Guild Artist Award

I have a 1978 & 1980 natural finish stock with DeArmond floating pickup & single volume control
I use DR. THOMASTIC strings, coumpound wound .014 to .057 on the 1978,
& flat wound .014 to .057 (GEO BENSON) on the 1980
it has the large shaft imperial tuners

Playing 40'S to 60'S Jazz usually through an Ampeg Jet sounds perfect.
Usually volume on guitar at 3 for chords & 5 for solo is not noisy.
The 1980 is warmer & sounds great recording, the 1978 is brighter &
cuts through a crowded room better. Picking light with higer volume setting is very warm, while picking harder with low volume setting is brighter more or a Charlie Christian sound

fit finish etc. as good as it gets
the top parrallel braces on the 1978 are symetrical while the 1980 is
somewhat asymetrical which may account for the tone difference

virtually bullet proof

been playing 35 years have other jazz guitars more expensive but not
really any better
I feel they are both superior to the newer models that are shallower, have some sort of humbucking pickup, & have smaller tuners & headstock.
Purchased the first one on appearance, played one gig on it & it became my main ax ever since & purchased the second one as a backup soon after.

My AA was built in 1979. I just got it, luckily, last week. It is in super mint, never been played condition. The tiger maple back is just exquisite. the carved spruce top has very tight, fine grain. I also own a 1973 Guild F50R and the craftsmanship is very fine. The fingerboard on both guitars is identical. It has the gold plated D'Armond pickup, harp tailpiece, and art deco tuners. The case is also very similar to that of my F50R with blue plush interior. It has all teh features a serious guitarist needs. After one week of ownership, it is already starting to open up, sound-wise, after sitting in the case for 25 years. I am blessed :-)

This guitar sounds wonderful acoustically: very nice balance all over the fingerboard, perhaps a bit more in the midrange depending on how I push it. It sounds amazing through an SWR Wrokingmans 10 and California Blonde. I was very surprise to hear how nice it soubded with my Crate Limo amp too.

Guild made very fine guitars in the 50s-70s. The woods are spectacular, the matching superb, the finish ditto.

I'm really looking forward to gigiung with this new axe :-) It is a pro piece of workmanship.

I've been playing for 40 years. I am so very pleased to have this blonde beauty and feel very fortunate that it fell into my hands.

If it had fine long legs and a nice rack, I'd . . . . ;-) As it is, she's all mine!

late 50's model , unsure about year, Serial number in F-hole: AA-104 supposedly the 4th model created by Alfred Dronge, Luthier

I presume it has a solide spruce AAAA German Top, dark cherry sunburst, it has been re-finished so the value has dropped, however it's a decent job and it mirrors the original finish, the finish has "checked" as well being nitrose celliouse ...I'm not sure what the sides and back are probably maple wood...body type like a Gibson L-5

Original pickup was a "floating" DeArmond with the mini plug, this has been modified with the mounted Bill Lawrence "Silencer" pick up that was givin to me when I purchased this guitar. I opted to customize the guitar so I could actually play it, the cord to the DeArmond and the connect were in bad shape as also the DeArmond was very microphonic and would feedback very badly; it had a great tone at very low level. The Bill Lawrence "Silencer" was made by Bill in the early seventies when he still made them in his garage. The pickup was hardwired and now could be plugged by way of a standard 1/4" plug at the tail piece peg or right stap peg! The guitar was refinished and I needed to have one to play for jazz at the time, so you hardcores :::lay off! I can restore this baby, back to the polishing cloth if need be...the person I bought this from was the original owner who purchased directly from Alfred Dronge at the NAMM show in the late 50's I was told; and he kept everything , strap , case cover, case , acoustic pickguard, down to the polishing cloth!

Now that that's over: ebony fretboard, custom inlay , huge headstock with grand mother of peal inlay with the classic artist award insignia, original grover tuner, 24 carat hardware including the famous guild tailpiece , ebony one cut bridge, bone nut, Jumbo frets (I had seven frets put in) very stable neck set and stays in tune very well

I gave this one a 9 only becuase it doesn't sport a tone control , although it wasn't designed to have one

I don't take this one out on gigs anymore, it's too precious to me since I purchased this from my "retired" guitar teacher, he had alot of folks intrested in it but he choose me becauase he didn't want a collector to have it, a young student player in the community!

