1983 Guild CE-100 - Reviews, Opinions, Advice?

nocents88

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Hi there, this is my first post here. Im looking at a '83 CE-100 thats available on reverb.com.
Ive been playing a lot of jazz over the last couple years, Im getting serious about it and Im looking to upgrade to an american made archtop. Gibsons are kinda out of my price range but Ive heard good things about Guilds.
Does anyone have any information regarding the CE 100? I cant seem to find much online...kinda looks like a es175 to me.
Any help, fun facts or suggestions are much welcome...

thanks for your time
Steve
 

nocents88

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Hi there, this is my first post here. Im looking at a '83 CE-100 thats available on reverb.com.
Ive been playing a lot of jazz over the last couple years, Im getting serious about it and Im looking to upgrade to an american made archtop. Gibsons are kinda out of my price range but Ive heard good things about Guilds.
Does anyone have any information regarding the CE 100? I cant seem to find much online...kinda looks like a es175 to me.
Any help, fun facts or suggestions are much welcome...

thanks for your time
Steve

heres a link to the guitar:

 

GAD

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Welcome!

I think you'll find nothing but fans here! I have a 1964 CE100D and it's an amazing guitar. About the only thing I might find to complain about an '80s model might be the neck size, which I'd imagine is 1 5/8" at the nut. He has it listed as 1 10/16" which of course is 1 5/8" because math. :)

I generally like the wider 1 11/16+ necks, but when it comes to the smaller ones it's all about the depth for me and I have to imagine you won't know what the neck feels like until its in your hands.

Assuming there's nothing wrong with it, I think you'll be very happy with that guitar. Here's mine because that's just what we do here:

Guild-1964-CE100D-TopFull-NE.jpg
 

GGJaguar

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Welcome to LTG! I currently have a 1981 CE-100 and it's a fine, versatile guitar. It has a very "woody" tone compared to many other Guild archtops I've played. As GAD mentioned, the neck is a little skinny both in width and depth. I tend to play rock so it's not really a downside as much as it is a preference issue. I also had a '77 CE-100D with a Bigsby and that guitar was prone to feedback for some reason. Another 16-inch archtop in the same price range that you may want to consider is the late 1990s and early 2000s X-150 (1 pickup) or X-150D (2 pickups). It has a Venetian cutaway instead of the Florentine cutaway and the neck on these is a little thicker than the early '80s CE-100s. My brother-in-law is a jazz guitarist and he's been playing an early 2000s X-150D as his main guitar for nearly 20 years. Good luck with your search!
 

bobouz

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There’s a single pickup X-150 currently for sale on Guitar Center’s website for $1299, listed in excellent condition. Lousy pictures & no info, but no risk because if you buy & don’t like it, it’s an easy return to your local store.

Enjoy the quest!
 

nocents88

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what good looking guitars! thanks for your replies...
how does the neck compare to fenders? ive primarily been a fender guy my whole life so i dont really have a reference for wider necked Gibsons and such....
Since Im in canada i cant seem to bring up any used stuff on guitar center🤔 but ill keep looking...
as a rock player how does your ce-100 suit your style? i still play a lot of blues and classic rock when it suits me ....
 

GAD

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Fender has had varying shapes over the years. What Fender necks do you like?
 

nocents88

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ive got a jazzmaster and tele right now both with the vintage 7.25 neck. no baseball bat necks or anything
 

The Guilds of Grot

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Well I'm of no help as I've never really played a Fender so I wouldn't know! Of course I also can't tell the difference between a 1-5/8" and a 1-11/16" width nut so I'm probably not a good point of reference.
 

shihan

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I think you’ll find Guild necks from that era thinner and narrower than any Fender neck.
You really should try to play a Guild from that era before purchasing one if you can.
 

nocents88

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thanks, thats good to know. unfortunately finding a guild around where i am is tough enough, nevermind a vintage archtop lol
Id prefer thin/narrow to wide/fat, i dont have the biggest hands
 

jp

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Hi nocents88 and welcome to the LTG forum!

I'm not too familiar with Guild archtop necks from the late 70s and early 80s. My '68 CE-100D has the best feeling neck out of all of my guitars. I have small-to-medium-size hands, and the proportions on this neck feel perfect to me. This is my second 60s CE-100, and the first one had an even better neck than this one. The guy who bought it wanted it so badly because the neck felt so good, if that's any endorsement.

I've played strats for years, also if that helps at all. I also chose my first Capri after test driving more than half a dozen Gibson ES-175s.
 

nocents88

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how are the pickups in these guys? ive youtubed a couple and they sound pretty good - almost like a gretsch in the middle position
 

GAD

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The HB1 pickups in the '83 you listed are my favorite pickups ever.
 

GGJaguar

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HB-1 pickups tend to be brighter and more articulate that typical PAF-style pickups. Yet, they can still growl like a good 'bucker should. Some jazzbos don't think they are dark and smokey enough for jazz. Many jazz players who prefer HB-1s counter that claim because guitar and amps have tone controls which, along with flatwound strings, is where a lot of the jazz tone lives. My X-170 with HB-1s has killer jazz tone on tap and I don't have to do a lot of tweaking to get it. Do give you an idea of what HB-1s sound like check out GAD's excellent review of an early 80s X-175. It's a little different than a CE-100D because it is larger (17" body) and has a laminate spruce top instead of the CE-100's laminated maple top. Still, it will give you an idea.

 
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