SOLD!!! Guild X-500 Archtop Electric Sunburst, 1960

Here’s a beautiful piece of functional art – from 1960, a Guild X-500 Archtop electric in original condition and very playable!

The Guild Guitar company was formed in New York 1951 by jazz guitarist and musical retailer Alfred Dronge and George Mann, ex-Epiphone executive. Most of the staff were also ex-Epiphone employees who did not follow the company from New York to Philadelphia, a move sparked by a four-month strike. Following Dronge’s interest in Jazz, the new Guild models focused on professional grade archtops. By 1956, growth forced Guild to move to larger premises in nearby Hoboken, New Jersey.

Here we’re looking at a Guild X-500, a single-cutaway, fully hollow 17 inch wide archtop electric model built from 1953 to 1995. This example dates to 1960 and comes from the Hoboken plant. Intended as an electric model, Guild followed the pattern of using laminate woods for the body to reduce feedback. The top is laminate Spruce, the sides and back laminate figured Maple. The neck is built of five pieces of Maple and Walnut, and has an Ebony fingerboard with distinctive V-block position markers of Abalone and Mother of Pearl. The bound headstock uses an ‘open-book’ design that looks rather influenced by Gibson. The height-adjustable bridge is Ebony.

For hardware, the Guild X-500 of this period uses very good German-made gold plated Kolb tuners, a very nice harp tailpiece, and a pair of Fransch single coil pickups made in Woodside, NY. These feed through a standard wiring of pickup selector and individual volume and tone controls.

This guitar is in overall good condition, with some expected wear to the nitrocellulose lacquer sunburst finish. The heel cap was re-glued long ago, and unfortunately a bit of glue dripped onto the finish, leaving a small mark. Fret wear is moderate, and the guitar – presently strung with flatwounds – plays well.

The original brown Guild branded hard shell case is included.