Guild S-100 Polara 🎸 Better Than A Gibson SG? 🎸 Kim Thayil Soundgarden Signature Reviewed
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2024
- The 'SG-like' Guild Polara has long been on our radar and this week we grabbed the Kim Thayil signature to help cleanse the bad taste that the JB SG Custom left behind. It's a mere fraction of the cost, but is this Guild as good as or better than a Gibson SG?... join us and find out! 🎸
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Time stamps:
00:00 coming up this week
00:51 another new guitar
02:58 brief history & famous players
05:39 some specifications
06:52 what does it weigh?
07:47 what did it cost?
09:38 does it neck dive?
10:44 tight nut
11:15 brief drop D interlude
11:33 tight nut fix
12:06 fingerboard, frets, scale & hardware
14:18 pickups & controls
14:56 neck profile & measurements
15:38 pickup readings
16:26 under the hood
18:25 this is what it sounds like unplugged
18:46 todays rig
19:42 this is what it sounds like plugged in
22:09 out of phase
23:52 volume & tone controls
26:44 let's play something
29:26 I really like this guitar
31:28 it's a proper reissue
33:20 is it good value?
36:40 let's wrap this up
38:02 play out in drop D
Signal Chain Info:
TC Polytune
Boss DD3 / Boss RC5 Looper
Soul Food / RAT / Dunlop Wah
Amps: Fender Princeton Reverb '65 Tweed 1 x 12
Mics AKG C414 & SM57
Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 into Protools
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I AM NOT AN EXPERT. Some things I do know and some things I don't know but think I know and sometimes I say things that are not entirely correct. Once I have said things it's too late to correct them so please check any 'so called facts' with an adult, google, wikipedia, or someone else that knows.
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#guild #soundgarden #guitaraddict #theguitaristas #guitarist #guitarporn #sg 
Развлечения
The joke for years was that it was an “ugly” SG. I have a ‘73 that I have owned since 1987 when I got it for $200. A friend of mine from a guitar shop called and told me to buy it, that it was the most underrated guitar in the shop. He was right. I love that guitar more than any other.
I think mine that I mentioned somewhere on here to Colin ummmm i think it was a 1976 model? Maybe 74 ? Mum and dad paid for it in 1981 for my birthday and was AUD$240. A lot of money for them as we weren’t exactly a family of wealth if you know what I mean 😎
By chance does yours have acorns carved into it? When I was in grade 9 or 10 there was a student that used to bring his Guild guitar that looked like a slightly offset SG into the music room at school , plug it into an MXR Distortion + ( the first distortion box I ever saw) and into the school owned Kustom tuck and roll amp complete with 3x15” mammoth speaker cab. I didn’t really like the acorns but even then I thought otherwise it was a beautifully crafted instrument , very likely at least as good as a Gibson, it was obviously of a very high standard. I hope he is still kickin’ and I hope he still has that great guitar.
@@lynyrddeville Trogly s review of this very guitar he went into abit of history coz him being an honest guy he said he wasn’t aware that Guild made these. In his video one of the guitars he showed in that had carvings in it like you were asking about so check out his video
Cheers
Edit: video was recent so should come up. Just type trogly and guild into the RUclips search bar
@@lynyrddeville mine was gloss natural with what I thought was factory Bigsby but given what I’ve learned via Troglys channel it would seem ppl modded guitars a lot back then
It is ugly 🤨
My favorite thing about your channel that I don't see in most other channels is your love and appreciation for the SG and other SG like guitars! I love the SG can't go wrong!
I got so excited when I saw the thumbnail today. Soundgarden is my favorite band I was lucky enough to see them 2 times in 2 different decades. I always wanted to find 1 just to play it for a few minutes. Close enough for now Fantastic video thanks.. cheers
Happy Friday! thanks for pulling together this vid Colin, always good to see there alternatives to 'established' brands and makes. Cheers. peace.
What a great Friday morning, Colin playing Soundgarden. Thank you for this.
After several SG's, the Kim Thayil is all I ever wanted from an SG-style guitar or guitar for that matter. It's f-in brilliant!
I tried one of these in a shop last week and was VERY impressed. It has that dark syrupy vibe that isn't pure SG or Les Paul, and the quality seemed very high. Also, one time I was lucky to play an encore with Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (check them out, along with Malkmus' 90s band Pavement), and I got to play Malkmus' S-100, which is one of the nicest guitars I've ever played.
Syrupy is a strangely accurate way to describe it.