Very fun to play , I had a run into John Pisano ledendary Jazz Player who had a 1999 Artist Award and we compared them, he said that mine played like a DeAngelica , however; the 99 model had not matched up in the area of the neck binding and action on the neck..

The guitar was designed to play acoustically or amplified via the mounted neck pickup --DeArmond so this guitar was made alot for a western swing or Big Band ala Freddie Green , or combo playing ligthly amplified. This guitar sounds great acoustically lots of brights and chunky low end with "snap" , great percussive sounds for Big Bands --- remember Freedie Green didn't use amplication and you could still hear him!

Like I said the finish on mine was "re-finished" in early 89 and "checked" in winter of 91!

I use Dean Markley Jazz Strings on this one with a .12 on the top , it sounds great , but like I said I opted with the neck mounted Bill Lawrence "silencer" hand wound by bill himself in early 70 or 71

The guitar feels like a dream ...everything you would want in a Archtop, but I realize I'm holding a piece of Guild history!

I gave this one a 8 since mine was re-finished, but I'm sure the original dark cherry sunburst was incredible!

This guitar was played alot my teacher said it has seen very cold and hot over the years he played it...I remember this was the guitar he used when he tought me , sounds corny ; but it's true....the guitar is very stable I got this guitar because I was studying Jazz at college , I needed a archtop , so this is what I got; I didn't realize how valuable this guitar was until later, now I use it for Studio sessions mainly since when I bring it out to a jazz gig it becomes a conversation piece , so I try to keep a low profile with it...

Guild did offer a lifetime warranty, but I don't think it was transferable

Simply , a unbelievable archtop , only a DeAngelica or a pre-war Gibson L-5 could even Rival this guitar...

1992 AA with the soapbar type pickup. Solid carved top. All original. The guitar is beautiful and sounds great. I has the original Grover tuners which stay in tune day after day. The pickup has only a volume control on the pick guard but could use a tone control as well. Neck is excellent with a minimum of relief. The guitar came with flatwounds but I changed to roundwounds which I haven't used in ten years. The acoustic sound with the round .012s is great! Loud and balanced. There are 2 high frets which I plan to level but otherwise a great playing instrument.

Soundwise the best instrument I've ever owned. Acoustically sounds excellent. Jimmy Bruno played the guitar and was impressed by the acoustic sound. Amplified, the sound is certainly acceptable played through a Polytone Minibrute. Nice floating pickup sound, a little brighter with the roundwounds. I may replace the pickup at a later date. I've read a lot of complaints about the pickup and it seems the sound would improve a lot with a different one.

The guitar is 10 years old (1992) and the neck and frets do not have a lot of wear. I would have to attribute this to the flatwound strings. The finish on the hardware is wearing on the tuners and the tailpiece (not the harp but below). I don't know if the finish was well taken care of or not. The bridge and nut are both still perfect.

Since the guitar has lasted for 10 years it can't be that bad. Again, the finish has worn off in a few places, though. This should have worn better for such a high priced instrument.

Purchased used from Mandolin Brothers. I actually dealt with Stan Jay the owner. They were asking $4,000 but I negotiated. The price I got is not great but about the going internet rate. I did have the benefit of actually playing the guitar and comparing it to many others. I strongly recommend this approach, especially for a used guitar. I've purchased via the internet before and while I didn't get ripped off, I might have made a different choice if was able to try the instrument first.

I've been playing for about 30 years mostly Jazz the last 20. I tried a bunch of guitars when I bought this one including an old Gibson Johhny Smith, Campellone, Comins and the new Benedetto Artist Award. All of those guitars were much more expensive. I felt the AA was certainly competitive with them. I also owned a 1998 Gibson ES-175 and there is no comparison (the Gibson was awful). For the money, this guitar is a great high quality solid carved top instrument. If you can find a good one buy it!

I'll try to cover some points not mentioned in the other reviews.

A little history of this model. Guild decided to create a top-of the-line arch-top guitar in the early fifties, so they hired Johnny Smith to be their endorser. (Smith was big back then--"Moonlight in Vermont" was a hit.) Smith played a D'Angelico, so the design with Guild was basically a copy of a D'Angelico New Yorker, including the large, ornate headstock. Smith defected to Gibson several years later, and Guild renamed it the Artist Award, making few design changes for decades (mostly pickguard, electronics). Several years ago, when Bob Benedetto signed on with Guild he, among other things, "redesigned" the guitar, which substantially added to its price (more on that later).

