FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

The Guild Company was founded in October 1952 by Alfred Dronge (d. 1972), a one-time music store owner and professional guitarist. When Epiphone moved from New York City to Philadelphia in 1953, many of the craftsmen chose not to move with the company. Dronge hired several of them and by April 1953 started production of Guild guitars in a loft workshop on Pearl Street in New York City. The designs of early Guild archtops are based heavily on Epiphone models by virtue of the former Epiphone craftsmen. The sunburst X-500 and the blonde X-550 were the top-of-the-line electric archtops in the Guild lineup during it's entire production life (1953 to 1994). These models are identical except for finish and were patterned after the Epiphone DeLuxe Zephyr Regent. Very few X-550s were made in the 1950s with production running just a few each year. This particular guitar has "Special" inked in on the label. This denotes the use of DeArmond single coil pickups instead of the standard Guild pickups. These pickups were only used in 1958 - 59 and any Guild equipped with them is considered extremely rare. 1958 was a transitional year for this model as it received an ebony fingerboard and bridge, Lucite pickguard, Kolb tuners, and a reversion back to a 5-piece neck. Unfortunately, this guitar has been refinished, has replacement tuners, and the pickguard is missing. However, the refinish is very old so that it retains a vintage vibe and feel in addition to still sounding great.

Body: Hollow; laminated 2-piece spruce top, laminated 1-piece figured maple back, and laminated figured maple sides; double bound top and back

Finish: Sunburst, nitrocellulose lacquer (non-original)

Neck: 5-piece maple/mahogany, set-in; stained maple headstock overlay with pearloid logo and G Shield inlay

Fingerboard: Ebony, bound; mother of pearl block markers with abalone inserts

Number of Frets: 20

Pickguard:  None

Bridge: Ebony on rosewood base with engraved, gold Guild harp tailpiece

Nut: Plastic

Tuners: Grover Rotomatic, sealed, nickel (non-original)

Pickups: Two, DeArmond single coil with adjustable pole pieces

Controls: Tone and volume controls for each pickup, 3-way pickup selector

Scale Length: 24 3/4 inches

Neck Width at Nut: 1 5/8 inches

Body Width at Lower Bout: 16 7/8 inches

Body Depth: 3 1/8 inches

Weight: 7.6 lbs.