Guild 1973 S100 without original pickups..

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Hello,

I've wanted a S100 for a while but being left handed they almost never come up and finally found one but it doesn't have the original pickups. Everything I've read says how great the pickups are and how people love them and they make the guitar.

So I just just wondering what you thought one would be worth without them? Or if it was even worth getting one without them, or sticking it out and waiting for one with them? The guy says he doesn't know a lot about the guitar only that they are Demarzio pickups. I'm thinking I might be able to get a decent price for it so just wondered what people thoughts were?

Thanks!
 
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Hello, I am relatively new here myself, so more experienced members are likely to pitch in and give you a specific estimate value for the guitar in question. The original HB1 pickups are very highly regarded, so it may well be worth looking out for some replacements to fit into the guitar. I could be wrong, but I believe left handed S100's from the 1970's are very rare, so this could be something to bear in mind. Best of luck if you decide to go for it.
 

kakerlak

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I would rather have one with Guild pickups in it than one with DiMarzios. That having been said, it might be a long wait to hold out for another left-handed example and hope that its condition/originality/price winds up being a better combo than the one you're looking at. If pickups are the only knock on that one, being a lefty, you might go ahead and buy it and then try to hunt down pickups after the fact. Hell, you could even just try to find the cheapest right-handed Guild with factory humbuckers you can, buy it, swap over the DiMarzios and then sell it on.
 

hansmoust

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So I just just wondering what you thought one would be worth without them? Or if it was even worth getting one without them, or sticking it out and waiting for one with them? The guy says he doesn't know a lot about the guitar only that they are Demarzio pickups.

Hello Glover902,

Welcome! Don't wait for another left-handed one to come by; it may take a long time!

Make sure you pay something like $ 300.00 less than a similar right-handed one from the same period.

Obviously you might want to check the guitar first, so you know there are no hidden defects.

I remember seeing a black one with DiMarzio pickups not too long ago; might be the same guitar.

Good luck!

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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Thanks for the advice, it's £500 which works out at about 660 dollars according to google. Do you think that's a good price from what I've looked at from others on sale that seems like a good price to me. Unfortunately it's too far away to try and as with a lot of left handed guitars you just have to take the risk and hope for the best haha.
 

Quantum Strummer

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If I were you I'd go for it. My '73 has become one of my favorite guitars. The HB-1s are certainly a big part of that, but I also just really like how it feels and plays.

-Dave-
 

kakerlak

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Thanks for the advice, it's £500 which works out at about 660 dollars according to google. Do you think that's a good price from what I've looked at from others on sale that seems like a good price to me. Unfortunately it's too far away to try and as with a lot of left handed guitars you just have to take the risk and hope for the best haha.

If it's otherwise stock and in good playing order, that's a great price, even if it has a lot of wear on it! One thing that seems to sometimes be an issue with these is neck angle, for whatever reason. I always look for a decent picture of the bridge, to see whether it's at the bottom end of its adjustment range and/or pics that give a rough idea how high the strings are sitting off the fretboard.
 

GuildFS4612CE

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since you quoted price in pounds one might guess that you're across the pond somewhere...now, not only are lefties extremely rare in the US...scarcer than hens teeth where you are likely located...if you can afford it, buy it...you might actually like the PUPs that are in it...don't believe everything you read...try your own ears...and PUPs can be changed out...

guilds are for playing...if you like the guitar, great...if you're buying for 'investment' purposes...guilds are for playing.

Good luck with whatever you decide...and welcome to the forum.

Oh, and Hans wrote the book on Guilds...literally...his advice is good as gold.
 

Zelja

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Thanks for the advice, it's £500 which works out at about 660 dollars according to google. Do you think that's a good price from what I've looked at from others on sale that seems like a good price to me. Unfortunately it's too far away to try and as with a lot of left handed guitars you just have to take the risk and hope for the best haha.
That looks like a great price! Original HB-1s can come in time.
 

