Thanks, and couldn't agree more. One other thing too is that they have a unique tone, which is great for when you want to add character to a song or part and a Tele, Les Paul, or other usual suspect isn't quite right for the job.
Annnnnnnnnd I'm sold. Your tone and recording/capturing are terrific. The SG is no slouch but I feel I can replicate it with a few pedals or some amp settings. The Guild has such a great personality on its own.
Thank you! It is super versatile. The reason I don't often play humbuckers is that they are generally compressed and muddy sounding, especially when switching from a Strat or Tele. The S100 just has a lovely bite and clarity that is really unique. It makes a great rhythm guitar especially.
Yes, the Original HB-1 pickups are unique and totally awesome. My S-100 doesn't have more low end than my SG, but maybe some do. Love me some Soundgarden!
I have a 1970 S-100 with the Mueller roller bridge, all original. It's a great guitar which I find to be very warm and earthy as compared to my Gibson Les Paul's. Unfortunately mine has a cracked body down by the controls which at some point I'll get professionally repaired. It also desperately needs a fret job. But it still plays great and holds its tuning even after some aggressive playing....
I was hoping for a good demo and got that in spades. Very nice sounds with that Deluxe Reverb, also holy sh*t that fuzz. :o Definitely feeds my interest in the S 100. Have you tried the reissues, are they any good?
Thanks for the kind words. Yep, Fuzz and humbuckers are an often overlooked pairing, but if you find the right fuzz (generally one with less low end), it can be a really magical combo. I haven't tried any of the reissues; in fact, I've not seen one in lefty. I have heard the build quality of the new ones is quite good, but I think the pickups are more like a standard humbucker than an original HB-1. I could be wrong on that, so be sure to check for yourself.
i played a single pickup version of this guitar called an s-50, i think. it was white. i think it was cost reduced further, actually. i don't remember fretboard binding for one thing
It's definitely its own sound, and one that I like every much. I wish I had an SG of the exact same era for comparison, but I can say that the S-100 compares very favorably to any SG I have ever played. I'd say the S-100 really excels for rhythm guitar, as it has an uncompressed bite that is somewhere between a traditional humbucker and a telecaster sound. SG's tend to do really well with leads and higher gain, as they have a bit more compression and midrange. Both cool guitars.
To my ears, yes, but all a matter of taste. If you play with higher gain, the extra brightness could be unwelcome. The Guild does have an airiness and bite that is very satisfying.
Apologies for the late reply. I have not played any of the 60's models, but Guild changed their specs quite a lot. Neck angle, neck shape, tailpiece placement, etc. Also, the 60's S-100 would have totally different pickups. I can say that the early 70's ones are awesome, and they went to a slimmer/flatter neck later in the 70's, which I personally don't like as much (although Kim Thayil apparently prefers these). To me, the magic of this guitar is the HB1 pickups, so I'd go for an early 70's model, but that is just me.
I get the need to compare these (I wanted to know myself) and the Polara was of course influenced by the SG but they sound and play so different that we should just say that they are completely different guitars. The similar looks are a distraction is all.
They are indeed quite different, but because they look similar and have generally similar specs, they will likely always be compared at some level. It's sort of like a Nobels ODR-1 is nothing like a Tube Screamer, but since they are both in Green Boxes with 3 knobs, they are assumed to be similar...
@@groundwirepodcast2142 Indeed. I will most likely end up getting both the Polara and SG being different enough to justify that. Much like I couldn't decide whether to buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard or a Yamaha SG so now have both and an old car that must now wait to be replaced.
Serial # dates to 1970, but with lefties, you never know. They were often made in batches and only shipped when they got a lefty order. That said, the Hagstrom Tremar, lack of phase switch, and pickup output all point to this being a 1970, so I'm quite certain it is indeed a '70.
Original gibson pafs are actually in most cases alot brighter than most realize. They are not the dark pickups people think they are . Jimmy pages pafs were super bright they were bright but also thick. Gibson patent number pickups and t tops were quite bright as well . Especially the t tops .
