guitar reviews Guild archtop

[BIgRon2176]

Another excellent review video. I'm looking for / at one of these guitars. Can you confirm that the nut width is 1 3/4" wide. Is this guitar available NEW from somewhere?

Thanks

Big Ron

[johnhguitar]

I believe this model is no longer available. Fender is now the owner of Guild Guitars and they don't feature it anymore I think. Thanks for the interest.

[paulgaudinjrBCN]

could you review the Godin Kingpin with the single p90?

[Mrsamlki]

I'm gonna favorite this video just so I can listen to the intro. I love that walking bass style thing u played at the beginning.

[johnhguitar]

Just get into Joe Pass the master of this style.

Thanks!

[HMJohnsonGuitar]

You sound great. I played a x 500 for my main guitar for 30 years. I enjoyed your demo.

[admiralcomicbook]

Great guitar man. where could I get my hands on one of those babies?

[johnhguitar]

Yeah but zero history with no connection to the core of the original music.

[Chordmelody619]

Excellent demo, excellent player

[kapooktu]

What is the first song that you play in the beginning?

Thank you in advance

[johnhguitar]

I just made it up on the spot.....

[kevinjohnmorris]

The Stuart is a beautiful guitar. I had the chance to buy one for £700 in 1988 but couldn't afford it. A great regret.

I think Guilds were better made than Gibsons and the timber was of far better quality. They were a sort of a well kept secret- a bit like Heritage now,

Nice playing by the way!

[PollyX5]

Is this one of the Masterbuilt Guilds? Came across one of those in Denmark street,...back then I found it too expensive (as are all guitars on Denmark street) but how I regret not taking it with me...

[sclogse1]

Attack is kinda scratchy, (when you play all the strings at once)

[hanghang71]

how do you tell the difference between a 3 piece neck and 1 piece?

[sclogse1]

Too much reverb to be able to hear the guitar properly, but it seems that the room acoustics are to blame. MOre importantly, the neck is shaved much thinner that an L-5, and man, that makes a huge difference in ease of playing. I have one of these..from the seventies, and it has turned a gorgeous dark orange, but crackles in the finish are everywhere... I've decided to like it that way.When I try to play my 1940 L5, it always seems cold and hard to work with. This baby is a player.

[Vermillion2176]

Great Job John. Love this Guild and your style.

Ron

[wisesatyr72]

this guitar sounds good..usually archtop are too bassy sounding and all notes gets knotted together and you can tell the difference when you start playing fast..this one you can hear every note

[amusiathread]

Nice tone, clipping aside. Good playing too.

[thefallenskies]

Truss rod cover is upside down in this video :)

Also, the inlays have triangle shaped abalone inlays, whereas the 'blocks' and G-shield logo overlays are MoP.

[mikeymodavis123]

the truss rod cover isnt upside down lol

triangle points up always

[thefallenskies]

Actually, on Guilds, the wider part of the truss rod cover points up toward the top of the headstock... always.

[badmutha07]

@thefallenskies Just ran upstairs to check my X-170...you're right! :)

[jazzgitaristdaniel]

He john. What kind of strings do you use on this guild guitar. It's sounds jazzy with twing.

[johnhguitar]

D'addario Chromes  That's a flatwound string. I like 13's. Thanks......

[cagethug]

love that walkin'bass you play!, reminds me old joe...

[roelissimo]

What a beauty:sounds so sweet,full and natural...and you know how to make sing John!

[OMERTA011]

hey I'm interested in buying an jazz guitar, but can't decide (yes I can, but don't have enough money for the es175).. so does this produce a lot of ground noise? Im an engeneer/producer/guitarist so I'll be using mostly DI for tracking..

can you recommend me something?

peace and love from Serbia

[johnhguitar]

I know a great recording guitarist who owns two of these, Micheal Hamilton. He used to play with Kenny Logins. He swears by these instruments.

[OMERTA011]

hmm nice.. but when I've heard "between 2k and 4k" my jaw hit the ground.. :/ I may sound like a retard but in serbia 1000 e is a lot of money..

any other ideas? :)

btw, thanks for the fast reply..

[johnhguitar]

Any good guitar makers in Serbia? How much would a custom guitar cost? Where can you buy an Ibanez, Yamaha, Washburn. or any other non-American instrument? Sorry......

[OMERTA011]

yeah.. there are a few good makers, but they are making only acoustic instruments..

there is a few shops here, but they don't have ibanez af125 (I liked the sound on some clips here but can't try it).. believe me, there wasn't one time that I came into the shop and bought something right on the spot.. I always had to order stuff.. But when guitars come into the picture, I want to try them before buying them.. that's why Im consulting on the web with you.. :)

peace and thanks

[KewelDr]

John Heusenstamn - my favorite teacher playing my favorite guitar. Made my evening.

[johnhguitar]

Thank you. I've always liked these guild jazz guitars but they get little publicity. Too bad there's not a very famous player in limelight 24/7 pushing these babies.