It’s a very dark but articulate quality.
I think the strings really help it, if the strings were old I feel it would be a really muddy guitar
Sweet! Looking forward to learning more about these Guilds.
Interesting, informative as per usual, great start to the weekend, thank you for all your hard work, much appreciated here in Michigan ❤😊
I've got one arriving next week! Can't wait.
Good morning brother. Glad to see you back in the saddle! Hope your break from the grind was rejuvenating.. awesome guitar and I will absolutely be looking closer at it
Great video, great guitar. 90s were my teenage years, great playing thanks for all the great content!!!
Watched this on the TV website earlier, terrific SG style guitar at a great price, looks and sounds fantastic 🎸😆
Cheers John, good to see you on both channels! 😁👍
All killer, no filler!
Thanks Colin - looks like a fun guitar and it seems to have lit a spark for you. Rock on!
Thanks for the review. Played one years ago in the 70's that was owned by a friend. Looks good.
Very awesome! The Polara is my all-time favorite guitar. I'm glad you got hold of one. I love mine. Plus, Soundgarden is fantastic. Easily my favorite band
Excellent and thorough review. Thanks!
I’ve had my eye on this one. So glad you reviewed it. Thanks Col!
I've always wanted one of these myself but I never see them locally to try. Can really tell in this video that you really have fun playing it.
I’ve always wanted to check one of these out closely and just never have. Thanks for doing this one, I love Gibson SG’s, I currently own three and I love each one of them. By far my favorite guitar, it’s no wonder why it’s never been discontinued by Gibson.
Anothe stellar review, informative as well as entertaining! Thank You
I really like that tailpiece, saw Kim playing live and that tailpiece really stood out.
I have been waiting and hoping for this review.
Great review as usual, Colin! It's nice to see Guild getting some love. Cheers!
In the 70s, Guild produced a stripped down version called the S-90... No neck binding or headstock inlays. Just a Guild logo decal on the headstock dot inlays on the neck, one volume one tone and a three-way switch. It was my first "real" guitar and I loved it. Wish I had never sold it. Paid $279, new with a hard shell case.
You’re a master at what you do sir! I always enjoy the videos no matter what’s on tap. Keep doing what you do and thank you! Cheers
Great review as always.
A seriously cool guitar. I have always accociated Guild with high quality. Thanks for putting smiles on our faces Colin. Another great video.
Colin so great to see you review one of these! As you said at the beginning of the video what a great guitar! These are indeed great guitars! Have been curious about them for nearly 30 years ever since I saw a pic of Kim Thayil's white one in a guitar magazine back in the mid 1990s. Found one used locally last year. A cherry red one not unlike the Heritage Cherry finish used by Gibson on their SGs. I tried it and it felt and played great! Like the guy that I bought it off of, his tech that set it up for him said this is a great guitar and he couldn't believe how good it felt and played and sounded. It's an amazing guitar and I'd put it up against my 94' SG Standard any day of the week as far as playability, sound and fit and finish are concerned. Mine is like new and came with the Guild gig bag and a factory hardshell case. I got mine for $625 and it was money well spent. Wonderful guitar! Highly recommended!
Watched on your TV channel last night. Nice looking and sounding guitar. And your playing is excellent. Keep them coming!
Cheers Brad! 😁👍
The pricing/quality really fits with Soundgarden's vibe. They were the first of the 'Seattle' bands to get noticed (and make money), but kept a cult status while other 'grunge' bands became superstars. Fans of Soundgarden were really into the music rather than the 'grunge era' hype. Big fan of Kim's playing.
Well, Soundgarden had (and has) a lot of fans - and many of them came with the "grunge era hype", so I would not generalize like that.
Not all Soundgarden fans are exactly the same and there is no doubt that their popularity was pushed massively at that time.
Hot take for sure. Soundgarden has always been my favorite band with a close 2nd being AIC and Jerry Cantrell's solo stuff. They were so talented with every member killing their role to the T.
I feel that Black Hole Sun being played once an hour on MTV Europe pretty much destroyed their cult status
@@gavterrygt I feel the Beatles playing on the Ed Sullivan Show pretty much destroyed their cult status.
Soundgarden, one of my favourite bands of all time!! glad you have discovered them Colin mate. Enjoy!! :) Great vid mate.
