Upcoming NGD X-170

[The Anal Finn]

I recently added a 2000 x-170. I replaced the Fender HB's with low wind "Electric Flag" pups. They are made by "Electric City Pickups". The guitar sounded good with the Fenders, but it sounds great with the new pickups.

 

[Rudehog]

I have a 2001 X170 and I installed Lollar P90's,compton brass bridge....TI Flatwounds ....it is now perfect....I will never sell it.... such a comfortible easy playing guitar and beautiful as well!

 

[Guildadelphia]

Congrats on a fine new/old guitar. Re pu's: don't be afraid to try to dial the stock Fender 'buckers in.....height adjustment, pole piece adjustment can make a big difference.
If you do decide to replace the stock pu's there are a mind boggling number of options out there. It is interesting to note, according to the Seymour Duncan site, the pick ups that Duncan made for Guild to replace the HB-1's were pretty much identical internally to Duncan SH-1 '59 humbuckers. I've never been a big fan of Gibson style humbuckers (love P-90's, Franz, Filtertrons) but since I bought a Japanese Edwards Les Paul clone that came stock with Duncan Seth Lover pu's I've changed my tune. The Seth Lovers are low output (approx 8k bridge, 7.2K neck), not wax potted, and have alnico 2 magnets. These pu's, clean, overdriven and distorted have superior clarity and note separation than most other humbuckers but also retain the classic 'bucker punch.

 

[rg2002]

Thanks to all -- I've poked around the web a bit and I know there's plenty of choices. I did have a set of SD 59s on an Epi Dot which I had a few years ago, that sounded great with TI flats.

I"m maiinly looking foward for those strings to get here! The strings which came with the guitar are pretty old and I'm not a fan of Chromes.

But it's all good!

 

[kakerlak]

It is interesting to note, according to the Seymour Duncan site, the pick ups that Duncan made for Guild to replace the HB-1's were pretty much identical internally to Duncan SH-1 '59 humbuckers. I've never been a big fan of Gibson style humbuckers (love P-90's, Franz, Filtertrons) but since I bought a Japanese Edwards Les Paul clone that came stock with Duncan Seth Lover pu's I've changed my tune. The Seth Lovers are low output (approx 8k bridge, 7.2K neck), not wax potted, and have alnico 2 magnets. These pu's, clean, overdriven and distorted have superior clarity and note separation than most other humbuckers but also retain the classic 'bucker punch.

I've always hated SD'59s. To my ears, they're dull, muddy, inarticulate, not late '70s Gibson bad, but not good enough. By contrast, I really like the Seths. I think the lack of potting may give them a bit more liveliness. They're bright, sweet, responsive, articulate, etc. It's kind of funny that Guild was basically putting '59s in HB-1 guise in some models and straight-up '59s in Bluesbirds and S-100s. There was no escape, lol.

 

[rg2002]

From what I've read I'm leaning toward Seth Lovers.

 

[Guildadelphia]

Seth Lovers would be a great choice, especially if you are going with flatwound strings. The other option would be P-90's in a humbucker cover.

 

[Rudehog]

I had to think about the dog ear p90's for a bit before I commited to drilling holes...... afterwards no regrets!

X170

 

[Guildadelphia]

Love the P-90's. I wonder if a pair of NS Franz repro's would work? I know dogears can be tricky with regards to the height of the covers, obviously the Lollars work in that regard. The Franz pu's also mount differently than regular dogear P-90's which also can create a challenge if they needed to be shimmed.

 

[dbirchett]

Rudehog, that is a beautiful guitar. Some questions for you. Did you add the Bigsby or was it original? What bridge did you use? How is the string height?

I added the Bigsby to my Sunburst X-170 and, due to the narrower neck angle on the non-Bigsby models the action is not quite as low as I would like due to the bridge height. Even so, it may be the easiest playing guitar that I have. The strings feel like they have almost no tension on them. Plays like the proverbial butter.

