Info on 1998 S-100

[Andy Hiwatt]

I saw a beautiful looking S-100 on the web and from the serial number I 'm sure is a 1998 model. It does have the phase switch ,to have the humbuckers sound like P-90s.
I don't know much about Guild solid bodies, but I love very much the Bluesbird and S-100 aesthetics and apparent quality ,materials and pick-ups..
I love the S-100 shape more than the Sg,and read that early Seventies S-100 are very good guitars and Guild Hb-1 are great pickups.
Are the late Nineties as good as the Seventies models? Are the pick-ups the same or Seymour Duncan or any other brand?
Which are the main differences ,if there are any?
What is the average price for a late Nineties S-100 in good shape?
I' m totally caught by my semiacoustic and acoustic vintage Guilds,and I'd like to have also a Guild solid body..I'm thinking about this S-100....

 

[wright1]

Hi Andy, I have a S-100 from the same period as the one you are looking at. It is white and very nice. The main differences are Duncan pups and a Gotoh bridge instead of a roller type. I have not played a 'vintage' model but mine feels great and sounds good for a lot of different styles with the phase switch. I also have a SG and the feel is completely different. Just watch out for the usual problem with the neck binding coming adrift around the nut to 3rd fret. Seems to be a 'Guild' thing as I had it on my GF60R too.It's not a problem usually. Just stick it back. Mine cost £800 2 years ago and vintage ones go for around £1400 if you can find them.
Best of luck, Steve.

 

[guildzilla]

Some of the first S-100 reissues in 1994 came with Guild humbuckers, but shortly after that the switch was made to Seymour Duncan pickups. The standard combination was an SD 59 model for the neck and JB model for the bridge.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Thanks for the infos guys..
So it looks like the main difference is the Seymour Duncan pickups..are they totally different in sound fropm the HB-1??In which sense??
I'm sorry but I never played a guitar equipped with Seymour Duncans,though I know that they're excellent pickups...are those mounted on the S-100 very PAF Gibson-like?? I already have a Les Paul with very like PAF humbuckers, though of course the Les paul is not just a mahogany body...
From an old thread on this Forum I also learnt that late '90s S-100 should have a meatier neck ( that I'd prefer , having long fingers) compared to early '70s models...can you confirm this??
Wright 1: How is the S-100 different from a Gibson SG??
I'm asking this because here in Italy I 've never seen or tried a Guild S-100 in the stores,but I've tried many SGs and have an idea of how they sound like....

 

[drunkenguitarist]

The Guild S-100 neck has a narrower width and the curve is a bit more c shaped. And the string and fret spacing is a bit smaller as well. Perfect for ultra fast effortless guitar soloing.

 

[wright1]

Drunk has about got it. I also find that the Guild doesn't seem to push your left arm out so far. I liked the sound of the Duncans so when I changed the pickups in my Les Paul Custom I fitted the same 59/JB combination. I can't tell you what the sound of Guild pickups is like. Both the Guild and the Gibson have the same 24 3/4 scale so I can't vouch for the fret distance being different.

 

[danerectal]

My main comment on the differences between the originals and the reissues is a tighter feel in the strings. The Duncan pickups are pretty dull compared to the HB-1s or even the Fender Guild reissue humbuckers. If it were my guitar, I'd check if Jay Pilzer at New Hope has a pair for sale. I'd say the Guild has a much nicer fretting surface than an SG, but I'd have to play them side by side to really say. Good luck...

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Thanks everybody for the further informations..
So Danerectal ..it's very interesting and useful to know what you say about "tighter feel in the strings"..does this mean Seventies S-100s are easier and less fatiguing to play?? For my hands and long fingers I'd prefer a chunkier neck profile, C shaped, like the Nineties reissue seem to be, are these necks comfortable to play? I don't fancy a very low action, and I like a bit of relief on the neck, perhaps there's a way of losening things up, isn't it??
I read a lot of reviews about the Seymour Duncans mounted on the S-100,almost all of them extremely positive, butr surely Guild HB-1 must be another thing,probably far superior like you suggest...are they the same dimension of the Duncans, do they fit in the slot ??Should I decide to get that guitar it would be nice to improve it, but I saw a couple of '70s Hb-1 on e-bay selling for $199 each(!!!!) I hope it's not the usual average price, I could never afford them at that price.

