Nice Sunburst X-160 with Guild tremolo in Portland area

AlohaJoe

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Beautiful sunburst! Other than the Bigsby, what's the difference between an X-160 and an X-150D? Is the body thinner?
 

cc_mac

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AlohaJoe said:
Beautiful sunburst! Other than the Bigsby, what's the difference between an X-160 and an X-150D? Is the body thinner?

What I've learned from others on LTG is that X-160 (Savoy) is a "budget version " of the X-170 - more of a trim level downgrade.

no neck binding
dot inlays
chrome hardware

Being based on the X-170 it should have a thinner body than the X-150)D) and share the sound post of the X170.

Based on the information here http://www.guildguitars.com/resources/guild_dating.php
The X-160 was introduced in 1988 a few years after the X-170. The X161T with Guild vibrato tailpiece was introduced in 1990. The last year of production for both models appears to have been 1994.

The X150(D) seems to have been reintroduced in 1999 after a long absence from the Guild product line. That's about the same the the X-160-Rockabilly was introduced and those two (X150 and X160-Rockabilly) Share the same deeper body and lack the sound post of the X-170 and previous model. When the Westerly RI plant was closed in 2001(?) the X-160 Rockabilly was produced in California but there are posts on this web site that cite some differences in body size between RI and CA produced versions I am not sure the X-150 was ever produced in CA or if it was discontinued when the RI plant was closed. Anyone else know?

Here's a picture of a 1989 X-160 in an amberburst finish.
p1_u15e0d5yo_so.jpg
 

matsickma

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This guitar has come up for sale quite a bit lately. It is a rare color for a X160. I think it was made the last year the X160 was offered (1994?). One of the reasons this guitar has not sold is that the SN on the back of the head may have been removed and the Guild paper logo and serial number label appears to be missing from inside the body.

So ask questions about the guitar before purchasing. It would be a beauty to own!

M

CLAAIRIFICATION: I AM REFERRING TO THE SUNBURST MODEL ON CRAIG'S LIST.
 

AlohaJoe

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cc_mac said:
I am not sure the X-150 was ever produced in CA or if it was discontinued when the RI plant was closed. Anyone else know?
My X-150 Savoy was made in Corona Ca.
 

Guilderagain

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matsickma said:
One of the reasons this guitar has not sold is that the SN on the back of the head may have been removed and the Guild paper logo and serial number label appears to be missing from inside the body.

... the one in Craigslist or the amberburst posted by cc_mac?
 

cc_mac

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Guilderagain said:
matsickma said:
One of the reasons this guitar has not sold is that the SN on the back of the head may have been removed and the Guild paper logo and serial number label appears to be missing from inside the body.

... the one in Craigslist or the amberburst posted by cc_mac?

I don't think either. I found this to be a confusing point and it took me a little while to get my around it but with a little help from LTG and some Internet trolling.....this is kind of a summary of what I've learned. Anyone feel free to correct any mistakes.

X-150 Savoy and X-175 Manhattan were original Guild Models from the 1950s. The X-150 was the simpler version of the X-175. The X-150 was a single pickup model and not quite as well appointed as the X-175. For the sake of simplicity they were both 3"X17" full hollowbody archtops. At some point in mid 1960s the X-150 was dropped from the product line. The X-175 soldiered on until the mid 1980s when it was replaced by the X-170 "mini " Manhattan. The new X-170 was a thinner body and had a soundpost (block). Also the spruce top of the X-175 was gone and X-170 had a laminated maple top. Around 1988 the X-160 was introduced as a lower end version of the X-170 and the name Savoy was used for the X-160 model which lacked neck binding, had chrome hardware, dot markers instead of block markers. About 1989 or 1990 the X-161T was added which was simply an X-160 with a Bigsby. The last X-160 models were made in 1994. The X-170 stayed in production.

In 1999 Guild, now owned by Fender but still producing guitars in the Westerly, RI plant, introduced some new models - The X-150 Savoy and the X-160 Rockabilly.

The X-150 Savoy was back to being a basically 3" deep x 17 full hollowbody architop made from laminated maple. There was also and X-150D which had 2 pickups.

The X-160 Rockabilly had basically the same body as the X-150 and X-150D but the X-160 Rockabilly had single coil pickups, a Bigsby, and one master volume and one master tone.

When the Westerly RI plant was closed and production moved to the Corona California plant the size of the X-160 shrank a little. I've not heard much about X-150s made in Corona but It would be interested to know if they shrank too.

There was also the X-180 Park Ave which ( I might be wrong here so correct me if I am) is the same body as the X-150 and X-160 but sported binding on the headstock. There doesn't seem to be a lot of info or a lot of X-180 floating around the market but I've read that they were only produced in the Corona, CA plant.

So the model number X-160 was used for two guitars in two different time periods.
1988-1994 as the X-160 Savoy
1999-2003? as the X-160 Rockabilly

The model number X-150 Savoy was used twice
1954-1965 original 1 pick 3"x17" with spruce top
1999-2003? laminated maple top - produced in RI and CA

The Model X-160 was used twice
1988-1994 (Savoy) as the simpler two pickup version of the X-170
1999-2003 as the X-160 Rockabilly which shared the body of the 1999-2003 X-150 Savoy (produced in RI and CA)

There is also the model X180 Park Ave
2002-2004? the same body as the X150 finer appointments including headstock binding. (Produced in CA only)

I don't have deep enough pockets to think about X500 and X700 so someone else can report out on those :)
 

matsickma

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The sunburst X161 model on Craigs List has been listed for a few months. This same guitar origionally posted on ebay around 4 months ago. We had a thread about it on LTG back then. It was listed at a considerably higher $. Various communication with the seller revealed their were a few issues with the serial number and inside body label.

M
 
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