Scottsdale, AZ (January 16, 2014) -- Guild is proud to announce new guitars and basses in the Newark St. Collection and Guitar Special Run (GSR) series.
The Guild Newark St. Collection marks the return of classic Guild electric favorites from the 1950s and ’60s—once again putting the distinctive Guild styling and voice that helped shape popular music into the hands of today’s guitarists. GSR series guitars are distinctive limited-edition versions of some of Guild guitars’ most sought after and revered models. These exceptional instruments feature special and exotic wood selections and custom appointments not available on standard models, resulting in exciting new guitars that take the Guild legacy to new heights of elegant sound and performance.
The classic Guild Starfire V with Bigsby is a semi-hollow beauty with a graceful 16 3/8” thinline body and twin Guild “Anti-Hum” dual-coil pickups, arched top and back with dual f holes, elegant ivory white body binding, black/white purfling and center-block bracing, bound three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck with vintage-style “soft U” profile, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and pearloid block inlays, three-way pickup selector switch, individual volume and tone controls for each pickup and master volume, Adjusto-Matic bridge with rosewood base, Guild Bigsby B70 vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines, nickel hardware and a gorgeous Transparent Cherry Red gloss finish.
Guild’s CE-100D Capri with Bigsby “old world”-style 16 3/8” cutaway body makes it comfortably easy to hold and play, and its twin Guild “Anti-Hum” dual-coil pickups sing with a full, clear voice. The Capri’s all-maple body features an arched top and back with a comfortable 3 1/8” depth and sharp-looking Florentine cutaway, with dual f holes and elegant ivory white body binding and black/white purfling. Other premium features include parallel tone bar bracing, bound three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck with vintage-style “soft U” profile, 20-fret rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and aged pearloid block inlays, three-way pickup selector switch and individual volume and tone controls for each pickup, Adjusto-Matic bridge with rosewood base, Guild Bigsby B60 vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines, nickel hardware and a stunning Antique Sunburst gloss finish with gloss Walnut Stain back and sides.
The limited edition M-75G Aristocrat LTD Gold features a luxurious gold metallic top with lightly stained mahogany back, sides and neck offset with nickel hardware. This unique compact guitar has a gracefully sculpted hollow body designed specifically to produce the resonance of a larger sized instrument. Other features include a 17” x 3 1/8” hollow body with venetian cutaway, select spruce top, mahogany sides & back, 3-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, twin Guild “frequency tested” single-coil pickups with individual volume and tone controls, 3-way pickup selector, rosewood bridge, Guild “harp” tailpiece and Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines.
The companion to Guild’s M-75 Aristocrat guitar, the M-85 Bass boasts authentic mid-‘60s style with a compact semi-hollow body and big “Bi-Sonic” bass pickup that together create the sonic boom of an instrument twice its size. The single-cutaway body measures 2.75” deep and a mere 13.5” across the lower bout, with an arched spruce top and maple back and sides. The body also features elegant ivory white body binding, black/white purfling, partial center-block bracing and dual finger rests. This distinctive bass also features a 30.75” scale length, bound three-piece mahogany neck with a vintage-style “soft U” profile, 21-fret rosewood fingerboard with 12” radius and pearloid dot inlays, volume and tone controls, combo bridge/tailpiece with rosewood saddles, Grover tuning machines, nickel hardware and cool Jet Black gloss finish.
The limited edition run of the GSR M-75 Aristocrat is an extra-elegant take on a true Guild classic. The compact Aristocrat-style hollow body has a single cutaway and an arched laminated spruce top with parallel tone bar bracing, mahogany back and sides and stately black-and-white binding. The bound three-piece mahogany-maple-mahogany neck has a comfortable profile and a 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 22 medium jumbo frets and handsome pearl block inlays.
Strike gold with Guild’s very special limited edition run of the GSR X-500D Stuart LTD. The single-cutaway hollow body has an arched laminated spruce top with parallel tone bar bracing and stylish f holes, flame maple back and sides and stately black-and-white binding and purfling. The five-piece maple mahogany neck has a comfortable profile and a 9.5”-radius ebony fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets, black-and-white binding, special fingerboard purfling and pearl “V” block inlays.
The GSR X-150D Savoy offers fine appointments including a Guild Bigsby tailpiece make for a distinctively cool look, and the dual Guild humbucking pickups with three-way upper-bout toggle switching provide a distinctively cool sound. The single-cutaway hollow body has an arched laminated spruce top with parallel tone bar bracing and stylish f holes, flame maple back and sides and stately black-and-white binding. The bound three-piece mahogany-maple-mahogany neck has a comfortable profile and a 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 20 medium jumbo frets and handsome pearl block inlays.
