Mine is a 2003 or 2004 model purchased new in 2005.

The independant volume and tone controls are great, and while the master volume knob is redundant, it's certainly not a drawback. It's got a Spruce top and Maple sides and back. The 3 3/8" deep body gives an acoustic sound that no ES-335 could ever dream of. The hardshell case is adequate. I personally am a fan of Bigsby vibratos, but I do realize that to get one I might as well get a Gretsch.

The only major downside to this guitar is that it weighs more than my car, but I've learned to live with that.

The best feature of this guitar is the sheer range of sounds it can produce. The neck pickup gives an incredibly warm tone that's perfect for jazz, but the bridge pickup has the bite and crunch to do rockabilly with the best of 'em. At first I had little use for the combined setting, but I've since found that it works great for quiet rock, especiall Mark Knopfler-type tones.

The tone when unplugged is loud, but it's not as rich as you might get from an unplugged D'Aquisto, say. Then again, this was clearly developed as an electric, while D'Aquistos or Gibson L-5s started out as acoustic guitars.

Granted, for a $3000 guitar I'd expect it to have a slightly better flame pattern on the back, but I'm more interested in sound than appearance. The gold-plated hardware and the sunburst give this guitar a very classic (and classy) appearance. It has the classic slightly-wider-than-normal Guild body and Guild tailpiece, giving it a distinct appearance that sets it apart from comparable Gibson instruments. The mother-of-pearl triangle-in-rectangle fret markers are another unique touch.

I play mainly for myself, so I have no experience lugging anything around on gigs. However, if proper care is taken, I see no reason why this instrument shouldn't last a thousand years. The jack occasionally comes loose (1/2 second to fix), and the slector switch occasionally gets noisy. Basically, it's prone to the same problems as any other high-end guitar.

Of course, this is a big archtop and should never be thrown around like a Telecaster.

Never had to deal with them. Guild is owned by Fender, though, who I've heard has fairly good support.

I've been playing acoustic for 5 years and electric for two, and though I'm relatively new to playing I do know a lot about the instruments themselves.

This is one of the best-sounding guitars I've ever played. I love it primarily for the range of tones, but the appearance is arresting in its own right. Both characteristics offer a great intermediate step between Gibson and Gretsch guitars, with the same high quality of both.

Fans of jazzy-guitars should also check out the Guild Starfire III, an amazingly rich guitar considering its thin body.

My newest baby is an Antique Burst, Corona, 2003 Guild X-500 bought from California Vintage Guitars here in L.A.(Definitely check them out, Danny is the most knowledgeable, nicest guy in the guitar biz. Great deal, too). Since it was reissued in 2000, the X-500 has changed only slightly from the vintage models. It now has a laminated spruce top instead of solid top, but has all the high-end cosmetics of the older ones:

Gold Hardware
Triple bound body, neck and headstock
2 Guild Humbuckers
Master Volume
2 individual volume and tone controls
Harp tailpiece
Grover kidney bean tuners
Laminated Spruce top
Laminated Maple back, side and 5-piece neck
Pearl block position inlays with MOP "V" inserts
24.75" inch scale
Rosewood bridge

In other words- your typical high-end jazz box! Unfortunately, it has been discontinued, as have many of the nicer Guild electrics. A real shame because this axe is one of the best made guitars I've seen, especially for the $$$!

Being a full size jazz guitar, you might assume that it is a mellow, soft spoken guitar, good for those weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, etc. No freakin way! This axe has a bit more electric quality to it, I think due to the laminated top and brighter pickups. I own a Gibson Wes Montgomery, a true solid top, single pickup full size jazz box. I has that 3 dimensional acoustic quality that screams "Warmth". Roll off the tone control on the X-500 and you get 95% of that warmth, but you can also do rockabilly, country, rock and blues in a very convincing way. This guitar really twangs! To me it is the perfect blend of a Gibson L-5 and an ES-175. It really is somewhere between the two in tone. The tone controls have a vocal quality to them that allows you to find the right amount of brightness you're looking for. The master volume rolls off alot of high end when you turn it down. It could use a bypass cap.

I know there are varying opinions of the quality of Guild after Fender bought them. This is a very nice example of workmanship. The inlays and bindings are perfect, the finish is great, the neck is straight and the electronics work according to plan. The only small flaws were a bit of excess glue on the neck joint at the end of the fingerboard(masked neatly with a swipe with a Sharpie) and the first fret was a bit high and had to be filed a bit to get rid of the buzz on the open A string.
Where this guitar falls down compared to the really high dollar jazz guitars is the body wood. It has a very light flame on the back, not a real strong pattern, and the spruce top has a few very faint darker grain lines. But for 1/3 the price of a similarly appointed Gibson, give me a break! Go for the Artist award if you're looking for a trophy piece. The Antique burst is beautifully applied and has that almost purple shade that looks so hot on the high dollar Gibsons. The setup was ok, but since I set up my guitars to my own liking, it's not a big deal to me.

