S300/S60/S65/S70 enthusistasts out there?

SG standard

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A brand new black S-60 was my first 'decent' guitar, back in 1978. I loved the shape of it then, and still do. It's the guitar I gigged the most, and the only guitar that's stayed with me all these years. Next year I'm thinking of getting a refret - it desperately needs one - and I might restore it's original pickup at the same time. Way back I swapped it out for a SD Invader (I was young, I had to learn the hard way that what I really needed was a new amp!). Nonetheless, I've always liked the tone - it has a sort of 'throaty' quality that's quite distinctive. Still, I might even try something different & give it a new character... Plenty of time to decide.

Really enjoyed reading the review. As far as the knobs go, I remember Guild ads always seemed to show the Guild shield knobs, whereas mine came with plain reflector tops, and pointers, but no numbers. I swapped them for speed knobs for many years, but kept the originals and recently swapped them back. Considering the short lifespan of the model, it's interesting to see the reviewed S-60 had another variation, with tone/volume lettering & numbers.

Guild-S-60-2016-014.jpg

Guild-S-60-2016-032.jpg
 
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walrus

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That is very nice! Is that a coil tap switch? If so, this is a S-65D. The S-65D model came with "one DiMarzio dual sound humbucker" and "volume, tone, and coil tap switch". More rare than the S-60, I think.

walrus
 

DThomasC

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Very cool! I've never seen knobs like that from the Guild factory. Personally, I perfer pointers to numbers any day. If I could get knobs like that with the Guild shield I'd be all over them!
 

hansmoust

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That is very nice! Is that a coil tap switch? If so, this is a S-65D. The S-65D model came with "one DiMarzio dual sound humbucker" and "volume, tone, and coil tap switch". More rare than the S-60, I think.

walrus

It's probably an S-60. Would be too early for an S-65D and the mini switch is in the wrong location.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 

SG standard

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Yes, the mini switch was added when the SD went in, along with the pickup surround, around 80/82. It's definitely an S-60. I still have the paperwork (really, I'm not a hoarder! It's the only old guitar receipt I have... wish I had kept them all), I ordered it from a local store 11th November 1978, and picked it up on the 25th. I also bought the Guild case, which was pretty flimsy, but has held up well despite a lot of use in the early days... Serial no. is 186189, which seems to put production into the later part of '78.
 

walrus

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Ah, thanks Hans and SG for the clarification - that's a cool modification!

Just an FYI, I got a Gator "Pro Go" Electric guitar gig bag for my S-60, fits perfectly, lots of pockets, and it's a great protective gig bag.

walrus
 

adorshki

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Yes, the mini switch was added when the SD went in, along with the pickup surround, around 80/82. It's definitely an S-60. I still have the paperwork (really, I'm not a hoarder! It's the only old guitar receipt I have... wish I had kept them all), I ordered it from a local store 11th November 1978, and picked it up on the 25th. I also bought the Guild case, which was pretty flimsy, but has held up well despite a lot of use in the early days... Serial no. is 186189, which seems to put production into the later part of '78.
Somehow this backstory from a long-term original owner warms my heart.
I can even forgive modding the guitar for that kind of love.
Besides, it was the '80's.
:single_eye:
 

D30Man

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Somehow this backstory from a long-term original owner warms my heart.
I can even forgive modding the guitar for that kind of love.
Besides, it was the '80's.
:single_eye:

Agreed. Gives this thing we discuss real weight. No matter the specs. No matter what anyone else thinks. There is an emotional connection we have to our instruments - specifically Guild instruments - and stories like SG's only serve to remind us of that.

I am an S300 owner. GAD's highly informative blogs on the S models got me excited about picking one up. I almost bought his S-60 and then I made a move on an S300 that I nabbed on the verb for a really good price - ebony fret board was the hard sell. Well under $1k. There are so many things about mine that I absolutely love - the ebony fb, stop tail piece, hb1's etc. - but the 2 things I dislike are pretty strong. The almost non-existent frets and the slim profile neck are things that continue to bother me as I work to bond with her. To me a neck is more than half of it..

I will say I absolutely adore the shape and everyone that sees mine feels the same way. I think those guitars were just out of time stylistically. My opinion.

So I dig them, but I am thinking of moving mine on down the line. We'll see.
 

adorshki

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To me a neck is more than half of it..
Yep.
It's what sold me on my D25.
I told 'em to pack up the floor display and they offered me "a brand new one from the back".
At the time I at least knew enough to say, "No, THIS one."
:friendly_wink:
 

walrus

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Agreed. Gives this thing we discuss real weight. No matter the specs. No matter what anyone else thinks. There is an emotional connection we have to our instruments - specifically Guild instruments - and stories like SG's only serve to remind us of that.

I am an S300 owner. GAD's highly informative blogs on the S models got me excited about picking one up. I almost bought his S-60 and then I made a move on an S300 that I nabbed on the verb for a really good price - ebony fret board was the hard sell. Well under $1k. There are so many things about mine that I absolutely love - the ebony fb, stop tail piece, hb1's etc. - but the 2 things I dislike are pretty strong. The almost non-existent frets and the slim profile neck are things that continue to bother me as I work to bond with her. To me a neck is more than half of it..

I will say I absolutely adore the shape and everyone that sees mine feels the same way. I think those guitars were just out of time stylistically. My opinion.

So I dig them, but I am thinking of moving mine on down the line. We'll see.

