just picked up this x-350

rogersguy

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http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/rogersguy/Gretsch Guitar/Guild2.jpg
 

hansmoust

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X-350

Hello rogersguy,

Nice one! Should be something like 1960. Congrats!

Hans Moust
 

rogersguy

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hi hans, just read your book. what a great book!!! tons of great info. youre correct about the year. it has a ghost label inside and the serial# looks like its a 59-60. this was a great find. all original in near mint condition with ohsc. it looks barely used. i'm basically a gretsch guy, but i gotta admit , i need more guilds now. this is one serious guitar. larry
 

rogersguy

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walter, thank you once again!!! its so great to just sit and play this guitar, i'm jonesing for more guilds. did you see the starfire6 on ebay that just went for $3400? wow...thats quite a price. what gulids do you have walter? larry
 

Walter Broes

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I'm pretty spoilt myself Larry, I shouldn't complain. I have a '60 X175 I got from Hans, a '62 X175 (my main player), both with the same pickups as your guitar, both sunbursts, and both modded with a Bigsby.

Also have a 1961 Starfire III with DeArmond ("dynasonic") pickups, in black.

1960.jpg


1962GuildX175.jpg


1961GuildStarfireIII.jpg
 

rogersguy

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walter, verrry nice guitars.wanna sell any? i always have to ask. also, i'm always into trading so dont ever hesitate to ask. i also have a 58 green gretsch double anni, a 67 sunburst double anni, a reissue jazzmaster and a beautiful gold sparkle ludwig drum set from 67.........i love your black sf, larry
 

matsickma

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Hi rogersguy,

That is a beauty in Sunburst. I see it has the Maple top. I own a Blond X375 with a Maple top. I think mine is a 1957 model. On the bottom neck block marker the word "custom" is etched into the block. My X375 also has gold hardware and includes one of the fancy etched Guild harp stops. I am not sure what is origional or a upgrade. The "custom" marking makes me wonder what came out of Guild or was later upgraded.

Hans, Was a Maple Top offered as an "Custom" option in '57? Most of the X375's I see from that period have Spruce. How about Gold hardware?

I currently have it strung with flat wounds. They are smooth at playing but really don't bring out the best sound out of the Franz pickups. I plan to modify the guitar like Walter and install a Guild Bigsby and standard strings. The mod will be reversable so I don't fret doing it-just haven't got to it yet.

I really do love playing this guitar. Easy to play and beautiful to look at. Bindings and finish are supurb. However it is so nice I don't give it the action I should - always worrying about bumping it. (I usually keep a maple top '73 M-75 hollowbody handy as my main guitar.)

Again, yours is a beauty. What did you pick it up for?

Sincerly,
matsickma (Mike)
 

rogersguy

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walter, sorry to hear youre keeping your stuff...my loss! lol!! mike, i paid 2K for my x-350, but it was worth every dollar. post some pix of your guild......would love to see it,larry
 

matsickma

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Hi rogersguy,

The $2k you paid is a great price. I paid similar for my X375 but it did not include a era origional case. Mine came with a late 1970's Guild case-good case but not origional.

With regards to posting a picture...I honestly don't know how to do it on this site. Any help would be appreciated.

Mike
 

hansmoust

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matsickma said:
That is a beauty in Sunburst. I see it has the Maple top. I own a Blond X375 with a Maple top. I think mine is a 1957 model. On the bottom neck block marker the word "custom" is etched into the block. My X375 also has gold hardware and includes one of the fancy etched Guild harp stops. I am not sure what is origional or a upgrade. The "custom" marking makes me wonder what came out of Guild or was later upgraded.

Hans, Was a Maple Top offered as an "Custom" option in '57? Most of the X375's I see from that period have Spruce. How about Gold hardware?

Matsickma,

Guitar history is not an exact science! When I was doing the research for the Guild book I came to the conclusion that the maple top on the X-350/375 was introduced in 1958. It is very well possible that the introduction date was a little earlier. And maybe it was 1958! I could have been a little off when I was putting the serial number list together. These numbers are all approximate but with the help of my database they will become more exact when time goes by.

Re. On the bottom neck block marker the word "custom" is etched into the block.
That would be a very unusual practice on a Guild.

Re. My X375 also has gold hardware
Gold hardware was standard on any X-350/375

Again, photos would really help to determine what's original and what's not!

