Guild electric lesson please. Another one.

[JohnW63]

I like reading about all the options and differences between and the Guilds, hollow to solid bodies. I'm not in one camp or the other. I've posted a few threads about this stuff. The more I learn the more I ( irrationally ) want.

I saw a link to one of GAD's blogs about Guild electrics, which helped somewhat, but I swear a spreadsheet is needed to keep all the styles and pickups and necks straight. I have the NS X175B, which is darn fun. I hope I learn to play it well. However, I never use the Bigsby. Then I hear all sorts of cool reviews about Starfires and S-100s to muddy my mental waters. When I have told my musician friend I got an electric Guild he comes back with " Did you get a Starfire ? ". I don't know if that means he HOPES that is what I got or if that is the ONLY Guild electric he knows about. I like what Larry Carlton does with his ES-335, which is very similar to a Starfire IV, I think. Gotta' check that blog again. But.. how different do they sound vs my NS X175 ? How much do the 3 or 4 pick-up styles change things ? I found this link, review of the SF IV and X-175 both in the Newark St line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bjq3svmKwaA

How does this stand up to the sounds of these guitars through their various different versions over the years ?

I'm guessing that many would suggest that a SF with mini-hums or HB1's would be the one to get. But.. is the NS one on the link one with the poorly researched re-issue pickups. If you have some iconic, "THIS is what you want it get..." video clips, let me see them.

 

[GAD]

What do you want to play with it?

When I was in High School (until '82), my friend had a '79 Starfire IV, and I had a '79 S300A-D. We rocked hard. There was very little that we couldn't pull off between us, and that was basically Floyd Rose stuff that was just becoming popular.

If you never use the Bigsby, then an S100 may be what you need to cure the crave.

FWIW, a SF-IV is pretty different than an X175. The SF-IV is a semi-hollow like a Gibson ES-335, so it will be heavier, and have very different dynamics than the X175. It also has humbuckers, so it will sound very different as well.

As for your friend, he's probably only ever heard of the Starfire if he's not a Guild fan-boy. I had a friend who was a huge guitar nerd who knew I loved Guilds. He came to me one day raving about a band he saw, where the guy had a Guild. It was "kind of like an SG". This guy, who had been into guitars for decades had no idea that the S100 even existed. It happens.

 

[guildman63]

Go to www.guildguitars.com, select "Community" from the options across the top, then in the drop down menu select "Blog". Within that screen there are two links regarding the new NS CE-100 and NS Starfire V and how they are receiving rave reviews from "Guitarist Magazine", and also from the Dutch magazine "Gitarist". The F512 was also included.

If you are considering a NS Starfire and aren't sure about the pups, simply get one in one of the new colors that are about to be released. That way any pickup issue that may have existed prior to Córdoba will likely be avoided.

 

[JohnW63]

How well does would the new NS Starfire stand up to the older ones, or should I say, "Which older ones does that new one sound most like ? "

 

[guildman63]

How well does would the new NS Starfire stand up to the older ones, or should I say, "Which older ones does that new one sound most like ? "

They should be exactly the same within each model aside from the color and correction of pickup issues that may have existed. How well they stand up to the vintage models they are based on will be very subjective as everyone has a different interpretation of tone.

 

[fronobulax]

How well does would the new NS Starfire stand up to the older ones, or should I say, "Which older ones does that new one sound most like ? "

The NS bass and the vintage inspiration do not sound identical to my ears. I suspect the answer to your question is in the ears of the beholder rather than any manufacturing process.

 

[JohnW63]

“Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.”

The same goes for the Guild Elves.

 

[GuildyGarnet]

C'mon Guild, LAMINATED Archtops and Semi-hollow bodies?

This is a little late for a response...but yes, it looks like the Starfire IV have the "poorly researched re-issue pickups". I have an S-100 with those pickups, not too happy about them. Also, the retainer rings are of poor quality, flimsy and brittle plastic, at leas on the one I got. I replaced the bridge pickup with a Jasper custom hand-wound (9.2kohm DCR with an A2, vintage enamel wire, potted). The first go at the NS line had those "reissue" pickups, you can tell by the single mounting screw on the low E side. The newer ones have two mounting on the low E side, and are larger pickups physically (bigger tone too).