+1. It pains me to say this, but the slim neck on my S-60 is becoming a struggle..

walrus
 
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Anyone know where I can get a bridge for a S60-D
I need the screws and springs at a minimum.
 

b0rn2w0rsh1p

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(in reference to stclrob's picture) ...and a B301 or 302 under it!!! Awesome! I wish I could compare a S300, S300-A and S300 WAL to see what difference the tonewoods make (if any)... Please do not take this post as starting the tonewoods discussion again - but this would be the perfect vehicle for testing Mahogany, Ash and Walnut. If plugged directly into a computer and using a program like Audacity - you could literally look at the wave forms and expand them to display the waveform with all harmonics on a millisecond scale! "We have the technology"! (just make sure the pick ups are the same... no fair throwing my S300-D in the mix)
 

GAD

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(in reference to stclrob's picture) ...and a B301 or 302 under it!!! Awesome! I wish I could compare a S300, S300-A and S300 WAL to see what difference the tonewoods make (if any)... Please do not take this post as starting the tonewoods discussion again - but this would be the perfect vehicle for testing Mahogany, Ash and Walnut. If plugged directly into a computer and using a program like Audacity - you could literally look at the wave forms and expand them to display the waveform with all harmonics on a millisecond scale! "We have the technology"! (just make sure the pick ups are the same... no fair throwing my S300-D in the mix)

Sadly it's not that simple. I know because I've done a fair bit of setup and testing for some pickup research that's been going on for FAR too long. This is my lab that I use for this testing (as well as my other nefarious projects):

GADElectronicsLab1.jpg


The main issue that when comparing anything, *everything* else must be the same or the test is invalidated. In other words if you want to measure the signal difference of ash vs. 'hog, you'd need the same hardware, the same pickups, the same pots, the same wiring and the same damn strings otherwise the test is invalid. No two pickups are the same. Pots are +/- 15% or more in tolerance, as are caps. Wire lengths or gauge may be different. Etc. etc.

Then there is the input signal. Being human, there is no way a player can guarantee that he/she hits the strings the same way each time on each guitar. Therefore you need a perfect input signal. Why? Because a plucked string looks like this on an o-scope:

OpenG-Scope.png



You need a clean signal which can be introduced with a known frequency and amplitude for comparison. That's done with a waveform generator and a transducer like this:

TestingJacksonGuitar-1.jpg


Then there's the matter of making it all the same for each test which for a whole guitar is a practical impossibility as already stated.

I know all this because I've been trying to come up with a logical scientific way to compare pickups. That seems like a simple thing on the surface. It's really not, though.
 
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b0rn2w0rsh1p

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I have an S-60D, which is a fun guitar to play. It is almost identical to the one you have pictured. I need to take some photos of mine. With the single coils, I have a hard time dialing in my amps since I usually play HB-1's (S-100/M-75), so every time I break out the S-60 I tend to have to always tweak the amps to find a good tone instead of just playing. Even so, it is still a great guitar to play. The neck is fast and the bends are smooth. With a tube screamer it sounds wonderful through one of my home built amps that is based loosely on a tweed Super. My only complaint is the location of the pickup switch. It is so far away, I can never find it while I am playing. I have seen some models have it up where the volume knob is, with the two tone pots in the bottom "stacked". I keep thinking next time I pull the pick guard, I will re-wire mine.

But more importantly, what a great website you have! Full of wonderful information and insight. Thanks for sharing!

Craig

Just think if you had to switch from a strat to a lp... the dialing in would be monumental - at least with the Guilds - you don't feel like you are cheating on your true love ;/

There are times when during the set I need the dark brooding of my HB1's and then another song needs the sparkle or funk of single coils - that's when I have my S90 and S284 (because I don't have an S60-D or S70) with me. I will also have different patches on my multi-effects unit (so it's just a toe tap or two to get the right patch) - since I'm playing in church, I don't have a tube amp to plug into with the volume turned up to mild breakup. Just my two-cents on switching guitars quickly...
 

b0rn2w0rsh1p

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Sadly it's not that simple. I know because I've done a fair bit of setup and testing for some pickup research that's been going on for FAR too long. This is my lab that I use for this testing (as well as my other nefarious projects):

GADElectronicsLab1.jpg


The main issue is the input signal. Being human, there is no way a player can guarantee that he/she hits the strings the same way each time on each guitar. Additionally, when comparing anything, *everything* else must be the same or the test is invalidated. In other words if you want to measure the signal difference of ash vs. 'hog, you'd need the same hardware, the same pickups, the same pots, the same wiring and the same damn strings otherwise the test is invalid. No two pickups are the same. Pots are +/- 15% or more in tolerance, as are caps. Wire lengths or gauge may be different. Etc. etc.

If you could manage to do all that then you need a perfect input signal. Why? Because a plucked string looks like this on an o-scope:

OpenG-Scope.png



You need a clean signal which can be introduced with a known frequency and amplitude for comparison. That's done with a waveform generator and a transducer like this:

TestingJacksonGuitar-1.jpg

Agreed, and why I disqualified my DiMarzio equipped S300-D from a hypothetical test. True about the electronics too, as stated even the Caps and Pots have tolerances, and even if two pickups are wound in the same factory with the same gauge and number of turns, there will be differences in the scatter-winding that could cause tonal variations. There are several papers on stray capacitance and parasitic effects on coil winding (for example: https://coefs.uncc.edu/mnoras/files/2013/03/Transformer-and-Inductor-Design-Handbook_Chapter_17.pdf) that would need to be examined. But it would be a fun start. What about using an E-bow (nothing more than a waveform generator and a transducer) placed at the same location (say the 20th fret, so it is outside the pick-up magnetic fields) to create an input signal? (Can't see your pictures on my work computer - looking forward to see them on my personal computer)

Enjoy the conversation and bantering around electronic knowledge!!! (Looked at EE as a degree, but got bit by the computer bug and ended in IT)
 
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