Very true. Lower wind humbuckers, especially ones with slightly mismatched coils, do tend to be brighter, especially compared to modern ones. I really love brighter sounding humbuckers in general. A friend has an LP with real '59 PAF's and they have clarity that is almost like a single coil pickup. Really wonderful.
That is absolutely true, original PAFs are bright but not brittle and clear not dark and dull like a lot of the modern versions. That 1970 s100 gets that early 60s humbucker SG sparkle sound wise better and like you say is better built. The phase switch actually is something Gibson should have put on les Paul’s and SGs and the ES 345 and 355. The ES varitone stereos are a menace to balance up as is.
Yep. The first time I heard real PAF's it was a revelation. Much different than I expected. Very articulate. The HB-1's in the Guild are outstanding pickups as well.
Which guitar do you find more ergonomic for playing sitting down? From your video it looks like because of the slight difference in the lower bouts, the Guild results in less of a reach for the first fret.
Good question. I hadn't really ever thought about it. I'd say they are pretty similar. The SG has a bit smaller body, with a bit more contouring, so it feels a bit more comfy sitting down, but it's more neck heavy, so it doesn't balance as well. Slight preference for the Guild, simply because it balances better and they are otherwise quite similar.
It floats slightly, but the design of the Trem isn't like a Strat so when you bend the strings, the baseplate doesn't lift up. In other words, double stop bends are still no issue.
I believe the SG is slightly thinner. The SG is just all around a smaller guitar in basically every dimension. The S100 feels more substantial all around.
Most vintage pafs were 8.0k . The spec called for 7.5 but most were 8k there have also been many Pafs found to be well over 8.k jimmy page has a 1960 paf in the neck or his number 1 that is 8.68k. There have been many examples found in the 8.5k to 9k range. But on average most were 8k to 8.2k. The latter pafs from 61 and 62 were usually around 7.5k to 7.8k when they tightend up there QC. Pafs from late 58 to 1960 were hotter which is one of the main reason players wanted guitars from that Era especially from 59 which seems to be the year with the hottest pafs 59 pafs with 8.5k to 9k outputs are quite common . The patent number and t tops had lower outputs and were would to the 7.5k spec after gibson had added automatic shutoffs and counters to the winding machines
Interesting. The Shaws in my 335 are around 7.6k. I try not to get too caught ups in the DC Resistance readings, but I do find the lower output ones to be clearer and have more chime in general.
Different electronics but the main thing for me is the bridge design. Not the greatest on the guild side but it's also what makes the sound. Maybe more versatile yes. I have a 1973.
Yep. The Hagstrom Tremor isn't my Fav, but it's just part of the whole thing and I'm used to it now. Your '73 has a phase switch, yeah? I wish mine did...
@@groundwirepodcast2142 it does have but i don't use it much. Can be useful for recordings, by adjusting tone knobs (becomes quite trebly) and it can give you a different sound for solos with drive for example. I have a love / hate relationship with this guitar due to the super thin neck and the classic offset bridge that does not provide great sustain, strings can jump out of the saddles. Being a strat player i am used to have a strong pick attack and i like to go for harnonics. But sometimes it just feels really nice as it is... I think it's not really comparable with an SG.
I like pickups out of phase when one volume is rolled back. If they are both full up it sounds squawky, but hone one is rolled back it can give a great, hollow, reedy sound. Yeah, I've heard the necks got really thin by the mid 70's. Mine has a nice full neck, similar to my 335. I'm also primarily a Strat player, and have a heavy picking hand. Takes some adjustment for sure.
@@groundwirepodcast2142 exactly, each instrument needs a different approach. For the out of phase you mean one of the volumes must be fully rolled back ?
