{"product_id":"guild-x-500-special-arch-top-hollow-body-electric-guitar-1965-7939","title":"Guild X-500 Special Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1965)","description":"Guild X-500 Special Model Arch Top Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1965), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # DA-103, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body and neck; spruce top, ebony fingerboard, original black hard shell case. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is a very lovely full-body Guild from the 1960s, a fairly unique piece with a bit of a story. To begin with, the X-500 is quite a high end model, roughly equivalent to Gibson's L-5CES although built with all-laminated woods instead of a fully carved top. There is multiple binding on the body, neck, and headstock, and the fingerboard inlay is the elaborate split block Epiphone style used only on top-line Guilds. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar is marked \"Special\" on the label, indicating it originally had at least one custom-ordered feature. Exactly what, we can't say, as the guitar was sent back to Guild in the mid-'70s for a refurbishing, leading to a slightly odd but fully functional mix of '60s and '70s features.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe guitar appears structurally unaltered, but to have been factory refinished at that time; this darker, more amber sunburst is typical of the mid-'70s and subtler than Guild's '60s red\/black standard look. It was also fitted out with a mostly new set of hardware -- the humbucking pickups in tri-mount rings, gold-capped knobs, and Bigsby are all Guild spec. from around 1975. The tuners are also Grover Rotomatics from that era. The original 1965 black-painted Lucite pickguard has been neatly cut to accommodate the larger pickups. This mix of features makes this guitar rather unique, with the somewhat lighter-built 1960s chassis outfitted with the darker, higher output 1970s pickups and a Bigsby. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eProduction figures for this model in any era are very low; Guild was having far more success with the thinline Starfires in 1965 and was mostly building flat-tops in the mid-'70s. This unusual guitar spans the eras and is a great-sounding and fine-playing instrument, quite suitable for straight-ahead jazz and also more aggressive-sounding electric styles.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eOverall 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 3\/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11\/16 in. (43 mm.). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis guitar remains in fine playing condition, with a recent refret using '60s-style wire. There is some checking to the finish, and small dings and typical wear to the gold plating, but overall this is a nice clean guitar, complete in its original 1960s HSC. Excellent Condition.","brand":"Guild","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46853330698380,"sku":"7939","price":2950.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/8702\/3756\/files\/01_6e811760-33e4-46eb-a8ea-d28a397f251a.jpg?v=1774334719","url":"https:\/\/retrofret.com\/products\/guild-x-500-special-arch-top-hollow-body-electric-guitar-1965-7939","provider":"RetroFret","version":"1.0","type":"link"}