guild 1960 x350

[guitarman]

Hi fellow guild fans,
I was wondering if anyone can tell me the structural differences between a 1961 guild x175 and a 1960 x350 aside from the obvious spruce vs maple top and maple vs mahogony neck thing. Do they differ vastly sonically because of the third pickup in the x350? Will the x175 be more open sounding? Also, any information regarding the sonic differences between dearmond and franz pickups would be helpful. Lastly, is an X350 a much heavier guitar than an x175? I recently went out on a limb and bought an x350 (1960) from Shelton's Guitars over the net and am wondering what I am in for once I take delivery. I have always wanted one of these guitars so I "took the plunge" so to speak.

 

[Walter Broes]

Congratulations!!

I don't have any hands-on experience with 350/375's, but one major difference would be the scale : they were always 25 1/2", and the X175's went to the shorter 24 3/4 scale around 1956.

DeArmonds and Franz pickups are fairly different, but it's pretty hard to describe tones, isn't it? DeArmonds have those magnet polepieces, and that gives them a little more of that percussive "fender-alike" sound, and most of the original ones I've played were also *very* loud pickups, hard to keep clean on a smaller tube amp.

I wouldn't call Franz pickups smooth, but they are a little bluesier than the DeArmonds.
Hard to explain, again. And there's the player, the setup, the strings, the amp....

 

[guitarman]

I was under the impression that the scale lenght of the 1960 x350 was 24.75" - is this incorrect.

 

[hansmoust]

I was under the impression that the scale lenght of the 1960 x350 was 24.75" - is this incorrect.

Hello guitarman,

The scale lengthe of a 1960 X-350 will be 24-3/4". When the scale length was changed around 1956, most of the X-350s and X-375s still had the long scale, until they ran out of the old necks. You will come across long scale X-350s and X-375s from a couple of years after 1956 but after that they will all have a 24-3/4" scale. It was just a slightly longer transition period.
Keep in mind that you can also find an occasional X-175 or X-500/550 from that same transition period with the longer scale.
These are actually X-350/375s, dressed up with the 'proper' hardware to make them look like X-175s and X-500/550s.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Walter Broes]

My mistake, I was under the impression they kept the long scale, sorry.

 

[matsickma]

Hey guitarman,

So you were the one! That was a good looking guitar that got me re-thinking ownership of a X350. I also assumed this guitar was the long scale.

They are beautifu guitars. A full body instrument that has a solid feel and deep acoustic tone. When I owned a X375 I would often muse about the quality of the instrument.

I was seriously thinking about that X350. I am sure you will love it.

M

 

[guitarman]

Thanks everyone for your input, I can't wait to receive the guitar; I had recently sold my 1960 ('99 re-issue) gretsch 6120 in order to fund a 1958 x175 but when this one came up I just had to go for it. Walter, I too thought that the scale lenght might be 25.5" as the accounts on the internet vary and I have not played this guitar yet. I am hoping that I like the franz pickups as I have no firsthand experience with them - just the sounds of the Pallidins and the accolades of the LTG . I must say that all the franz sound clips that I have heard I have liked, and they have come from varying sources. I really like single coil pickups and am able to deal with the hum in most situations. I will post a full report when I get the guitar.
Guitarman.