One Guild in 40 years, then 2 in a month

JBella

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Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum but I've been lurking for awhile.

Back in my high school days my parents bought me a beautiful Guild M75 Bluesbird, I believe this was in 1969 or 1970. This was the version that was fully hollow (see first photo, from about 1975). It was a great guitar. The body was so light that if you played it standing up and let go of the neck the neck and headstock, outweighing the body, would droop down to the ground. Anyway, like an idiot I traded it to my college roommate for his Fender Strat. I didn't keep the Strat for very long but I found out recently that he still has the Guild(!). The laminate on the front of the headstock has shrunk and peeled slightly in one corner but everything else is good.

Anyway, fast forward to today. I've been angling for a Gibson ES-175 for a long time but couldn't justify the price - even for a used one. I had forgotten all about Guilds until I saw a single pickup blonde X150 lost among the Ibanez and Epiphones in the used guitar section of a local shop. I played it acoustically and plugged in. It spoke to me immediately but I didn't know what to think. Were Guilds still in production? Were they made in Korea or China? What's the deal with these?

So I came home, found this forum, dug in and got a wealth of info. Armed with some knowledge I went off searching for X150s to consider. The one at the shop, with it's blonde finish and single pickup, seemed so understated. Somehow it was too minimal for me. I was used to more eye candy; two pickups and a sunburst finish. I found one on eBay; a 2003 from Corona. A little pricey ($1500) but mint and unplayed. I bought it about a month ago (see second photo) and loved it immediately. It's very resonant, plays beautifully and has the exact tone I was after for jazz - just like the blonde in the store.

That should have been the end of the story but I was haunted by that simple, understated blonde at the store. I kept going back for another visit. It's a 2002, not mint, not unplayed but very clean and under $1000. I brought it home (see third photo).

I need two of these like I need a hole in the head.

The simple blonde (the girl next door, if you will) has become the one I play. It's a little lighter and just so darn.... efficient. No pickup switch, no 2nd set of knobs - just clean and uncluttered. I never use the bridge pickup anyway and, after this, I may never buy a guitar with a bridge pickup again.

The blonde does have a scandal I discovered shortly after owning her. The grooves in the Rosewood bridge are misplaced. The 5th and 6th strings are placed too near the 4th. That is, they both run substantially to the right of their respective pickup poles. It wasn't the visual cue of the pickup poles that tipped me off though. I play fingerstyle jazz and felt something wrong. She's at the luthier's now. He assures me he can simply file down the old grooves and place new ones on the same bridge - no big deal. Have you ever heard of this string placement issue before? On any guitar? He says he's seen the same issues with nuts also.

So that's the news. On an unrelated topic; While I was dropping off the blonde for the bridge work a gentlemen there was buying the used Artist Award that's been mentioned here on the forum a couple of times (this is at Gryphon's in Palo Alto).

Thanks for all the info over the last couple of months guys. I hope these photos load OK.

http://home.comcast.net/~Rob-Malkin/images/M75.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~Rob-Malkin/images/X150S.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~Rob-Malkin/images/X150B.jpg
 

Thunderface

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Welcome to the show, JBella. The links to the photos worked just fine, definitely worth the wait ... and thats because your body text somehow was repeated three times. You might want to go in and edit it. The back story about your past and present Guilds is definitely worth the read.

I'm thinking, and others will likely back me up on this, that you may need to reacquire that Bluesbird from your friend, regardless of the shrinking headstock overlay. That is, if he'll part with it. If not, you scored bigtime with your pair of X-150s, especially that beautiful sunburst one. And I don't think you need to worry about that alleged hole in your head. Holes like that just make it easier for us enablers to pour in ideas about why you need more Guilds, not less Guilds. :D

So you're near Gryphon's, eh? I check out their website from time to time and they have some cool stuff.
 

JBella

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Thanks for the editing tip, Thunderface. I realized the redundancy, to my horror, after I posted it but didn't realize I could go back and fix it until you made the suggestion. I've gone ahead and done the edit.

I've thought about buying back the Bluesbird many times - especially given my personal history with it - but, among other things, haven't been able to establish a fair price. I see the solid-bodied versions pretty often but have yet to come across a hollow body for sale other than the DeArmond versions.
 

fronobulax

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Welcome. Nice story.