 

[danerectal]

Andy,

I think that a lot of the "tight" feel is due to the angle the strings take over the Gotoh bridge on the reissue. I haven't been able to experiment with the action a whole lot either since the reissue in question actually belongs to Dreamlander on this forum. I too prefer a little higher action, of course not too high. If I had a reissue I may try wrapping the strings over the top of the trapezoid tailpiece to see if that takes some tension off the strings as a whole. I'm sure it would, but I don't have my own for experimentation. I've seen quite a few players (including Johnny Winter) wrap the strings over the top of a standard tailpiece to reduce string tension so I could definitely see a similar application in the trapezoid being of equal effectiveness. I even have a few extra reissue/late 70s trapezoid tailpieces so if I did mar the one I used for experimentation, I could replace it with a fresh one. Maybe I'll try to persuade Josh (Dreamlander) to give my hypothesis a test.

As far as the humbuckers go, the mounting rings don't appear to have changed much in dimension between the reissue and the original S-100s so I could see the original HB-1s fitting without complaint. However, I know for a fact that the Fender version of the Guild humbucker fits flawlessly and sounds nice and crisp as well. I've bought up a few 70s HB-1s for a project and backups and I don't think I've spent $200 between all three that I have. I also have pretty good luck. I acquired a 60s Guild humbucker in a lot of 5 pickups for $38 with shipping. On the other hand, Jay Pilzer at New Hope (also a member here) sells the Fender version for $75 a piece. If you get a reissue and don't like certain things about it, there are a lot of options. The only thing you can't change is the neck angle (which may be the reason I feel the reissues are so tight).

Here ends this installment on my dissertation on the S-100.

 

[Andy Hiwatt]

Thank you, very useful infos.
unfortunately in the meantime I lost the bid for THAT 1998 S-100, but I'll keep an eye on them from now on.
Now I know many more things about this model and I' m sure I'll become a hunter for Guild solid bodies too!

 

[mad dog]

This is an interesting discussion. I'd really like to find one of the '70s S-100 at a reasonable price. In the meantime, do any of you know how the S-90 differed from the S-100? It appears to have 2 knobs only, no phase switch, and different fretboard position markers. Otherwise the same. Is that true?

The phase switch thing makes me very curious. If I were to find an S90, how difficult would it be to add such a switch? The 2 vs. 4 knobs I could probably live with.

 

[danerectal]

This is an interesting discussion. I'd really like to find one of the '70s S-100 at a reasonable price. In the meantime, do any of you know how the S-90 differed from the S-100? It appears to have 2 knobs only, no phase switch, and different fretboard position markers. Otherwise the same. Is that true?

The phase switch thing makes me very curious. If I were to find an S90, how difficult would it be to add such a switch? The 2 vs. 4 knobs I could probably live with.

I have an S-90 as well. It actually seems to play smoother than the 1970 S-100 that I've been rewiring and otherwise improving, but really there is no difference in construction that I'm aware of. The main difference I've ascertained is in the other components. On the S-90; there are no block inlays or bindings on the neck, there is no headstock inlay, only a screen printed logo, the pickups are mounted to the pickguard (which some say has a deadening affect that I've yet to notice), the two knobs are master volume and tone, and as you say there is no phase effect. On some of the older models they used up the old "clamshell" bridge/tailpiece, and used cheaper three-on-a-strip tuners. In later years they graduated to Grover Sta-Tites; and don't remember for sure, but I believe I've seen some with Rotomatics. If you were the owner of an S-90 and couldn't live without the phase effect, I would recommend switching one of the pots to a push/push (because who wants to pull on a knob) switching pot so you don't drill a hole through a perfectly good guitar.

 

[mad dog]

Dane:

That is an excellent idea. Thanks! I'm really no fan of marking up vintage stuff either. Now I just have to find one of these puppies ...

Michael D.

 

[redhead69]

Guitar adoptions has a beautiful 70's model S-100 for sale. Check it out on their website. Hope this helps.

 

[Maxer]

Yowsers. That Guild on Guitar Adoptions is really beautiful... in remarkably good shape. Looks more like a 90s vintage guitar. Nearly 18 bills, though. Too bad I'm not made of money.