GGJaguar
Reverential Member
I didn’t like the Surfliner when it was first introduced in early 2022. As an offset guitar aficionado, I certainly liked that Guild gave it an offset body, but the final product just didn’t look right. It had three pickups rather than two. The rocker pickup selector switches were polarizing amongst players. The transparent colors over the weak grained and sometimes mismatched poplar body looked cheap. Like many players, I thought the model really needed a vibrato tailpiece of some sort. Enter the Surfliner Deluxe introduced a year later.
The new model sports a floating vibrato that is similar to Fender’s original floating vibrato found on the Jazzmaster back in the late 1950s. The traditional 5-way selector gives the Surfliner a more familiar aesthetic and feel. In addition, it is available in three surf-worthy metallic finishes with matching headstocks. Like the original Surfliner, the Deluxe has a Fendery 25 1/2” scale length, but with 23 frets. The fret count is strange, but I don’t play lead guitar so, whatever. Unlike the original Surfliner, the Deluxe has a full-size HB-2 bridge pickup instead of the LB-1 mini-humbucker. Truth be told, I’d rather have an LB-1, but more on that later.
The fit and finish is acceptable, but nothing special. It does not come with a case or gig bag, but does include a manual and truss rod wrench. It fits well in a standard Jazzmaster case so at least there’s no need to look for a special or oddball case. The Rose Quartz finish is gloss, which is a big plus, but it doesn’t have many clear coats to give it a deep appearance. Guild calls it a metallic finish, but in person it reads more pearlescent. It’s a surfy color and the matching headstock adds to the “custom color” vibe.
The black Guild logo is under the finish and it can easily be felt running a finger across it. It has the thickness of a sticker rather than a decal.
I wonder if the chrome logo found on the Black and Evergreen versions is a sticker under the finish or perhaps a foil sticker over the finish. From this photo, it appears to be the latter and could be subject to peeling off.
The frets are finished well and the rosewood fingerboard was not dried out as so many are upon arrival these days. Overall the guitar feels like a typical offset body guitar, but with lighter weight than most. The guitar needed some tweaking right out of the box including pickup height adjustment and more importantly a significant truss rod adjustment over the course of a couple days.
The roasted maple neck is a nice feature. I don’t think roasting affects the sound in any way, but it is supposed to improve neck stability. The scarf joint on the neck is not very noticeable at first glance and was something I was worried about after seeing some of Guild’s stock photos with poorly matched necks. The roasted coloration between the headstock wood and neck wood is pretty even. Huzzah! The satin roasted maple neck has a nice feel and the neck profile feels like a typical Newark Street series neck. The neck pocket is tight with no gap between the body and neck. The G-shield cutout in the neck plate is a fun touch.
The new model sports a floating vibrato that is similar to Fender’s original floating vibrato found on the Jazzmaster back in the late 1950s. The traditional 5-way selector gives the Surfliner a more familiar aesthetic and feel. In addition, it is available in three surf-worthy metallic finishes with matching headstocks. Like the original Surfliner, the Deluxe has a Fendery 25 1/2” scale length, but with 23 frets. The fret count is strange, but I don’t play lead guitar so, whatever. Unlike the original Surfliner, the Deluxe has a full-size HB-2 bridge pickup instead of the LB-1 mini-humbucker. Truth be told, I’d rather have an LB-1, but more on that later.
The fit and finish is acceptable, but nothing special. It does not come with a case or gig bag, but does include a manual and truss rod wrench. It fits well in a standard Jazzmaster case so at least there’s no need to look for a special or oddball case. The Rose Quartz finish is gloss, which is a big plus, but it doesn’t have many clear coats to give it a deep appearance. Guild calls it a metallic finish, but in person it reads more pearlescent. It’s a surfy color and the matching headstock adds to the “custom color” vibe.
The black Guild logo is under the finish and it can easily be felt running a finger across it. It has the thickness of a sticker rather than a decal.
I wonder if the chrome logo found on the Black and Evergreen versions is a sticker under the finish or perhaps a foil sticker over the finish. From this photo, it appears to be the latter and could be subject to peeling off.
The frets are finished well and the rosewood fingerboard was not dried out as so many are upon arrival these days. Overall the guitar feels like a typical offset body guitar, but with lighter weight than most. The guitar needed some tweaking right out of the box including pickup height adjustment and more importantly a significant truss rod adjustment over the course of a couple days.
The roasted maple neck is a nice feature. I don’t think roasting affects the sound in any way, but it is supposed to improve neck stability. The scarf joint on the neck is not very noticeable at first glance and was something I was worried about after seeing some of Guild’s stock photos with poorly matched necks. The roasted coloration between the headstock wood and neck wood is pretty even. Huzzah! The satin roasted maple neck has a nice feel and the neck profile feels like a typical Newark Street series neck. The neck pocket is tight with no gap between the body and neck. The G-shield cutout in the neck plate is a fun touch.
. The scarf joint on the headstock looks the same, but it's definitely more visible with darker wood. Yours is really good, by the way. Some of the others I saw were quite obvious.