Perso je vois un vrai plus sur ces modèles de Guild c'est la longueur du chevalet sur la table ..le jeux de cordes sonne vraiment mieux aussi avec les micros Guild qui donnent à ce modèle S100 un Son hors du commun et ''''Si on veux le même son avec une Gibson c'est une vraie cherche ..car Guild a réussi son modèle avec la S 100
Thanks for the feedback. If anyone has a 70's Lefty Gibson SG or Modern S-100 to loan me, I am happy to make that comparison. I can only compare what I have. Since the SG has traditional pickups and construction, there really isn't much ostensibly different between it and an older SG. Of course, they all sound different, so this is just one example. Thanks for watching.
Awesome look at an incredibly underrated guitar. I love my Polara. They sound killer, look great, and feel really nice in the hands.
Thanks, and couldn't agree more. One other thing too is that they have a unique tone, which is great for when you want to add character to a song or part and a Tele, Les Paul, or other usual suspect isn't quite right for the job.
Love my Guild S-100!! CHEERS!!
Such great guitars.
The old guild guitars are really great guitars. Especially the HB-1 humbuckers are great. Love this sound of your S100
Annnnnnnnnd I'm sold.
Your tone and recording/capturing are terrific.
The SG is no slouch but I feel I can replicate it with a few pedals or some amp settings.
The Guild has such a great personality on its own.
Thanks very much. The S-100 definitely has personality, especially as a rhythm guitar. The bite and clarity are truly excellent.
Great video man. Answered a lot of questions I had.
Man that's a beauty of s guitar and I love how it sounds! Seems like it would be pretty versatile
Thank you! It is super versatile. The reason I don't often play humbuckers is that they are generally compressed and muddy sounding, especially when switching from a Strat or Tele. The S100 just has a lovely bite and clarity that is really unique. It makes a great rhythm guitar especially.
I'm a big fan of vintage Guild's. Nice vid!
Thanks very much. I'm a big fan also. Seriously cool guitars.
Love it! I will buy a Cordoba reissue in the next months, they sound less hotter but very similar as far as i can hear. Great demo!
Thank you. The S-100's are just great all around guitars. Have not tried the reissues, but have heard good things.
Thanks man.. really helpful video
The reissue now is what I wanted to see.
thanks for the review and the comparison! FR
You bet. Thanks for watching.
I dig your playing
Thank you very much for the kind words.
Those old HBL humbuckers are amazing the sound of Soundgarden . The Polara is alot thicker sounding than a Gibson Sg and has more low end
Yes, the Original HB-1 pickups are unique and totally awesome. My S-100 doesn't have more low end than my SG, but maybe some do. Love me some Soundgarden!
I think Kim Thayil preferred S100 were 90's reissues... So not original 70's HB pickups...
@@flagace4889 Kim’s number one and first s100 was a 78. He bought it when he was 18 and it’s been on every album. He also plays reissues
Definitely not more low end in the Polara
I have a 1970 S-100 with the Mueller roller bridge, all original. It's a great guitar which I find to be very warm and earthy as compared to my Gibson Les Paul's. Unfortunately mine has a cracked body down by the controls which at some point I'll get professionally repaired. It also desperately needs a fret job. But it still plays great and holds its tuning even after some aggressive playing....
I was hoping for a good demo and got that in spades. Very nice sounds with that Deluxe Reverb, also holy sh*t that fuzz. :o Definitely feeds my interest in the S 100. Have you tried the reissues, are they any good?
Thanks for the kind words. Yep, Fuzz and humbuckers are an often overlooked pairing, but if you find the right fuzz (generally one with less low end), it can be a really magical combo. I haven't tried any of the reissues; in fact, I've not seen one in lefty. I have heard the build quality of the new ones is quite good, but I think the pickups are more like a standard humbucker than an original HB-1. I could be wrong on that, so be sure to check for yourself.
i played a single pickup version of this guitar called an s-50, i think. it was white. i think it was cost reduced further, actually. i don't remember fretboard binding for one thing
Was is shaped like this S-100? I feel like the S-50's were a different shape, and maybe with a different type of pickup also.
I can't believe how good this sounds compared with the gibson.
