New Member Intro, and Question RE: X500

[dan arciniega]

Hello All,
new member here , I just jumped into the Guild pool head first,
I have recently purchased a 2000 X170T , NS A150b, NS M75 in black, and an '86 X170B

I am looking at getting a vintage Guild. I use to own a '59 M75 blonde, spruce top with gold hardware and bigsby it even had the brown gator case
I also gigged with a late 60's M85 bass black many years ago (wish I had never let these go)

anyway I am looking at a 1967 X500 blonde and I can't seem to find any info on it.
this particular guitar has the Artist Award headstock with Imperial tuners and stinger, has anyone seen any others like this ??

the asking price is $3,500. 00

any info would be greatly appreciated

Dan.

 

[hansmoust]

...... anyway I am looking at a 1967 X500 blonde and I can't seem to find any info on it.
this particular guitar has the Artist Award headstock with Imperial tuners and stinger, has anyone seen any others like this ??

Hello Dan,

Welcome! High-end Guild guitars with Artist Award-style headstocks are somewhat rare. Most of the ones I've seen were from the second half of the '60s, but I've come across several from the '70s as well. They were mostly X-500s and F-50s and for the most part these were special order guitars with the 'Special' designation added to the model name on the label. There are 2 of these 'Special' X-500s pictured on page 175 of 'The Guild Guitar Book'. The stinger on the back of the headstock is a rare feature and not all of the 'Specials' with Artist Award headstocks that I've seen had it.

Show us a photo of the guitar you're looking at!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[guildman63]

Yes, pictures please! Other than Hans' book i'm not sure I have ever seen one.

 

[killdeer43]

WELCOME TO LTG!
I can't add to what Hans said but I can echo his request for a photo or three of your new Guilds. :encouragement:

Joe

 

[dan arciniega]

WELCOME TO LTG!
I can't add to what Hans said but I can echo his request for a photo or three of your new Guilds. :encouragement:

Joe

here are a couple of cel phone pics

it's either this or a '52 ES-350

 

[jp]

The stinger on the back of the headstock is a rare feature and not all of the 'Specials' with Artist Award headstocks that I've seen had it.

Hmm. . . ? Pardon my ignorance, Hans, but what's a "stinger"?

 

[dapmdave]

I think it's when the back of the headstock is finished in black and the black color is drawn down to a point on the back of the neck.

Kind of like this:

...but somehow it looks better on a Guild.

 

[hansmoust]

Hmm. . . ? Pardon my ignorance, Hans, but what's a "stinger"?

Hello jp,

A 'stinger' is the name for the decorative black-painted part on the back of a headstock; usually found on higher-end guitars:

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[dan arciniega]

WELCOME TO LTG!
I can't add to what Hans said but I can echo his request for a photo or three of your new Guilds. :encouragement:

Joe

here are the x170's

 

[jp]

I think it's when the back of the headstock is finished in black and the black color is drawn down to a point on the back of the neck...but somehow it looks better on a Guild.

Hello jp,

A 'stinger' is the name for the decorative black-painted part on the back of a headstock; usually found on higher-end guitars:

Sincerely,
Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Ahh -- Thanks Dave and Hans! I've always wondered about that, and I mistakenly always thought it was a way to refinish in order to cover a neck/headstock repair. Still learning!


And please forgive my manners, Dan, and the unintenional thread veer. Unfortunately, I can't offer you any more info than Hans can, of course. When you jump, you really jump. Those are all nice examples, and I especially love the orange X-170.

Welcome to the LTG, and thanks for posting pics!

 

[walrus]

Welcome! You already have the makings of quite a collection!

walrus

 

[dbirchett]

What does the second toggle do on the orange Manhattan?

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Welcome! Nice instant collection!

 

[hansmoust]

What does the second toggle do on the orange Manhattan?

That model was kind of a 'special edition' for the Mars Music chain. The switch on the cutaway bout is a coil tap.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Walter Broes]

I like the amp too!!

 

[Guildadelphia]

Congrats on a beautiful new Guild. I remember Mars Music...they opened a huge store just across the bridge from Philly in Cherry Hill, NJ. Unfortunately the chain went out of business not too long after. I remember seeing that special model at Mars. At that time Mars had had a falling out with Gibson and they were stocking a lot of Guilds. Mars was the nicest of the big box stores IMO; they had small rooms where you could try out a guitar without having to compete with a bunch of metal-head teens with cranked up amps.

 

[dan arciniega]

That model was kind of a 'special edition' for the Mars Music chain. The switch on the cutaway bout is a coil tap.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

I wonder if my pickups are wired stock ??
middle position is out of phase,
but since the lower switch is a coil tap I end up with either neck pickup humbucker and bridge single coil OOP or
bridge pickup humbucker and neck pickup single coil also OOP

hope this makes sense

thanks

 

[Walter Broes]

Well, as long as the ground lead of your pickup is not connected to the baseplate (and the baseplate preferably is grounded through a separate wire) getting the pickups to play in phase is a matter of reversing the hot and ground wires going to the pots.

If that all seems too complicated, remove the cover on one of the pickups, flip the magnet, and you'll be in phase too.

 

[dan arciniega]

My question is whether this wiring is stock or has it been modified ?
I have read some say it is a phase switch and others say it is a coil tap switch
Mine seems to be both

 

[hansmoust]

My question is whether this wiring is stock or has it been modified ?
I have read some say it is a phase switch and others say it is a coil tap switch
Mine seems to be both

Dan,

No, it's not the stock wiring. A phase switch is only a phase switch when it is also possible to put both pickups in-phase, which from your description does not seem to be the case (also that type of switch does not have the right connectors to make it a phase switch).

From what you posted it sounds like one of your pickups has the wiring reversed. Since your guitar has the Fender-designed humbuckers, it's a fairly simple fix.
You only need to reverse two connections, which can be done on the back side of the pickup.

Only do that if you understand what you're doing. Otherwise leave it to someone who knows what he's doing.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl