Today’s obsession is a 1983 Guild X97V. If you’ve never heard of that model that’s because it doesn’t exist… well, not as a production model, anyway. So far as I know this is the only one. This is a prototype guitar for a model that never made it into production, and while it’s certainly possible that there are other prototypes of the X97, as I’ll explain it looks like this is one of a kind. Should it have been a production guitar? I’ll let you decide that for yourself, though it’s pretty clear that Guild already determined that the answer to that was no. Still, this guitar has some interesting aspects to it so let’s take a look at this dangerously pointy Guild X97V.
Guild X79 Skyhawk
As of this writing the year is 2018. This guitar is from 1982 which makes this guitar 36 years old. Finding a 36-year old guitar in mint condition is no easy feat, and it took me years to find this Guild X79 Skyhawk guitar in this beautiful unfaded metallic blue finish. That’s partly crazy because this was a very popular model for Guild, but it’s also partly not surprising for reasons that will become clear in my review.
Let’s see how this guitar holds up when viewed through the eyes of someone who really enjoyed the ’80s.
Guild X79-3 Skyhawk
I love me a wacky ’80s Guild shredder guitar and there are not many that are wackier than this! This odd looking instrument is a Guild X79-3 Skyhawk which, believe it or not, was one of the more popular Guild electrics of the 1980s.
This particular guitar is from 1982 and being an X79-3 varies from a regular X79 in that it has three single coil pickups instead of the X79’s two humbuckers. Being from 1982 also means that it predates many of the strange Guild solid body guitars of the 1980s which is kind of surprising given how unique looking this one is.
Guild Guitar Catalogs
This is a page to consolidate all of the Guild catalogs I have, first because I can never remember which ones I have and second because I’m tired of people charging for the privilege of looking at catalogs. I firmly believe that this stuff should be available for everyone’s research use, so here they are. I’ve spent years collecting these catalogs, and I have physical copies of every catalog shown.
If you have a catalog that I have marked as Missing, and you’d like to share a copy (or sell me your original), please contact me or leave a comment.
For right now, the images only link to themselves. Once I get all the years straight, then I will add the actual catalogs. Note that some years have multiple catalogs.The 1990s Guild Galleries are an example, as are years that have separate electric and acoustic (not to mention accessory) catalogs. I have not yet decided how to deal with this. (more…)
GAD’s Guild Knowledge Base
I’ve taken many of the Guild guitar catalogs I have and put them online so people can access them. While doing that I decided to also upload all the price lists, magazine ads, articles, schematics, manuals, and other miscellaneous stuff which made it damn-near impossible to navigate.
As a result of trying to manage all those documents, I present to you GAD’s Guild Knowledge Base. This page will be updated as I either acquire new items or as I scan some of the items that I’ve not yet digitized. If you have document you’d like to share let me know and I’ll add it!
Some of the documents are PDFs, and some are just images. I’ve installed a PDF embedded reader so it should all just work, and I’ve made a point of everything being downloadable because information like this should not be hoarded or hidden behind pay walls.
Guild AntiHum Mini-Humbucker Teardown
Today’s mad science experiment involves me tearing apart a vintage Guild AntiHum pickup from the mid-1960s. This rare item is pretty valuable, so if you’re sensitive about gore, best to look away.
You and I both know that you’re not going to look away.
Like with the vintage Guild HB1 I dismantled, I tore this pickup apart in the name of science. Well, that and pure raw curiosity; I like to see how things work. So, without further ado, let’s dig in and tear this puppy open! (more…)
1994 Guild S-100 Polara
For my 30th Guild guitar review, I decided to publish something special, which is a review of this 1994 Guild S100 Polara. I’ve already reviewed two Guild S100s, one from the 2015 Newark Street line and one from the 1997 Westerly Reissue series. Why another S100 review? Because this one is special and rare. It also blows those other ones out of the water.
This black beauty is a Guild S100 Polara from 1994. It was owned by a member over on the LetsTalkGuild forum who was kind enough to let me borrow it for a quick (three month) write up and review after which I threw money at him until he let me buy it outright. While that may not be strictly true, what’s important is the fact that it’s now mine and you can’t have it. What’s the big deal about an S100 from 1994? You’re just going to have to read the review to find out.
Guild Anti-Hum and LB1 Mini-Humbucker Pickups
One of my most popular articles is Guild Full-Sized HB1 and SD1 Pickup Variations where I put into writing all the nitpicky details about those pickups that I’ve learned over the years. I often get people asking me about the Guild “mini humbuckers” from the 1960s and thanks to a recent project that involved them, I have now gathered enough information to describe them in nitpicky detail, so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. (more…)
Guild Newark Street S200 T-Bird
The first guitar review I wrote for this blog was back in 2014 when I wrote up a 1965 Guild S200 Thunderbird. That post started a trend of me writing about Guilds with almost 30 guitars reviewed along with a pile of other articles, all of which you can see at GADsGuilds.com.
When Guild reissued the Guild S200 Thunderbird T-Bird, hits to that page soared and one of the most common requests I get ever since is, “When will you review the Newark Street Thunderbird T-bird?”
The time is now. Let’s take a look at the Guild Newark St. S200 T-Bird.
Guild T-250 – The Not Roy Buchanan Guild Tele
I am one of those apparently rare guitarists who doesn’t like Telecasters. Don’t get me wrong – I appreciate their tone and I understand their place in the history of music as we know it, but every time I play one I walk away thinking that it has to be about the least ergonomically designed guitars on the planet.
Being a Guild collector, though, when a Guild T250 guitar came up for sale I had to buy it to see if my favorite guitar brand could somehow change my mind about the venerable Telecaster. Let’s take a look at this relatively uncommon Guild electric guitar. (more…)