Guild M-75 Aristocrat

[Stefan Eff]

Finally got my Goldtop Aristocrat I was on the hunt for since years. Amazing guitar, I‘m blown away.
Here‘s a little review I‘ve written on Gretsch Talk, if you’re interested:

Review: My Guild M-75 Aristocrat | Gretsch-Talk Forum

[neatomic]

very nice...one of my fave guilds

congrats & enjoy


cheers

ps- great thorough review as well....

[nopedals]

I have had a sunburst one for about a month now. I have owned vintage guilds in the past, but found that the necks are a little bit too small. I have bought Les Pauls from time to time, but found them uncomfortable to play. This model's neck plays wonderfully and the guitar is light and comfortable to play.

I would not compare it to an acoustic, but like a laminated archtop it is loud enough to practice unplugged. Unlike other archtops it has no F holes, which of course makes it feedback resistant. Build quality is amazing.

The light body weight makes it very very slightly neck heavy. So slight I feel hesitant to mention it. I never notice it while playing. A heavier bridge like the OP's guitar would likely get rid of it entirely.

This is not a bluesbird; those guitars are chambered, not hollow. I think the bluesbirds are chinese and cheaper. The aristocrats are made in korea, or used to be.

[neatomic]

ps- going to be hard to beat the resonance of the tru-arc copper bridge (if correct radius and all) with aluminum bigsby...but both equally interesting...one pure vintage...the other new fangled...have fun tryin 'em out...report back!


cheers

[Stefan Eff]

ps- going to be hard to beat the resonance of the tru-arc copper bridge (if correct radius and all) with aluminum bigsby...but both equally interesting...one pure vintage...the other new fangled...have fun tryin 'em out...report back!


cheers

...but also hard to get used to the look of the copper/gold combination
The Truarc got the correct radius and is my favourite bridge since the copper rounds the high end, tames high mids, adds sustain as well as attack. I‘ll have to see.

[citizenk74]

Beautiful instrument and exemplary review. Congratulations, and play it in good health!

[neatomic]

...but also hard to get used to the look of the copper/gold combination
The Truarc got the correct radius and is my favourite bridge since the copper rounds the high end, tames high mids, adds sustain as well as attack. I‘ll have to see.

well tim offers tru-arcs in allsorts of materials including glass!! sure he has one that will suit you aesthetically...bigsbys are fun too tho!

cheers

[Stefan Eff]

well tim offers tru-arcs in allsorts of materials including glass!! sure he has one that will suit you aesthetically...bigsbys are fun too tho!

cheers

Thanks, I know, I own several Truarcs! It‘s that special tone from the copper Can you hear it?

https://vimeo.com/492847763

[neatomic]

Thanks, I know, I own several Truarcs! It‘s that special tone from the copper Can you hear it?

https://vimeo.com/492847763

yeah nice clarity..really cuts thru..with luck maybe the copper will oxidize to green!!! haha

be aware bigsby has couple of saddles...wound g vs unwound...they also have the sorkin base version

nice guitar!

cheers

[Stefan Eff]

yeah nice clarity..really cuts thru..with luck maybe the copper will oxidize to green!!! haha

be aware bigsby has couple of saddles...wound g vs unwound...they also have the sorkin base version

nice guitar!

cheers

Haha, no, copper oxidizes only outside to green. I was hoping for a matte brownish color.

Do you‘ve recognized the sustain?

I know those little bigsby bridges, they’ve got also a different size. Doesn’t matter in my case, the Guild got two floating metal cups as bridge base. Oh yes, and they need to be flat sanded since the intention was to keep the Bridge rocking with the Bigsby movement.

[sasquatch]

Nice axe!
I had an original '59 years ago that I had signed by John Fogerty
(not many know that John used one in early Creedence)
Anyway, I lost that guitar in the pawn shop, sometimes life sucks!

[Michael Neverisky]

I had a 1960 with a factory installed Bigsby. It was sunburst with a notable pick wear on the top. I sold it about 15 years ago and, since it looks somewhat unique, have been able to track it from time to time via web searches.

[Jx30510]

Congratulations!
It's a great guitar, I had the luck to try it, and I really loved it, very lively and dynamic instrument. The pickups sounded marvelous.
At first I thought the bridge was screwed in the body, and was very surprised when I found out it was 2 metal posts lying on the top.
I had never seen that before

[Stefan Eff]

Congratulations!
It's a great guitar, I had the luck to try it, and I really loved it, very lively and dynamic instrument. The pickups sounded marvelous.
At first I thought the bridge was screwed in the body, and was very surprised when I found out it was 2 metal posts lying on the top.
I had never seen that before

Yup, that‘s pretty unique. Since there are no advantages I guess they wanted to copy the „modern“ look of the Les Paul bridge lacking a wooden bridge base.

[neatomic]

there are definite advantages to the aristocrat bridge design!...unlike the les paul, the bridge is not screwed into the body...this would have required guild to install a large wood block under the bridge area for support

also the lack of a classic style floating wooden bridge base, allows for the neck angle to be shallower..which influences tone & playability..a very clever design from gulld

cheers

[Bezoeker]

Haha, no, copper oxidizes only outside to green. I was hoping for a matte brownish color.

