Guild X-150 Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1957), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # 4462, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original brown hard shell case.
The X-150 was a mainstay of the young Guild company's early line, generally their answer to Gibson's very popular ES-175, a pro-grade working man's arch-top electric with a cutaway. The X-150 is a somewhat larger guitar than the 175 with a 17" lower bout, but is similar in many other respects. It traces its ancestry back to the similar earlier Epiphone Zephyr Regent, unsurprising as many of Guild's early employees were refugees from the closed New York Epiphone factory. Like most early Guild models the X-150 is a fairly conventional and conservative design for its time, but a thoroughly professional instrument.
This 1958 X-150's old-style Guild label still lists "New York, 7" as the company's address although this guitar was an early product of the then-new Hoboken, N.J. factory. The laminated maple body has triple-binding around the laminated spruce top and single binding on the back. The mahogany neck carries a bound block-inlaid rosewood fingerboard and plastic-faced headstock fitted with openback metal button Waverly tuners and the older small "teardrop" truss rod cover.
The guitar's fittings include a single Franz P-90 style pickup under a white plastic cover near the fingerboard, an adjustable rosewood bridge and Guild harp tailpiece. The pickguard is tortoise Celluloid with a white-painted border and the knobs are generic "stovetop" pieces particular to some Guilds in this period. This is a very pleasant guitar to play with a less dark and powerful sound than the typical '50s P-90 Gibson but more definition. While not a high end piece it is a nice representation of the instruments from Guild's earlier days, still a relative bargain in a genuine 1950s archtop electric.
Overall length is 42 in. (106.7 cm.), 17 in. (43.2 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 3 1/8 in. (7.9 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 1/2 in. (622 mm.). Width of nut is 1 5/8 in. (41 mm.).
This guitar has had some light restoration (the back was rebound and the heelcap replaced) but other than that remains original and an excellent playing and sounding instrument. The binding work was done very cleanly with minimal finish disturbance. The lacquer finish remains all original showing general minor wear including dings, dents and scuffs but no heavy wear areas; there is noticeable fine checking to the back. The back of the neck is very clean showing hardly any wear.
The binding on the top edge of the body and the neck are original, with some minor shrinking but no deterioration. There are small patched in spots to the top binding at the ends by the neck heel. The back binding is recent. The pickup, wiring, tuners, bridge, tailpiece, and knobs are original. The tortoise celluloid pickguard is not the material we usually see used for this model but appears original or at least period; it has shrunken and cupped downward somewhat.
The guitar plays and sounds excellent; the Franz pickup has its own distinct charm; it is clean at lower volume and gets snarly when pushed, but doesn't overload with the heavy midrange bias the way a typical P-90 will. This is a very cool period Guild, with a particular 1950's charm. It includes the original HSC in good condition. Overall Excellent - Condition.
