Category: Consumerism

StrongBags Vortex 2 Luggage Review

GAD 2 Comments

StrongBagVortex2

I am a frequent flyer with United Platinum 1K status which means I’ve flown over 100,000 miles in the past year alone. I’ve flown almost 400 segments in the last ten years and I have spent over 850 nights in various Marriott hotels. Why the stats? Because I’ve been on a lot of business trips and I’ve owned a single suitcase for the majority of them. That bag is a StrongBags Vortex 2 Flight Crew Luggage Roller that I have had for four years (since 2012) and I’m here to give it a real “I’ve hauled it around the world” review.  (more…)

1980s Guild X-500s

GAD 10 Comments

Guild-1986-X500-Top
I’m not really much of a Jazz player, but I am a guitar guy and I’m definitely a Guild guitar guy, so when the chance came about to buy a Guild X-500 made in 1984, I jumped at the chance under the premise that it would inspire me to brush up on my jazz chops.

Being a gear hound, the chance for a second X-500 of similar vintage (1986) was too good to pass up so I ended up with two of these big ‘ol Guilds and thought, “Why not write about them?” and here we are.

These guitar were a bit of a challenge for me to write about because their proper use is a bit outside of my comfort zone. They are guitars, however, and me being me, I was not afraid to sit down and run them through their paces in order to write up what I could about the instruments. Let’s dig in and see how they fared.

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Guild 1981 M-80

GAD 8 Comments

Guild-1981-M80-Top
After buying, playing, and testing a 1975 M-80 CS, I decided to see about scoring an early ’80s model to see how it differed. I managed to score this tobacco burst beauty for a great price and sat down to play it, eagerly anticipating my first outing with not only a 1980’s Guild, but my first experience with Guild’s XR-7 pickups.

This guitar is unlike most of the Guilds I’ve owned in some ways while still retaining the core elements of what makes Guilds such a great guitars. But first, a bit of an introduction about Guild M-80s is in order.  (more…)

Guild 1975 M-80 CS

GAD 13 Comments

Guild-1975-M80-Top
This odd-looking guitar came to me at the right price so I couldn’t pass up the chance to own, play, and write about the seemingly not very popular Guild M-80-CS. This example is from 1975, and is in pretty darn good condition for an almost 40-year-old guitar. Let’s take a close-up look at this 1970s Guild and see if they’re worth buying should you happen across one in your travels.

Spoiler: the answer to that last question is almost always yes when it comes to vintage Guild electric guitars.  (more…)

Guild 1974 Bluesbird M-75

GAD 15 Comments

Guild-1974-M75-Bluesbird-Top
After recently reviewing a 1997 Guild Bluesbird and a 2016 Guild Bluesbird, I decided that I’d like to try one of the earlier 1970s models and searched around until I found this 1974 M-75 CS model on Reverb for a great price. In fact, it was a really great price likely due to the finish damage and wear obvious in the photos. Even though it’s got some warts, the guitar is structurally and electrically sound, which means that it plays and sounds great, even if it’s not up to my normal standards of near-mint guitars.

In honor of this guitars long and less-than-pristene past, I opted to photograph it right as it came from the box in all its dusty, dirty, and finish-marred glory. Let’s see how it fares given my normal desire for bright and shiny instruments. (more…)

Guild Starfire III-90

GAD 2 Comments

Guild-2002-Starfire-III-P90
I have  thing for Bigsby-equipped guitars, owing in large part to my obsession with Brian Setzer’s music. In my quest to capture Brian Setzer’s Tone, I’ve owned far too many such guitars. After buying and selling my fair share, one of my favorites is the Guild Starfire-III with P90s.

After about 2000 or so, Guild (then owned by Fender) moved production from Westerly, Rhode Island to Corona, California. A lot of people in the Guild community were worried that the legendary quality of Guild guitars would plummet with Fender at the helm, and while Fender did a great job of letting Guild electric guitars die in the long tun, having owned many of each I’m here to tell you that these Corona-made Guilds are every bit the guitar of the Westerly-made models. This guitar is no exception. Let’s find out why.  (more…)

2016 Guild Newark Street Bluesbird Guitar

GAD 11 Comments

2016-Guild-NS-Bluesbird-Top
Today’s review is of a Guild Newark Street (NS) Bluesbird from 2016. This is one of the current crop of Guild Newark Street guitars, all of which are surprisingly great instruments. After reviewing a Newark Street X-175B and then a Newark Street S100 Polara, and comparing it to a 1997 reissue S100, I had many people request that I review the NS BluesBird, so I found a new one on Reverb for a price I was willing to pay and ran it through its paces. Let’s see how it fared.

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Battle of the Guild S-100 Reissues

GAD

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Up for comparison is a 1997 Guild S-100 reissue made in Westerly, Rhode Island and a 2015 Guild Newark Street S-100 made in Korea. Since the Guild from the 1990s is a reissue of the Guild S-100 from the 1970s and the Newark Street model is a reissue of the Westerly reissue more than it is a reissue of the 1970s models, this perhaps makes the Newark Street Guild a re-reissue, at least partially.

The Guild S-100 is one of their most popular Guild electric guitars, so I thought I would take the time to put two of the most common models available today side by side. Let’s see how they compare.  (more…)

1997 Guild S-100 Guitar

GAD 4 Comments

Guild-S100-1997

Guild’s S100 guitar, which appears on the surface to be a copy of Gibson’s SG, is one of Guild’s most popular electric guitars. I’ve resisted owning one for years because they were so popular and I’m not one to spend energy trying to fit in with the crowd, but circumstances would conspire in such a way as to ensure that I suddenly had two of them – a Newark Street version, and a 1997 reissue. This article concentrates on the 1997 reissue. My article on the Newark Street S100 can help you if you’re looking for information about that model. (more…)

Driving to Shillelagh to buy a Shillelagh

GAD 2 Comments

GenericShillelaghStick
Having an Irish heritage, I remember seeing odd knobby-ended walking sticks in the corners of many houses as a kid. These sticks were commonly called Shillelaghs in my experience, though I’ve since learned that Shillelagh is a town and the walking sticks are properly called Shillelagh Sticks.

If you asked the homeowner about the stick, they would usually just reply with either, “Oh that? That’s just my old walking stick.”, or simply, “That’s my Shillelagh.” Both statements belie the simple truth, however, and that truth is that these sticks are first and foremost weapons. To be accurate, the original Shillelagh Sticks were shorter and more like clubs or cudgels, but when England outlawed them, the Irish lengthened them so that they could also be used as walking sticks, thus subverting the oppressive English law while allowing the weapons to be retained. Knowing this, I had to have one. Getting a real one, though, would prove a little more complicated than I’d anticipated.  (more…)