Guild A-150 Savoy Blonde

Après 6 mois d'utilisation, je suis vraiment content de mon choix. Il a fallu faire quelques réglages au départ :
- Détendre toutes les cordes pour pouvoir enlever la protection sous le chevalet. Forcément, il faut ensuite réajuster la position du chevalet (il faut bien vérifier avec un accordeur la justesse des cordes à vide et des harmoniques de la 12e case)
- Petit réglage de manche et de chevalet car j'aime les actions très basses
- Dans mon cas, il y avait un petit pépin de placement du micro flottant qui a nécessité un démontage du pickguard.

A final, jouabilité incroyable et très beau son. Vous aurez bien sûr mieux à 3000€, mais cette guild fait très bien le job pour un prix plus que raisonnable !

Nach 15 Jahren, in denen ich nur hochwertigste Jazzgitarren gespielt habe, habe ich mich völlig in die Optik dieser schnörkellosen authentischen Jazzgitarre verliebt. Die Bilder haben mich geködert.:-) Als das Instrument dann da war, habe ich nicht wirklich viel erwartet.
Was dann schon beim akustischen Anspielen bemerkenswert war, war der warme, weiche, vollkommen runde Ton über das gesamte Griffbrett hinweg. Mit disem Argument verkaufen andere Hersteller Gitarren, die mehr als das zehnfache kosten. Ok, denkt man, haben sie halt dünne Satien aufgezogen, um die Balance gut aussehen zu lassen. Nein, haben sie nicht.
Die Gitarre kommt ab Werk mit Flatwounds 012-052!!! Wenn da die Beleistung im Inneren des Korpus oder die Dicke der Decke nicht stimmt, hat man sofort Probleme mit den Bässen, die sich aufblähen und aufschaukeln. Nicht bei diesem Prachtstück. Die Basstöne der tiefen drei Saiten klingen wundervoll mit einer Art "Kontrabasstimbre". Der Rhythm Chief überträgt Töne, die ich nun seit zwei Jahrzehnten gesucht habe. Ich hatte nie mit diesem speziellen Tonabnehmer geliebäugelt, weil ich immer dachte, es muss ein Humbucker sein, damit ich den Sound in meinem Kopf bekommen kann. Bullshit! Dieser Tonabnehmer hat den authentischen Jazzsound. Um mal einen Querverweis zu machen: Play authentic heißt in diesem Zusammenhang play Guild! In den 50ziger Jahren hatte die Firma Guild jede Menge Spitzengitarristen unter Vertrag.

Johnny Smith hat ein Instrument mit Guild entwickelt, sozusagen die Guild Johnny Smith Signature, lange bevor ein Konkurrenzunternehmen wohl einen besseren Deal anbot.:-) Die Savoy scheint genau auf diesem Johnny Smith Modell zu basieren, was die Qualität dieser Gitarre unterstreicht. Für mich die beste Jazzgitarre auf der Welt momentan. Das ist der alte Jazztone der 40er 50er und 60er. Falls Guild mal eine Edelversion, handgebaut in USA mit Nitrocelluloselack anbieten möchte, ich bin mit von der Partie und würde diese Gitarre unbesehen bestellen! Sie ist einfach so unfassbar gut!

Nearly all the things I was looking for in a Jazz guitar are assembled into this one. But personal taste aside, many things are going to please most would-be owners looking for a traditional Jazz instrument.
The outstanding:
- The weight: 2.9 kg for such a large bodied guitar is very light.
- The frets! They are coincidently my favorite size. They are almost identical to the Dunlop 6105 of my favorite Strat (narrow-ish and a little tall). They are also perfectly dressed and crowned and I could set up the action to my usual 4/64th -3/64th (very low) with no buzz whatsoever. Fret ends are smooth. Wow. Plays like a dream.
- Superb neck, both esthetically and functionally. Three-piece Mahagony-Maple stripe-Mahogany neck is beautiful and is no doubt very strong and stable. The narrower width is easy for me to play. It has a good thickness, yet feels small (a bit like a 60's LP's neck). Heel and neck from one piece. By the way, the neck and playability of this guitar is what clinched it for me to keep this guitar.
- Floating De Armond Rhythm chief Pick-up sounds just right for Jazz and is well balanced. Looks cool too!

The (many) Plusses:
- No frills, no bling. Just quality appointments that are elegant and tasteful. It looks way more expensive than the asking price.
- Flame Maple back is bookmatched and very pretty. same for the sides. Nice warm color on both top and body.
- The only Jazz model in that price bracket with a solid Spruce top. Nicely domed (pressed, I expect). What kind of spruce and what grade, I can't say.
- The official Guild website specs says that the fretboard and bridge are Rosewood but mine looks a lot like ebony (very pleased with this!) with nice lighter stripes (think Macassar ebony). The bridge is also a very dark, tight grain wood.
- The saddle (top part of the bridge) is compensated and a second saddle with a different compensation is delivered in the case, probably to accommodate both flat wound and plain G string. This is a nice touch.
- Tailpiece is massive and beautiful.
- Pearl logo and MOTS (perloid) fret markers fit the esthetic well.
- Nut looks like bone and is well cut. Easy barring at the first fret with no risk of buzzing when playing open strings hard.
- Open Grover tuners are a beauty and works great. I kike the small buttons.
- Volume and tone knobs are discreet under the pickguard.
- Comes with a case that is nice and fits the guitar like a glove. It does not seem very sturdy but with normal handling, that should not be a problem.
- Good name on the headstock (worth a lot to a lot of people)

Neutral: (matter of preferences):
Players with big hands may find the neck a little narrow.
You may or may not like the Pickguard shape. I don't and I might have an ebony pickguard made for it.
- The acoustic sound isn't very loud but it does have the proper sound character of an acoustic Jazz guitar and, miced properly, would work very well. For practicing without an amp, it's sweet and loud enough. Note that I put Thomastic 11-47 FLats on it and lowered the action. With 12's or 13's and a higher action, it can certainly be played louder.
- Radius of fretboard is 9.5" (like a Strat)
- scale length 24.75" (like an LP)

Considering the price, there are no valid minuses but:
- The poly finish seems a little thick to me. This may be a little nick picky on my part. And don't get me wrong, it looks very good.
- Tone control has a strange curve. Nothing much happens until turned almost all the way down and then darkens suddenly. Not a big deal to me because I dial the tone from my amp.
- You may find some minor and non-consequential cosmetic flaws depending on your luck but it must be said that the built quality is flawless.

Conclusion:
This "hand crafted in Korea" beautiful Jazz guitar is almost like "the real deal". I don't know how they can build such a good guitar for that price. Those rejoicing at the price should understand and accept a few things that makes it possible at all. For example, don't expect an AAA spruce top or the ebony fretboard to be a thick slab or a thin nitro finish, etc. I admire the designers who cut corners where it matters least and offered more important features and overall quality that might be near unbeatable in this price segment. For me, it's a keeper and my chase for a decent inspiring Jazzbox is over.

Thanks to Thomann for their great support.