Buying my first Electric Guild.......Need help.

c70man

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I've been an acoustic player all my life, but with my hands in the shape they are now, I'm thinking about moving to an electric.

I've narrowed my choices down to a '97 Blues 90 and a brand new Aristocrat. I can purchase either one for the same price. The Blues90 is in very good condition.

I would be buying the Blues90 unseen and don't know about the neck profile. My hands are small and though I can play an 1-3/4" nut on acoustic, the narrower nuts are certainly easier on my hands.

The Blues90 I'm told is like a baseball bat, a full round C....so it kinda scares me a bit. I don't know what the Aristocrat neck is like in comparison either.

So, how about some help here.....my priority is to be able to play without pain and be able to play. I will be changing my playing style obviously.

For years I've had a "66 Italian made "Custom Built" 335 style electric, but its too hard for me to play and it's full scale. The neck profile is a full C. So I know that isn't going to work for me.

All and any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
 

walrus

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I can't help you decide, but I can definitely tell you that the Blues 90, or any Bluesbird from the late 90's or early 2000's will have a large neck profile It is one reason I loved the ones I had, but it does not sound like it is for you.

walrus
 

DThomasC

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The obvious answer is buy both! It's impossible to have too many Guilds. Just ask The Guilds of Grot (114 Guilds) or GAD (some number much smaller than 114.)

Seriously, if big necks are a problem, then pass on the Blues90.

Also, if your transition from acoustics to electrics is not entirely voluntary, then you will probably find the Aristocrat easier to work with. It is, after all, a fully hollow guitar with a spruce top. They don't have a lot of acoustic volume, but I enjoy plugging mine into a low power amp turned up just enough that I get a mixture of sound from the amp and the guitar. It won't sound like a dreadnought, but it has a LOT more acoustic vibe than a Blues90 which is best played like an electric - especially with the stupid-hot pickups that they came with from the factory.

Having said all of that, many will argue that the Blues90, being Made in America, is a better quality instrument. I own both and will argue that if there is a difference in quality, it's not a deal-breaker; I enjoy playing both instruments and don't feel as though I'm playing a toy when I pick up the Aristocrat. The Blues90 might be a better investment from a purely economic point of view, but maybe not after you spend another $200 on better pickups. The pickups on the Aristocrat are very nice if you're not averse to using the volume and tone controls (with the knobs set on maximum the pickups can be a little bright and piercing.)

That's my opinion. Get both, I love both. Or just get the Aristocrat if you want something easier to play than an acoustic. Or get a short scale acoustic. :)
 

c70man

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Appreciate your reply.........I got rid of my J45......just too big for me, but I miss her terribly. The Texan is just not doing it for me either. My Breedlove is magical, a tone monster, and the 1-3/4 neck is playable due to the neck radius and shape. Kinda of a soft V shaped flat. But its not short scale. I sold my '64 B25, but love it too. Needed the money, and I got a lot for it, so I let it go. I've played my friends Les Pauls, Tele's, 339 epi, Strat, and the paul came closest, but too damn heavy. The others had neck radius and shape I didn't like.

still, I'm going electric just to give my left hand a break. So I'm on a search for that short scale that feels good to my hands. I just watched R.J. Ronquillo play the new Guild Aristocrat HH. Looks to be the one. Love that winter white model. No one has it yet.
 

GAD

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You liked the Les Paul? Do you know what kind it was? Les Pauls are 24 3/4” scale with 12” radius fretboards. The depth can vary from shallow to baseball bat depending on the model.
 

Guildedagain

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Are you talking about a Crucianelli? I had such a 335 once, quite sublime actually, with the introduction of some old PAF p'ups.

Unless you're a health jock on yr 20's try to find a light guitar.

My 2020 epiphany on guitars in general is that I probably will not keep any guitar that doesn't have at least some acoustic quality to it.

It's quite possible that chambered Bluesbirds actually fit into this category, whether you can really hear it or not, I don't know.
 
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walrus

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Are you talking about a Crucianelli? I had such a 335 once, quite sublime actually, with the introduction of some old PAF p'ups.

Only you're a health jock on yr 20's try to find a light guitar.

My 2020 epiphany on guitars in general is that I probably will not keep any guitar that doesn't have at least some acoustic quality to it.

It's quite possible that chambered Bluesbirds actually fit into this category, whether you can really hear it or not, I don't know.

Yes, a Bluesbird has an above average acoustic sound to it - at least compared to a Les Paul. I used to play mine unplugged a lot.

And BTW, I had the same epiphany, just years earlier!

walrus
 

c70man

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GAD.....

A friend of mine has a Standard Paul....newer model, I'd say 2017 ish.......Neck was comfortable enough. My problem is, there's not any Guilds to try out near me without ordering one first.
 
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awagner

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Another suggestion. Get a thin-bodied acoustic-electric such as a Songbird, F45 or F65CE, and throw .11s on them.
 

adorshki

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Another suggestion. Get a thin-bodied acoustic-electric such as a Songbird, F45 or F65CE, and throw .11s on them.