An imporatant feature to consider: the AA has a fairly long scale length:25 5/8" or 25 9/16" depending on who's measuring. (It also has a 1 11/16" nut width.) The scale length is slightly longer than even a Fender solidbody like a a srat or tele, and noticeably longer than Gibson scale lengths. It is also a large body instrument--aprox 17" at the lower bout--like an L5. Older AAs often have mediocre floating pickups that beg for replacement.

My own AA is a '67, but I've played a number of others over the years. In general these are excellent sounding guitars (mine is exceptional, the best I've played): loud, clear, even and focused. The long scale length has a lot to do with it, I believe, though so does the high level of workmanship and quality of woods.

A word about acoustic archtops with floating pickups. There is an inherent tradeoff with these types of instruments compared to "tighter" jazz boxes, with mounted pickups and laminated wood pieces (like a Gibson ES 175). My AA sounds fantastic both acoustically and electrically, but is has its limits, as all guitars designed this way do.

First, it's true that the smaller magnet of a floating pickup does not produce the same fatness of sound as a full-size, mounted humbucker, though some are better than others; I long ago jettisoned the original DeArmond, and later a Johnny Smith pickup, for a Bartolini, which is superb. I don't think of this as a lesser sound, just different: a little airier and, for lack of better words, more acoustic-sounding. The other substantial differnce is that these guitars are even MORE prone to feedback than tighter jazz boxes, simply because they are more responsive acoustically--you can't have it both ways.

What you do get in an AA is an instrument that is really satifying both acoustically and electrically. The AA is a joy to practice on unamplified. It records well acoustically (I've done so on several occasions). But it shines the most on extemely low-volume jazz gigs where the ear can hear the mix of acoustic and electric tone: the amp provides the warmth and fatness (I usually use a small Polytone Mega Brute--see my review), and the box provides the clarity and definition. It's really neat to occasionally roll the amp volume all the way off and comp for the bass solo just with acoustic sound, like Jim Hall does. These "open" jazz boxes handle this type of sublety better than any other design, and the AA is a great example of this. When the volume goes up, such as on a big-band or loud combo gig, a lot of this subtlety is lost (past a certain point, I skip past "tight" boxes and go all the way over to a solid-body). Even if you can contol the feedback with Scotch-taped f-holes or EQ or other tricks, these guitars can still sound honky and strident when pushed too hard. I've found that the best way to get a great hollow-body jazz sound is to NOT PLAY SO DAMNED LOUD.

Under the right circumstances, my Artist Award is as good sounding as anything I've ever played.

My AA has a superb neck--staight, even and true--that hasn't needed even so much as a truss-rod adjustment in almost 20 years! (I'm due for a new fret job pretty soon, though.) The finish has yellowed over the years in a very attractive way. With .012 D'Addario Chrome flat-wounds set to a medium to medium-low height, the action is extremely easy to play with very little buzz. An absolute joy to play!

The AA is highly decorated in a rocco/Art Deco style that is currently sort of passe. While I like the subtle new designs, the sheer exuberance of my AA is, I think, quite charming.

Solidwood guitars aren't baseball bats; they should be pampered. But there's no point in owning a guitar you can't play out with; I'm careful, but I use it. My AA has its share of love dings from over the years, but has held up nicely.

The former president of Guild saw me play years ago at a NAMM show with my AA, and invited me to meet with him. It was obvious that the Guild people take great pride in this particular model, as well they should. I've never had a reason to contact them further, but my gut tells me that they would stand behind their work.

As you've probably figured out, I love playing jazz--of all types. I'm fortunate to have enough guitars to be able to pick just the right one for the right occasion. Since my own style is a fairly agressive, post-modern concoction, I often play on a custom James Tyler solidbody with Lindy Frailin pickups (basically a tele with humbuckers). I also have a nifty Novax 7-string, which doubles as my "tight" jazz box (very 175-ish). I don't play my AA nearly as much as I used to. (I loved that guitar so much when I first got it, I even did disco gigs with it!) Now, I save it for the right cirumstances: low-volume, mainstream jazz gigs, usually without a drummer. Literally, nothing beats it. Saving it for those occasions for which it is perfect only enhances my appreciation of it, as I'm not asking it to do things it's not well suited for.

