Guild T-250 Roy Buchanan Review

GAD

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Guild T-250 Not Roy Buchanan Guild Tele Review

As a Guild-lover who doesn't really like Teles, I've written up the Guild Tele that many Tele-lovers don't like.

http://www.gad.net/Blog/2018/01/27/guild-t-250-not-roy-buchanan-guild-tele/
Guild-T250-TopFull.jpg



As always, please PM me any typos. Every typo reported gets a dollar. See Grot for payment. :emmersed:


Edit - thanks to Chris pointing out that I'd got a fair bit of fact wrong (fake news!) I've altered it a bit and renamed the article, Guild T250 - The Not Roy Buchanan Guild Tele" and updated to reflect the non-fake real truth so far as I know it.
 
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walrus

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Entertaining as well as educational, as usual, GAD!

One typo: "Jimi" Page should be "Jimmy".

walrus
 

AcornHouse

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When I got my T-250, Hans stated, definitively, that only the T-200 was the Roy Buchanan model.
 

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Crap - you're right. The '87 price list just says T-250.
 

AcornHouse

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Crap - you're right. The '87 price list just says T-250.
It’s clearly based on it, but I bet the unpleasantness between Roy and Guild prevented his name being used, as you kind of guessed.
 

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Thanks. Updated. You get an extra dollar. See Grot. :biggrin-new:
 

shihan

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The whole Guild-Roy-Tele thing is strange. Roy was never a big name. About 1970 he was on the cover of Rolling Stone as ‘the World’s Greatest Unknown Guitar Player’, and there was a PBS special about him, but he never was even as big as Danny Gatton (who wasn’t that popular either). When Guild put out the t-200, he wasn’t a big draw at all. I don’t see what Guild thought they could get out of the deal; he had a small, devoted following, but they weren’t going to go out and buy ugly headstock Guilds because Roy had one. Very strange.
Your review, on the other hand, is not very strange. It’s very informative and interesting. Made me want to try one; even with the evil active EMG pickups. Thanks for the write up!
 

JohnW63

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Tele guitars always sound country and twangy to me, most of the time, but I have seen/heard people turn them into blues or rock monsters too. I don't know what you need to do to get there, but some guys can. I the Joe Walsh is one.
 

GAD

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Tele guitars always sound country and twangy to me, most of the time, but I have seen/heard people turn them into blues or rock monsters too. I don't know what you need to do to get there, but some guys can. I the Joe Walsh is one.

Jimmy Page played some of the most iconic "I need to get a Les Paul!" tones on a Tele. :)
 

matsickma

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Mentioning Joe Walsh and Jimmy Page in consecutive comments brings to mind a story Joe Walsh told the last time I saw him two years ago.
He said he ran into Jimmy Page in the late 60's while on tour. At Joe's suggestion he mentioned to Jimmy Page he should really try playing a Les Paul. Joe let him play one of his '57 or '58 'burst Les Pauls with humbuckers. Jimmy liked it so much he asked about getting on. Joe had two or three of them.
I think it took a little time for Jimmy Page to get the money so as Page is in NY soon to head back to England he contacts Joe and says he gas the money. So Joe agrees to fly to NY from LA with the Les Paul meets up with Jimmy. He gives Jimmy the guitar and Joe get the check for $1400 which covers the airfare from LA to NY.
Joe mused on the success of Jimmy's career after that guitar transaction.

Story as told by Joe Walsh at the Sands Event Center in 2015 or 16.

M
 

matsickma

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Editing...the $1400 covered the deal on the Les Paul and LA to NY airfare. Not sure if Joe had to fly back to LA.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Super review as always. The thing that's put me off trying one of these is the weight. Every great sounding Tele I've played has been light. My oldie is under 7lbs. and the '96 Relic is just a touch heavier. Never weighed the Thinline but it can't be much over 6lbs. Even the '82 Squier I picked up last year isn't at all heavy.

Now I have some dense guitars too, and they have their own valid sonic palette, but they're fitted with darker sounding pickups that better suit a more reflective acoustic character. IMO on such guitars traditional Tele pickups tend to sound hard & spiky.

I do like that the T-250's headstock tweaks the Tele traditionalists. ;)

-Dave-
 

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Editing...the $1400 covered the deal on the Les Paul and LA to NY airfare. Not sure if Joe had to fly back to LA.

There are some great '59 Les Paul stories out there. Billy Gibbons talks about trading the band's van for his from a farmer who had it under a bed if memory serves. Of course with the Rev, it's probably about 90% hyperbole, but he tells a great story.


I do like that the T-250's headstock tweaks the Tele traditionalists. ;)

Some of them get downright angry!

I do think it looks rather odd, but if it plays great and sounds great I wouldn't have a second thought about playing it live.
 

richardp69

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Well, I love the Guild brand and know basically zero about electric gear. But, I have to say, I think the headstock is a detraction. I wish it were more of a traditional headstock. Other than that though, I think the guitar looks way cool. I had one but sold it to Chris on this forum. I think he still has it.
 
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