1953 x175

Good morning friends,
I found this closet classic this week. Has been sitting for many years in it's case. All parts are original, except it has a repro pickguard, But it has it's original coveted deco Kluson Tailpiece. Everything works as it should and I am told it plays and sounds great. So of course I just could not pass it up. The guitar was oversprayed many years ago but was a blond originally. It looks fine to me in the photos. Comes in it's original case as well. The '53 model X175 has the longer 25.5 inch neck scale which I actually like very much. Love a large archtop. I made an offer to the seller and he accepted. Here's a few pix.




Yep. Can't wait for this one to get here. Thanks for looking

Wow very cool Mike. Excellent find!

Thanks Sandy. A heck of a lot better than that bass that I sent back yesterday. I didn't care about the finish issues but as soon as I took it out of the case and tried to tune it, the two back screws on the bridge holding it to the body pulled right out. Then the seller accused me of deliberately damaging the bass to send it back. I was angry about that. Finally he agreed to a refund.

Wow! That is a great looking guitar - looking forward to hearing how it sounds!

walrus

Awesome find mbrindell! A '53 no less..Wow!

Yikes!! It's next to impossible to find a birth year Guild (for me) but seems you've done it!! Congrats! Can't wait for a further report....

Good heavens, that thing is gorgeous! Congrats!

Mike,

COOL early X175! Are those Klusons original to this guitar? I can see what appears to be a little hole on the backside of the headstock about the one tuner which would suggest replacements maybe? jim

Beautiful guitar, congratulations Mike.

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. The seller who has a great reputation and is very knowledgeable says they are original. I had the same tuners on the 1953 X440 I had a couple of years ago. I just can't believe it has that original, beautiful tailpiece. Kluson tailpiece and Kluson tuners I guess. And don't forget in '54 the M75s used gold kluson tuners as well. So Guild did use them in the very early days.

Hi again, Here is a close up photo of the tuners and back of the peghead. To my eyes I cannot see anything here that would make me think the tuners were ever replaced.

Wow! Beautiful Guild! Beautiful guitar. What a find!
Congrats Mike!

mbrindell said:

Thanks Sandy. A heck of a lot better than that bass that I sent back yesterday. I didn't care about the finish issues but as soon as I took it out of the case and tried to tune it, the two back screws on the bridge holding it to the body pulled right out. Then the seller accused me of deliberately damaging the bass to send it back. I was angry about that. Finally he agreed to a refund.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about that Mike. I saw that bass as soon as it was listed, and there was something that told me not to click the "Buy it Now", and now I know why. Sometimes I literally can't stop myself, like with the '75 F212XL that's now in for a neck reset (yeah, I don't learn from my mistakes LOL!). I'm glad the seller agreed to take it back, as I remember seeing "no returns" on that one. Usually, that's a deal killer for me, but I'm glad you at least had a semi-good outcome.

As I always say next!

Nice score, congrats! Looks in great shape. The neck looks like it has a noticeable 'V' shape.

I would agree that Guild used Kluson tuners early on. My '55 X550 has gold Kluson tuners with oval pearloid buttons.

Kluson Deluxe tuning machines with 'single ring Keystone' buttons

mbrindell said:

The seller who has a great reputation and is very knowledgeable says they are original. I had the same tuners on the 1953 X440 I had a couple of years ago. I just can't believe it has that original, beautiful tailpiece. Kluson tailpiece and Kluson tuners I guess. And don't forget in '54 the M75s used gold kluson tuners as well. So Guild did use them in the very early days.

Click to expand...

Mike,

Take a look at the intro of the Tuning Machines chapter on page 40 of 'The Guild Guitar Book'.

Sincerly,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

The tuners must be original. Can anyone else see any indication they were changed? I can't. The seller was lawman Guitars. Mike is a great guy and had that guild sitting in his basement for some years. I believe he got it on a trade. My brother sent me a link to his FB page. I asked if he had any guilds for sale and he said all he had was a 50s jazzbox in his basement that he took in as a trade but never listed it for sale. When he sent the photos I couldn't believe what it was. And another blond to boot. He tried it out and everything works fine with good action. Plays great. So we negotiated for about two days and I made him an offer. He accepted. I got it for exactly what he had in it. Lawman Mike has a great reputation and is an extremely nice guy to deal with. Check out his facebook page at www.facebook.com/lawmanvintageguitars. He has a lot of really great stuff, but I got his only guild.

Sandy, As far as the bass goes, I am sure that with ebay's buyers protection they would have made the seller refund my money anyway since the listed said "perfect playing condition". You can't win them all but I have found some great deals over the years. Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I am excited to get this one in. MB

Thanks Hans, So if these tuners were replaced they are like kind with a plastic button. Works for me.

mbrindell said:

So if these tuners were replaced they are like kind with a plastic button. Works for me.

Click to expand...

Who says they are replaced? They are Kluson Deluxe tuners with single ring Keystone buttons and that's what should be mounted on that guitar if it's indeed an instrument from 1953.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

I think this photo of my 1953 X440 that I sold a couple of years ago with the exact same tuners and buttons as the X175 will prove that the tuners of the X175 are original. Now I have no doubt. If the tuners were replaced on these two guitars, by two different sellers, they were done with exactly the same kind. What chance is there of that happening?

Don't you guys read?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl