by This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., October 2017
Guild's Newark St. Collection looks to bring back some of their most loved models from the '60s and '70s, and includes the Starfire, T-Bird and this, the M-75 Aristocrat.
Finished in antique sunburst and with its Guild gold hardware and tailpiece, the M-75 certainly looks like it's walked straight out of 1966! The attention to detail with the ivoriod binding, bone nut, Guild logo pickguard and Grover open-back machine heads really gives the M-75 a cohesive vintage-style aesthetic. We think it looks brilliant.
The first thing you notice in picking it up is the weight. It's so light! At just 5.5lbs (just under 2.5kgs) it feels much lighter than it looks, as it has a chambered mahogany body with a lightly arched laminate spruce top, with spruce bracing. With a body depth of just 53mm throughout, it's very manageable to play yet the construction leads to it having much greater resonance than your usual solid body.
For this reason, it is surprisingly loud when played acoustically and has very satisfying sustain. When testing, I actually sat for several minutes playing it unplugged as it works so well!
When plugged in, the Guild “Frequency Tested” (?!) single coil pickups sound great. They are crisp and well-defined, but also manage to have that rounded snarly characteristic that many would dub “vintage vibe”. With a bit of tube breakup, it's an awesome '60s sound, dirty but defined, with a 'tubular' tone very reminiscent of the Kinks.
To play, the lightweight body is countered with jumbo frets and a “vintage” soft U shape neck, so it feels nice and meaty to play. Even though the body is light, you don't feel tentative to dig in.
With an RRP of around £1000, the M-75 is not a budget instrument, nor is it a hi-gain monster. What you do get is a well designed, cohesive guitar with bags of character and seriously cool looks. If that '60s vibe is your thing but you're after a dependable modern build, this Guild is a great option.
