devellis
Member
Well, I hit a couple of big-box guitar stores today (Sam Ash and Guitar Center). Not a Guild in sight, but they did have a couple of maple Gibson jumbos, a J-185 at Sam Ash and an SJ-200 True Vintage at Guitar Center.
Both had a fairly distinct and really very good sound although different from each other. The 185 had less bass than a guitar its size should, but the SJ-200 really did sound good, especially when picked with bare fingers. Both were very attractive, again, especially the SJ-200. Both were also quite expensive -- over $3K for the 185 and close to $5K for the 200.
Now the bad news. Both had issues that appeared to have originated in the factory. The 185 had a neck angle that was too shallow for a brand new guitar. Siting down the fingerboard, the line of sight fell below the top of the bridge. Furthermore, the saddle was practically non-existent, especially under the high E string. The break angle was so shallow that the string wasn't held firmly in place and twanged annoyingly when played hard. The relief was also excessive. IF I had to guess, I'd say the store tech had to figure out how to make the action decent, given the poor neck angle, so he/she dialed in a lot of relief and lowered the bridge as far as possible. The action was good, but not without those other issues arising.
The SJ-200 True Vintage -- a high-ticket item -- had a great neck angle and tons of exposed saddle. But the action was way high (easily twice the thickness of a 2mm pick), so some saddle would have to go to improve that. In fact, quite a bit would have to go. Plus, the saddle slot was too wide, so that the saddle was noticeably tipped forward in the slot.
Everything looked clean inside both guitars but a bad neck angle and a tipping saddle are pretty outrageous on guitars in this price range. By comparison, my NH F-512 came with a great neck angle, no tipping saddle, or any other issues that would suggest factory carelessness. I have no idea how representative my Guild or those Gibsons are of their respective brands. But if they're fairly typical, a Guild jumbo will compare very favorably against a comparable Gibson model, even though the latter is priced considerably higher. This was really an eye opener.
I went in to look at these guitars because I like the wider necks and the shorter scale (for the 185) of the Gibsons. And I do like all that 50's glitz on the SJ-200. It's such a throw-back. But if these examples represent standard quality, I'd be very hard pressed to favor a Gibson over a Guild.
Both had a fairly distinct and really very good sound although different from each other. The 185 had less bass than a guitar its size should, but the SJ-200 really did sound good, especially when picked with bare fingers. Both were very attractive, again, especially the SJ-200. Both were also quite expensive -- over $3K for the 185 and close to $5K for the 200.
Now the bad news. Both had issues that appeared to have originated in the factory. The 185 had a neck angle that was too shallow for a brand new guitar. Siting down the fingerboard, the line of sight fell below the top of the bridge. Furthermore, the saddle was practically non-existent, especially under the high E string. The break angle was so shallow that the string wasn't held firmly in place and twanged annoyingly when played hard. The relief was also excessive. IF I had to guess, I'd say the store tech had to figure out how to make the action decent, given the poor neck angle, so he/she dialed in a lot of relief and lowered the bridge as far as possible. The action was good, but not without those other issues arising.
The SJ-200 True Vintage -- a high-ticket item -- had a great neck angle and tons of exposed saddle. But the action was way high (easily twice the thickness of a 2mm pick), so some saddle would have to go to improve that. In fact, quite a bit would have to go. Plus, the saddle slot was too wide, so that the saddle was noticeably tipped forward in the slot.
Everything looked clean inside both guitars but a bad neck angle and a tipping saddle are pretty outrageous on guitars in this price range. By comparison, my NH F-512 came with a great neck angle, no tipping saddle, or any other issues that would suggest factory carelessness. I have no idea how representative my Guild or those Gibsons are of their respective brands. But if they're fairly typical, a Guild jumbo will compare very favorably against a comparable Gibson model, even though the latter is priced considerably higher. This was really an eye opener.
I went in to look at these guitars because I like the wider necks and the shorter scale (for the 185) of the Gibsons. And I do like all that 50's glitz on the SJ-200. It's such a throw-back. But if these examples represent standard quality, I'd be very hard pressed to favor a Gibson over a Guild.
? Sorry to quote you there TJ, but I love it, and it sounds oh so famliar :wink: .....such a fitting analogy to be used here of all places. However I've not heard of any N.H. Guilds built quite like the Gibsons described here. I've played some outstanding sounding and playing J200's and a J185 that sounded exceptional.....though I'm sure there are bad apples in every bunch.