Being an acoustic guitar, you can't pretend to be Pete Townshend and expect it to survive. Why the hell would you want to abuse a beautiful axe like this anyway? The gold hardware will probably wear, the thin finish might wear, but Guilds tend to be sturdier than the average guitar anyway. It seems less fragile than the usual jazz guitar. If I was doing a light casual gig, I wouldn't bring a backup, but since this isn't a true rock guitar, I wouldn't play it for a whole gig anyway.

I haven't dealt with Fender, but California Vintage Guitars is the best!!! They seemed to be willing to do just about anything to make sure I was satified with the instrument.

I've been playing a long time and I own a bunch of other guitars- Guild, Fender, Anderson, Gibson, Martin, PRS, etc. I know guitars really well and it takes a lot to impress me. I've always thought Guild really give you a lot of bang for the buck, and this holds true with the X-500. For a quality jazz guitar, I don't think you can touch this guitar with a Gibson costing twice as much. It gives you 95% of a $6000 L-5 and is a bit easier to play with the shorter scale and slightly thinner body. I'm sorry they discontinued this model- now they've kicked it up to the Custom shop Benedetto model, given it the solid top of the vintage model, 25 1/2 inch scale and a $5000 price tag. I'm sure the new version is nicer, but this guitar fills a nice niche. I hope they decide to reissue again in the future

1976 It's a guitar two humbuckers individual volume and tone with a master volume. What else do you want on a guitar for features?

I play mostly jazz/blues, some 50's 60's rock swing, and this guitar sounds great. I find the maple tops on most jazz boxes too bright; the spruce top really delivers a rich timbre and that great 50's smoky jazz/blues sound you can actually smell the smoke. The guitar projects beautifully and has the woody, chunky sound of the older great Gibsons. The factory pickups, are wonderful strong and powerful. Like all other guitars of this type, you have to fight the feedback a little plugged in, but no more than I used to on my Gibson ES-175. The guitar is loud accoustically.It has a very even tone without the bass being too overbearing. Again, the acoustic tone on thie guitar, to my ears is very very pleasing.

Beautiful workmanship. My luthier says it basically was over built whatever that means. Very high quality guitar no cutting corners when they built it.

28 years old and still going I think a 10

I play semi-pro weekend warrior. The tone and visual appeal of this guitar are second to none. It will do nothing but go up in value if kept in the same condition.

My Guild X-500 is a 1979 with a laminated spruce top, maple back and sides, and a natural finish. Gold plated hardware, two nice Guild humbuckers, and all the usual stuff.

One of the things I really love about this instrument is that the sound is distinctive. You can get that standard Gibson, super mellow type sound with it, but the Guild naturally has a brighter tone (thanks to the Maple no doubt!) which cuts through even the loudest band. It is a great tone but hardly that well worn, common kind of sound that EVERY jazz guitarist seems to have these days. I play it through a Fender Blues DeVille 212 and I get a really great thick sound from it, but I've also recorded it direct for a friend's album and I got a really great mellow tone from it. You get a great clucky tone if you use a pick but I play mainly fingerstyle and the warmth coupled with definition it put out is something you dont' find in many hollowbody guitars. I also play it acoustically and use it for writing songs and just the fact that it has all that versatility makes it such a pleasure to pick up. It's also great for blues, R&B/Soul, funk, and even rockabilly type stuff.

This guitar looks like two million bucks! The gold plated hardware give it a very sophisticated look and when coupled with the mother of pearl inlays, stylish tailpiece, well done binding, and BEAUTIFUL woods, you have an instrument that could be considered a fine work of art. The action on it is amazing. I've never played a guitar with a better neck, better string spacing, and better playability in general. The cutaway makes for easy access to the upper frets, but doesn't seem to take away from the guitar's tone.

Mine's about 25 years old and it still plays unbelievably. I've played some that are from the 60's and early 70's and they have not held up nearly as well. The finish on it is great, no checking or cracking at all, and the hardware still works as well as I imagine it did the day it came off the line. I've never had any problems with the reliability of this guitar whatsoever.