Quantum Strummer

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If it's otherwise stock and in good playing order, that's a great price, even if it has a lot of wear on it! One thing that seems to sometimes be an issue with these is neck angle, for whatever reason. I always look for a decent picture of the bridge, to see whether it's at the bottom end of its adjustment range and/or pics that give a rough idea how high the strings are sitting off the fretboard.

Yep, the earlier S-100s have a shallow neck set. Both of mine are nearly parallel with the body. But both bridges have room for further lowering should that ever be necessary. The upside is the action: I have the trussrods adjusted for very little relief but without any buzzing. I play pretty hard so I usually go for more relief and a slightly higher bridge, but with these two guitars I don't have to make that compromise. They both play super easy.

(I have a '71 SG Deluxe with much the same shallow neck set. It's one of the weirdos with the top control plate and out-of-place Les Paul pickguard. The bridge is bottomed out against the height adjusters but it too plays fast & easy.)

-Dave-
 

Mick6Strings

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I won the bid on this on Ebay back in June, its needed alot of work and money put into it to get it playable and closer to its original spec-
New set of Grover tuners as some of the originals had gone very stiff, even after oiling.
New Guild Tone & Volume knobs, the guitar came with cheap Epiphone type Witch hat knobs on it.
New Guild reproduction 3 hole HB-1 pickup rings & Two hole pickup to Three hole pickup ring adapters made by reproguitarparts.com.
I'm installing a set of Seymour Duncan Sh-4 and Sh-1n pickups with vintage HB-1 covers on them. I'm currently keeping an eye out for some original left handed HB-1's, I've learned that there is a difference to standard HB-1's, with the left handed ones having the 2 pickup mounting holes on the right side. Standard HB-1's would not fit in this left handed S-100 because of the pickup cavity routing shape.
It also needs a total refret which I'm currently having done.
 
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matsickma

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Can't you just flip the puckup around and have the adjustable pole piece in the bottom or have bridge and neck pickup swapped?
M
 

Mick6Strings

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That could be done, but there is a difference between the Neck and bridge pickups, different resistance and Output. Also, from what I've read, original Guild HB-1 bridge pickups have a three tab terminal strip, while the neck has two tab terminals, which might make a difference for the wiring. I've seen a few original left handed HB-1's on Reverb lately, not cheap!
 

GAD

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I would not worry about left-handed HB1s. I would just mount a regular set backwards (bridge in neck and vice-versa). Yes, the bridge pickup is different in that it has an extra lug (for phase) but I just measured a set of my HB1s and the pole pieces are the same distance. Depending on the set the bridge may have more DCR, but it's usually slight. Since phase can be changed in either pickup for the same effect, that doesn't really matter, either.
 

Mick6Strings

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Thanks for the advice GAD, I'm happy putting a Seymour Duncan SH-4 in the bridge position as I'm a metal player and like to have the higher output, but I might buy a HB-1 for the neck position, just to have the guitar that bit closer to how it originally was.
 

Mick6Strings

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Hello,

I've wanted a S100 for a while but being left handed they almost never come up and finally found one but it doesn't have the original pickups. Everything I've read says how great the pickups are and how people love them and they make the guitar.

So I just just wondering what you thought one would be worth without them? Or if it was even worth getting one without them, or sticking it out and waiting for one with them? The guy says he doesn't know a lot about the guitar only that they are Demarzio pickups. I'm thinking I might be able to get a decent price for it so just wondered what people thoughts were?

Thanks!

Hi Glover902, are you in the US? A 1974 left handed S-100 has just been listed on Ebay and Reverb.com. The asking price is high but I'm sure the seller would be willing to come down a bit. Appears to be all original apart from the Volume & Tone knobs (easy to find Guild replacement ones) and possibly some of the pots
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Left-Hande...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

https://reverb.com/item/26583149-left-handed-guild-s-100-1974-natural-lefty-usa
 
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