FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Guild X-500's features remained remarkably stable after the change from the narrow waist, Epiphone-style body to the wider waist Gibson-style body in 1962. Except for minor details, the main change that affected the tone of the guitar was the type of pickup fitted. In the mid-1970s, the X-500 lost its "Stuart" moniker and didn't regain it until 1990. Sadly, it was discontinued from 1994-1999 in favor of the X-700, a model that was nearly identical except for a solid, carved spruce top. The X-500 returned to the catalog with a new name (Paladin) when the X-700 was redesigned by Bob Benedetto and moved to the Benedetto series in 2000. The X-500 was discontinued (again!) at the end of 2003. The model was briefly re-booted in 2013-14 with two limited editions: the GSR X-500D and Patriarch X-500. The GSR version had a slightly different body silhouette with a 2-piece back, plain stamped harp tailpiece (cheap!), tune-a-matic bridge and plastic switch surround. It was fitted with reproduction HB-1 pickups, probably the Korean-made units used in the concurrently produced Newark Street series. The Patriarch was a near clone of the 1950's style X-500 and was fitted with Seymour Duncan reproduction Franz pickups.

  Body: Hollow; 7-ply bound laminated 2-piece spruce top and laminated 1-piece flame maple back and sides

  Finish: Natural, nitrocellulose

  Neck: 5-piece maple/walnut, set-in; 3-ply bound headstock overlay with pearloid logo and G Shield inlay

  Fingerboard: Ebony, bound; mother of pearl block markers with abalone inserts

  Number of Frets: 20

  Pickguard: Acrylic

  Bridge: Compensated ebony saddle on ebony base, Guild harp tailpiece (gold)

  Nut: Plastic

  Tuners: Schaller M6, gold

  Pickups: Two, Guild HB-1 humbucking with adjustable pole pieces, gold

  Controls: Master volume, tone and volume controls for each pickup, 3-way pickup selector

  Scale Length: 24 3/4 inches

  Neck Width at Nut: 1 5/8 inches

  Body Width at Lower Bout: 16 15/16 inches

  Body Depth: 3 1/2 inches

  Weight: 8.0 lb