I've been playing for about 8 years and have played a lot of guitars in my time and this one is the only one that I have any real affection for. I would smash one of those $10,000 Les Pauls without batting an eye, but the thought of anything like htat happening to this is, well, distressing! I own several guitars including a Telecaster, a Samick Fastback 3 (also a great instrument!), a Fender Bass, and an Alvarez-Yairi classical guitar that I went through music school on. I feel like this guitar was made specifically for me because it just plays the way I would have a guitar play, looks the way I would have it look, and sounds the way I would have it sound if I were a luthier. The fact that it's a '79 just makes it even sweeter! I haven't played any of the new X-500's but my advice to anyone looking to get one would be to try to seek out an older one. I don't know if the new ones are made in the US anymore or not, but just having an older instrument that is broken in and has years of playing into it already is fantastic.

This Guitar was made in the USA in 1977. It has a laminated spruce top and the standard 2 humbuckers. It has two volume and two tone controls, and a three way selector, and a master volume control. It also has a Bigsby. I don't know how many more features you could want on a guitar.

This is the real deal. Lots of rich, subtle harmonic overtones. Not only ideal for jazz, but for clean blues, rock, and rockabilly as well (it even quacks when asked). Not suited for heavily distorted styles; not much sustain, high feedback and, besides, why would anyone want to muddy such gorgeous tones with excessive compression and pre-amp gain? Quintessential "jazz" sound. Also good for early R&B, classic Rock&Roll, Blues, and Pop. Good volume balance string to string. Can go moderately loud before uncontrollable feedback. No noise. I use with a Music man HD130 twin Celestion V1280 cabinets, and a Mesa Boogie SOB 112 combo. Quite versatile considering that sustain requires using some controlled feedback in distorted modes (easy to do at moderate volumes). I can move around a bit and "catch" different notes. If not using high gain amp distortion I can hang with a fairly loud band. Mainly designed for clean, mellow tones but can be quite surprizingly versatile.

Playing forever, owned and sold almost everything. This one is a keeper.

Basically the same as described below, although I ordered mine new in 1980 with a factory Bigsby (with aluminum rocker bridge) and phase-reversal switch. In spite of all the hardware, the guitar is light for such a large instrument. It is bulky, but you get used to that pretty quickly.

I rarely use the tone pots, just the master volume (and even that I usually just adjust at the amp).

Next to my Gretsch Duane Eddy model with the Dynasonic pickups (also known as DeArmond 2000s), this is the best sounding guitar I own. The Guild humbuckers are far superior to the Gibson PAFs, in my opinion, much ballsier (George Gruhn questioned my taste when I told him that - he's the one with the faulty taste - the Gibsons are fat, mid-rangy sounding compared to the Guild, with much less definition. There is one exception to this: when I still owned my Gibson GA-79 stereo amp with the Jensen speakers, the PAFs in my 1960 ES-355 sounded great. The only problem is, no other amp can make them sound good, even my new Gibson GA-60RV, which makes every other guitar I own sound fantastic). My advice is to not ruin this guitar by putting PAFs in it, just buy a Gibson (the prime reason I chose this guitar over the Gibson L-5 was the sound). Getting back to the Duane Eddy, the only problem with it, like most Gretsches, is that the neck is no good. And two other Duane Eddys that Guitar Center got for me also have necks so bad that the truss rod cannot be adjusted to straighten the necks out. The luthier warned me not to buy either one (and Gretsch won't stand behind their guitars). The only thing wrong with these pickups is that when I crank in the Duane Eddy EQ, like most humbuckers it feels like ice picks in your ears on the high strings; the DeArmond 2000s sound smooth. That's why I'm changing the DeArmond 2ks in my DeArmond T-400 to DeArmond 2000s. To wrap it up, these Guild pickups are the best-sounding humbuckers I have heard: rich and full with great timbre.

As noted below, even though the guitar has a very low acoustic output (laminated top and tons of hardware; pickups, volume and tone pots, switches, Bigsby), it feeds back more than any other guitar I own, including my DeArmond T-400, which is a 17-and-a-quarter-inch wide hollow body which plays louder acoustically. Go figure.

By the way, these pickups are high-output.

The action on this guitar is fantastic, largely because of the wide, ultra-low frets. I cannot understand why players handicap themselves with those stupid jumbo frets. So it makes it a little easier to do bends and finger vibratos, big deal. I can do those on the X-500, and the lower frets make playing easier, since the low action doesn't trip you up; you can basically slide your fingers from string to string without hardly lifting them at all. Now when I got this guitar, it had the typical Gretsch problem, a hump in the neck over the neck block with a resultant U-shaped neck. This made a low action without buzzing impossible. In contrast to Gretsch, however, Guild made the guitar good by removing the fingerboard, planing the neck level and then reapplying the fingerboard (Gretsch will not bother itself with this). The guitar had other quality-control issues, including sharp fret ends and sides, and Guild did a pretty good job of smoothing those off too (the highest frets are still a little sharp after two trips back to the factory).

