Update: so Monday I finally saw a real live S-100 Polara at my local store - two had just come in, one of them already spoken for. Mason at Tundra Music said he's had to wait roughly six months for each shipment of Guild Newark series guitars. That said, he's very impressed by the overall quality and claims Fender is tossing "tons of money" at the line. The S100 felt pretty good - I didn't plug it in just yet, I was short on time and the store was a bit of a mess owing to water damage from a busted pipe upstairs so they were rebuilding a showroom and had guitars and amps stacked everywhere. The impression I got was that it certainly felt like a S100 in every respect. The neck profile felt wider, a bit more comfortable than my '71. I'm guessing it's more like the 90s reissues that way. I find myself wishing they came in at least a couple of other finishes but maybe that's down the road. The fit and finish of the guitar was excellent and it came with a very nice form-fitting hardshell case with a subtle but smart-looking Guild badge on the side. Looked really understated but cool.
Two things I didn't care for, and both are a matter of appearance rather than function: one, the rosewood fretboard looked quite pale and didn't complement the rich cherry finish of the mahogany body and neck. I think an ebony board would look nicer, or at least a darker rosewood. Two, the pickup switch toggle was tipped with bright orange rubber. I hadn't noticed that in any of the pics I'd previously seen. It's a small detail, I know, but it clashes completely - it looks goofy against the cherry. I've seen other guitar makers do this sort of cheesy thing and it always leaves me scratching my head. I know colour choices are very personal but I swear some designers are absolutely colour blind. I'd be all for replacing that switch, pronto.
For all my reservations, it's a pretty attractive specimen. I'm really hoping that they offer more variation in the near future but in the meantime I suppose they're testing the waters to see if there's sufficient interest in the S-100; I may be mistaken but the other Newark models seem to be getting more love.
I'm sitting on the fence at the moment, trying to decide if I want to go for it. I might be putting a Parker Nitefly on consignment there and the proceeds from that would be more than enough to score the Guild and pocket a nice chunk of change on top. If I go for it I'll let y'all know - and include pics.