It's definitely its own sound, and one that I like every much. I wish I had an SG of the exact same era for comparison, but I can say that the S-100 compares very favorably to any SG I have ever played. I'd say the S-100 really excels for rhythm guitar, as it has an uncompressed bite that is somewhere between a traditional humbucker and a telecaster sound. SG's tend to do really well with leads and higher gain, as they have a bit more compression and midrange. Both cool guitars.
Guild sounds better....right..??
That open sound, the Guild is a joy to listen to.
(And I love SG's, don't get me wrong)
To my ears, yes, but all a matter of taste. If you play with higher gain, the extra brightness could be unwelcome. The Guild does have an airiness and bite that is very satisfying.
There is a 1971 s-100 in natural finish and a 1965 s-100 polara both around the same price online. Have you played the 60s ones? Any difference?
Apologies for the late reply. I have not played any of the 60's models, but Guild changed their specs quite a lot. Neck angle, neck shape, tailpiece placement, etc. Also, the 60's S-100 would have totally different pickups. I can say that the early 70's ones are awesome, and they went to a slimmer/flatter neck later in the 70's, which I personally don't like as much (although Kim Thayil apparently prefers these). To me, the magic of this guitar is the HB1 pickups, so I'd go for an early 70's model, but that is just me.
I get the need to compare these (I wanted to know myself) and the Polara was of course influenced by the SG but they sound and play so different that we should just say that they are completely different guitars. The similar looks are a distraction is all.
They are indeed quite different, but because they look similar and have generally similar specs, they will likely always be compared at some level. It's sort of like a Nobels ODR-1 is nothing like a Tube Screamer, but since they are both in Green Boxes with 3 knobs, they are assumed to be similar...
@@groundwirepodcast2142 Indeed. I will most likely end up getting both the Polara and SG being different enough to justify that. Much like I couldn't decide whether to buy a Gibson Les Paul Standard or a Yamaha SG so now have both and an old car that must now wait to be replaced.
Who needs a car anyway? With enough guitars, you'll never need to leave the house... :)
I don’t think the 1970 had the logo on the pickguard, I had one in 1971.
Serial # dates to 1970, but with lefties, you never know. They were often made in batches and only shipped when they got a lefty order. That said, the Hagstrom Tremar, lack of phase switch, and pickup output all point to this being a 1970, so I'm quite certain it is indeed a '70.
Original gibson pafs are actually in most cases alot brighter than most realize. They are not the dark pickups people think they are . Jimmy pages pafs were super bright they were bright but also thick. Gibson patent number pickups and t tops were quite bright as well . Especially the t tops .
Very true. Lower wind humbuckers, especially ones with slightly mismatched coils, do tend to be brighter, especially compared to modern ones. I really love brighter sounding humbuckers in general. A friend has an LP with real '59 PAF's and they have clarity that is almost like a single coil pickup. Really wonderful.
That is absolutely true, original PAFs are bright but not brittle and clear not dark and dull like a lot of the modern versions.
That 1970 s100 gets that early 60s humbucker SG sparkle sound wise better and like you say is better built. The phase switch actually is something Gibson should have put on les Paul’s and SGs and the ES 345 and 355. The ES varitone stereos are a menace to balance up as is.
Yep. The first time I heard real PAF's it was a revelation. Much different than I expected. Very articulate. The HB-1's in the Guild are outstanding pickups as well.
70s gibson Sgs also had a narrower nut width compared to earlier and latter sgs.
Yep. The narrower Gibson necks started in around 1965, but were very prevalent in the late 60's and 70's. I find these very hard to play.
Which guitar do you find more ergonomic for playing sitting down? From your video it looks like because of the slight difference in the lower bouts, the Guild results in less of a reach for the first fret.
Good question. I hadn't really ever thought about it. I'd say they are pretty similar. The SG has a bit smaller body, with a bit more contouring, so it feels a bit more comfy sitting down, but it's more neck heavy, so it doesn't balance as well. Slight preference for the Guild, simply because it balances better and they are otherwise quite similar.