How spooky, I was just watching Kim Thayil vid at the guitar centre doing a Q&A and explaining all about his Guild (a recommended watch!). I thought to myself I wonder if Colin has one!? Low and behold you do now lol. I share your SG love, not by choice initially, just by the fact it is the only guitar I feel bonds with me as a player for some reason. I'm absolutely going to get the KT s-100, I love Soundgarden, love the riffs and its SG shaped! Appreciated the Fell on black days riffs btw! Great vid!
aaah you got one. Cool bananas Colin.
Can't wait to watch this video bro.
take care and as usual cheers from NZ 🍻😎🎸🤘
God damn you.... You're the master of finding me previously unknown guitars that I have to own :) What a beautiful guitar, i love the offset. Happy Friday Colin :)
Guild often get overlooked for some reason here in the UK but have played some of their acoustics and really impressed. This baby looks and sounds the business! Great vid cheers Colin.
Try the electrics from the USA era. It's quite a contrast once again, but even today, Guild is quality as it gets. It's often overlooked in general, from guitarists as a whole.
Your ES-350 shootout got me to buy the Guild Starfire I DC with the Bigsby trem. Got it today, and with how beautifully it plays I might go get one of these S-100s as well... I may just buy every Guild I come across... this thing's a beauty.
Thanks man, I thought about this beauty a long time. Should I or not...you made it clear for me, I will get one!
This Guild guitar looks awesome, and sounds the same as well . The Guild build quality is great, including the sister brand DeArmond with it's gold-foil pickups. The old "Bluesbird" or the "Nightbird" are very rare treasures these days, well done, Colin👌
@lefthandedguitars7181 can you elaborate a bit about the Bluebird ? I’ve never played one. Are the necks nice and thin like the Guild “SG” ?
I have 99' AAA Bluesbird. It's not comparable to Gibson quality as Gibson would need to go back to the 50's to be on par with Guild it's entire lifespan, even after Fender bought and basically shelved them, spending nearly no money on adverts as well. Anyways, yes, quality beyond what it approximates is the first noticed thing, then you play it to find it beats all comers.
Thanks Ista, I appreciate you bringing us the more exotic fare.
Lovely bit of kit. Really dig that tailpiece tbh cheers 🍻
i dont drink but a certain herb is enjoyable while I watch :)
😁👍
Cool video, as usual:) loving it
I was hoping you’d review this. Trogly did a great review too so between the two of you we’re gonna get some awesome perspectives from 2 different countries
Cheers 😎🎸🤘
Thoroughly enjoyable episode Colin.
Impressive guitar and playing! I’ve been a fan of Guild for a couple of years now. Great to see this guitar didn’t disappoint.
Cheers Pinkie 👍
Trevor White played a white Polara in Sparks. Thanks so much for reviewing this! Was hoping you would!
Banging video this week Colin, an excellent acquisition and they are a beautiful guitar. The signature vibe makes it all the more special and a very reasonable priced guitar. Nice one mate and as always have a great weekend! 🤘💜
The Kim Thayil signature comes with HB-1 pickups, which have a really nice sound, very warm. They are spec'd very close to the original vintage HB-1's. The lower cost Polara comes with HB-2 pickups, which sound good as well, but not as good to my ear as the HB-1's. The HB-1's also have the two adjustment screws on one side of the pickup, plus one screw on the other side. The HB'2's only have one screw on each side. I owned a '72 Polara S-100, and loved the sound. I didn't care for the Muller roller bridge on the original because the adjustment screws interfered with my picking hand. So having the standard bridge is a plus in my book. Other than the bridge and tuners, this is close to the original.
Top notch content as usual Colin, great piece of kit for the price
I really love these Guild SG types. My friend that has a pawn shop got one in on a trade and let me play it. I fell in love with it as the previous owner put a set of uncovered Duncan 59s in it and it sounded awesome, and played effortlessly due to the slim neck and fret leveling. Great video.
Nice review Colin!😊
Cool guitar, glad you've discovered Soumdgarden, check out Audioslave and Temple of the Dog as well, Chris Cornell was fantastic in all of them.
Always wanted one because of Kim Thayil but never pulled the trigger as I've got an SG and a couple of other humbled guitars.
Great review.
Lovely work mate. Great channel. My cup of tea. Respect.
Cheers man!
