Guild Re-Introduces X500 Line of Guitars
 February 3, 2000
On hiatus since 1993, the X500 line is back with two
new traditionally-styled models, and one all new family moniker - the
Paladin series. First introduced in 1953, the X500 was part of Guild’s
Stuart series guitars for over forty years. This popular laminated archtop,
however, gave way to the carved top X700 in 1993 and has been unavailable
ever since.
Guild’s recently-forged relationship with famed luthier Robert
Benedetto has redesignated the X700 Stuart as part of the Guild Benedetto
Signature line. So with that, Guild has brought back the X500 series to
fill the hole left by the X700’s departure, and to continue to offer
hollow body enthusiasts a classic jazz guitar with original appointments
and a spruce top sound.
The new X500 Paladin is a timeless hollowbody with classic Guild jazz
guitar style. Its body is made with laminated maple, while its top is
laminated sitka spruce. The two pieces of spruce which make up the guitar’s
top are hand picked by Guild’s plant manager Willie Fritscher. They
are bonded together for added strength, and then painstakingly molded
in an arch for optimal resonance.
The X500 Paladin has a five-piece maple neck with an ebony fingerboard,
which features inlays made from genuine pearl blocks and abalone inserts.
There are two Custom Design Guild Humbucking pickups which, along with
the rest of the classic Guild hardware, are gold plated. Two finish options
are available for the X500, which are Blonde and Antique Burst.
For more of a Rockabilly feel, Guild introduces the new X500T Paladin.
Identical in material and construction to the X500, the X500T looks beyond
the jazz world to reawaken its roots as a rock ‘n’ roll guitar
innovator.
The X500T can be directly linked to Guild’s classic DE-500, which
was essentially an original X500, but with a Bigsby tremolo and a thinner
body. Unfortunately, these models were limited and only a handful were
ever made. Vintage guitar enthusiasts the world over have looked long
and hard for the chance to add one to their collection.
The new X500T Paladin invokes the essence of DE-500. The same spruce
top, maple body and neck, and inlayed ebony fingerboard of the X500 make
up this model, which also comes with two vintage P-90 style pickups, gold
plated hardware, and a gold plated Bigsby tremolo. The X500T is available
with a Tennessee Orange finish in addition to the standard Blonde or Antique
Burst options.
Both the Guild X500 Paladin and X500T Paladin are available for order
input as of December, 1999, with production set to begin in January, 2000.
US MSRP for the X500 is $3,199.99, and the X500T is $3,299.99.
Visit Guild on the web at www.guildguitars.com. | 
