The Guild Guitar Company is a United States-based guitar manufacturer founded in 1952. The rare S-200 Thunderbird solid body electric was used by Muddy Waters and The Lovin' Spoonful's Zal Yanovsky. Inspired by seeing Muddy.
In the collective guitar unconscious, is rightfully considered an acoustic brand first. Guild electrics are usually thought of as hollowbodies, like the seen all over the late-'60s Haight-Ashbury. Collector interest has forced skyrocketing prices on vintage specimens, which is likely what prompted the new reissue.While not a totally 'out there' design by later standards, this guitar was certainly something different in 1963.In one of my favorite examples of failed guitar innovations, these instruments actually included a built-in kickstand on the back. This may have something to do with how many vintage examples get listed with repaired headstocks.Take a look at our recent demo of the newly here. Guild S-300The Guild and were the two base models in a wider series that debuted in 1976.Other entries include the and, all of which were produced with varying wood and pickup configurations.
A number of basses were also built using the same basic shape, such as the.When examined from the right angle, the S-300 and its variants bring new meaning to the term axe. For decades, these fat-bottomed girls hung dormant on pawnshop walls or neglected in suburban basements. But - like with many other Guild guitars - more and more collectors are starting to take notice.S-100 with Acorn Carvings 1974 - 1977. Acorn engravings on a Guild S-100There's nothing too outrageous about the baseline S-100 save for a short stint in the '70s when the model and its bass counterpart, the JS-II, were marketed with this amazing acorn and leaf engraving on the body.These guitars crop up periodically on Reverb with a look that falls somewhere between charming and gaudy.
You can decide where. In production from 1974 to 1977, these festively adorned models seem like something that would fit in well with grandma's Christmas decorations.X-79 Skyhawk 1981 - 1986Looking at Guild's output across different eras, it's clear that the company has never been bashful about embracing prevailing trends. Nowhere is this more evident than the X series solidbodies of the 1980s.The gangly, pubescent prince of '80s Guilds is undoubtedly the (and its reversed counterpart, the X-80 Skylark). No doubt these guitars were designed in response to the growing popularity of Explorers and other angular metal axes of the day.
Beyond the lopsided starburst body shape and shredworthy hardware, you often find these guitars with quirky striped and sparkled finishes. Guild X-100 BladerunnerMore or less all of the X series Guilds could find a place of honor in this post, but to round things out, we present the.Arguably not even a solidbody guitar, Guild collaborated with a firm called David Andrew Design Research on the prototype of this model. They produced around 100 examples between 1984 and 1985. A similar concept could be seen with later guitars from Schecter as well as Gibson's limited edition 'Holy Explorer' from 2009.Other Guild Solidbody GuitarsWe could spend all day going through the many Guild solidbodies. The above selection is in no way comprehensive. For now we'll leave you with a smattering of other models that are just as intriguing and just as forgotten as those mentioned above.
If you love the blues—in its original, primal, raw and uncompromising form—it doesn’t get any better than watching Muddy Waters work his mojo with his top-notch bands. Classic Concerts offers more than an hour-and-a-half of previously unreleased footage of Waters performing at three festivals: the Newport Jazz Festival in 1960, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 1968, and the Molde, Norway, Jazz Festival in 1977. Because this collection documents a 17-year span of his illustrious career, we get to track the evolution of his music over time, including his band personnel, his guitars and slide tone, and his interpretations of such classics as “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Got My Mojo Working,” which he performs in all three shows. Shot in grainy black-and-white film in an outdoor setting, the 1960 Newport concert captures Waters at the start of his nascent festival career, so it reveals how he and his band (which includes the immortal Otis Spann on piano and James Cotton on harp) must have sounded in the steamy Chicago clubs where they forged this brand of electric blues in the late ’40s and early ’50s. Attired in suits, the chief and his sharp-dressed, swaying cohorts lay down a deep blues groove that must have sounded radical at the time, especially to those attuned to folk and jazz. We see the integrated crowd go wild with appreciation and Waters responds accordingly. Little Richard and Chuck Berry may be the fathers of rock and roll, but when it comes to creating the prototype of a pulsing electric ensemble, this is it.
Plucking a capoed, blonde ’57 Tele with his bare fingertips, Waters leads his outfit through five swinging tunes, egged on by the raucous crowd. The 1968 Copenhagen show boasts beautifully crisp black-and-white footage with the depth and detail of a fine-art photograph, as well as equally detailed audio. Seated in a concert hall, this Danish audience is much more sedate, but Waters’ band swings relentlessly nonetheless. Wielding his rare single-coil model Guild Thunderbird (the band’s other two guitarists and bassist are also equipped with Guild axes) and sporting a thumbpick and index fingerpick, Waters cruises through eight classics—including his signature “Long Distance Call”—accompanied by another crack band steered by Otis Spann. Waters’ slide sounds fat and sassy, and Luther “Snake Boy” Johnson backs his boss with biting lead licks.The final 1977 concert in Molde, Norway, is filmed in color, and has the richest sonics of the lot.
Sitting to play his ’57 Tele (now painted red and equipped with a rosewood-on-maple neck), Waters leads the band with the relaxed, confident demeanor of an elder statesman. This classic lineup, which by now had been gigging as a unit for three years, features Pinetop Perkins on piano, and guitarists Bob Margolin and Luther “Guitar” Johnson, both armed with Strats. When Johnson solos, his supple, gracefully sculpted lines evoke both Kenny Burrell and B.B. As bonus material, Classic Concerts includes two interviews with Waters (taped in 1972 and 1977) and a band performance recorded in ’77 in London. Insightful liner notes by Margolin round out this magnificent production.