Thx for your clear Words.. and.. it sounds great
I've liked many of the guitars you've reviewed, but I find that one especially attractive. Very reasonably priced but still kind of steep for my budget. I do enjoy torturing myself with temptation though, and you very often supply it. Thanks for the video.
while they are not well known outside guild circles the HB1 pickups are some of the nicest most musical pickups to be had. the originals from the 70 and 80's are quite sought after on the used market
I have a modern Guild with "HB-1s" not sure if they are the same as the originals. I wasn't in love with them. So I changed them out for some Burstbuckers I got in a trade. I'm not crazy about those either but the guitar is one of the $500 semi-hollows so maybe I just don't like the guitar? I've had an Epi Sheraton I liked better and I'm not an Epi lover or anything.
Cool guitar, and I actually really like that out of phase setting. It reminds me of the tone that my CryBaby adds when I’m not working the foot pedal. Nice video!
Cool! Seems like a really nice guitar - the out of phase thing sounds great as well. Fun!
Yet another brilliant review.
My son would like an S G standard for Christmas.
But I think Santa is going to bring Dad a S100
😂👍
Man you opened with my favourite Soundgarden song! That riff is so simple yet so powerful it just gets me every time I hear it and play it!
Colin, I picked up one of these Kim Thayil polaras a few weeks ago and I'm in total agreement with you: these are fantastic guitars! The only real issue was a bad solder job on one of the pots causing an intermittent grounding issue, but that was a quick fix for me. I did get a good discount on mine, about 675 + tax. But i think youre right, its well worth even its MSRP.
I Always find your videos entertaining and this one was no different. I have always been a big Soundgarden fan, and a interesting guitar.
Cheers Colin, nice guitar... the out of phase tones are usable too.
Thought it was a missed opportunity to let rip with a bit of Back in the Night!
Lee cd actually play slide pretty well...dunno why he didn't do it more often.
Yes I realised later he was in fact a mean slide player! 🔥 we’ll save the feelgood riffs for another video it’s definitely overdue! 😁👍
Always wanted a Guild. It's one brand I have nothing from. I love this demo, great guitar. Your riffing here is very Soundgarden-esque, which sells the thing quite well. Wish I could justify the expense, but the fact is that I own too many guitars that are similar to it, and some are pretty nice. I've got an Epiphone SG Special and also a Firefly FFLG that is very close to this and honestly sounds similar and plays amazingly well. Great review, Colin. Love your presentations.
Great review and demo. IMO, the guild s-100 is a great alternative to a SG that still manages to have its own vibe (rather than being a copy) and I think that makes it different and cooler from something like an Epiphone.
wow, I think I love that guitar...awesome, thanks!
Beautiful signature guitar and very good work. Greetings Pavel CZ
I'm vintage as well, and embraced the music of all decades. I didn't get stuck in the 60's. I had an acoustic Guild in the 70's. Nice guitar. This thing is pretty cool. I dig Kim!
Very cool guitar and great playing. Very glad you've got to discover Soundgarden and looking forward to you coming across Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and other bands of my coming if age years. And also welcome to drop D tuning... I love it!
As ever...great stuff mate!
Love Guild. The out of phase sounds great. I see a couple of stores are charging the same price for the standard version and this Kim Thayil model (who I am not familiar with.) Oh dear, I'm tempted---again!
Nice looking guitar for the dosh 👍 what a tune 'fell on black days' is BTW serious riff and incredulous vocal!
I’m a huge sg fan and own an Epiphone sg custom and I am fanboying over this so hard, especially with the phase switch!
Love Guild Accoustic guitars but never have come across an Electric Guild Guitar. Very impressed by the quality of this instrument. It sounds fantastic and it doesn't matter at all if it isn't a Gibson or not. Its unique and it holds the ground against Gibson or any other make. I personally loved this Guild so thank you for showing this Colin.
Guilds 12string acoustic guitars are IMO the most inspiring I've ever heard.
Their electric guitars have something for everyone. Great quality and sound great😎👍
😎✌👍❤🖖
I have a couple of Guild electrics--an old US built Bluesbird which I would put up against any Les Paul(including my own!) and one of the newer Indonesian built models. Both have great build quality. Thoroughly recommended.
@@richardlynch5632 I love the Gulid D60 as a fan of Johnny Cash
@@kingstumble thats nice. Now that I seen one definetly investing in a Guild Electric guitar. Mainly played SG's, Epihones, Les Paul Studios, Tributes and Telecasters. Just found another brand to explore. Thank You for the info.
@@QuantumGamingUploads
😎👍
WAY cool guitfiddle bro😃👍👍
My Westerly D140 is a powerhouse, but picking dynamics are excellent for less boom on lower strings when needed😉👍
😎✌👍❤🖖
Hey Col, it sounds great.
