GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 2022 Guild S-100 Polara Deluxe

All images and text copyrighted and property of Greg Gagliano.

FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

Around 1972 Guild equipped the S-100 with a Bigsby and called it the S-100 Deluxe. However, the standard Bigsby B-9 "Guildsby" tailpiece was not meant for solid body guitars.According to Guild expert, Hans Moust, Guild had a local machine shop chop up the B-2 tailpiece so it could be fitted to the S-100. Fast forward 50 years and Guild re-introduced the S-100 Deluxe, but with an intact Guild B-9 "Guildsby" tailpiece. The new model was made in Indonesia instead of Korea and limited to 25 guitars in sunburst and 25 in Pacific Blue. It also differs from the standard Newark Street S-100 by having an ebony fingerboard with genuine mother-of-pearl inlays, coil splitting switches for each pickup, and faux bound headstock with 18:1 tuners. The overall sound is bright and chimey. The reissue HB-1 pickups sound less like humbuckers and more like single coil pickups. The Bigsby is probably the weak point of the guitar. The import Bigsby tailpieces are not as refined and don't work as well as US-made Bigsbys. In addition, the break angle over the saddles is severe and the strings touch the back of the bridge. All these things consipire to make for a vibrato that is hard to use. A roller bridge probably would have helped.

GUILD S-100 POLARA DELUXE (2022)

Body: Solid; mahogany