JBella
Junior Member
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
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