GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 1957 Guild X-50

All images and text copyrighted and property of Greg Gagliano.

FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The X-50 was Guild's entry level electric archtop. It was aimed squarely at the immensely popular Gibson ES-125 which it emulated quite closely. As with all Guilds, the X-50 is highly underrated and it's every bit the equal of the Gibson. In 1959, the neck construction was changed from 3-piece mahogany to 1-piece mahogany, and by late 1961 the model was renamed the Cordoba. The X-50 was discontinued in 1970. This particular guitar was made shortly after the company moved its facility from New York City to Hoboken, New Jersey and is equipped with "stove" knobs. These knobs were used on the X-50, X-150 and X-175 in the late 1950s. It's interesting to note that, during the 1950s, Guild guitars were finished by part-time employees who were primarily finishers for a furniture company and a small guitar company in New Jersey. Hence, the quality of these finishes are quite good, but the sunburst patterns are not consistent from guitar to guitar. It wasn't until the early 1960s that Guild hired an experienced guitar finisher and it is at that point that the sunbursting became more consistent.

GUILD X-50 GRANADA (1957)

Body: Hollow; laminated 1-piece maple top, laminated 1-piece maple back, and laminated maple sides; single bound top and back