 

[Guildadelphia]

Was noodling around on my Edwards Les Paul copy last night and doing lots of super clean stuff. I was really taken back by how well the Duncan Seth Lovers could produce nice clear bell-like tones unlike most Gibson style humbuckers. IMO, they would sound fantastic in a hollowbody. A couple of years ago I had the fortune to play a mid-sixties X500 with HB-1's at a local Sam Ash and the tones were very similar....fat but very clear and articulate for humbuckers.

 

[Rudehog]

dbirchett, I added the bigsby...it came off an X500 .... the bridge base is original but I now have a Compton solid brass bridge....works excellent and the action is low. I used Seymour Duncan pickup covers because I dig the vintage look they have. To mount Franz pickups I believe you would need to add some wood underneath to be able to screw into.

-Eric

 

[Guildadelphia]

dbirchett, I added the bigsby...it came off an X500 .... the bridge base is original but I now have a Compton solid brass bridge....works excellent and the action is low. I used Seymour Duncan pickup covers because I dig the vintage look they have. To mount Franz pickups I believe you would need to add some wood underneath to be able to screw into.

-Eric

If I remember correctly, with regular dogear P-90's, the pickup is mounted to the top of the guitar by the cover, subsequently they can easily be adjusted for height by putting a shim/riser under the cover. With Franz pu's, the pickup w/o the cover is screwed directly to the top and then the cover is screwed separately to the top. If you shim the pu there will be a gap between the cover and the top of the guitar; if you shim the pu cover, it would just make the cover higher and not raise the pu itself.

 

[Rudehog]

If I remember correctly, with regular dogear P-90's, the pickup is mounted to the top of the guitar by the cover, subsequently they can easily be adjusted for height by putting a shim/riser under the cover. With Franz pu's, the pickup w/o the cover is screwed directly to the top and then the cover is screwed separately to the top. If you shim the pu there will be a gap between the cover and the top of the guitar; if you shim the pu cover, it would just make the cover higher and not raise the pu itself.

Yes I belive you would need to mount the Franz pup first then play and adjust the height for best vol and tone then place the cover on to see where it ends up then you could add a shim if needed under the cover to get it the right height for the pup

 

[rg2002]

Regardless of its current pickups I am just so happy with this guitar it is already helping me take my music to new places
I played it at thanksgiving yesterday for friends and will be gigging with it for first time later this week looking forward to wowing my bandmates

 

[Rudehog]

Regardless of its current pickups I am just so happy with this guitar it is already helping me take my music to new places
I played it at thanksgiving yesterday for friends and will be gigging with it for first time later this week looking forward to wowing my bandmates

Good for you man! play the hell out of it....play with the stock pup adjustments you may suprise yourself..

 

[dbirchett]

I had the same pickups in my semi-hollow Starfire 5 and did like them but wanted something else. They were a decent HB clone, not as clean and defined as the Seymour and definitely not as clean and defined as the original Guild but many do not want that. You may never want to change.

 

[johnbiscuti]

Hey RG (and other X170 owners), can you comment on the acoustic tone of these guitars? I understand that they're considered "thinline" compared to some of the more luxurious Guild archtops, though obviously not nearly as thin as other Guilds marketed as such.

Thanks!

 

[AcornHouse]

Hey RG (and other X170 owners), can you comment on the acoustic tone of these guitars? I understand that they're considered "thinline" compared to some of the more luxurious Guild archtops, though obviously not nearly as thin as other Guilds marketed as such.

Thanks!

They aren't the loudest acoustically; not only because the thinner body, but they also have a block under the bridge area to combat feedback. They are really meant to be used amped.

 

[rg2002]

acoustic tone

Hey RG (and other X170 owners), can you comment on the acoustic tone of these guitars? I understand that they're considered "thinline" compared to some of the more luxurious Guild archtops, though obviously not nearly as thin as other Guilds marketed as such.

Thanks!

Acoustic tone ok for noodling around by yourself but that's all. Which for me is perfectly fine I have an outstanding Martin jumbo for acoustic playing