What's the serial number? What is the label type?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 

matsickma

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Hi Hans,

I checked the insidel label. It is the type 3 you described in your book on p.28. The Guitar silhouette and the Hoboken, NJ address. The SN is 3285. The word custom is indeed lightly carved into the last block. It looks like a templete was used because the letter shape and spacing looks perfect. The etching is very thin. Some parts of the word "custom" shows a little black while the rest is just etched into the MOP. I am not sure if the black is marking or grime.

I'll check out rogersguy's suggestion on where I can post some pictures.

TNX,

Mike
 

Grady Musick

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I feel really good after reading this thread.

The old Guild X-175 I bought,,,,I only paid $300.00 for it.

But then again,,,it's not in as good of shape cosmetically as those beautiful guitars you guys have.
 

matsickma

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Picture of X375 with "CUSTOM" marking on fret

We'll I think I found how to post an image of this guitar. The "CUSTOM" fret marking is on the highest fret block inlay. Hope this works!
GUILDX375FRONT.jpg

GUILDX375REAR.jpg

GUILDX375BODY.jpg

GUILDX375CUSTOM.jpg

[/img]
 

hansmoust

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Picture of X375 with "CUSTOM" marking on fret

Matsickma,

That's a great looking guitar! It has most of the features of a '56 guitar but with that I only mean the features of the neck.

Re. the 'CUSTOM' designation:
As I mentioned in my earlier posting, an inlay with 'CUSTOM' engraved in it would be very unusual for Guild.
First of all, they didn't use the 'CUSTOM' designation for anything that was not standard. For that they used the 'Special' designation. I have about 50 'Specials' in my database from the period between 1953 and 1970 and in all cases the Special designation was written on the label.
Secondly, I believe that particular inlay was added to the fingerboard at a later date. Guild uses 8 block inlays on their fingerboards, not 9.
I can't really see the edges of the other inlays but none of my '50s guitars has so much 'bad fit' filler around the inlay.

It's hard to say from the photos because they do not show enough detail but it also looks like the guitar had a total refinish. It's too glossy for an original '50s finish and the bindings on top do not look like Guild bindings from the '50s and there are other things with the body that do not make sense. I'm not even referring to the laminated maple top.

That type of tailpiece wasn't around until 1964. The volume and tone knobs are from a much later date, the bridge is not a '50s style, the Schaller M-6 machines are ca. 1970. and the push-button mounting plate is not the right one for a '50s guitar, so all in all there was a lot of work done to this instrument.

Since there are a lot of parts changed on this guitar it looks like a total restoration and I would think that the inlay was probably added when all or some of this work was done to the guitar.

Now I'm not judging the quality of the work. It looks like a neat job but looking at the guitar from a 'historic' viewpoint I don't think there ever was something like an X-375 Custom.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 

matsickma

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Hi Hans,

I should have mentioned that the finish was not origional and the tuners were replaced. I new the guitar was refinished and tuners replaced when I bought the guitar. The job was very professionally done. When you examine the finish around the origional holes and the upper strap lug you cannot feel any difference in wood height. The old holes where filled perfectly before the finish (but you can see the filler color in the holes).

Overall this finish reminds of a late model X170 I had owned. Based on the pictures of other X375's I figured the tail piece was replaced. I wasn't sure of the knobs or bridge.

I examined the block marker very closly and can now see that the MOP inlay is ever so slightly different in color from the others verifying your view it was added later. Of interest to me was your comment on the binding. I have been impressed at the beauty of the binding on this guitar. I have only seen binding on Nightbirds and a Crossroad with so many layers. The binding is identical on both the front and back of the guitar. I went back and ran my finger over the binding edge. I can feel a ever so slight edge at the seam. The feel isn't uncommon on older guitars but it suggests it is possible that it was replaced/upgraded. It would mean significant restoration to do the front and back.

When this thread started I commented that this guitar may be one of the first X375's with a maple top. The SN falls into the '56 year implying it may be a early model.

This baby is getting ready for another upgrade. I will be installing a gold Guild Bigsby Trem and bridge over the next few weeks.

Thanks for the info,

Mike
 

RAO

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Wow, that's a beautiful guitar.
Obviously whoever did the work had access to some Guild specific parts. I kinda wonder if it was a later factory refurb?
Where are you getting the goldplated Guild Bigsby? I need one for my Duane Eddy project.
Again, a really nice looking guitar. I'm jealous. I'll be the 1st in line if you get tired of it :wink:
 
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