New here, hollow M-75 vs Solid body M-75

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thehotshowers

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Hi,
I haven't posted anything before, but I've been creeping around for a little while now.
Since you guys are my number one source of Guild info, I was wondering if I could ask for advice.

I currently have a 1973 Guild M-75 that I bought for 950-ish $ (Canadian) about 2 years ago.
It's seen a lot of mods over the years (before I bought it): PUs replaced by 70s humbuckers;
tailpiece replaced by standard "stop" gotoh-style tailpiece; bridge replaced by a Gibson-Marauder-style bridge; electronics changed to remove the phase switch and master volume; really amateur black paintjob... + I recently got a bigsby B& Vibrato tailpiece put in.

So with all this, I still LOVE this guitar. I have never been a LesPaul kinda guy, always prefered Fenders. But now I swear by this guitar, love the neck, love the feel, love the look (that rounded horn really does it for me).

Now, I'm looking for a second guitar similar to that one as a backup, etc.
I have a chance to buy a 1969 (I believe) hollow-body M-75 for a 1000. The PUs are not original, they're 70s DiMarzio humbuckers, Grover tuners (not sure if it's an upgrade since there doesn't seem to be any new screw holes) and the sunburst finish is down to the wood in many places.

Anyway, my question would be what big differences will I find between my 73 solid and the 69 hollow; how do you think the two would compare, and should I take the plunge or wait for another early 70s solid?

Finally, it seems to have 2 (?) serial numbers on the back of the headstock, DD 153 and ED 300... anybody knows what that would mean ?
Thanks,
Michel
 
fronobulax

fronobulax

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Welcome. The corresponding solid and hollow M-85 basses are two different instruments united by a common model number but I have no idea if that applies to the corresponding guitars as well.

DD 153 would belong to a 1968 M-75 and ED 300 to 1968 M-65. I can make up all sorts of stories about how the neck was built for a M-65 and repurposed for for a M-75 but it is probably best to wait until Hans Moust responds.
 
hansmoust

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thehotshowers said:
Now, I'm looking for a second guitar similar to that one as a backup, etc.
I have a chance to buy a 1969 (I believe) hollow-body M-75 for a 1000. The PUs are not original, they're 70s DiMarzio humbuckers, Grover tuners (not sure if it's an upgrade since there doesn't seem to be any new screw holes) and the sunburst finish is down to the wood in many places.

Finally, it seems to have 2 (?) serial numbers on the back of the headstock, DD 153 and ED 300... anybody knows what that would mean ? Thanks, Michel
Click to expand...

Hello Michael,

Welcome! There could be several different explanations for the two serial numbers.
My first thought would be a normal mistake made by the guy who stamped the numbers. Very early M-75s look similar to M-65s from the back. However by that time the M-75 already had gotten back binding, so it would have been a little more difficult to take one for the other while grabbing a guitar from the rack.

There are other possibilities but maybe you can tell us first if the guitar has block position markers inlayed into the fingerboard or dots. Or better yet, maybe you can show us a photo of the guitar. When we see it, it might explain why the double stamping may have occurred.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
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Ross

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Hi Michel:

Welcome to LTG, from another Canadian M-75 owner.

And yes, photos are always gladly received here. :D
 
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thehotshowers

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hansmoust said:
There are other possibilities but maybe you can tell us first if the guitar has block position markers inlayed into the fingerboard or dots. Or better yet, maybe you can show us a photo of the guitar. When we see it, it might explain why the double stamping may have occurred.
Click to expand...

Well,
it has block position markers, neck bindding and a light "skunk line" on the back of the neck.
I don't know if I can post the pictures of the guitar since it's not mine. I'll ask the owner though (and I'll post some of my guitar later ;) )

But what about the hollow vs solid issue..
I own some semi-hollow electrics and some solid bodies and the main distinction between the two is feedback problems.
What differences can I expect between the 68-69 hollow body and my 73 solid in terms of playability, feel, sustain, etc...
any opinions ?

thanks for the replies and the warm welcome!
 
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matsickma

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Well in my experiance the 68/69 M75 will have the mini humbuckers while the solid M75's will have full size HB-1's or Dimarzio's. These are very different sounding pickups. The hollow M75 has the classic feedback issues. In my experiance the 68/69 M75 has a very boomy lowend, even with the mini humbucker. The solid M75 is a more traditional solid body. The neck on the solid body M-75 is also a bit thinner. A hybrid between the two guitars is the M-75 "semi-solid" model. Essentially it started out similar to a 68/69, added blocks of wood inside the guitar from the bridge down and also added ful size HB-1's. This style guitar has the Harp tailpiece like the 68/69 so is a bit mellower and is a good balancing act between the other models. I rank my preference among the later model M75 in the following manner: Semisolid, Solid, Hollow (68/69).

In the single coil versions the 1950's early 1960's M-75 Aristocrat with Frantz pickups is the Gold Standard of the breed. They also came with Dearmond PUPs but they are a rare find. I perfer the Spruce Top/mahogany back models but there are a few Mahogany Top and Back models around but are hard to find. These hollow M-75's also have feedback problems. The biggest issue tend to be high frequency squeel from the Franz PUPs so you need to re-pot the pickups. Easy to do and inexpensive. I've heard some people also stuff the body of the guitar with cotton balls to reduce lowend feedback-not sure if it really does the job.

M
 
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thehotshowers

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I guess, if I really love the neck of my 73 I should stick to those (didn't know it was thinner), plus I play pretty heavy so feedback issues would be a bit of a problem.

BTW here are the pictures of the 1968 M-75, but be warned, the guy has disassembled it (he's in the process of putting in new HB's)

35ixixf.jpg


10sgg75.jpg


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4lkcc7.jpg


34sjjuq.jpg


1grq5g.jpg


33vym8x.jpg


2w39u1v.jpg


oh09vp.jpg


14wpncl.jpg


nchyft.jpg


And I'll put up some pics of my 73 at some point

Michel
 
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