fuman
Member
I picked up a Newark St. Stratford x-350 from a friend of mine (and fellow LTG-er). Okay, I got this guitar more than a month ago. I was out of town on business and had hardly played it before this week. But when they released this a couple of years ago I knew I had to have one. It pushes a lot of buttons for me (isn't THAT ironic, given the lack of a push-button pickup selector system?). Three pickup? Check. P-90s? Check. Candy Apple Red finish? OMG, yes. Full hollow archtop? I have never had one before and have wanted one for a long time. Guildsby? Sure, why not.
I am not capable of a GAD-quality review, but just a few high points: First, the guitar is beautiful, appears to be very well-made, and plays wonderfully. Second, I do like the choices they made for the switching, generally. They decided not to have the middle pickup be reverse-wound, so you get hum canceling in the bridge/neck and bridge/middle combinations only. I like that, especially because those are two really, really great sounds. There's enough bite in the bridge, and the tone control is actually pretty useful. You can get a lot of different sounds out of this guitar, including a Stratty-kind of quack.
Two things in particular surprised me: First, this baby is heavy. Not Les Paul-heavy, but it's a big, solidly-built instrument with a weighty tailpiece. Second, it is way quieter than I expected. Might be my rig (I'm playing it through a Yamaha THR-10C; the volume is up pretty high, but it's still a small amp). You can notice the hum but it's not bothersome.
My only wish is that they had made this with the most-Guild gadget ever, the master volume knob. This guitar is crying out for that. I am playing it a lot in neck/bridge and bridge-middle positions, and you can't really turn the guitar down very well in those settings (get a volume pedal, I know). But overall I am really excited to have this.
I am not capable of a GAD-quality review, but just a few high points: First, the guitar is beautiful, appears to be very well-made, and plays wonderfully. Second, I do like the choices they made for the switching, generally. They decided not to have the middle pickup be reverse-wound, so you get hum canceling in the bridge/neck and bridge/middle combinations only. I like that, especially because those are two really, really great sounds. There's enough bite in the bridge, and the tone control is actually pretty useful. You can get a lot of different sounds out of this guitar, including a Stratty-kind of quack.
Two things in particular surprised me: First, this baby is heavy. Not Les Paul-heavy, but it's a big, solidly-built instrument with a weighty tailpiece. Second, it is way quieter than I expected. Might be my rig (I'm playing it through a Yamaha THR-10C; the volume is up pretty high, but it's still a small amp). You can notice the hum but it's not bothersome.
My only wish is that they had made this with the most-Guild gadget ever, the master volume knob. This guitar is crying out for that. I am playing it a lot in neck/bridge and bridge-middle positions, and you can't really turn the guitar down very well in those settings (get a volume pedal, I know). But overall I am really excited to have this.