Maybe like color of this Tru-arc (classic), or the copper (with an ebony cap) in the second pic?

[Bezoeker]

Get some Birchwood Casey “Super Blue” or “Brass Black”.

Both will work best if the copper is very very very clean. A super-fine grit sanding pad would be best.

The Super Blue will give you more control over the final color but be tricker to use. The Brass Black will be slightly less finicky.

You may get some odd results until you get the feel for it. Flaky black areas, or a mottled result are no big deal, just clean it off and try again. You will definitely get the feel for it.

Use rubber gloves and do not add any to your beverage of choice.

BZ

EDIT: Easier to practice on a scrap of 1/2” copper pipe vs. working out the concept on your actual bridge. It is not hard at all, but will likely not work quite as you expect. You need to get the idea of using fresh juice on a clean section of rag (or paper towel) and not leaving it on there too long.

[Stefan Eff]

there are definite advantages to the aristocrat bridge design!...unlike the les paul, the bridge is not screwed into the body...this would have required guild to install a large wood block under the bridge area for support

also the lack of a classic style floating wooden bridge base, allows for the neck angle to be shallower..which influences tone & playability..a very clever design from gulld

cheers

That‘s what I‘ve said- copying the Les Paul design for esthetical reasons, of course it‘s not possible to place threads for a TOM-Bridge into the top of the M-75.
Why wouldn’t a wooden bridge base work?
I don‘t see any correlation between neck angle and bridge base.

[Stefan Eff]

Maybe like color of this Tru-arc (classic), or the copper (with an ebony cap) in the second pic?

^ How long did it take to look like this?

[Bezoeker]

^ How long did it take to look like this?

About 15 seconds. But with cleaning the copper first, and leaving time for some mistakes, maybe 15 or 20 minutes for the whole effort.

The coating is not very durable and will scratch if a string is dragged across it. But in practice, the effect is nice and it does not rub away as a result of casual handling or from playing.

Cheap, relatively easy to do, can be touched up if needed, ages well.

[Stefan Eff]

(^ why‘s the pic on the side?)


Installed the Bigsby Bridge today.
It looks a lot nicer and much more „vintage correct“ compared to the copper Truarc.
Intonation is nearly perfect, no difference to the Serpentune.
Tone:
I‘m a bit unsure, it’s different. Not worlds apart but different. The Bigsby Bridge is louder unplugged, it‘s got more brightness and a bit less „body“ plugged in. Nice twang on the wound strings, superb clarity but a tad less „woodiness“ and sustain. All in all the whole sound turns a bit more in the Gretsch direction, don‘t know if I like that. The Truarc weights a lot more, I guess that‘s an important detail besides the different materials.
Unsure. Both bridges sound great, intonation is spot on. They‘re just different, I‘ll see.

[Stefan Eff]

About 15 seconds. But with cleaning the copper first, and leaving time for some mistakes, maybe 15 or 20 minutes for the whole effort.

The coating is not very durable and will scratch if a string is dragged across it. But in practice, the effect is nice and it does not rub away as a result of casual handling or from playing.

Cheap, relatively easy to do, can be touched up if needed, ages well.

• Stock bridge: meh (I hate TOM‘s);
• Bigsby Bridge: string buzz while bending on some frets due to the wrong radius;
• Rosewood bridge: liveless sounding, no „power“
• Truarc copper: FANTASTIC.

I‘ve followed your advice:

It‘s got a light antique look. I guess I like it. Easy job. Thanks!

[oldane]

Haha, no, copper oxidizes only outside to green. I was hoping for a matte brownish color.

Copper oxidizes to green but goes through a state of reddish brown on the road to there as can be seen on copper roofs. If one wants a matte brown color as the end result, a bronze alloy (copper + tin - and sometimes also aluminium for marine grade bronze) is preferable. Brass (copper + zink) will also end up greyish brown. BTW, bronze is quite popular as a watch case material among some watch nerds these years because of it patinates nicely with time and makes a "worn and wheathered" contrast to all the shining steel or gold watches out there.

[Stefan Eff]

Finally after some smaller and bigger tweaks the Guild is ready for my liking (reworked the bone nut, fret levelling, matting the hardware...)

I really dig those early Guildknobs

The guitar sounds beautiful, super responsive and dynamic. Those Franz pkups are something inbetween P-90 and Dynasonic. Killer! Playing comfort is superb, thanks to the featherweight and the fatter neck of the early M-75 reissues. Played her 7 hours today
I couldn‘t be happier with a guitar!

[feet]

i think my biggest complaint with truarc is that they don't offer the alloy you want in the finish/plating you want. luckily, i'm a stainless steel guy, but part of that might be to avoid the situation you've found yourself in.

you're a lucky duck. the gold top is the best finish they put out but they didn't last long. aside from being sweet on the us ones, the lack of options in case i didn't like the franzes put me off. not sure anything else fits that route. i'd probably like them, but it's likely i'd like something else more.

i see pictures but i don't hear sounds.