The justjazzguitars collection of vintage and rare jazz archtops.

My first Guild.   I was impressed by its simplicity and its lightness yet it really played.    In fact a very bluesy little guitar.    Quite an Icon this one.    Real campus Rock n Roll from the '60's.  

Now:    Long gone.

Gorgeous!    Real quality workmanship and choice woods.

Now:    It went to an enthusiast in N Ireland.

I bought this over the internet from a music shop in Maryland. USA.    I was really attracted by the amazing sunburst.    When I opened the case it was another of those guitars saturated with the rich aroma of fresh tobacco leaves (not tobacco smoke)  rich, pure, sweet tobacco.   Intoxicating!   Great for playing the Blues!

It was a one owner guitar who, at some time, had changed the pickups.    I haven't yet identified those 'buckers' but the tone is pure Johnny Smith.     I love this guitar.      

Now:    Loved, admired and enjoyed in Ilkley.  

I discovered this one in Ontario.    Another one owner guitar with an amazing faded sunburst.

Truly Mint, it was a jazz guitar through and through.   Better than any ES-175 in its day!    

Now:    Treasured in The Hague. 

This is the thinline Manhattan and, again, I managed to buy it from its original owner, an accomplished jazz player in Sarasota who needed to pay his bills.    It came with an unwound 3rd string which I found I liked and still use.

This is truly gorgeous and still Mint.      

Now:     Bopping in Bromsgrove.

This was an early Corona guitar, made by the team that transferred from the Westerly Plant and it was well made, using good woods.    It had great tone.    The 150 is a really nice simple guitar and holds its head up alongside a single pickup ES 175.

Now:    Swinging in Stoke on Trent. 

These are legendary  -  a special series of just 50 or so X-700's known as Masterbuilt Stuarts.   Their serial numbers begin GBB as do the Artist Awards of the same period  -  confusing!!!

This one is finished in Opulent Brown.    It's, a real work of art but a big, heavy guitar.    With the passing of time I feel much more at home with thinlines and with slightly smaller bodied guitars.    What they lose acoustically my Polytone Mini-Brute II puts right

Now:  With a new delighted owner!

I love these Vintage Guilds.    They are much better guitars in my view than their Gibson counterparts.    Great presence,  great tone and a great joy to play.  

This had been used regularly but very well cared for when I bought it and it has mellowed to become a delightful,  sweet instrument but still with that typical Guild "punch" when you want it.

Complete and original with its original case.

Now:    Making sweet jazz in France. 

I just had to include a first series Westerly X-700 in my collection and after all those gorgeous Sunbursts I couldn't  resist this perfect Blonde.

Another one owner guitar that was a sheer joy to hold and to play!    The solid, hand carved Spruce top gave it an added mellowness.

Now:    Harvey loves it to bits!

The old Johnny Smith Awards have such a reputation, somehow the Artist Award didn't quite match up.

I have looked for an original JS for quite a while and probably will go on looking.     But when this Benedetto came along I was hooked.    I had a Benedetto Masterbuilt Stuart a while back and it was such a great guitar that I knew Benedetto's  re-working of the JS would be special.     After all,  everybody says so!

It is stunning to look at  -  fantastic to play!

Now:    Bopping in Bloxham

A CE-100 has been on my list for a long while.   A nice uncomplicated,  well-made, working musicians Guild from Hoboken..

This one, from the 50's,  plays so well.   It is all original, down to its Stove knobs and Ghost label.    It even has its original case.

Now:    Musicalement a Marseilles!

Another Benedetto Johnny Smith Award is perhaps a little greedy but .... Blonde ones are quite rare and this one has something very special about it!    It is one of just 18 guitars signed by Johnny Smith and only a handful were Blonde so very, very rare!

I bought it directly from its first owner, a collector from Houston.  Texas.    

Better than Mint  -  it had been cherished since new,  kept properly and played occasionally so it is opening up nicely.   A collectors piece!

Now:    Treasured in Tokyo.

I couldn't believe my luck.    Another one owner guitar, stored in its case for the last 26 years and only rarely cleaned, polished and played.    This truly is Mint!

It is one of only 16 Stuarts made in 1986 when Guild were making their best guitars at  Westerly., Rhode Island.

It looks, feels and plays like a new guitar and deserves to be played regularly!

Now:    In the US    but only because #096 came up.

I had just bought #094 and #095 within a couple of days of each other when I discovered this one. 

It is a Special Order from 1975.    Lots of history with this guitar and I am in the process of contacting past owners to see what I can learn.    I thought it to be unique but I have recently heard that another Blonde single pickup Stuart was made so maybe there are two!!  

Now:     Also treasured in Tokyo.

Single pickup, solid hand-carved top and rare as hell  -  that's the direction my collection is taking.  

There are only two X-700s finished in Claret and each is different from the other.

These late Corona Benedettos sound so good and play so superbly!    This one just feels right in your hands.    It is now strung with George Benson Flatwound 13's and it sounds so rich!     I am hooked.    It will be played and played.

Now:    In San Francisco  alongside its sister.

In 1999/80  Guild's Custom Shop made around 6 of these specials.    They were not catalogue items and were not available in the USA.    Most came to Europe and were immediately prized by Guild lovers and collectors.

Over the years,  Guild had made occasional long scale archtops to order but these six specials used the Benedetto scale (not the standard L5 scale).   They also departed from Guilds normal practice by having bound pickguards (also like a Benedetto)!

These were clearly the forerunners of the Guild Benedetto X-700 that followed soon after.

It plays superbly with a massive acoustic voice and sounds fantastic.

Now:    Back in the USA.