A word about the Benedetto/ Guild relationship. Benedetto is a fabulous builder. I haven't played any of the "redeigned" AAs, but I have a hard time imagining what he would do to it that would justify the substantial increase in price: from $6500 to $9000 (MSRP). The old price, with a typical discount, was a real bargain for a solid-wood arch-top. The new price takes you into territory where you could afford a custom model from one of the many fabulous independent luthiers around: Grimes, Mapson, Andersen, Bourgeois, etc.

Used is another story. Used AAs typically sell in the $3000 to $4000 range-- a real deal, if you get the right one. Years ago, before his deal with Ibanez, George Benson told me, "I love my Artist Award; it's better than anything Gibson makes". Check one out; I love mine.

1990 - 25 5/8 scale, Guild, Westerly R.I. Grade AAA German Spruce top, solid laminated maple back and sides, 5 piece laminiated maple neck.
Floating Guild humbucker, single volume pot on scratch plate. 17 3/8" wide, 3 1/8" deep. Beautiful abalone inlays, and ornate headstock.

This is the best jazz box I've owned, and I've had older L5's, 175's, and even a 1952 Epi Zephyr Regent. The tone is warm, balanced, and even. However, I replaced the stock "humsucker" pickup with a Kent Armstrong J. Smith style with 8.3K resistance - twice the reading of the humsucker. The Armstrong made a huge difference, better mid-range, stronger, clearer highs. AFAIK, the stock pickup is essentially the same as the Heritage stock sucker, designed by Heritage's Jim Duerloo.

This is my main recording instrument; I use it both through a small tube amp, and direct through an ART Tube Channel, and through the onboard pre-amps on my Yamaha AW4416. In all cases the AA performs extremely well. As some players have noted in regard to Guild's X700, the floating pickup archtops aren't as good as getting "that" sound. To which I say bullcrap. George Benson, and others play floaters, and personally, I have nothing but praise for their tone. There is a certain warmth and clarity obtainable only with a floater, but then, it really depends on the player.

This isn't a rock or rockabiliy guitar. Doesn't need to be, there are plenty of those toothpicks available. And if I want thin and reedy, I just pull out my '79 Strat with the anemic stock pickups. No, this is a warm-monster from the get-go, an L5 killer, a 175 deal-breaker, and a terrific value at $3000 used.

The first owner was a jazz player and guitar tech. He set the box up perfectly with D.A Chrome 12's. Those are my strings of choice, and the set tup has stayed true. Sometimes days will go by before I need adjust one of the classy Grover tuners. The only flaw I noticed, was the Grovers' center screws needed a bit of tightening, but other than that not a speck, scratch, dent, mar, or imperfection did I spy anywhere. This is one well made instrument.

I don't use this guitar for gigs, and if I play out, I take my less frilly Epi Zephyr. It's strictly for recording, and for certain jams where I wouldn't leave the guitar unattended for more than 2 seconds. I'm religious about polishing down after every session, and I expect the gold hardware to hold up despite what others have experienced. Keep a clean shammy in the case, folks..wipe it down...every-time, and the gold will stay on the metal a lot longer!

I've not had to deal with (Fender)Guild, although I ordered a Benedetto pickguard from them when I did the pickup swap. The Benedetto has a smaller route making for a better fit with the K.Armstrong. I've always respected Guild - and as far as I've seen -their general workmanship outshines a lot of the over-priced dreck from Gibson in recent years.

I've been playing 38 years. I'm an accomplished musician, I read music, play keyboards, arrange, and compose. I'm from the old-school, not a shredder. And this isn't a shredder's guitar. Of course, you could plug this box into a Marshall Stack and blow holes in your eardrums all day. And I know a lot twangers get a kick out of that. I can't go to a music store anymore without a full frontal sonic assault from these folks, and to them I say "stay away from this guitar...please!"

Bottom line: outside of an expensive Benedetto, Campellone, or other private luthier's work, the Guild AA is the closest thing. I haven't heard the new Benedetto AA's, but for the money, they'd have to be a hellavu lot better than these older boxes - which - are among the very best deals in a quality archtop you're gonna find. Anywhere.