'Hollow bodied guitars' posting by fretplay

hansmoust

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fretplay said:
Hi, I,m a new member and would like some information from you old hands out there please.

Did Guild make a hollow body short scale guitar, that is hollow body not semi so no centre block along the lines of the Epiphone Casino or Gibson ES 330. I have heard of a M75 or Starfire 11 but am not sure.

Regards, Fretplay.

(was moved from the Acoustic/Acoustic Electric section)


Hello fretplay,

Welcome! To the best of my knowledge the only model that would be similar to the Epiphone Casino or the Gibson ES-330, that is with a short scale and a double-cutaway body style without a center block, would be the Guild Bert Weedon Model but that's a real rare bird.
A hollow body M-75 is much smaller and has a body style that is more like a Les Paul shape. The Starfire I, II and III are hollow as well, but they have a single cutaway body shape which is more like a Gibson ES-125 or an Epiphone Sorrento.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

fretplay

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Hi Hans,

Thank you for your reply. I think the Starfire 11 is hollow bodied but 25.5 scale but I have heard that the 1997 copies are 24.3/4. The M75 is hollow body short scale but if there are letters after it then its a solid body, all very complecated!! I,m not sure about the Bert Weddon but would guess this is a full scale guitar as he was a big Hofner Committee fan. Anymore info out there would be good, thanks for your help Hans.

Regards,

Fretplay
 

hansmoust

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Hollow bodied guitars

fretplay said:
I think the Starfire 11 is hollow bodied but 25.5 scale but I have heard that the 1997 copies are 24.3/4.

That's not correct but I'm actually curious where that information comes from. Ever since their introduction in 1960 the Starfire I, II and III had a 24-3/4" scale.

fretplay said:
The M75 is hollow body short scale but if there are letters after it then its a solid body, all very complecated!!

It's not so complicated. The M-75 was a hollow body when it was introduced in 1954. It stayed a hollow body up till 1972, during which period the solid body version was introduced. If you know what they both look like it's quite easy to distinguish one from the other.


fretplay said:
I,m not sure about the Bert Weddon but would guess this is a full scale guitar as he was a big Hofner Committee fan.

Well, I'm quite sure because I have a Guild Bert Weedon Model and it definitely has a 24-3/4" scale.

When you posted your question I thought that you were looking for a model similar to the Epiphone Casino or Gibson ES-330, which is the reason I mentioned the Bert Weedon model.
If a single cutaway guitar will do as well, then there are a couple more Guild models that would qualify.

* The Guild Duane Eddy Model

* The Guild T-100D

and then you also have:

* the Guild Studio 302 and 303 from the late '60s / early '70s but those have double florentine cutaways.

All these instruments are fully hollow and have a thinline body.

Maybe you should try to get hold of a copy of 'The Guild Guitar Book - The Company and the Instruments, 1952-1977' which will give you all the info about the different Guild models made during that particular period.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

fretplay

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Thanks Hans,

I got the information from Gruhns Guide to Vintage Guitars
but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I haven't actually seen a Starfire to know the scale length for certain. I guess I,ll have to look around. Have you any idea what to pay for a 60s model?

Regards,

Fretplay.
 

hansmoust

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fretplay said:
I got the information from Gruhns Guide to Vintage Guitars
but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and I haven't actually seen a Starfire to know the scale length for certain. I guess I,ll have to look around. Have you any idea what to pay for a 60s model?

Hello again fretplay,

You're right! Never noticed that mistake in the Gruhn Guide but I don't usually use the Guild section of this otherwise pretty good publication.
It only shows that it is inevitable that some mistakes will slip into any project; especially a big one like the Gruhn Guide.

As far as the price for a '60s model is concerned it would depend on whether you would like an early one with the DeArmond pickups or a post-1963 model with the small Guild humbuckers. Don't know of any for sale right now but I would think that prices in the US would start at about a thousand US Dollar and you should expect to pay quite a bit more for a nice one with DeArmonds. Not sure what the price situation in the UK is, but I would assume that prices tend to be slightly higher over there.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
 

fretplay

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Thanks again for your help Hans, I now know what I'm looking for.

Regards,

fretplay.
 

Darryl Hattenhauer

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Gruhn's word on Guild is not as reliable as his word on other things. My speculation is that he has a negative attitude about Guild because they fired him.
 
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