1999 Guild X-150D Hollowbody Electric Guitar

Let's get to the basics, first -- this is a well-made, great-sounding, great-feeling, US-built guitar. It handles and feels like an old Guild archtop electric blended with a bit of a late-'60s ES-175 vibe. It's a beaut.

That said -- oh dang is Guild production confusing at the point of time this one was made! It bears a Corona, CA label and serial number that suggests a 1999 build date, though it could be early-'00s as well. Fender had taken-over in '95 and while the acoustics were still being made in Westerly, RI at the old Guild factory, it seems that electric production had already moved to Corona by the time this was made. By '01 the Westerly factory was closed and by '04 there were no more Guild electrics being made in the States.

On to this guitar: it's lovely. A local friend of mine has owned it since new and he played it as a straight-up rhythm box with flatwound 12s on it. I only had to do "glorified setup" work to it to get it bang-on and ready for sale -- as he's letting it go since he no longer plays anywhere plugged-in.

It's all-original, quite clean, and only shows the most minor of usewear via a few light scratches here and there and slightly hardware discoloration/plating wear. It plays fast and easy and the geometry is all happy. I've currently got it strung-up "rock style" with roundwound 11s with a plain G. The pickups are humbuckers but they seem to bit a bit lower-wind and have a more classic-sounding jangle and sparkle that's really nice. You can definitely dig into them to get a bit of the PAF sound but they're not your typical "modern day" blanket-over-the-amp-sounding jazz pickups with no high-end. They're almost FilterTron-like in a way.

Repairs included: a fret level/dress (mild), cleaning, tailpiece re-hang (it was a little out of alignment with the string path), and setup.


Body wood: ply flamed maple

Bridge: rosewood base, TOM-style top

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: maple

Pickups: 2x Guild-style humbucker


Action height at 12th fret: 1/16" overall (fast, quick)
String gauges: 52w, 38w, 28w, 18, 14, 11

Neck shape: slim-med C

Board radius: ~12"

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: medium


Scale length: 24 3/4"

Nut width: 1 11/16"

Body width: 15 3/4"

Body depth: 3" + arching


Condition notes: it's pretty clean and all-original. There are a few very minor light scratches on the headstock veneer (string-end slipping) and a little light wear to the plating on some of the hardware.


It comes with: its original, hard, TKL case.




















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