Scottsdale, AZ (January 24, 2013) – Guild is proud to announce the Newark St. Collection, the return of eight 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.
Newark St. models are handcrafted instruments with authentic Guild electric tone and superior feel. Premium features include authentic Guild body shapes, arch radii and neck profiles; authentic vintage-style pickups and hardware; improved playing action ideal for today’s alternative styles; and more.
The elegant tone quality and design of the A-150 Savoy guitar will bring real satisfaction of ownership to the most critical player. A truly outstanding acoustic/electric, the A-150 Savoy is a pleasure to see and hear, pairing a wonderfully free-playing late-1950s Guild orchestra model with the distinctive addition of an exceptionally voiced DeArmond 1000 floating pickup. Features include a 17” x 3.25” hollow body, solid spruce top, curly maple back and sides, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, 24.75” scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 20 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid block inlays, DeArmond 1000 floating pickup, pickguard-mount volume control, compensated rosewood bridge, Guild “harp” tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Antique Burst and Blonde finishes. Also available in Blonde as the A-150B Savoy.
A strikingly beautiful and musically exceptional guitar, the X-175 Manhattan is an outstanding example of professional Guild tone, responsiveness and versatility. With its gracefully sculpted and richly resonant hollow body, rock-solid three-piece neck and electrifying dual single-coil pickups, it evokes the enchanting Guild Manhattan model of the 1950s and ’60s. Features include a 17” x 3.25” hollow body, laminated spruce top, maple back and sides, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, 24.75” scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 20 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid block inlays, dual single-coil pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, rosewood bridge, Guild “harp” tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Antique Burst finish.
An extraordinary instrument for the swinging soloist and technician, Guild’s X-175B Manhattan is a masterpiece of the guitar maker’s art. It presents the same exceptional appointments as its brother, the X-175, including a gracefully sculpted hollow body, rock-solid three-piece neck and electrifying dual single-coil pickups, but also features the addition of a Guild Bigsby vibrato tailpiece. Features include a 17” x 3.25” hollow body, laminated spruce top, maple back and sides, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, 24.75” scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 20 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid block inlays, dual single-coil pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, Adjusto-Matic bridge on rosewood base, Guild Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Blonde finish.
Guild’s compact and lightweight M-75 Aristocrat model expertly evokes its predecessor of the early 1950s, with a gracefully sculpted single-cutaway hollow body specifically designed to produce the resonance of a larger instrument. Other premium features include a comfortable and rock-solid three-piece neck and the tonal magnificence of dual single-coil pickups. Features include a 13.5” x 2” hollow body, laminated spruce top, laminated mahogany back and sides, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, 24.75” scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 22 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid block inlays, dual single-coil pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, Adjusto-Matic bridge, Guild “harp” tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and gold-plated hardware. Available in Antique Burst finish.
Guild’s Starfire III is equipped with features of extra advantage to the rock ‘n’ roll guitarist who seeks a combination of flashy appearance and extraordinary tonal possibilities. Stellar features are all here, including the extra-thin hollow body and graceful single Florentine cutaway. The welcome return of a rocking early-’60s favorite with a personality all its own. Features include a 16 3/8” x 2” hollow body, laminated mahogany top, back and sides, 24.75” scale length, one-piece mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 20 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid dot inlays, dual “anti-hum” pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, Adjusto-Matic bridge on rosewood base, Guild Bigsby vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Cherry Red finish.
This marks the welcome return of a highly popular semi-hollow Guild classic, with a graceful double-cutaway thinline body and incomparable tone and feel. The original Starfire IV was prized by many guitarists from the mid-1960s onward as a distinctively rocking instrument, and its spirit and design pervade this new model. Other premium features include a rock-solid three-piece neck and special vintage-style “anti-hum” pickups. Features include a 16 3/8” x 2” semi-hollow body, laminated mahogany top, back and sides, 24.75” scale length, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with 9.45” radius and 22 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid dot inlays, dual “anti-hum” pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, Adjusto-Matic bridge on rosewood base, Guild “harp” tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Cherry Red finish.
From the jangle of the Byrds to the psychedelia of Jefferson Airplane to countless other acts, many sounds of the ’60s were underpinned by the deep and indispensable sound of the Starfire bass, and players can now enjoy that rich sound and feel once again. Guild’s new Starfire Bass has it all—the extra-thin semi-hollow body, the elegant double-cutaway design and a single powerful Bi-Sonic pickup. Features include a 16 3/8” x 2” semi-hollow body, laminated mahogany top, back and sides, 30.5” scale length, three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard with 12” radius and 21 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid dot inlays, single Bi-Sonic pickup, single volume and tone controls, Guild “harp” combination bridge/tailpiece, finger and thumb rests, Grover tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Cherry Red finish.
