Guild X-500 Special, Sunburst (1958)

1958 Guild X-500 Special in original Sunburst finish just in!

Guild has built many a fine instrument over the decades, especially in the 50s and 60s. The X-500 remains one of their crowning achievements as a builder, putting their craft to the test and keeping up with the fierce competition of Epiphone and Gibson. This X-500 could easily go toe-to-toe with the likes of a Zephyr Deluxe or an ES-350.

The 17" archtop body with a laminated spruce top and figured maple back and sides is a tried and true recipe in this format, yet still the voicing is unique to Guilds. This X-500 has an impressively clear tone with a warm fundamental in the lows and low mids, giving it enough punch and volume acoustically without overwhelming the Dearmond pickups.

And speaking of pickups- these custom surround Dearmond single coils are really something! They have the "chirp" we often find in these old pickups, with a certain transparency that gives the player more control over how sweet or how aggressive the guitar can sound. The wonderful full C neck carve is still rocking its original wide frets, and the playability is nice and smooth with a fresh setup in-house. The original sealed Kolb tuners not only look amazing but work great as well.

The guitar has survived in wonderful condition, with some requisite binding repair performed prior to our acquisition. There's also a very small headstock repair - about the size of a thumbnail. We wouldn't qualify this as a true break, but it deserves to be pointed out in the interest of clarity. It was also lightly addressed before we acquired it, and needed no further action from our repair staff.

The guitar includes its original Guild-branded Geib hardshell case in a striking red leatherette exterior.

It's hard to imagine finding a more luxurious and well appointed electric archtop that is equaled in its tone and value than this Guild. A rare, top-tier, US-made Golden Era guitar that few can truly compare to.