Any other X-150 D lovers out there?

[geoguy]

I've enjoyed playing a single-Franz T-100 through a little Yamaha amp. Tweaking the guitar's volume & tone pots yielded a variety of pleasing tones.

 

[AcornHouse]

Are the “bad” sounding Franzes vintage or modern reproductions? I’ve never met a vintage Franz I didn’t like; nothing but warm tones.

 

[Default]

"wolf tones" = any kind of distortion to Gibson management circa 1958.

 

[Melodius Thunk]

Are the “bad” sounding Franzes vintage or modern reproductions? I’ve never met a vintage Franz I didn’t like; nothing but warm tones.

I would assume that since the guitars that I played were all vintage that the pickups were vintage as well. But, I am not 100% sure about that.

I also noticed that the pickups on two of the same model and year of guitar sounded noticeably different from each other. So, maybe the pickups are inconsistent?

I just haven’t found any that I cared for. Maybe I will at some point. That’s why I asked about amps. I do know that I am not alone in thinking they sound bright and brittle. A salesperson at a Chicago music shop commented to me that it was mostly older folks who liked the Franz pickups. That it was because they can’t hear the high frequencies as well any more. I am not sure if he’s was being serious or not, but I doubt thats why. I would think that nostalgia and price would be much bigger factors.

 

[Melodius Thunk]

"wolf tones" = any kind of distortion to Gibson management circa 1958.

I see. That’s not how the rest of the world defines wolf tones.

What would be the best amp to play through to get the best sound out of a Franz pickup? Can you give me a specific example?

 

[Melodius Thunk]

I've enjoyed playing a single-Franz T-100 through a little Yamaha amp. Tweaking the guitar's volume & tone pots yielded a variety of pleasing tones.

What is the model name/number of the Yamaha amp?

 

[Walter Broes]

Franz pickups can be a bit of an acquired taste, and I can imagine they're not for everyone. On the typical laminated archtop they came on though, they're probably my favourite pickup for 50's style blues, rockabilly and rock and roll.

They sound great for those styles through my tweed Fender (replica) amps with some outboard spring reverb and/or some slapback echo and the amp turned up halfway so you're in that magical "clean when playing lightly, bluesy breakup when digging in or playing double stops" zone.

When an amp set like that starts growling and compressing, all that treble sizzle from a Franz pickup comes in handy : you still get definition, twang and string separation at the point where a typically darker and fatter Gibson type P90 or humbucker turns to a ball of lower midrange mush.

 

[Mark WW]

I love my X-150 but it’s the single pup variety and has a Franz pup. It’s well worn and shows it’s age, but is one of the easiest guitars I’ve ever played..

Nice Ampeg!

 

[geoguy]

What is the model name/number of the Yamaha amp?

THR-10C (a tiny little portable practice amp)

 

[Melodius Thunk]

Franz pickups can be a bit of an acquired taste, and I can imagine they're not for everyone. On the typical laminated archtop they came on though, they're probably my favourite pickup for 50's style blues, rockabilly and rock and roll.

They sound great for those styles through my tweed Fender (replica) amps with some outboard spring reverb and/or some slapback echo and the amp turned up halfway so you're in that magical "clean when playing lightly, bluesy breakup when digging in or playing double stops" zone.

When an amp set like that starts growling and compressing, all that treble sizzle from a Franz pickup comes in handy : you still get definition, twang and string separation at the point where a typically darker and fatter Gibson type P90 or humbucker turns to a ball of lower midrange mush.

I can see them being more useful in those settings. I was always trying to get a good jazz tone out of them.

 

[Melodius Thunk]

THR-10C (a tiny little portable practice amp)

I would need something that would be gig worthy. I don’t think that would cut it.

 

[Walter Broes]

Yep, in a Jazz setting they'd sound more like George Barnes or Les Paul than Wes Montgomery

 

[jp]

I can see them being more useful in those settings. I was always trying to get a good jazz tone out of them.

It took me a while to warm up to Franz pickups. I used to prefer the Guild mini-humbuckers, but I think I like the Franz PUs more right now, esp. for 20s-40s swing jazz and the other styles Walter mentions. That may change, of course. I also think it depends the setting, i.e., a studio recording, live onstage, bedroom or practice and where your tone fits best in the group.

Admittedly, I haven't compared them to the huge variety of other P90-ish pickups out there (besides Gibson's) which I'd love to do.

 

[Shakeylee]

i must be the odd man out.
i do play bluesabilly,so i like almost all large bobbin single coils.
P90s,P13s,dearmonds,hilo trons,CC, GFS surf 90s and FRANZ all sound good to me when played through a good amp like a Masco MA-17 or such like.
say ,through a 59 BMRI, a franz or any other large bobbin single coil will sound similar with a few knob tweaks.

 

[That’s Entertainment!]

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?

Congrats! I worked at a Guild dealer for about 12 years. I got to handle many new Corona and Westerly made X-150s and X-150Ds. The Corona models are an overall better guitar than the ones made at Westerly. I hope that you get many years of enjoyment out of it!

 

[Melodius Thunk]

Congrats! I worked at a Guild dealer for about 12 years. I got to handle many new Corona and Westerly made X-150s and X-150Ds. The Corona models are an overall better guitar than the ones made at Westerly. I hope that you get many years of enjoyment out of it!

Based off of my experience, I agree with you. I am sure that I will enjoy this guitar for years to come.