Guild style from the ’70s is back and better than ever with the return of the solid-body S-100 Polara guitar. With its solid and slightly offset mahogany body, the new S-100 evokes its esteemed and hard-rocking predecessor of more than 40 years ago. Responsive and versatile, it also features a distinctive 24.75” scale, rock-solid mahogany neck and a potent pair of “anti-hum” pickups. Features include a solid mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck, 24.75” scale length, rosewood fingerboard with 12” radius and 22 “vintage tall” frets, pearloid block inlays, dual “anti-hum” pickups, three-way pickup toggle switch, two volume and two tone controls, Adjusto-Matic bridge, Guild “stop” tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite tuning machines and nickel-plated hardware. Available in Cherry Red finish.
For more information:
www.guildguitars.com
Onstage, Tommy Emmanuel executes a move that is not from the playbook of his hero, Chet Atkins.
“My biggest decision every day on tour is, ‘What do I want to start with? How do I want to come out of the gate?’” Emmanuel explains to me over a video call. “A good opener has to have everything. It has to be full of surprise, it has to have lots of good ideas, lots of light and shade, and then, hit it again,” he says, illustrating each phrase with his hands and ending with a punch.“You lift off straightaway with the first song, you get airborne, you start reaching, and then it’s time to level out and take people on a journey.”
In May 2023, Emmanuel played two shows at the Sydney Opera House, the best performances from which have been combined on his new release, Live at the Sydney Opera House. The venue’s Concert Hall, which has a capacity of 2,679, is a familiar room for Emmanuel, but I think at this point in his career he wouldn’t bring a setlist if he was playing Wembley Stadium. On the recording, Emmanuel’s mind-blowingly dexterous chops, distinctive attack and flair, and knack for culturally resonant compositions are on full display. His opening song for the shows? An original, “Countrywide,” with a segue into Chet Atkins’ “El Vaquero.”
“When I was going to high school in the ’60s, I heard ‘El Vaquero’ on Chet Atkins’ record, [1964’s My Favorite Guitars],” Emmanuel shares. “And when I wrote ‘Countrywide’ in around ’76 or ’77, I suddenly realized, ‘Ah! It’s a bit like “El Vaquero!”’ So I then worked out ‘El Vaquero’ as a solo piece, because it wasn’t recorded like that [by Atkins originally].
“The co-writer of ‘El Vaquero’ is Wayne Moss, who’s a famous Nashville session guy who played ‘da da da’ [sings the guitar riff from Roy Orbison’s ‘Pretty Woman’]. And he played on a lot of Chet’s records as a rhythm guy. So once when I played ‘El Vaquero’ live, Wayne Moss came up to me and said, ‘You know, you did my part and Chet’s at the same time. That’s not fair!’” Emmanuel says, laughing.
Atkins is the reason Emmanuel got into performing. His mother had been teaching him rhythm guitar for a couple years when he heard Atkins on the radio and, at 6, was able to immediately mimic his fingerpicking technique. His father recognized Emmanuel’s prodigious talent and got him on the road that year, which kicked off his professional career. He says, “By the time I was 6, I was already sleep-deprived, working too hard, and being forced to be educated. Because all I was interested in was playing music.”
Emmanuel talks about Atkins as if the way he viewed him as a boy hasn’t changed. The title Atkins bestowed upon him, C.G.P. (Certified Guitar Player), appears on Emmanuel’s album covers, in his record label (C.G.P. Sounds), and is inlaid at the 12th fret on his Maton Custom Shop TE Personal signature acoustic. (Atkins named only five guitarists C.G.P.s. The others are John Knowles, Steve Wariner, Jerry Reed, and Atkins himself.) For Emmanuel, even today most roads lead to Atkins.
When I ask Emmanuel about his approach to arranging for solo acoustic guitar, he says, “It was really hit home for me by my hero, Chet Atkins, when I read an interview with him a long time ago and he said, ‘Make your arrangement interesting.’ And I thought, ‘Wow!’ Because I was so keen to be true to the composer and play the song as everyone knows it. But then again, I’m recreating it like everyone else has, and I might as well get in line with the rest of them and jump off the cliff into nowhere. So it struck me: ‘How can I make my arrangements interesting?’ Well, make them full of surprises.”
When Emmanuel was invited to contribute to 2015’s Burt Bacharach: This Guitar’s in Love with You, featuring acoustic-guitar tributes to Bacharach’s classic compositions by various artists, Emmanuel expresses that nobody wanted to take “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” due to its “syrupy” nature. But for Emmanuel, this presented an entertaining challenge.
He explains, “I thought, ‘Okay, how can I reboot “Close to You?’ So even the most jaded listener will say, ‘Holy fuck—I didn’t expect that! Wow, I really like that; that is a good melody!’ So I found a good key to play the song in, which allowed me to get some open notes that sustain while I move the chords. Then what I did is, in every phrase, I made the chord unresolve, then resolve.
Tommy Emmanuel's Gear
“I’m writing music for the film that’s in my head,” Emmanuel says. “So, I don’t think, ‘I’m just the guitar,’ ever.”
