Meet my X-500

[thehenderson]

[img:450:677]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j106/thehenderson/Guildx500.jpg[/img]

It's a lovely 1992 model. I've replaced the ebony bridge with an intonatable regular gibson one. I still have the original one though, of course. It has a few cracks in the binding on the top of the neck but nothing major. Amazing guitar! I can't gush enough. It has outlasted my 70s Gibson 335 among lots of other 'quality' instruments. I play reasonably heavy music on it too, have a listen: http://www.myspace.com/mechanomusic I'm just a young lad of 19, after all

Here's a video of me playing it
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &q=mechano

I bought it site unseen from a local trading site, because it was the biggest hollowbody I could find and afford. I love the look, feel and sound of big guitars.

Does anyone have any info on the type of pickups in this? They are super high output, in a very toneful way. Way higher than the PAFs in my 335.

Also, are these x500 some sort of copy of a Gibson guitar? I don't mean to offend anyone with that question, the guitar absolutly stands up on it's own merits.

Ahh, I can't express how much I love this guitar!!

 

[capnjuan]

Wouldn't know which Gibson model but, other than the color, similar in shape to a 1960 (current re-issue) Gretsch 6117 (Anniversary):
[IMG:160:151]http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r106/capnjuan/Gretsch.jpg[/img]
http://gretschpages.com/guitars/6117-anniversary/

Very pretty guitar you have there and welcome!

 

[thehenderson]

Hmm, perhaps?

Perhaps a Gibson Byrdland

[img:1194:1483]http://www.larkstreetmusic.com/list/pict/Byrd91.jpg[/img]

 

[capnjuan]

Perhaps

 

[thehenderson]

Oh, and thanks for the welcome

Excellent forum you all have here

 

[capnjuan]

You're welcome.

 

[thehenderson]

Well, I already feel a part of it

 

[d-rock]

I guess it's similar to the Byrdland but I always thought they had a shallow body, like 2 inches or so.

It's a beautiful guitar in it's own right. Sounds cool through the Vox AC30 and delay even if it's recorded with a crappy mic in a video camera.

 

[northbayj]

Welcom Henderson! Hans would be the authority on this, but I think the original X500 from the early 50s would have most closely modeled on an Epiphone Emperor Regent or the big Gibsons with plywood tops, like the ES 350 or 175. The ultimate electric archtopp is the L5, but they have carved tops, X500s don't. Byrdlands have a shorter scale and shallower body.

You don't see a lot of guys playing rock on an X500 - do you have any problems with the bridge moving?

 

[guildzilla]

Nice guitar and nice to have you aboard, Henderson.

Am I mistaken in thinking the X-500 has a 24.75" scale, like the Byrdland? From 1956 on, it has the shorter scale length, according to Hans' book. I'm pretty sure the 1993 X-500 I owned (too briefly) had 24.75" scale.

And the Byrdland was introduced in 1955 (2.25" body depth).

Coincidence that Guild changed to a shorter scale a year later?

 

[Jeff]

[img:450:677]http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j106/thehenderson/Guildx500.jpg[/img]

has outlasted..... lots of other 'quality' instruments. I play reasonably heavy music on it too, have a listen: http://www.myspace.com/mechanomusic I'm just a young lad of 19, after all

Here's a video of me playing it
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... &q=mechano

I just watched your video, Holy moly !!! No doubt you'll get some good discussion on your guitar, Once the old timers here get their blood pressure down after watching you wail on it. X-500's are a goodly bit more versatile than I would have imagined.

Cool post, welcome to the site.

 

[northbayj]

The X500 got shortened somewhere along the line - early 60s maybe? - but I think it's still longer than the Byrdland, which has a 23.5" scale, I think. Just measured my x500 and it's 24.75, or maybe a little closer to 7/8ths. It may be slightly out of whack, but I doubt it. I've never had a guitar that stayed intonated up and down the neck like this one, and it stays in tune really well too.

 

[hansmoust]

Hello Folks,

Northbayj is correct in that the second version of the ES-350 (with 2 pickups) would be similar to the Guild X-500:

17-inch laminated body with Venetian cutaway
2 pickups
25-1/2" scale.

The Byrdland is an entirely different animal altogether.
It has a 23-1/2" scale, which is quite a bit shorter than the 24-3/4" scale that the X-500 (and most of the other Guild electric archtops) did get around 1956.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[guildzilla]

Oh, well, wrong again. Thanks for setting it straight.

Rock on, Henderson.

 

[thehenderson]

Thanks for all that info guys, that's really useful

RE bridge moving around: What I've done is used a little double sided tape and four squares of tape to mark where the bridge is meant to sit. It only moves around when I play these coupld of songs with the band where I indefinitly drop my low string in tunning (for a sludgey sound). The tension on the bridge is obvious suddlenly less and the bridge sometimes slides a few millimeters, and I slide it back into place after the show

I also get up to some semi crazy stage antics with this guitar, jumping off PA stacks and the like. The guitar never gets damaged (or even a bump in it) these really are very versitile and tough instruments

In that video I'm using my 90s reissue AC-15 with my lovely Roland Space Echo 201. People see me with a delay and a hollowbody and think I'm going to play some kind of slap-back style rockabily

I'm a big fan of Queens of the Stone Age, who use lots of massive hollowbodies with huge amounts of gain

Does anyone know about the pickups in this thing though? On the newer x-500s it says "Guild designed humbuckers", is this the same with this guitar? Serial number is JB100431, is it really a '96?

Also, what kind of music do folk around here play on their big hollow body guilds?

-Mark

 

[hansmoust]

Does anyone know about the pickups in this thing though? On the newer x-500s it says "Guild designed humbuckers", is this the same with this guitar? Serial number is JB100431, is it really a '96?

Hello thehenderson,

The pickups in your guitar are standard Guild HB-1s and your guitar is from 1992.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[thehenderson]

bedankt!

 

[Jake The Loafer]

8) Hi Mark, glad you made it here & welcome. I told you that you would get your answers. We would be lost w/o Hans.

Damn dude, you do have some energy! :lol: Oh to be young again but still know what I have been thru. I'm really shocked at you not beating that X-500 to hell & back w/ your stage antics.

 

[jp]

Hey Mark!

You guys rock! Nice to see some younger bands using something other than a Les Paul and Marshall stack--although that is a sweet combo. Too many stereotypes with guitars nowadays that a lot of musicians are too afraid to experiment. My hollow bodies sound great when pumped up loud through a decent tube amp.

I have to plug those reissue AC15s too--they're awesome amps. I test drove one in a store for about an hour once, and they sound amazing. Too many people poo-poo them 'cuz they're made in China, but I think they sound great.

Welcome to the forum--need more kiwis to keep coastie company!

 

[thehenderson]

Hey JP

Thanks for the kind words

That's a 90s reissue ac15, the british made kind. I've never tried a custom classic chinese one so I can't really give an opinion. Heard they break alot?

I don't have the ac-15 anymore, I'm an amp hoarder but I can only afford one or two amps at a time. Currently Using a 76 SF twin reverb and a Carr Mercury. Can't recommend the Carr enough!