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2013 Guild Stuart X-500PM Custom
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Serial #: 1 of 1, signed Guild Custom Shop label
Body size at lower bout: 17" Scale length: 25 1/2" Nut width: 1 11/16" Body Depth: 3"
Materials: Arched bookmatched spruce top; arched flame maple back; maple sides and neck; ebony fingerboard with mother of pearl/abalone V-block inlay; G-logo peghead inlay; 8-ply body binding, 5 ply fingerboard binding, triple bound headstock and f-holes, bone nut.
Hardware: Original gold hardware includes twin Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbucking pickups, Grover Imperial tuners; compensated ebony bridge, inlaid ebony stairstep pickguard, gold barrel tone and volume knobs, 3 way selector switch. Gold Guild engraved harp tailpiece.
Notes: Introduced in 1953, the Guild Stuart X-500 was the top of the Guild electric line at its debut, and incorporated design features from a number of its ultra-premium competitors. Like the Gibson ES-350, the Stuart X-500 features a 17" Venetian cutaway body, mounted pickups and controls, deluxe multiply binding and gold hardware throughout. From Epiphone's Emperor, the X-500 adapted the abalone/pearl V-block fingerboard inlay. And another New Yorker, named D'Angelico, supplied inspiration for the art-deco pickguard. Finally, in 1963, the Stuart was equipped with humbucking pickups.
This gleaming instrument is one of the first produced in Guild's new Hartford, CT workshop. A custom order, the guitar was built with the full length 25 1/2" scale, as used on the Artist Award and L-5. Twin Seymour Duncan Seth Lover humbucking pickups were factory installed, along with a custom ebony pickguard, with the Guild logo inlaid in solid pearl. In tribute to the earliest versions of the Stuart, the soundboard is fitted with 50's style clear gold barrel knobs as well.
Just a few months old, the instrument is in virtually unplayed condition, and sports handsome tiger flame beneath a lustrous deep burgundy true nitrocellulose finish. The solid ebony fingerboard has smooth low action over a gentle D profile neck, and the Duncan Lover pickups are warm, rich and highly accurate. Elegantly flamed, the full depth laminate body offers superior sustain, feedback resistance and durability. Now available only on custom order, the Stuart X-500 is a hard-to-find classic in a long line of distinguished jazz guitars. One only: call now.
Setup: The frets have been precision leveled, crowned and polished; trussrod tension and neck relief adjusted; bridge height adjusted; bridge compensation set; string slots at nut and bridge inspected and recut as necessary; bridge foot contour inspected and fit to top as necessary; bridge radius inspected and recurved as necessary; bridge wheels and tuners lubricated; fingerboard and bridge oiled; body and neck cleaned and hand polished.
This instrument is strung with medium gauge flatwound nickel strings (.012-.054). The guitar will accommodate lighter or heavier gauge strings, according to preference. String action is set at 5/64" to 6/64" at the 12th fret, with moderate relief for acoustic playing with medium strings. The action may be lowered or raised to your requirements with the adjustable bridge.
Case: Original deluxe arched Guild black plush lined hardshell case.