I find I am also partial to the simplicity - in this case my 1 PU, 2 control Starfire bass gets the lion's share of the play time.

I think you should make a play to get your Bluesbird back. I'm sure we can enable that by finding prices for comparable sales. Just wait some.
 

The Guilds of Grot

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If it'll help the cause at all, here's some photos of my '72 "hollow" M-75 Bluesbird;

Picture020.jpg


Picture018.jpg


Picture021.jpg


Picture023.jpg


:mrgreen:
 

Thunderface

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JBella said:
I was afraid joining here would cost me money. ;)
That's the thing they never tell you. There's no fee to belong (although we have discussed the issue of one to help out Don), but there definitely are "associated" fees that come with being associated with this band of merry enablers. As someone once typed: there's nothing we like better than spending someone else's money for them. Followed closely by seeing the pictures of what they bought! :D

The esteemed Qvart once instructecd me to "go vintage" when it comes to solidbody S-100s. And I took his words to heart ... five times over. I enjoy the guitars, and everyone else likes the photos. Kind of a win-win deal, depending on how you look at it. :wink:
 

JBella

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Hey Grot. Beautiful M75. I've never seen one with a tune-o-matic bridge before.

These hollow ones seem pretty rare. If someone has a feel for where the market is at on these I might put together an offer for my old one. My worry is that they're well over $2K and that's going to be a tough sell to the "finance committee". You guys know who I'm talking about. ;)
 

Brad

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Hello and Welcome to this wonderful place.

I too am a new member but feel very much at home already. Enjoyed your story and hope you get the Bluesbird back someday.

I had a similar experience some weeks ago. I playing in a jazz quartet, we usually rehearse once a week and the trombone player invited a friend to come by and play some Freddie Green style rhythm with me on electric, String bass, Trumpet and Trombone. Anyway the guy shows up with real nice late 1920's Gibson L5. I looked at the guitar and realized that I had owned that very guitar 30 years ago. It was in fact my very first archtop guitar the one I played when I was studying with Howard Alden.
Howard bought the guitar from me to record an album of 1930's guitar solos written by George M. Smith. Howard then sold it to Denny and he has been enjoying it ever since. It was great to see it again and play it after all these years.

Brad
 

Brad

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Not really. Acoustic archtop is not really my thing any more and besides those 16" L5's are an awful price. I paid $1800 for it 30 years ago, it must be worth over 10K now.

Seeing it again was a thrill for sure. It brought back some great memories.
 

Brad

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BTW, Your natural x150 is a beauty and what a great deal, I have not played one before. Maple tops are usually a bit bright and thin sounding for my needs, how would you descride yours?
 

adorshki

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taabru45 said:
Yeah, but Guilds are cheaper than wives... :lol: Steffan
NO wonder you're single...you been lookin' at them expensive wives. :lol:
And oh yeah, welcome Abord Braad AND Mr Jbella. We've got another jazz guy here by the name of Yettoblaster with a Corona X-150 living in the Santa Cruz area, in case you'd like to talk to other owners.. :D
 

twocorgis

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Welcome JBella. You should fit right in around here. :lol:
 

JBella

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Brad; Yeah, that $10K price tag would certainly help me get over a case of sentimentality too. ;) It's good that you got to see it.

As for my X150, other than the occasional romp on an L5 at the guitar shop I really don't have much experience with solid wood archtops - I wish I did. I can tell you that these two might be a little brighter ("less dark" is probably a better way to put it) plugged in than my other Humbucker equipped laminated guitars but, for me, that's a good thing. I've been weaning myself off of the pick for the last year or so and bare flesh on flatwounds doesn't exactly cut through like the proverbial brick through a plate glass window.

Taabru45, thanks for the tip about Yettoblaster. I'm in Saratoga - not too far away.
 

adorshki

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Actually, "JB", that was me, and I was "quoting" Taabru's post as the source of my humorous response to him. Funny you should mention Saratoga though, it's where I spent the bulk of my misguided youth, not to mention about 40 Saturdays a year from about '97 to '04, in that little park at the bottom of 4th street, you know, down the hill from the Plumed Horse.
I was bonding with my D25 and anybody who showed up to jam. :D
I live about 3 miles up the road from Guitar Showcase now. Perhaps a "meet" will become appropriate when the weather improves. Yetto's up for it, after he gets a couple of issues resolved. :)
 
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