As part of Guild's 70th anniversary and in collaboration with Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Guild Guitars introduces the all-new Thayil x Guild range of signature S-100 Polara models.
Hitting the streets in early September 2023, these guitars bring Thayil’s preferred specs and design elements to the famous Polara line, his instrument of choice for over 3 decades. "We’ve been talking about doing this together for many years and are excited to finally bring these guitars to life,” adds Guild President, Jonathan Thomas. “It's hard to look at a Polara and not think of Kim, his influence in music, and long connection to his Guilds.”
Guild Polara Kim Thayil Signature Demo | First Look
The lineup includes 2 models, the flagship USA Artist Edition S-100 Polara Kim Thayil as well as the Polara Kim Thayil, a production model that will street at $899. The USA Artist Edition is a limited run of 30 master-built guitars coming out of Guild’s California facility that feature an aged old-growth Honduran Mahogany body and neck, Guild’s 70's era enlarged headstock with slim neck shape, bound Indian Rosewood fingerboard with Mother of Pearl block inlays, Grover Original Rotomatics tuners, and custom Guild USA HB-1 Humbuckers hand wound by master pickup maker Jason Lollar. Additional features include a reproduction Guild/Mueller style bridge and compensated stopbar tailpiece, phase switch, Soundgarden "King Animal" truss rod cover, "Badmotorfinger" back cover hand-signed by Kim Thayil, and a white nitrocellulose gloss finish. Each guitar comes with a custom case and a numbered Certificate of Authenticity hand-signed by Kim Thayil, commemorating a timeless connection between artist and instrument.
The Polara Kim Thayil model brings Thayil’s signature design elements to a model that sits in Guild’s more accessible Newark St. Collection, including a Mahogany body and set neck with Guild's distinctive '70s large headstock with Chesterfield Inlay. Vintage correct HB-1 Humbuckers, complete with Alnico II magnets and phase switch, reproduce Kim's signature tones. A bound Rosewood fingerboard with Pearloid block inlays, a Tune-o-Matic bridge, Guild compensated stopbar tailpiece, multi-ply pickguard, Soundgarden "King Animal" truss rod cover and "Badmotorfinger" signature back cover, and gold hardware round out each signature instrument.
Visit www.guildguitars.com to learn more about this exciting new collaboration between Kim Thayil and Guild Guitars, and to see the company’s complete range of instruments.
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For over five decades, audiences worldwide have marveled at Baxter’s inimitable and instantly recognizable guitar playing and generational songcraft. His output spans classic records as a founding member of Steely Dan and member of the Doobie Brothers in addition to hundreds of recordings with the likes of Donna Summer, Cher, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton, and many more. During 2022, he initially unveiled Speed of Heat, showcasing yet another side of his creative identity and introducing himself as a solo artist.
On the Storytellers Edition, his fascinating commentary pulls the curtain back on both the process and the message of the music. This version traces the journey to Speed of Heat and its core inspirations as shared directly by Baxter in the form of detailed anecdotes, candid stories, and insightful commentary on every track.
The 12-songalbum, co-produced by Baxter and CJ Vanston, is a riveting and rewarding musical experience that features a host of brilliantly crafted originals co-written by the guitarist and Vanston, as well as inspired versions of some of the great classics. Along the way, Baxter is joined by guest vocalists and songwriters Michael McDonald, Clint Black, Jonny Lang and Rick Livingstone. Baxter notably handled lead vocals on his rendition of Steely Dan’s “My Old School.” Other standouts include "Bad Move" co-written by Baxter, Clint Black, and CJ Vanston, and “My Place In The Sun”, sung by Michael McDonald and co-authored by McDonald, Baxter and Vanston.
As one of the most recorded guitarists of his generation, Baxter’s creative and versatile playing has been heard on some of the most iconic songs in music history, including “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton and “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer.
The stunningly diverse collection of material on Speed of Heat presents a 360-degree view of the uniquely gifted musician.
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If 3 Were 6
With six times the controls found on the 1 and 2 versions (if you discount the original’s on/off slider switch,) the LPB-3’s control complement offers pre-gain, boost, mid freq, bass, treble, and mid knobs, with a center detent on the latter three so you can find the midpoint easily. A mini-toggle labeled “max” selects between 20 dB and 33 dB of maximum gain, and another labeled “Q” flips the resonance of the mid EQ between high and low. Obviously, this represents a significant expansion of the LPB’s capabilities.
More than just a booster with a passive tone, the LPB-3 boasts a genuine active EQ stage plus parametric midrange section, comprising the two knobs with shaded legends, mid freq and mid level. The gain stages have also been reimagined to include a pre-gain stage before the EQ, which enables up to 20 dB of input gain. The boost stage that follows the EQ is essentially a level control with gain to allow for up to 33 dB of gain through the LPB-3 when the “max” mini toggle is set to 33dB
A slider switch accessible inside the pedal selects between buffered or true bypass for the hard-latch footswitch. An AC adapter is included, which supplies 200mA of DC at 9.6 volts to the center-negative power input, and EHX specifies that nothing supplying less than 120mA or more than 12 volts should be used. There’s no space for an internal battery.
Power-Boosted
The LPB-3 reveals boatloads of range that betters many linear boosts on the market. There’s lots of tone-shaping power here. Uncolored boost is available when you want it, and the preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.
“The preamp gain knob colors and fattens your signal as you crank it up—even before you tap into the massive flexibility in the EQ stage.”
I found the two mid controls work best when used judiciously, and my guitars and amps preferred subtle changes pretty close to the midpoint on each. However, there are still tremendous variations in your mid boost (or scoop, for that matter) within just 15 or 20 percent range in either direction from the center detent. Pushing the boost and pre-gain too far, particularly with the 33 dB setting engaged, can lead to some harsh sounds, but they are easy to avoid and might even be desirable for some users that like to work at more creative extremes.
The Verdict
The new LPB-3 has much, much more range than its predecessors, providing flexible preamp, boost, and overdrive sounds that can be reshaped in significant ways via the powerful EQ. It gives precise tone-tuning flexibility to sticklers that like to match a guitar and amp to a song in a very precise way, but also opens up more radical paths for experimentalists. That it does all this at a $129 price is beyond reasonable.
Electro-Harmonix Lpb-3 Linear Power Booster & Eq Effect Pedal Silver And Blue