The compact Aristocrat-style hollowbody in the limited edition run of the GSR M-85 II Bass has a single laminated spruce arched top with parallel tone bar bracing, mahogany back and sides and stately black-and-white binding. The unbound three-piece mahogany-maple-mahogany neck has a comfortable profile and a 9.5”-radius rosewood fingerboard with 21 medium jumbo frets and mother-of-pearl dot inlays.
For more information:
Guild Guitars
“The Player II Series represents our continued evolution in design and functionality,” said Justin Norvell, EVP of Product, FMIC. “We listened to the feedback from musicians around the world and incorporated their insights to refine and innovate our instruments. The re-introduction of rosewood fingerboards is a restoration of the ‘original Fender recipe’ and will no doubt be a fan favorite - but we didn’t want to stop there. We’ve also incorporated our rolled fingerboard edges for a broken-in feel, upgraded hardware, and have some new body options as well- which underscores our commitment to providing players and creators with the tools they need to express their unique sound and style. The Player II Series is not just an upgrade, it's a detailed re-imagining of our core silhouettes, highlighting our dedication to quality and the continuous refinement of our instruments.”
Additionally, Player II offers new options for chambered ash and chambered mahogany bodies for the Player II Stratocaster and Telecaster models, which will be available in October. Designed for musicians ready to elevate their craft, the Player II Series sets a new standard for quality and performance in the mid-price range.
Fender Player II Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar - Coral Red
Fender Player II Jaguar Electric Guitar - Aquatone Blue
The 2018 CCL Deco Custom, in all its Pelham blue glory.
Anyway, we became friends and I started working on him pretty early—my 40th birthday was approaching, and that meant it was time for us to start designing his first solidbody build. If you stopped on this page, it’s because the photo of the finished product caught your eye. Beautiful, right? The 2018 CCL Deco Custom: Never shall there be another.
Old National Glenwood guitars were my design inspiration, but I wanted a slim waist like a PRS and the like. We used a solid block of korina to start, routed like MacGyver to get the knobs and switches where I wanted them. Dale builds all his own lathes and machines (usually out of lumber, y’all), as the task requires. This beast took some creativity—it’s tight wiring under that custom-steel pickguard. Many were the preliminary sketches. Four coats of Pelham blue, 11 coats of nitro. Honduran mahogany neck, Madagascar ebony fretboard with Dale’s signature not-quite-Super-400 inlays. He designed the logo; I just said, “Make it art deco.”
We sourced all the bits and bobs from StewMac and Allparts and Reverb and the like, mostly to get that chrome look I so adore. Graph Tech Ratio tuners, Duesenberg Radiator trem (had to order that one from Germany), TonePros TP6R-C roller bridge. The pickups were a genius suggestion from the builder, Guitarfetish plug ’n’ play 1/8" solderless swappable, which means I have about 10 pickups in the case to choose from: rockabilly to metal. And both slots are tapped, with the tone knobs serving as single- to double-coil switches. I put the selector on the lower horn to accommodate my tendency to accidentally flip the thing on Les Pauls—definite lifesaver.
Reader and guitar enthusiast, Cody Lindsey.
Dale offered to chamber this monster, but I said what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. It weighs in at 11 pounds, if it’s an ounce. We carved the neck to match a ’60s SG, so it’s like the mini bat you get at the ballpark on little kids’ day. Easy peasy. 1 11/16" nut, 25" scale, jumbo frets, just 2 1/8" at the 12th fret.
Delivery in its lovely, hygrometer-equipped Cedar Creek case actually happened a month or two shy of my 41st, but hey, you can’t rush these things. We ended up with a studio Swiss Army knife; it does a bit of everything and does it effortlessly. A looker, too. Dale didn’t spend his career doing this kind of thing—he was in IT or some such—and I imagine he’s winding this “hobby” of his down these days, enjoying retirement with a bottle of Killian’s and a lawn chair at Duluth Blues Fest. But this guitar will live on as a marker of his skill and otherworldly patience. It sits at the head of the class in my practice room, welcoming any visitors and bringing a smile to my face every day. And Dale, my friend, I’ll be 50 before you know it....
Cody requested that Dale design an art deco logo for the guitar’s headstock.