The neck on this guitar is good, unless you don't like narrow necks. All my other dozen or so guitar have wider necks, many substantially winder. It does seem odd playing such a large guitar with such a narrow neck. The only real disadvantage is the close string spacing.

The guitar has stood up very well over twenty years of heavy use (however, it is babied), with two exceptions: the selector switch tends to get noisy, a la Gretsch, and the neck binding came loose in a couple of areas (I used to alternate silicone spray with Pledge spray wax to clean and lubricate the neck and finish; now I just use the Pledge, with no further problems. By the way, for much easier playing, I recommend using Pledge to clean the neck and strings after every playing; also wash your hands just before playing to keep dirt and skin oils off of the guitar and strings; be taking those simple precautions you can use the same strings for years. I just changed mine for the first time in about twelve years; after the initial brightness wore off in a couple of weeks, they don't sound that much different).

Guild was very cooperative in repairing the guitar, not at all like Gretsch. However, as I say, after two trips back to the factory, the highest fret ends are still a little sharp. Unfortunately, with the Westerly factory closed, I can no longer just drive down there for service.

Like I said, this is one of my favorite guitars and has been played heavily for twenty years (and still doesn't need a refret). The sound is fantastic, the action is fantastic and it is far superior to the comparable Gibson model, in my opinion. The guitar will do every sound, from smooth jazz to bright rockabilly (my favorite pickup selection is both together). It is great for Chet Atkins picking and has a powerful classic rock sound on the bridge pickup. It is a beautiful instrument with sunburst lacquer finish, multiple binding everywhere and mother-of-pearl/abalone fingerboard inlays. The headstock inlays are top-of-the-line Guild, as fancy as a Gibson.

As stated in the previous posts, this is a 17" laminated spruce top archtop with maple neck, sides, and back. It has a 24-3/4" scale, with an ebony board. Schaller tuners, Guild humbuckers, all gold hardware. The neck is remarkably slim, with medium jumbo frets. The original bridge was ebony.

The humbuckers are ungodly quiet. No noise whatsoever. Acoustically, this guitar has "nothing". It may be a full depth hollow body, but it doesn't produce any more sound than a typical thin body electric. The front pickup is thick and very muddy. The back pickup is thin and lackluster.

This is a 1979 model, so any factory settings are null and void. The finish is as near to flawless as imaginable. The neck alignment could have been better. I had to shift the bridge over a bit so that the strings would line up on the board properly. I had to file the frets above the 13th fret quite a bit. There is little figuring or flame in the wood, but it is still very attractive looking, and has yellowed nicely over the years.

I would depend on this guitar unconditionaly.

No contact with the company.

I have been playing a '77 Telecaster since 1978. I have owned dozens of fine guitars, and have fun buying and selling. I have always wanted a nice fat bodied arch top. I have owned a 1955 Gibson ES-295, a Hofner Committee, a couple pre-war Epiphones, and a couple ES-335s, and this guitar fits the bill better. I tried several brands and gauges of strings before settling on a set of 12-50 Thomastik flats. It is NOT the ultimate guitar, but it does it's job nicely, and the price I paid was considerably less than what a comparable Gibson would bring. It plays effortlessly compared to my Telecaster and Les Paul. This guitar does not have the tonal range of either, but the action might just be a trade-off.

1970 model (i think), laminated spruce top. beautiful flamed and figured maple back and sides(wow). ebony fretboard and bridge. bone nut installed and string spacing widened as much as possible. original knobs, harp tailpiece and pickguard in excellent condition. I replaced the original grover tuners with grover super rotomatics. I removed the original pickups(which were very weak and muddy)and installed a Duncan Alnico II in the neck position, a dummy pickup in the bridge position(to reduce weight)and disconnected toggle switch to shorten signal length. still has original frets but will need a refret in 5 years or so.
Inside the guitar is stamped "02" in red ink, which i am guessing means this instrument is a factory second; the only flaw i see is a crease in the black finish on the headstock parallel to and near the nut.
The original finish was worn to bare wood when i got the guitar, so i refinished it in nitrocellulose lacquer 10 yrs ago and it is beautiful.