New subscriber here. Really enjoy your down to earth reviews. Thanks!
Cheers man thanks for the support! 😁👍
I must say you play those Soundgarden riffs bloody well for a guy who's just got into them! Heartening to know that music of my generation can be appreciated by the one before!
I’ve never listened to Soundgarden, but I’ve wanted a S100 for years. I’ve had a vintage Starfire for 20 years, so I appreciate Guilds. This one is very nice.
Bought one last week, a fantastic guitar
There was one of these in a shop here last week, and I gave it a quick try. Ive never played a Guild, and thats the only one Ive ever seen in a shop. Really nice guitar. Feels on par with good Korean or maybe even some of the Japanese-made guitars. Im a Gibson guy, but id consider this a good alternative to an SG.
I'd be interested to know what you found different between this model that you tried and an USA made guitar?
Great review Colin You made me buy one... 😉 Standard. Little difference: standard has not grover rotomatic tuners and phase inversion switch. My is made in Korea . Great guitar and sound, only thing I don't like are the old style tuners that look cheap. Cheers and blues on 🎸🖖🏻
Looks great, definitely has an SG vibe to it.
Thanks Colin enjoyed very much. I always get messaged from RUclips about your Vids.👍
Cheers mate, that’s good to hear you must have rung that notifications bell! 😆👍
Great vid Colin! I'd love to hear your comparison of this vs an Epiphone SG of similar price. Would be a great test/video!
great tones... it's the business - a Lee Brilleaux signature would be a great compliment to the man...
Yes, he used it for slide 🔥 I should have given him more credit really 🙌
It has it own sound and i like it I Like it a lot actually and im a sucker for gold hardware especially on a black guitar. Inspiring best describes it . Thanks colin.
You really looked at ‘home’ playing this Guild too Colin! I could certainly tell you enjoyed it haha, thanks again for your honest opinion on it 🤙
If I were in the market for something along these lines and needed to save a few shekels I’d consider one of these for sure.
Thanks Colin.
Sounds fabulous. I would like to hear your take on a goldfoil Fender. The tele is a beasty.
I first bought and used an S-100 in 1972. Still use one today. Love the black.
Nice one! 😎👍
Thanks for this. I had looked at these some time back and decided they were not my thing. Like a Salvador Dali SG. I was hoping you'd hate it and save me some money, but now I'm intrigued. Some day...
Nice rocking, as always.
I got the s 200 t bird and really like that one. Although I am going to change the vibrato to a bigsby.
My first post seems to have disappeared but that’s ok with me because I have something far more important to comment about. I think it was vitally important that for the “neck dive test” you made doubly sure to move your hair out of the way before striking the “ rocker” pose… I’m still trying to get back onto my shop chair after watching that bit of dramatic flair. Cheers man!
😆👍 cheers man, maybe you added one of my blocked words… there are a few to stop the scammers. I should get a haircut really… 🤣
Interesting fact, I went to Seattle in the late 80's or early 90's (it was a long time ago so forgive me for not remembering the year 😍). I was a big fan of Soundgarden. Having an interest in the band I learned they were named after a park in the area that had metal sculptures that made melodic sounds as the wind blew through them. Sort of like wind chimes only different. Sounding interesting I went to the park to check it out. It turned out to be a small city park with a few small colorful sculptures that indeed did make sounds when the wind blew.
Cool story! 👍
Yess... If you hear the sound of the sculpture it really sounds like the intro of one of the first songs, maybe "loud love" or "Jesus Christ pose"..
Looks like a fun one😊
Congratulations Colin! That is one really nice guitar and quality seems to be as good if not better than a Gibson and only slightly more money than an Epiphone yet quality looks a lot higher than the Epi. Im starting to switch from just collecting to collecting interesting and unique guitars and this one is one I will be looking at to add to my collection. Thanks for the demo!
That really goes well with Hibiscus tea and banana bread. Damn that's a sweet guitar. I like the black. I'm tuning the SG Muse to drop D! Congratulations on the Princeton, I hope it holds up. Also, congrats on that Guild! What a GREAT value, sound, look, everything about it looks awesome. Great show Col, KEEP ROCKIN'!
Cheers mate, I still need to add a muse to the collection!
Colin, fantastic guitar, and a lot less expensive than a Gibson SG custom! Great vid!
you are like my cool uncle I've never had Colin - love the reviews and your takes on the guitars from cheap to expensive.
😆👍
that is such a cool guitar i love to see them