Any other X-150 D lovers out there?

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I just pickup up my third US made Guild guitar. So I thought it was about time I join this forum! I got myself a Corona made X-150 D. Besides a small ding in the neck it is in mint condition. It plays and sounds like a dream. I have the blonde model and it looks great too. The only thing that I may change is the nut. I think that I got a heck of a lot of guitar for the $2000 that I payed. I played an outdoor gig with it this past Saturday. It sounded great. I received many compliments on my sound. My new gigging setup is the X-150 strung with Chromes through a Quilter MicroPro Mach 2. Anyone else gigging with one of these?
 

spoox

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2014-07-02 - Guild Archtop Guitar With Bigsby (2) (1).JPG
This is mine--my second Guild I bought locally in 2014. The seller had replaced the harp with the Bigsby, tortoiseshell pickguard
and PAFs in place of the Fender PUs. I paid $1000 for it back then. He didn't change the bridge however--and so far neither have I.
Strange to think of that 49 year gap between getting my first and second Guilds. This is the one that evidently sent me over the edge
into Guildinsanity...
 
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Looks stunning! You got a great deal! I’ve been looking for one for a little while. All of the sub $2000 offerings I saw needed some TLC. I really like mine because of it’s stock pickups. They sound great in a combo and while playing solo chord melody. That being said, I do also like PAF’s. My ES175 has them. Do you ever have tuning issues with the Bigsby?
 

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So far no. But as I mainly play rhythm in our band I haven't really used it that much. My only other guitar with a tremolo is my '65 Polara with the
Hagstrom Tremar. Welcome to LTG--you'll need to post photos of your Guilds--it's a "thing" here!
 

Melodius Thunk

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Great choice!

I recently picked up a Corona made X-150D myself. It is a replacement for one that I owned years ago.

I also love the stock pickups. I mainly play fingerstyle jazz guitar. I think its stock pickups sound fantastic for this. It is going to become my main gigging guitar once I start gigging again.

Mine arrived needing some work and is currently in the shop (I hope to have it back late this week). Once all is said and done, mine will have cost me around two grand as well.
 

Melodius Thunk

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Have you seen any of Artiom Krikunov’s videos? He regular plays the single pickup version:

But Not For Me - Solo Jazz Guitar:


Saint P Bop Artel - Duo Pomo:


JFC Potluck Big Band - One For Daddy-O:
 
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Thanks adorshki!

Thanks Thunk! I liked the videos!

Hey AcornHouse, that’s a real nice guitar that you have there! Sounds good!
 
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Artiom Krikunov is an incredible player. I also have a Westerly X150 that I really enjoy. I have been lusting after a two pickup version Corona X150D for some time. I saw that there is a real nice one on eBay right now for $2200. If the seller drops the price $200 I may have to jump on it!
 
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I may be in the minority here but I played two Guilds this past weekend that were equipped with Franz pickups. I have to say that I really didn’t care for them. They were really bright and almost brittle sounding. I had thought the same thing before with other Franz pickups I had played though but figured that I needed to play through more in order to have an informed opinion. Turns out I don’t care for them.
 

Melodius Thunk

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Artiom Krikunov is an incredible player. I also have a Westerly X150 that I really enjoy. I have been lusting after a two pickup version Corona X150D for some time. I saw that there is a real nice one on eBay right now for $2200. If the seller drops the price $200 I may have to jump on it!
He is a great player. And, that X-150 D on Ebay is real nice.

I may be in the minority here but I played two Guilds this past weekend that were equipped with Franz pickups. I have to say that I really didn’t care for them. They were really bright and almost brittle sounding. I had thought the same thing before with other Franz pickups I had played though but figured that I needed to play through more in order to have an informed opinion. Turns out I don’t care for them.
Although, I am a P90 lover (my ES-125 and ES-175 both have great sounding P90‘s), I have never connected with a Franz pickup. I tend to agree that the ones that I have heard do seem pretty bright. There are plenty of people that swear by them though. And, many who swap them out.
 

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Like I've said before, companies design guitars to be played through their specific amps. If you play a "tele on steroids" pickup through a brittle amp, you aren't going to like it.
 

Melodius Thunk

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Like I've said before, companies design guitars to be played through their specific amps. If you play a "tele on steroids" pickup through a brittle amp, you aren't going to like it.


So, according to you, the only way to get a good sound out of a Franz pickup is to play it through a Guild amp?

What are some examples of these “brittle” amps that you speak of?

On a side note, I love Telecasters. I own two Nocasters. And, I can play them through any amp and get a good sound.
 

Melodius Thunk

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That is exactly *not* what I said.

That’s exactly why I asked the questions that I asked. Your previous statements were not clearly expressed.

Please elaborate as to what amps Guild guitars with Franz pickups need to played through in order to sound good.

Also, as I asked in my previous post, what are some examples of the “brittle” sounding amps that you are speaking of?
 

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Ampeg and Guild are based in fifties jazz. So was Gibson. Fender was C&W. Those were the markets those designs were based on. A Vox AC30 top boost or a Jazz Chorus might not be your first choice to pair with a Franz. Anything with an extended high frequency response might be too bright. If you are playing clubs in 1955, you can either get louder, which wasn't easily affordable, or you get brighter, which cuts through a little better.

So, when Gibson started pairing PAFs with the amps they were already making, there were a lot of attempts to reduce "wolf tones". We like wolf tones nowadays, so the fifties amps sound better to a lot of people than the later sixties amps with the tone network.
 

Melodius Thunk

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Ampeg and Guild are based in fifties jazz. So was Gibson. Fender was C&W. Those were the markets those designs were based on. A Vox AC30 top boost or a Jazz Chorus might not be your first choice to pair with a Franz. Anything with an extended high frequency response might be too bright. If you are playing clubs in 1955, you can either get louder, which wasn't easily affordable, or you get brighter, which cuts through a little better.

So, when Gibson started pairing PAFs with the amps they were already making, there were a lot of attempts to reduce "wolf tones". We like wolf tones nowadays, so the fifties amps sound better to a lot of people than the later sixties amps with the tone network.
I believe that I agree with most of what you stated in your last post, except for the bit about wolf tones. I am not saying they are not out there, but I do not know of anyone who welcomes wolf tones.

I personally wouldn’t want to be gigging with amp from the ’50s (or, a new ‘50s spec amp). I think I would find it to be too much of a hassle. It would force me to travel with a fragile backup amp and spare parts. And, it would be difficult to find a suitable backline when flying in for gigs.

Until recently, I was pretty much a tube snob. But, since I purchased two Quilter amps, I haven’t felt the need to travel around with heavy and fragile vintage equipment anymore.

I have never played a Franz through a Jazz Chorus or a Vox AC30. I have played them through a ‘50s Fender Champ, a ’60s Fender Princeton, a ‘60s Fender Deluxe, a ’70s Fender Super Reverb, a late ‘50s Magnatone 210, a Henriksen Bud 12, a ZT Lunchbox Junior, and a Quilter Micropro Mach 2. The only two amps that I’ve played a Franz through that were made in the ‘50s were the Magnatone and the Champ.

If one really wanted to hear the best out of a Franz pickup, what amp should one play through?
 
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