Songbird was never meant to be a "good" acoustic box, it's literally built on the original Nightbird "chassis" (solid 'hog routed body) and was intended to simply offer a true acoustic tone when amplified.
The Fxxce's are a much better candidate being a true-flat-top design and their necks were specifically designed to be as close to electric feel as possible, and the earliest models (F45ce up through early F65ce's) had 24-3/4" scale and 1-5/8" nut width spec'd.
That'd probably be the best bet although the tension is still a little closer to true flattop than electric or I would have mentioned 'em myself yesterday.
I don't know what strings those early F-series a/e's came with from Westerly, though.
Sometime in '94 they got a redesign to 25-5/8 scale but retained the 1-5/8 nut.
Those later versions were supplied stock with .010-.047's (D'Addario EJ-15's) , see pg. 25 of Guild Gallery #1 from late '97:
https://www.gad.net/Blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Guild-1997-1998-Gallery-Catalog.pdf
I wouldn't suggest .11's unless tuning down, if mine is any indicator.
Think the tops're thinner for one thing, and the bridge on mine is actually pretty thin and has the tell-tale lift at the back edge, and it's "as-built", bought it new.
It was definitely pulled up more when I strung with .11's at standard pitch. (D'Addario EJ-26 Custom lights)I
I actually strung it with 12's for the first couple of years thinking "It's a Guild, it can take it" because the .010's were just too damn thin; didn't discover the lift until was doing a full clean and polish between changes at about 4 years old, it was pretty undetectable.
Don't know if that may have actually caused the lift or if it was simply the usual case of Guild's bridge gluepad area being a little smaller than ideal.
Anyway, that's when I went to to the Custom Lights at standard pitch for many years.
Total set tension on stock Ej-15's at standard tuning is 135.1 lbs; on Ej-26 (the .011's) it's 151.2.
Last year I ran some numbers that told me that a full step drop results in approximately 20% drop in tension, so Ej-26s' would come in at 120.96 when dropped a full step, and in fact I like the tone a lot that way.
Bonus for me is that the .010's shred my fingernails and .011's are about the thinnest my nails can handle since I play "bareback" and "hybrid" predominantly now.
And no worries about overstressing top/bridge glue.
To be fair, I measured the depth of the lift when first discovered by tracing out a template on a piece of paper inserted under the bridge, and it has remained constant over all this time, but definitely closes up a bit under less tension.
 
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adorshki

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Ah, to find an affordable F45ce....
Well, there's that, too.
And F47ce's were introduced with the 25-5/8" scale but sounds like you know that already.
And my personal "pipe dream" guitar right now is actually that body with the shortscale AND 1-11/16 nut, which I can't find that Guild ever offered as "spec".
Haven't even seen on any of the F45ce's as one of those "one-off spec nut widths" they were known to make, either.
And don't know if you've seen the posts but one of my biggest gripes with Oxnard is that they don't even make the body size anymore.
It's like they ceded the whole niche to Taylor.
And the couple I've played just don't feel or sound right to me, even if I wasn't a Guild loyalist..
 

c70man

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THx, I'll check it out.......I live about 2 hours from there.
 

adorshki

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THx, I'll check it out.......I live about 2 hours from there.
ooh, bonus!!!
Hope it works out!
And if it's got a 1-11/16 nut and you don't buy it, I want to know!
(So far every one I've asked about has had the spec 1-5/8", and since I've already got that on my F65ce, I just ain't gonna compromise when it comes to getting the shortscale)
 

c70man

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ooh, bonus!!!
Hope it works out!
And if it's got a 1-11/16 nut and you don't buy it, I want to know!
(So far every one I've asked about has had the spec 1-5/8", and since I've already got that on my F65ce, I just ain't gonna compromise when it comes to getting the shortscale)

Again, thanks for the heads up.......I'm going down there on Tuesday of next week....hopefully they will still have it.
 

adorshki

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Again, thanks for the heads up.......I'm going down there on Tuesday of next week....hopefully they will still have it.
Well to give credit where it's due it was Awagner who found it, after you mentioned wishing you could find an affordable one.
I just kinda recapped the availablility of shortscale "Fce's" and why I'd choose 'em over a Songbird in case it was useful info for you, and glad it was!
 

D30Man

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Another suggestion. Get a thin-bodied acoustic-electric such as a Songbird, F45 or F65CE, and throw .11s on them.

A second for awag's suggestion.. This way you are still hanging out in acoustic territory.. I would also throw out the Godin multiac steel string or nylon is a really comfortable guitar to play.. Though I think those are at 1 3/4 nut..
 

c70man

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ooh, bonus!!!
Hope it works out!
And if it's got a 1-11/16 nut and you don't buy it, I want to know!
(So far every one I've asked about has had the spec 1-5/8", and since I've already got that on my F65ce, I just ain't gonna compromise when it comes to getting the shortscale)

So I checked it out yesterday......couldn't wait till Tuesday.

Here's my pros and con review:

All maple kind of dull hollow sounding if you know what I mean. I could only plug it into a Fender acoustic amp and I didn't care at all for the electronics in it. One volume knob that worked fine. The treble/bass (?) double knob worked ok.

The neck was definitely larger than 1-5/8 but less than 1-3/4...not quite a full 1-11/16 either. The scale was 24-3/4 from the ruler I used. The neck is very comfortable and flatter as you go up the neck. 12th fret was really nice at the cutaway.

The binding showed wear but all intact. Basically a very good shape for its age.

The saddle could have more room on it, but the action was somewhere around 5/32 at the 12th fret base E string.....pretty consistent across the strings.

What kind of threw me a curve was the weight of the guitar. Pretty heavy and the weight was towards the headstock as you held it. Kinda pulled downward from the neck joint towards the headstock. while sitting down playing. Not so much standing up. Seemed unbalanced to me. And the bout is really big too.

I took a pass. All in all a nice guitar for the money, just not for me. Probably the all maple sound more than anything.
 
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