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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Maxon OD-9 Overdrive Pedal
The Maxon OD-9 Overdrive Effects Pedal may look like your old favorite but that's where the similarity ends. Improved circuitry with a new chip yields the ultra-smooth dynamic overdrive guitarists crave. Drive and Level controls tweak the intensity and volume while the Hi-Boost/Hi-Cut tone controls adjust brightness. Features true bypass switching, a die-cast zinc case, and 3-year warranty. From subtle cries to shattering screams, the Maxon OD-9 delivers a huge range of tones.
Features
Improved circuitry with a new chip yields ultra-smooth dynamic overdrive
Drive and Level controls tweak the intensity and volume
Hi Boost/Hi Cut tone controls adjust brightness
True bypass switching
Die-cast zinc case
AC/DC operation (order optional Maxon AC210N adapter)
Product Specs
Input: 1/4" mono jack
Output: 1/4" mono jack
Power: 9V DC, 6 mA, center pin minus (not included)
Dimensions: (WxDxH) 74 mm x 124 mm x 54 mm
Weight: 580g
Key Features of the ZOMA
● Intuitive Control Layout: Three large knobs give you full control over Reverb Level, Tremolo Rate,and Depth
● Easy Access to Alternate Controls: Adjust Reverb Decay, Reverb Tone, and Tremolo Volume withsimple alt-controls.
● Instant Effect Order Switching: Customize your signal path. Position tremolos after reverb for avintage, black-panel tone or place harmonic tremolo before reverb for a dirty, swampy sound.
● True Bypass or Buffered Trails: Choose the setting that best suits your rig.
Three Reverb and Tremolo Modes:
● SS – Spring Reverb & Sine Tremolo: Classic spring reverb paired with a sine wave tremolo for that timelessblack-panel amp tone.
● PH – Plate Reverb & Harmonic Tremolo: Smooth, bright plate reverb combined with swampy harmonictremolo.
● PV – Plate Reverb & Pitch Vibrato: Achieve a vocal-like vibrato with ethereal plate reverb.
Reverb: Sounds & Controls
● Spring Reverb: Authentic tube amp spring reverb that captures every detail of vintage sound.
● Plate Reverb: Bright and smooth, recreating the lush tones of vibrating metal plates.
● Reverb Decay: Adjust the decay time using the REVERB/ALT SWITCH while turning the Level knob.
● Reverb Tone: Modify the tone of your reverb using the REVERB/ALT SWITCH while turning the Rate knob.
Tremolo: Sounds & Controls
● Sine Wave/Volume Tremolo: Adjusts the volume of the signal up and down with smooth sine wavemodulation.
● Harmonic Tremolo: Replicates classic tube-amp harmonic tremolo, creating a phaser-like effect withphase-split filtering.
● Pitch Vibrato: Delivers pitch bending effects that let you control how far and how fast notes shift.
● Alt-Control Tremolo Boost Volume: Adjust the boost volume by holding the REVERB/ALT footswitch whileturning the Depth knob.
The ZOMA is built with artfully designed circuitry and housed in a proprietary angled aluminum enclosure, ensuring both simplicity and durability. Like all Keeley pedals, it’s proudly designed and manufactured in the USA.
ZOMA Stereo Reverb and Tremolo
The first sound effects built into amplifiers were tremolo and reverb. Keeley’s legendary reverbs are paired with their sultry, vocal-like tremolos to give you an unreal sonic experience.
Stevie Ray Vaughan was a force of nature. With his “Number One” Strat, he drove a veritable trove of amps—including vintage Fenders, a rotating Vibratone cab, and a Dumble—to create one of the most compelling tones of all, capable of buttery warmth, percussive pick articulation, and cathartic, screaming excess. As he drew upon an endless well of deeply informed blues guitar vocabulary, his creativity on the instrument seemingly knew no bounds.
Your 100 Guitarists hosts are too young to have experienced SRV live. We’ve spent decades with the records, live bootlegs, and videos, but we’ll never know quite how it felt to be in the room with SRV’s guitar sound. So, we’d like to spend some time imagining: How did it feel when it hit you? How did he command his band, Double Trouble? The audience?
SRV was mythical. His heavy-gauge strings tore up his fingers and made a generation of blues guitarists work a lot harder. And his wall of amps seems finely curated to push as much air in all directions as possible. How far did he take it? Was he fine-tuning his amps to extreme degrees? Or could he get his sound out of anything he plugged into?
