Guild M-75: An Uncommon Review

Started by Rhcole, November 30, 2017, 02:02:29 PM

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Rhcole

We have reached a point with the so-called "V-Guitar" type products that are the core of our shared interests where - due to technology improvements from the likes of EHX, Boss, Strymon and others - literally just about any electric instrument can now qualify to be a member of this family and therefore worth discussing on this site. Effects products such as  loopers, EHX's ___9 line of synth-type pedals, Freeze pedals such as the new SuperEgo+, advanced delays like the PolyMoon, the weird EarthQuaker pedals, on and on, now give ANY musician potential sonic adventures and opportunities unlike ever before in musical history.

This then, is a review of a traditional electric guitar from the standpoint of using it with the kinds of effects and tonal modifiers that are the basis for this site. The guitar reviewed here is the Guild M-75 Aristocrat, a lovely little box made in Korea weighing in at less than 6 pounds and sporting a pair of custom off-white P-90 style pickups. It is a beauty, looking much like a Les Paul except a bit deeper with a light hollow body and no F holes. The original M-75 was a 50's instrument made by Guild to lure jazz guitar players and early rockers into the Guild camp. This update is almost exactly like the 50's model and has an old-school traditional look and feel.

The construction and appointments are top notch, with perhaps the only weak point being the open back tuners. At around $1100 new (I virtually stole mine off eBay for almost half that amount!) it is an awful lot of guitar for the money. It is also so unbelievably comfortable to hold and play that you could have it in your lap just about anytime the mood strikes you. With a strap on it the guitar has the slightest hint of neck dive due to the light weight, but it is not substantial.

The neck is a medium C shape and the action goes down to what I would call medium-low. The scale length is 24 ¾". The pickups are what makes this guitar fascinating for effects and processing. These are not old school P-90's with a smoky clarity- these babies rip the joint up! The outputs are roughly equivalent to large humbuckers with phenomenal clarity and treble presence. In fact, for many purposes they might sound too bright. Some reviewers love them for their chime and brilliance, with one even suggesting the M-75 could be an excellent surf guitar. Think of Gretsch, Fender, and Rickenbacker-type voicings for these pickups.

The clarity and brilliance of the pickups provide plenty of harmonic raw materials to work with for effects of all kinds. Just be forewarned that these are single coils, so you do get hum and buzzing from them without a noisegate of some kind in front of your FX chain.

The surprise of these pickups are the sounds you get when you roll back the tone knobs. The spank and chime tones yield to surprisingly creamy jazz or bluesy tones. You could easily hear these voicings being used in chord melodies or other styles where warmth and clarity are both required. The hollow body gives the guitar more of a zingy plucked voicing, with distinct articulation on every note.

The guitar also takes overdrive and distortion in stride, leaning towards roots blues, punk, grunge, and old-school rock sounds. I could easily imagine hearing these tones in old Kinks and Yardbirds recordings.

Think then of this guitar having three distinct voicings:
1. Chimey  and bright tones;
2. Creamy jazz/blues with tone rolled back;
3. Gritty rock, blues, and punk with overdrive.

It might not be a good choice for the wailing tones loved by sustainer fans or people who are into old Steve Hackett or King Crimson. But, this guitar can provide a sweet-sounding floor for ambient jazz, an interesting platform for EarthQuaker and other pitch-based FX due to the bright overtones, or a snarling distorted sound for avant-garde stutter and neo-garage noisemakers.   
Check it out.