Guild B302-A

This beast was made in 1979 in the USA. The A designation means that it has an Ash body and a maple neck with a mahogany pinstripe. It's a set neck like the regular B302 with a unique bell shaped body with small offset horns. The headstock is the big classic Guild shape with a black overlay, 2+2 Schaller M-4 tuners and the Guild logo with the Chesterfield emblem in mother of toilet seat. It has a clear blond gloss finish that looks great and has aged to a very deep warm yellow. The ash body is 2 PIECES perfectly matched right down the center! AMAZING! The neck is fat and round with less taper than a Fender but it's very comfortable and fast. It has a very solid feel. It has a perfectly cut bone nut, thick rosewood fretboard, mother of pearl dot position markers, low-wide frets with very little wear for 30 years. The bridge is a raised design that sits on threaded risers with a tilt adjustment in the front similar to a Gibson but different. The saddles are rollers and space adjustable. Intonation screws are fixed and use no springs so the whole unit is super solid with no rattles. It has 2 single coil pickups each with tone and volume and a 3way switch, one way up by the neck and one just behind the p-spot. It's almost like a Rickenbacker 4001 but the neck pickup is a little closer to the bridge. It weighs about 9lbs and has a Guild case with blue clown fur lining. It has lots of excellent features that give it a distinct character and screams quality. It has everything it needs to be bitchin. The only thing I don't like is the rear strap button is a peg that is pressed into the body. Luckily the bass hangs so that the strap doesn't slip off.

I play in a kind of experimental indie rock band and I'm all over the neck. This bass has a very rich expressive voice. It has very deep organic tone on the neck pickup and a bit of extra treble on the bridge. Both pickups have a very strong mid voice. The highs are there when you want them but lay down when you don't. It's a very round, deep tone when you play light but snarls when you dig in. The lows are super tight and not boomy at all. It is very easy to EQ a killer sound that sits perfectly in the mix by adding a little highs. Low notes feel like they melt into the kick drum but still retain the awesome vintage tone. If you crossed a 4001 with a thunderbird and threw in some Hofner you'd be close to the tone of this thing.

This thing is super comfy to play, it's light and balances perfectly on a strap or sitting. It excels at picking and plucking. If your looking for a slapper look elsewhere, this bass has too many sweet-ass mids. The action is awesome and low with very little fret buzz. The pickups are very well positioned and don't have any awkward covers that fight you like a Rick. Overall this bass is seriously well designed and made and easier to play than any Fender, Rick, or Gibson that I've ever played. The materials are better quality than I've seen on any other bass made by a big USA company. It makes all others look like a joke. After 30 years of being played it looks like the bridge and truss rod have hardly been adjusted because the plating on the hardware or whatever is super strong. The finish has lots of little scratches and a few chips but from 5 feet away it looks brand new. You can tell there's been quite a few belt buckles that have tried to chew through the finish but failed. It holds its tuning way better than my 1975 reissue Fender jazz and the frets look like they're almost new. Oh, also, for having single coil pickups it has ZERO hum or grounding noise. Even when you touch the pickups or take your hands off the strings...nothing. There's no shielding? Somehow Guild seems to be the only company that has ever figured this out. I don't whoever was behind this thing but this is the work of a genius.

Again, this is the best built bass I've ever laid my hands on and I've had lots of basses. It's like a battle axe...built for war. It looks like it could take and administer a righteous bashing. The only thing like I mentioned is the rear strap button.

Guild is long gone.

I've been playing for 17 years and have been in bands constantly during that time. I've had almost 40 basses ranging from vintage Fenders, Rickenbackers, and Gibsons to Modulus, Warwick, Dingwall etc... I've played through Mesa, Ampeg, Ashdown, Eden, SWR, Hiwatt and have always gravitated towards vintage tones. I was looking for a bass like this for awhile and it ended up finding me at a pawn shop. I lucked out hard I guess because this thing is way better than I expected. I don't know why these things didn't get more popular unless I just found a +3 flaming long sword blessed by Gandalf. My other current bass is a 1975 Jazz reissue with Dimarzios. It's a great bass but compared to the Guild the only thing it does better is it has more highs. Not really better since notes on the Fender thin out as you go high, not on the Guild. The notes stay fat and round. The Guild is lighter, easier to play, balances better, has tighter lows and richer mids, and just as much output. And when was the last time you saw someone playing one of these? It is super rad and uber rare. I've seen a few before but only something like 235 of these were ever made. If I ever lost it I would buy another at any price which would be a bargain since even top dollar for these is a fraction of what a vintage Fender costs.