A Tale of Two Guilds: Guild X-170AB Westerly & Guild X-180 GSR

X-170AB

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My first Guild guitar was my forum namesake, an X-170AB made in Westerly in 1997. You might have seen my earlier forum post when I acquired my latest Guitar, an X-180 GSR with a New Hartford label and serial number from 2012. I thought you all might enjoy a brief comparison of these two 16-inch arch tops that, at first glance, seem very similar.

ET6yId5.jpg


First, the similarities: Both guitars are 16” single-cutaway electric archtops with laminate construction. In fact, looking at them together, it appears they could have easily been made using the same mold. They both have the same 24.75” scale length, the same slightly flat C-shaped neck profile, and a rosewood fretboard with 20 frets and rectangular fret markers. Both have 2 humbucking pickups and the standard control layout with 2 volume, 2 tone, and a 3-way selector switch. Both have Guild harp tailpieces.

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The main differences are: The X-170 is only 2.25” depth where the X-180 is a full 3”. The X-170 has a maple soundboard while the X-180’s is spruce. The X-170 has a maple neck (with center stripe) while the neck of the X-180 is mahogany (also with center stripe). Lastly, the pickups on the X-170 are Guild HB-1s while those on the X-180 are Duncan ‘59s.

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Overall the X-170 seems more substantially built compared to the X-180, which seems lighter built. This is reflected in their respective weights: 6.96 lb for the X-170 vs. only 6.40 for the GSR. Interestingly, the lighter X-180 is a bit louder and also brighter when played acoustically.

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The X-180 came with a Tune-o-matic style bridge, compared to the compensated rosewood bridge on the X-170. However, I’ve replaced that bridge with a similar one on the X-180 (I prefer the sound for jazz playing), so now the two have similar bridges.

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There are also some smaller differences: The X-170 has a ‘stairstep’ pickguard as opposed to the ‘curvy’ one on the X-180. The selector switch is mounted on the left upper bout on the X-170, but on the right upper bout on the X-180. The X-170’s tailpiece is engraved and also hinged, while the X-180’s is unadorned and has no hinge. Another small difference is that the rosewood on the X-170 is quite dark, but very light on the X-180. There are some even smaller cosmetic differences which I’ll leave for the eagle-eyed among you to find.

qxSEmyw.jpg


As you might expect, these two guitars are more similar than different when playing electric. They’re both very much in the ‘ballpark’ of a 16” laminate humbucker guitar, and capable of classic jazz sounds. Even the different pickups are not too far apart, though I would say the Duncan ‘59s are a bit brighter sounding; I have to turn the tone down farther to get as warm a sound as the HB-1s.

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You might be wondering “So which one do you like better” but, so far, I can’t decide. I like the more solid feel of the Westerly X-170, but also like the lightness of the GSR. They are both very comfortable to play. For fun, I’ve got the X-180 strung with flatwounds (TI Swing 13s) vs. roundwounds (TI Bebop 13s) on the X-170.
 

txbumper57

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Very nice write up 170! That is a beautiful pair of Guilds if I may say so. I currently have a GSR electric model from New Hartford inbound and can't wait for it to get here. Congrats on a Great pair of Guilds!

TX
 

shihan

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Thanks for that; very well done. I had to sell my x-170 to fund my X-500, so I wasn’t able to do a direct comparison like you did. I’ve been very surprised that the 3/4” in body depth makes such a difference in how the guitar feels. It doesn’t seem like that much...
 

dbirchett

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Wouldn't a '97 X170 have come with SD-1 pickups? Or did you replace those with HB-1s? Nice review of two great guitars.
 

X-170AB

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Thanks everyone for your replies and nice comments!

Dbirchett - My understanding is that a '97 Guild could have either GUild HBs or Duncans. I"m happy to say that I looked on the underside of the X-170s pickups and found that they are the former.
 

GAD

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Thanks everyone for your replies and nice comments!

Dbirchett - My understanding is that a '97 Guild could have either GUild HBs or Duncans. I"m happy to say that I looked on the underside of the X-170s pickups and found that they are the former.

Do you have pics? I'm not saying it's impossible, but they look like SDs from the front based on the screws (which is not conclusive). Last HB1s I've seen were in '94 (which is also not conclusive), but of course that means "native" HB1s. It's entirely possible someone put vintage HB1s into a '97 guitar which would be killer.

This is my '94 X170 with HB1s:

5D3_8524_1600.jpg
 

X-170AB

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GAD - The pickups have "Guild" engraved on the underside. I'll try to take a photo the next time I change strings.
 

X-170AB

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Do you have pics? I'm not saying it's impossible, but they look like SDs from the front based on the screws (which is not conclusive). Last HB1s I've seen were in '94 (which is also not conclusive), but of course that means "native" HB1s. It's entirely possible someone put vintage HB1s into a '97 guitar which would be killer.

Here's a photo of the bridge pickup of my X-170:

U93bgum.jpg


Its possible they were retro-fitted, but on the other hand nothing suggests that these weren't the original pickups. What do you think?
 

PittPastor

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My first Guild guitar was my forum namesake, an X-170AB made in Westerly in 1997. You might have seen my earlier forum post when I acquired my latest Guitar, an X-180 GSR with a New Hartford label and serial number from 2012. I thought you all might enjoy a brief comparison of these two 16-inch arch tops that, at first glance, seem very similar.

Thanks for the write-up! This was very interesting, and the side-by-side pics were a very nice touch!

My experience with the X150A has me thinking about the X-180 for sure. This kind of info is what keeps me coming back to this forum again and again.
 
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jp

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Excellent comparison. Thanks for doing that. I'm always foggy about the differences between the later X-models.
 
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Aleph

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Thanks for the great review and pictures.

Not sure which one would I choose..... oh, I know! Both!!!
 

AlohaJoe

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Very nice review, thanks!

I would add that the major difference between the X170 and any fully hollow guitar is a substantial block of wood under the bridge connecting the front plate to the back. It is not a fully hollow body guitar. It is more open than most semi-hollows, but with many of the advantages, including feedback supression and added sustain. However, that block also adds extra weight and diminishes acoustic volume. It's a great guitar... the thinner body is more comfortable to play than my 16"x 3" deep X150 but they are very different guitars IMO.
 
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