I talked to Brandon at Cordoba Guitars (owners of Guild) and he confirmed my suspicions. I was told they would send me a new set of pickups, although I have already decided to put in a set of TV Jones, plus Bigbsy or Guildbsy...hehe.

 

[SFIV1967]

I talked to Brandon at Cordoba Guitars (owners of Guild).

Just to correct you slightly. (and you are not the only one who have this wrong). Cordoba Guitars is NOT the owner of Guild. Guild is owned by Cordoba Music Group (CMG) !

Cordoba Guitars as well as Guild Guitars are one of the currently 5 brands owned by CMG.

"CMG's brands include Cordoba Guitars®, Guild Guitars®, and HumiCase®, which are globally distributed and used by musicians around the world. Other CMG brands include Savarez® and Aquila® strings, of which CMG acts as primary importer and U.S. distributor to retail stores."

Source: http://cordobamusicgroup.com/

Ralf

 

[dapmdave]

Everybody has different tastes and preferences. And my experience with electric guitars is not huge. But here's my take:

1. You can find decent, original, USA-made Guilds for about the same price as newer, import re-issues. This is not to disparage imported Guilds (which are very nice), but it is what it is. And I'll add that the prices for the older Guilds do seem to be on the rise, lately.

2. The older, mostly Hoboken Guilds, really shine with the mini-humbucker pickups. Nice, chimey sounds. But they'll rock when pushed. The mahogany-topped Starfires seem to sound a bit better than the others, but that's just me.

3. Once you get into HB-1 pickups, there's even more preference (again, personal opinion) for the mahogany guitars over others. They just seem to sound better.

4. Don't be afraid to try the S-100. Having never liked an SG, I just assumed I wouldn't like an S-100. Big mistake. An S-100 with HB-1s is an amazing guitar. Not an SG, at all. Much better! Just be sure you can deal with the narrow necks on the early ones. And makes me think that the ideal combo for the HB-1 is a solid-body mahogany guitar.

5. If you get to a guitar from the mid 90s or later, be careful because the pickups still look like HB-1s but they are probably either Duncans (a good thing, usually) or Fenders (make your own judgement, but I replaced mine).

Again, these are just my own personal opinions and observations.

 

[JohnW63]

So far, I haven't found a nice USA Guild electric under $1000. I got the NS X-175B for almost half that. That's why I ask myself WHY I feel I need a "vintage" one. I probably get sucked up with the glorious reviews and comments about them, and, I like to try to have tool that are better then my skill, so they will not be a limiting factor.

 

[Guildadelphia]

Congrats on your new X175B and welcome to the world of Guild guitars. USA made Guilds are generally superb guitars, however the NS series guitars are fine instruments in their own right. I have an NS X175B and I love it. Looks great, plays great, sounds great. I also own a Pro Line MIJ Gretsch 6116PTV (best guitar I've ever owned) and a USA made Rickenbacker 620. When I pick up the NS X175B I don't think to myself "this is the cheap guitar"; the NS Guild is not quite built to the same level as the MIJ Gretsch and in all honesty has better fret work than the Rick. With regards to being very new to playing; whatever your talent or skill level, having a decent, good playing instrument is important; a poor guitar that is hard to play will cause frustration and hold you back from learning IMO. You're gonna have lots of fun....now time to get an amp.......

 

[mavuser]

If you want to dabble in vintage Guild electrics, look out for a 60's Jetstar S-50! With luck you can get one in amazing shape for about the price of a Newark Street guitar! That may sound crazy but it's true. I currently own 3 of them and have had as many as 4 other nice ones on my radar recently (4 others are or were for sale online...one was from RichardP69 of this forum). I am the oddball that like guitars with only one pickup, no switches and minimal knobs and all. Separate from that, a one pickup guitar pulls all the string signal all the time, for maximum tone/output. With 2 pickups, even if you turn one of them off, the magnets of that pickup are still pulling signal from the strings (u just can't hear it if it's switched off on the guitar...). Any way I can't say enough good about the 60s S-50 Jetstar. There are several variations but basically any of the Hoboken models from the Jetstar/Polara/Thunderbird era definitely work for me. The 70s model is similar but the neck profile is "super slim extra fast action" which does not suit me personally as well as the 60s S-50 necks. Congrats on the Newark Street Guild btw, those all happen to be super nice in my opinion, but a different beast obviously than something from 50 years ago.