I play with a clean jazz tone(no effects), .13"roundwounds with treble rolled off. This instrument is excellent for this sound, both solo fingerstyle and with a small ensemble. Since having the neck reset this year, the neck angle is better, giving a nice acoustic sound and punchier attack. I have played high end archtops, and know this is no benedetto or stromberg, but as a gigging/traveling archtop, I am very happy. The tone blows away my Gibson ES-175 though the playability isnt quite as good.

i bought the guitar in '91 knowing the neck needed to be re-set and managed to put it off till this year. Just had it done by SF Bay area luthier Chris Berkov, and it plays very well even at the high frets. no dead spots or uneven areas, but a couple of low frets cause me to change my technique slightly when i encounter them.

This is a good low to mid volume gigger. When i have used this guitar in a big band setting, it was a bit muddy and harsh(had that charlie christian electrified clipping sound). With a trio in a club or restaurant this is a worthy and durable axe. The original hard shell case doesnt provide much support anymore, so i am worried about the guitar knocking around in the case when i take it places. my 10 year old gibson, on the other hand, fits snug in it's case and is well padded.

i play semi-professionally and take the guitar to a gig about every other week. I love the beautiful look of this 30 year old blonde jazz instrument, and it plays and sounds just about as good. If I buy another production guitar, it'll be a Guild Artist Award, i think.

Sunburst, mid 70's, two humbuckers, gold engraved harp tailpiece, MOP and abalone inlays. All gold hardware, ebony board, everything is bound. Spruce laminated maple top, curly maple sides and beautiful figured flamed back. When you put this guitar in the light and take a close look at it, it is a true work of art. Hell, even if you didn't play, you could hang this thing on the wall and put a frame around it and you would be happy!

A true rich full sound. I play it through a Fender Blues Deluxe and it sounds great. If I can get rid of the feedback (I think my pickups are set too close to the strings) I will be much happier. I play jazz, funk R&B and blues. THis is a good guitar for all of this.
Unamplified it sounds good too. You can really hear the tonal qualities the way the strings just ring out, etc. I sometimes wish the pickups would pick up more of the true tone this guitar has to offer. I had them rewound once, and it helped a bit. Still thinking about maybe swapping them out for Gibson PAFS or classic 57s.

NO flaws on this guitar. I've had great luck with Guild. A seriously underrated guitar line. I'll stack it up to Gibson any day of the week. Before I bought this guitar, I tried out every Gibson in the store. THis one played better and sounded as good.

One small electrical problem with the three way switch, but that was a minor repair. THis is a solid guitar which will last a lifetime.

When I called GUild to track back my serial number, they were the best. Totally helpful.

I've been playing for 35 years. I still have the same 59 Fender Jazzmaster I've had since 1964. I always wanted a jazz guitar. I had a cool early 60's Starfire V but it got stolen. I replaced it with the x-500 and gigged with it regularly for years. THis is a good jazz guitar, but also works well with all the other typical style. Some people complain about the lam spruce top, but I think it gives it a brighter sound which makes this guitar more versatile. How can anyone in their right mind justify $2,ooo more because it has a solid spruce top??? A hunk of solid spruce vs. spruce laminate might cost an extra $20. Make sure you keep this in mind when you are shopping.

Early 1967, Blonde, with small Guild Humbucking pickups. Was a special order guitar and is shown in the Guild Guitar Book by Hans Moust. Was built with an Artist Award Neck and has no master volume(unnecessary). Has wild, flamed maple neck AND it was made with a CARVED SPRUCE top, not laminated. Has an ebony bridge and saddle. Orininal Case. Purchased in San Francisco and was formerly owned by Jazz Guitar Great Eddie Duran.

Have played Blues, Rock and Flamenco but have been focused on BeBop for a while. The guitar is magical.Woody, Rich, Full; has a Fat, Soulful Kenny Burrell tone with great balance and tonal range. This guitar inspires me to play and play well! This instrument has got real Balls. Had a recent Gibson L-4 CES, but the Guild has the killer tone. Great neck, Great action. Using with a Fender Deluxe Reverb.

The guitar is VG+ and needs nothing done to it. A few nicks here and there is all.

Everything is intact and solid. Do not play professionally but play daily with friends.

Warranty not an issue.

Have been playing about 35 years. Only other guitar is a Flamenco. Would like to aquire a vintage steel string flat top, maybe a Gibson J160E, a Hummingbird or a Guild F-30, 40 or 50. Have played and compared the Guild X-500 to many others; L-5's, Birdland's, ES-350T's. This one beats them all. The tone is ..... PHENOMINAL!!!!!