luck in your search!
 

Walter Broes

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I have four vintage Guild hollowbodies, and one new Korean one. Also have a fairly recent (New Hartford) Guild acoustic. Love, love, love these guitars. But I don't have any kind of urge or need to poop on Gibsons or Martins. They're different, but all great. I'd own at least two or three Gibson hollowbodies if I could afford them. Gretsches are a slightly different thing IMO - vintage Gretsch guitars are just badly constructed instruments, and the prices the sell for today don't reflect that at al.
 

mad dog

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Plenty of analogous Gibson models to Guild models. Wide variations over the years, but generally equivalent in quality. Gibsons pricier.

They're all worthy, and well worth owning.
MD
 

GAD

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I've been doing some additional research on hollowbodies out there, and not to be a blasphemer, but how would you guys say the Guilds measure up to Gretsch or to say something like a Gibson Byrdland? I know Guild is top-notch quality, I've seen this first-hand in my purchases and in my friend's Guild's, but are they all about the same in that regard? What about something like pickups, are they all similar, do the Byrdlands have humbuckers that are more for distortion/rock and the Guild/Gretsch are more for jazz/rockabilly?

Did some searching on the forum here, but haven't found a lot yet in terms of comparisons.

I've owned a couple of Gretsches, Two 6120 Setzer models and a Billy-Bo. For me, the main draw for Gretsch is the pickups. They're a bit different than the Guilds I've owned in that they seem to be made with thinner wood and seemed a tad more lively and responsive in my hands than say, an X-170 which was heavier and more robust. It really depends on what you're after. They have very different necks, too.

One of my favorite guitarists is Brian Setzer. Chasing that tone, I've owned a Guild X170T, a Gretsch SSLVO, a Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod, and a Guild SF III with P90s. The Gretsches nailed the tone, look and feel, but dammit, I wanted a Guild. The X-170 looked and sounded great, but with its Fender HB1 pickups, it just couldn't touch the tone. The Guild SFIII with P90s got me where I wanted to be.

Real 6120 Gretsches (not 5120 Electromatics) are expensive, but they're worth it if that's what you're after.

I should point out that the pickup tone thing is very subjective. Yes, the Guild didn't sound exactly like a Gretsch, but the only one that ever noticed that was me. On stage, all people cared about was the music, and the fact that it was orange.

From a build quality standpoint, IMO the Guild won hands down. I got more comments on my X170T that I ever did on any of my Gretsches. The SFIII w/P90s sounds better and still looks great, but the X170T with it's killer flame, bright orange finish, gold hardware and block inlays just seemed to grab people. Hell, it's been my avatar here for years!

_B0Z0451-Crop3_800.jpg


Here's the same dufus with the Gretsch:

P1000816-Crop-Alt-800.jpg


Back to the pickups, I actually tried putting gold TV Jones in there, and it looked and sounded great. The problem was that the pickup ring holes didn't line up and I didn't want to drill such a nice guitar. Honestly, if this guitar had come with these pickups in the first place, I think it would have been MUCH more successful. Some day I may get another and have the work professionally done.

_B0Z5214-800.jpg
 

BillyCrash

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I've owned a couple of Gretsches, Two 6120 Setzer models and a Billy-Bo. For me, the main draw for Gretsch is the pickups. They're a bit different than the Guilds I've owned in that they seem to be made with thinner wood and seemed a tad more lively and responsive in my hands than say, an X-170 which was heavier and more robust. It really depends on what you're after. They have very different necks, too.

One of my favorite guitarists is Brian Setzer. Chasing that tone, I've owned a Guild X170T, a Gretsch SSLVO, a Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod, and a Guild SF III with P90s. The Gretsches nailed the tone, look and feel, but dammit, I wanted a Guild. The X-170 looked and sounded great, but with its Fender HB1 pickups, it just couldn't touch the tone. The Guild SFIII with P90s got me where I wanted to be.

Real 6120 Gretsches (not 5120 Electromatics) are expensive, but they're worth it if that's what you're after.

I should point out that the pickup tone thing is very subjective. Yes, the Guild didn't sound exactly like a Gretsch, but the only one that ever noticed that was me. On stage, all people cared about was the music, and the fact that it was orange.

From a build quality standpoint, IMO the Guild won hands down. I got more comments on my X170T that I ever did on any of my Gretsches. The SFIII w/P90s sounds better and still looks great, but the X170T with it's killer flame, bright orange finish, gold hardware and block inlays just seemed to grab people. Hell, it's been my avatar here for years!

_B0Z0451-Crop3_800.jpg


Here's the same dufus with the Gretsch:

P1000816-Crop-Alt-800.jpg


Back to the pickups, I actually tried putting gold TV Jones in there, and it looked and sounded great. The problem was that the pickup ring holes didn't line up and I didn't want to drill such a nice guitar. Honestly, if this guitar had come with these pickups in the first place, I think it would have been MUCH more successful. Some day I may get another and have the work professionally done.

_B0Z5214-800.jpg

Wow, what an amazing looking Guild, that's beautiful!
 

BillyCrash

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As I'm narrowing down my choices, I think I'm drawn to the X150 and X170. I do want the Grigsby so I believe that would be the T model. My first thought was that I'd probably go with the X150 since it has the double-coils and I want the ability to play rock on it while still having some versatility to get jazz/rockabilly with it. But I just saw this clip of the X170 (new build) and I'm amazed at that classic tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rok3MCHxng

So can the double-coils of the 150 get close to that single coil tone or will they always be more on the gain-y side?
 

GAD

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One last note before I leave for the day.