Loving those hotter pups! Is your trem decked?
It floats slightly, but the design of the Trem isn't like a Strat so when you bend the strings, the baseplate doesn't lift up. In other words, double stop bends are still no issue.
Hi, I have a S 100 1973. Never played an SG. Is the body thickness the same?
I believe the SG is slightly thinner. The SG is just all around a smaller guitar in basically every dimension. The S100 feels more substantial all around.
Most vintage pafs were 8.0k . The spec called for 7.5 but most were 8k there have also been many Pafs found to be well over 8.k jimmy page has a 1960 paf in the neck or his number 1 that is 8.68k. There have been many examples found in the 8.5k to 9k range. But on average most were 8k to 8.2k. The latter pafs from 61 and 62 were usually around 7.5k to 7.8k when they tightend up there QC. Pafs from late 58 to 1960 were hotter which is one of the main reason players wanted guitars from that Era especially from 59 which seems to be the year with the hottest pafs 59 pafs with 8.5k to 9k outputs are quite common . The patent number and t tops had lower outputs and were would to the 7.5k spec after gibson had added automatic shutoffs and counters to the winding machines
Interesting. The Shaws in my 335 are around 7.6k. I try not to get too caught ups in the DC Resistance readings, but I do find the lower output ones to be clearer and have more chime in general.
Different electronics but the main thing for me is the bridge design. Not the greatest on the guild side but it's also what makes the sound. Maybe more versatile yes. I have a 1973.
Yep. The Hagstrom Tremor isn't my Fav, but it's just part of the whole thing and I'm used to it now. Your '73 has a phase switch, yeah? I wish mine did...
@@groundwirepodcast2142 it does have but i don't use it much. Can be useful for recordings, by adjusting tone knobs (becomes quite trebly) and it can give you a different sound for solos with drive for example. I have a love / hate relationship with this guitar due to the super thin neck and the classic offset bridge that does not provide great sustain, strings can jump out of the saddles. Being a strat player i am used to have a strong pick attack and i like to go for harnonics. But sometimes it just feels really nice as it is... I think it's not really comparable with an SG.
I like pickups out of phase when one volume is rolled back. If they are both full up it sounds squawky, but hone one is rolled back it can give a great, hollow, reedy sound. Yeah, I've heard the necks got really thin by the mid 70's. Mine has a nice full neck, similar to my 335. I'm also primarily a Strat player, and have a heavy picking hand. Takes some adjustment for sure.
@@groundwirepodcast2142 exactly, each instrument needs a different approach. For the out of phase you mean one of the volumes must be fully rolled back ?
One volume full up, and the other backed down to 7 or 8. Try it. The blend works better this way.
Perso je vois un vrai plus sur ces modèles de Guild c'est la longueur du chevalet sur la table ..le jeux de cordes sonne vraiment mieux aussi avec les micros Guild qui donnent à ce modèle S100 un Son hors du commun et ''''Si on veux le même son avec une Gibson c'est une vraie cherche ..car Guild a réussi son modèle avec la S 100
how in the tf did you find a lefthanded version.
Took a long time...
Damn bro, never even touched that vibrato bar 😥
10:59
"Okay let's start with the obvious here; this guitar is obviously backwards."
Not a good comparison because comparing the 70 s-100 cannot be compared to an early 2000 S G. Either do a 70 gibson S G or a Modern S-100...
Thanks for the feedback. If anyone has a 70's Lefty Gibson SG or Modern S-100 to loan me, I am happy to make that comparison. I can only compare what I have. Since the SG has traditional pickups and construction, there really isn't much ostensibly different between it and an older SG. Of course, they all sound different, so this is just one example. Thanks for watching.
Guild sounds quite a bit better
Gibson sounds like it's in a bucket
It's definitely more Mid focused, whereas the S-100 is more open sounding.
I know I can take away from the polara sound but I can't add to the Gibson sound