[pissballs]

I like this guitar if I was considering a jazzbox. Fullsound! I like a guitar that retains the pureness of an actual note like the way an acoustic does. As much as I'd like a Gibson super 400 or L5 this is probably the way to go.

[Jarliona]

As always, great jam at the beginning.

Thanks for the review, beautiful guitar.

[gschmittmusic]

Great review...but i always thought Koa was a type of mahagony, not maple.

I'm very very interested in picking up one of these guitars, and i ESPECIALLY appreciate the little tidbit about laminate vs. carved top archtop guitars...i'm between the Guild x-500 and x-700, the Gibby es-175 and es-775 and the heritage 535, i think it is. (the solid-top jazz box in the same vein as the others mentioned)

i'm OPEN to suggestion. :)

[deepkeel65]

Acacia Koa is actually member of the pea family.  Mahogany is softer, most maple harder. I presume you're talking Honduras mahogany, not Philippine mahogany, which is not really mahogany, but a member of the cedar family, and VERY soft. Maple, being hard, helps produce clear tone and sustain - that bell-like "ring".

[gschmittmusic]

No shit? :) well, i definitely defer to you, then. I was always told that it was a hawaiian mahagony, but i never checked.

oddly enough, this vid deterred me from getting an x-700 bc the jazz gigs i often get are in loud situations...think i have to go for laminate-top...es-175 or the x-500. (though, i'd LOVE to have the ducats to pick one of these up for the studio, too.....not gonna happen until that lottery win i'm planning on comes thru) hehe

cheers...thnx for clarifying - g

[deepkeel65]

If you're thinking ES-175, check out the Guild Starfire III. The variety of tones you can get out of them is amazing. Beautiful flamed maple, blond or stained red. Now, they're going for a little over $1,000 on average, but still a great deal. You can play anything on them, from rockabilly to blues (Buddy Guy played one) to jazz. And don't forget, as with any guitar, your string choice can make a big difference in tone as well. Good 'huntin'!

[deepkeel65]

And the Starfires are still around, Westerly, R.I. production, for around $1,000. Picked up a blond flamed maple (they were also available stained red, but I think the natural blond is much prettier) for $850 a couple years back, but as with most no-longer-U.S.-made stuff, the prices are climbing. VERY COOL guitars!

[gschmittmusic]

you're the man for the suggestion. i'll take it into very serious consideration.

thanks

[johnhguitar]

There are people in this world who own all those guitars because they can't make up their mind....

[tavorocker666]

OMG... u made me feel in heaven.

[stormbouy]

its a great guitar for everything from tal farlow to neil young electric...

and thats saying something

[stormbouy]

rings like a bell

[stormbouy]

good review

but as an owner of an X700

i have to say that it is capable of many more tones and styles than described

it is an incredibly versitile guitar...and rongs like a bell with so many combinations of sounds from those pickups with that master volume...and yeah the solid top makes it feed back more easily than a laminated top..but that can be handy too..depends on how loud you want to play

[shivarudra]

makes me think of Django Reinhardt, the tone it gives, very classic

[funkuser]

can someone identify the music from the start to 1:00? I want to search for some sheet music of this.

Love the sound + technique + music well done

[Shanyet]

i think he was improvising but the type of music is called walking bass guitar. or thats not wat it is called you will find it with that name. hope i could help.

[manoah16]

great review... Does anybody know wat amp settings they use? The tone is just magnificent!!! obviously the amp contributes to this beautiful sound.

[Humanfactor7]

I love your reviews John... another excellent one. Thank you very much. Keep them coming!

[WallowingGrizzly]

hehe nice man, love those curious runs and the the bassy echoed tone, guild rules

(well...before Fender splooged in tha fudge)

[DreamedOfHugeSpiders]

so depressing the these greedy pricks are destroying the reputations of great names by putting profits first. sign of the times. wish i had a time machine

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

You are a guitar master!

[12skaterkid34]

tom mrellos j=hollow body looks like a mix of this and an es335

[reptilicus]

Guild still makes their high end models in the U.S. But Guild does not make archtops or any electric guitars anymore.

[gslopez30]

How much for a guitar like this? I am a Jazz Guitar player at my school and I could go for a nice archtop.

[johnhguitar]

I purchased the guitar a couple months ago for $2000. I think I got a really good deal.

-jc

[gslopez30]

My goodness, its expensive but Im sure well worth it! I like the way the guitar resonates, its something that the Gibson ES 335 can't do, even though its nice too. I am still searching for something that sounds like this...to rich for a college student right now however, thanks!

[ChristopherDowning]

You sure did! That would have cost the same as a ES175 when it was new - so you do the sums - that's a great price.

[tennisplaya92]

finally some solid jazz on youtube

[WEIRDALROXMYSOX]

Nice guitar man! When you mentioned birdseye maple, i started drooling, my dad has a violin with birdseye back and sides, man is it pretty!

[dronai]

Nice playing John !!!

[musicboy3789]

That guitar is good in jazz in my opinion.

[Lessismor3]

Another great review and guitar!