The sound of a guitar is about 20% build, electronics and amp and 80% (or more) the person playing it. Some of the best rock tones in history were made with "non-rock" guitars. A big part of AC-DC's tone is due to a Gretsch. George Thorogood played a hollow body with P90s. Billy Gibbons of ZZ-Top often plays a Billy Bo. When the Stray Cats were big, Brian Setzer was all Gretsch (he played Guilds for a while, then went back to Gretsch).

For Rockabilly, I want the Bigsby/Guildsby. I'll make the rest work, but it's hard to get that sound with a Les Paul without a Bigsby. For rock, I'll tune the amp and get the tone I need with damn-near any guitar. For jazz (which I suck at), the neck pickup generally gets me where I need to be since I don't have the chops and I'm hiding in the band anyway. :)

I can take any electric guitar and with the right amp and potentially pedals, make it sound right for the right music. For me, the difference in pickups comes down to clarity and articulation (ability to hear each note in a chord). If the electronics are muddy, there's just no fixing that. With a good, clean quality signal, I can dial in the rest of the tone. This, BTW, is exactly what ZZ-Top does, and why every guitar Billy Gibbons plays sounds like Pearly Gates - they have EQ'd each guitar to have the same sonic signature.
 

GAD

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As I'm narrowing down my choices, I think I'm drawn to the X150 and X170. I do want the Grigsby so I believe that would be the T model. My first thought was that I'd probably go with the X150 since it has the double-coils and I want the ability to play rock on it while still having some versatility to get jazz/rockabilly with it. But I just saw this clip of the X170 (new build) and I'm amazed at that classic tone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rok3MCHxng

So can the double-coils of the 150 get close to that single coil tone or will they always be more on the gain-y side?


I was going to send you that video. Killer, no? That's an X-175B (different than an X170). Those are the Franz pickups we were talking about earlier, and IMO, no, humbuckers won't get that sound easily (a great amp will help, though). Now, the X-170T MARS (the orange on in my pic) has a coil-split switch which will get you closer.

Humbuckers (double coil) aren't really about "gainier" sound, but "fatter". They lose some of the high-end in favor of lowering noise, and gain some mid-range in the process.

Single coils are generally described as being more "chimey".

 

GAD

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Contrast those tones with these. Note the different sound? Fingers, amp and settings.

 

AcornHouse

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One last note before I leave for the day.

The sound of a guitar is about 20% build, electronics and amp and 80% (or more) the person playing it. Some of the best rock tones in history were made with "non-rock" guitars. A big part of AC-DC's tone is due to a Gretsch. George Thorogood played a hollow body with P90s. Billy Gibbons of ZZ-Top often plays a Billy Bo. When the Stray Cats were big, Brian Setzer was all Gretsch (he played Guilds for a while, then went back to Gretsch).
Don't forget Townshend's 6120 Chet Atkins that he used to record Who's Next and Quadrophenia (and many later albums.)
http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/guitar/gretsch.html

(Of course, note that Pete only used it in the studio (2 exceptions); he said it wouldn't stay in tune for stage use.)
 
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parker_knoll

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I've owned a couple of Gretsches, Two 6120 Setzer models and a Billy-Bo. For me, the main draw for Gretsch is the pickups. They're a bit different than the Guilds I've owned in that they seem to be made with thinner wood and seemed a tad more lively and responsive in my hands than say, an X-170 which was heavier and more robust. It really depends on what you're after. They have very different necks, too.

One of my favorite guitarists is Brian Setzer. Chasing that tone, I've owned a Guild X170T, a Gretsch SSLVO, a Gretsch Setzer Hot Rod, and a Guild SF III with P90s. The Gretsches nailed the tone, look and feel, but dammit, I wanted a Guild. The X-170 looked and sounded great, but with its Fender HB1 pickups, it just couldn't touch the tone. The Guild SFIII with P90s got me where I wanted to be.

I've always wanted an SFIII with 90s. they're hard to find.
 

Walter Broes

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Those are the Franz pickups we were talking about earlier, and IMO, no, humbuckers won't get that sound easily (a great amp will help, though).
Humbuckers can't get you that sound, period. In between the two coils of a humbucker, there are frequencies that don't get picked up, that plain are not there. No amount of EQ tweaking will make something appear that isn't there in the first place.
 

Guildadelphia

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IMO, if you want to play "rock" (along w/ blues, rockabilly, jazz, etc) you don't need humbuckers) unless we're talking death metal here. The Guild "Franz" single coils can pretty much do anything. They sound great clean w/ clear fat tones for jazz, rockabilly and distort well for rock, heavy, blues, etc.
 

Walter Broes

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such a humbucker hater! What happened Walter?
Well...I don't like them myself, and my favorite guitar sounds are almost invariably single coil. Humbuckers certainly have their place, they're just not for me.

That's not really what I was saying above though. What I was referring to is more technical : there's a phase cancellation between the two coils of a humbucking pickup, and certain frequencies dissappear. While that's not necessarily a bad thing at all, it does mean that it really is impossible for a humbucker to sound exactly like a single coil pickup - EQ can be used to emphasize certain frequencies, or to cut them. But if they're not there in the first place, EQ cannot make them appear out of nowhere.
 

JohnW63

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A musician friend of mine always called humbuckers, "tone suckers". But , I see plenty of folks doing very cool stuff with hums.

I would like to get a semi-hollow Guild with humbuckers and no Gildsby. I think that becomes a SF-IV or 4. But, would the hums do more of what I want to hear ? It's probably up to my fingers and sound path than the guitar, I'm afraid.
 
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