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This is the guitar I
said I would never sell. It is one of only 13
Stuarts made in 1989 - a classic, handmade, jazz
archtop, built when Guild were at the height of their
abilities. The sunburst that Guild used in
'89 was a rich, deep, warm tone - just like a
polished new "Conker"!
I acquired it as a one
owner guitar, the first owner having upgraded the
pickups. I don't know what these
replacement 'buckers are but the sound is pure Johnny
Smith - pure Moonlight in Vermont! Perhaps
that is not surprising
because most of Johnny Smith's early recordings were made
with his trusty Stuart and his D'Angelico.
When he asked Guild to make him a "near copy" of his D'A",
he was reported to be quite disappointed with the Johnny
Smith model they named after him. Apparently it fell a long way
short of John D'Angelico's design and it seems he went back
to playing his Stuart. No surprise there!
There are a few little
things that could be tidied up on this guitar.
It needs a gentle fret dress so it probably should have a nice Pro set-up but I just
love it the way it is.
In every other respect
it is quite outstanding. The finish is amazing
and the binding is 100%.
It plays superbly and
.... that tone!
This is a truly great
jazz guitar. I let John Etheridge
play it a few years ago. When he started
playing, his immediate reaction was "Oh, that's really
jazzy". I agree.
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