NGD : S-200 T-BIRD w/ all the trimmings

Rudehog

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Hello all, been a while since I have posted here....working my life away!

I treated my self to a late bday present ...at least that is what I told the wife.

I have been on a surf guitar kick lately and have had a hankering for one of those classic 60's lacquered jazzmasters....
I went to GC few weeks ago and tried out the jazzmaster and wasn't overly impressed with the neck and finish on the frets.... I then looked up on the wall and spotted the S-200,pulled it down and played for a bit... I was stoked to see and feel the quality and finish on the frets and the fact that is a neck thru is even better.... $200.00 less than the Fender so it was a no brainer ....besides the fact it was a Guild....

Went back last night and bought the black one, it's been fun learning the switches. I'm diggin the Lil Buckers as they call them....

The only quirks I am finding is when switched to mode 1 neck pup only.... the tone pot works almot like a vol pot....nearly kills volume as you roll it off. The trem arm pivot is real tight, I lubed it and have been working it back and forth to loosen it up......


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[/URL]Guild S-200 Thunderbird

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[/URL]Guild S-200 Thunderbird

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[/URL]Guild S-200 Thunderbird
 

AcornHouse

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Nice! I have the antique burst one. I suggest you look at, or have someone look at, the nut slots. Mine were very ragged and needed smoothing/widening. It will help with the trem staying in tune.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Re. Mode 1's tone knob: I've also noticed it has a steep cutoff. I normally set it with the little white indicator line at a 90° angle relative to the guitar's neck, pointing toward me. This gives me some volume rolloff along with mellower tone. I normally leave Mode 1's volume all the way up.

-Dave-
 

shihan

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T-birds are really cool guitars; glad you got a good one. Much better choice than a Jazzmaster!
 

DrumBob

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I have the same one and like it, although I haven't gigged it yet. I had to remove the whammy bar, because it would not stay in tune even after light use. My tech tried all kinds of remedies and nothing worked. He called the Hagstrom trem a bad design, and I have to agree. It is.
 

Eric Vinc3nt

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The only quirks I am finding is when switched to mode 1 neck pup only.... the tone pot works almot like a vol pot....nearly kills volume as you roll it off.

First off, congrats on your purchase of this coolest of solid body electrics - I know, because I also acquired a black S-200 T-Bird reissue last year when they first came on the market, and all my other guitars have been sitting idle since.

Now, about that neck pup tone pot...

Try to arrive at your issue with it as if it's a feature, not a bug.

Not sure about you, but I play my S-200 through 1) a Fender tube amp (live), or, 2) into the DI of a Manley CORE channel strip (home recording).

In each case, it's high-voltage tube amplification.

So let's circle back to that neck pup, and its tone pot. What I've discovered with it, is when you dial back that tone pot, it shifts the sound into a hollow-body jazz tone unachievable with any other solid body electric. Think Joe Pass, and have a go at it.

YMMV
-Eric Vinc3nt
 

Quantum Strummer

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After spending ~6 weeks experimenting with various mid '70s—early '80s Japanese LP copies & near copies (some fine stuff there!) I gave my T-bird a long play last night and fell for it all over again. Compared to the LPs it's lighter, more resonant, better balanced and with far easier upper-fretboard access. Can't vary the dual pickup blend, and there is a lower-mid/upper-bass thing you get with a more massive body. But the LPs are very specific about which amps & pedals they like, and don't like, while the S-200 is down with pretty much everything. :victorious:

-Dave-
 
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