Photo by Simone Cecchetti
Guitars
- Three Maton Custom Shop TE Personals, each with an AP5 PRO pickup system
Amps
- Udo Roesner Da Capo 75
Effects
- AER Pocket Tools preamp
Strings & Picks
- Martin TE Signature Phosphor Bronze (.012–.054)
- Martin SP strings
- Ernie Ball Paradigm strings
- D’Andrea Pro Plec 1.5 mm
- Dunlop medium thumbpicks
“And then to really put the nail in the coffin, at the end, ‘Close to you’ [sings melody]. I finished on a major 9 chord which had that note in it, but it wasn’t the key the song was in, which is a typical Stevie Wonder trick. All the tricks I know, the wonderful ideas that I’ve stolen, are from Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, James Taylor, Carole King, Neil Diamond. All of the people who wrote really incredibly great pop songs and R&B music—I stole every idea I could, and I tried to make my little two-and-a -half minutes as interesting and entertaining as possible. Because entertainment equals: Surprise me.”
I share with Emmanuel that the performances on Live at the Sydney Opera House, which include his popular “Beatles Medley,” reminded me of another possible arrangement trick. In Harpo Marx’s autobiography, Harpo Speaks, I preface, Marx writes of a lesson he learned as a performer—to “answer the audience’s questions.” (Emmanuel says he’s a big fan of the book and read it in the early ’70s.) That happened for me while listening to the medley, when, after sampling melodies from “She’s a Woman” and “Please Please Me,” Emmanuel suddenly lands on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”
I say, “I’m waiting for something that hits more recognizably to me, and when ‘While My Guitar’ comes in, that’s like answering my question.”
“It’s also Paul and John, Paul and John, George,” Emmanuel replies. “You think, ‘That’s great, that’s great pop music,’ then, ‘Wow! Look at the depth of this.’”
Often Emmanuel’s flights on his acoustic guitar are seemingly superhuman—as well as supremely entertaining.
Photo by Ekaterina Gorbacheva
A trick I like to employ as a writer, I say to Emmanuel, is that when I’m describing something, I’ll provide the reader with just enough context so that they can complete the thought on their own.
“You can do that musically as well,” says Emmanuel. He explains how, in his arrangement of “What a Wonderful World,” he’ll play only the vocal melody. “When people are asking me at a workshop, ‘How come you don’t put chords behind that part?’ I say, ‘I’m drawing the melody and you’re putting in all the background in your head. I don’t need to tell you what the chords are. You already know what the chords are.’”
“Wayne Moss came up to me and said, ‘You know, you did my part and Chet’s at the same time. That’s not fair!’”
Another track featured on Live at the Sydney Opera House is a cover of Paul Simon’s “American Tune” (which Emmanuel then jumps into an adaptation of the Australian bush ballad, “Waltzing Matilda”). It’s been a while since I really spent time with There GoesRhymin’ Simon (on which “American Tune” was first released), and yet it sounded so familiar to me. A little digging revealed that its melody is based on the 17th-century Christian hymn, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” which was arranged and repurposed by Bach in a few of the composer’s works. The cross-chronological and genre-lackadaisical intersections that come up in popular music sometimes is fascinating.
“I think the principle right there,” Emmanuel muses, “is people like Bach and Beethoven and Mozart found the right language to touch the heart of a human being through their ears and through their senses ... that really did something to them deep in their soul. They found a way with the right chords and the right notes, somehow. It could be as primitive as that.
Tommy Emmanuel has been on the road as a performing guitarist for 64 years. Eat your heart out, Bob Dylan.
Photo by Jan Anderson
“It’s like when you’re a young composer and someone tells you, ‘Have a listen to Elton John’s “Candle in the Wind,”’ he continues. “‘Listen to how those notes work with those chords.’ And every time you hear it, you go, ‘Why does it touch me like that? Why do I feel this way when I hear those chords—those notes against those chords?’ I say, it’s just human nature. Then you wanna go, ‘How can I do that!’” he concludes with a grin.
“You draw from such a variety of genres in your arrangements,” I posit. “Do you try to lean into the side of converting those songs to solo acoustic guitar, or the side of bridging the genre’s culture to that of your audience?”
“I stole every idea I could, and I tried to make my little two-and-a-half minutes as interesting and entertaining as possible. Because entertainment equals: Surprise me.”
“If I was a method actor,” Emmanuel explains, “what I’m doing is—I’m writing music for the film that’s in my head. So, I don’t think, ‘I’m just the guitar,’ ever. I always think it has to have that kind of orchestral, not grandeur, but … palette to it. Because of the influence of Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and Elton John, especially—the piano guys—I try to use piano ideas, like putting the third in the low bass a lot, because guitar players don’t necessarily do that. And I try to always do something that makes what I do different.
“I want to be different and recognizable,” he continues. “I remember when people talked about how some players—you just hear one note and you go, ‘Oh, that’s Chet Atkins.’ And it hit me like a train, the reason why a guy like Hank Marvin, the lead guitar player from the Shadows.... I can tell you: He had a tone that I hear in other players now. Everyone copied him—they just don’t know it—including Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, all those people. I got him up to play with me a few times when he moved to Australia, and even playing acoustic, he still had that sound. I don’t know how he did it, but it was him. He invented himself.”
YouTube It
Emmanuel performs his arrangement of “What a Wonderful World,” illustrating how omitting a harmonic backdrop can have a more powerful effect, especially when playing such a well-known melody.
