Phil Maneri’s
BASS
LAB
Guild has made some excellent acoustic guitars in its long and storied history. Today’s Guild isn’t like Westerly Guild of old, but they still occupy a recognizable niche in the market. This entry is an odd bird: a 23.75” scale mini acoustic electric bass. For comparison, a Fender Strat employs a 25” scale and a Gibson Les Paul is a 24.75” scale. Fender Basses are 34”. Even the shortest short-scale bass typically has a 30” scale. This is shorter than all that. It really should sound terrible, but it doesn’t. In fact, it sounds better than you’d think.
It’s weird to play, being so short. Jury is out weather I could get used to it or not, personally. Nevertheless, if you can get used to playing it, there are lots of good things, here. It’s easy to cart around, being smaller. It sounds great acoustically – way better than most acoustic electric basses. It sounds good plugged in, as well.
This China-made instrument has a solid spruce top sitting on plywood flamed maple back and sides. The back is pressed into a curve – and sans braces, like the old ‘70s Guild guitars. Cool nod to their history. Decent lumber for its price range. The top is braced moderately in a typical X-braced Martin style with a standard bridge plate. The neck-end long brace is huge in comparison to the rest of the field. Work is clean on the inside.
The neck angle is underset for an acoustic flattop guitar. That’s not a good way to start an instrument’s life span. They tend to move in that direction on their own over time, making them progressively harder to play. No need to help it along right out of the gate. It’s packed with a proprietary Fishman pickup system that at first glance has the sound hole volume and tone knobs of a Fishman Matrix, but the transducer is of a less expensive variety. Sounds great plugged in, like a low-tuned acoustic guitar.
Tuning keys are what you would expect for a $500 instrument: serviceable, but not all that. The output jack and battery compartment area are sawed out of the skinny side wood and installed there, rather than using the end block in support of the output jack. I am concerned that this may break badly some day and not be worth fixing. Granted, it’s a $500 guitar, so I should have lower expectations, but this one seems easy to avoid. Finish is a decently applied satin poly, thin enough and reasonably durable. The nut shows evidence of a superglue fill on the A string, and the fret ends need filed back better – the latter most likely from fingerboard shrinkage after construction.
This bass has very low string tension from the scale length and super light .37 to .90 gage strings. For those used to 34” scale instruments with .45-105 strings, it can feel rubbery and it’s easy to overfire with a standard technique. You will definitely need to adjust your technique a bit to become comfortable with this instrument. The playing positions (both standing and sitting) take a little getting used to, as well.
If it wasn’t so inexpensive, I wouldn’t like it so much. But at $500, it’s a good price for what it is. It sounds great and looks interesting. Sure, it could be built better, but probably not for the selling price. If you can accommodate its odd size, it has potential.
Guild Jumbo Junior Bass
CONFIGURATION
| Strings: | 4 |
| Style: | Mini acoustic |
| Overall Length: | 37” |
| Body Dimension: | 17 ¼” long x 14 ½” wide at lower bout |
| Body Contouring: | Minimal |
| Weight: | 4.0 lbs |
NECK
| Scale length: | 23.75” |
| Neck width at nut: | 1.638” (1 5/8”) |
| Neck width at 12th fret: | 2.026” |
| Neck width at joint: | 2.088” |
| Neck thickness at nut: | .979” |
| Neck thickness at 1st fret: | .863” |
| Neck thickness at 12th fret: | 1.183” |
| Neck thickness at joint: | 1.183” |
| String spacing at nut: | .411” |
| String spacing at saddle: | .658” |
| Fingerboard radius: | 12” |
| Descriptor for neck shape: | C shape |
| Peghead break angle: | 17 deg |
| Bridge break angle: | 32 deg |
| Afterlength at nut: | 2.283” – 4.594” |
| Afterlength at saddle: | .403” to pin (or 1.119” through body) |
| Attachment: | Set neck |
| Pocket gap: | N/A |
| Truss rod type/access: | Dual-action / body end |
| Fret count: | 19 |
| Fretwire: | 77x44 |
ELECTRONICS
| Pickups: | Piezo transducer |
| Pickup location(s): | Underneath bridge |
| Electronics: | Guild AP-1 piezo system, sound hole mounted |
| Controls: | Volume/Tone |
| Shielding: | N/A |
| Preamp circuit voltage: | 9V |
CONSTRUCTION
| Body Material: | Flamed maple plywood back/sides; solid Sitka spruce top |
| Neck Material: | Maple |
| Fingerboard: | Ebony (mother of pearl dots) |
| Body Finish: | Satin clear polyurethane |
| Neck Finish: | Satin clear polyurethane |
HARDWARE
| Strings: | D’Addario nylon-core coated phosphor bronze strings |
| Gauge: | .037, .050, .062, .090 (inches) |
| Attachment: | At bridge |
| Bridge/material: | Proprietary / ebony (bone saddles, plastic pins) |
| Nut: | Bone |
| Tuners/color: | Guild closed-gear, 18:1 ratio / chrome |
| Knobs/color: | Black plastic |
| Pickguard: | 1-Ply Tortoise shell |
| Control cavity cover: | Plastic |
GENERAL
| Company: | Guild Guitars 1455 19th St. Santa Monica, CA 90404 Phone: (310) 857-1710 Fax: (310) 857-1690 http://www.guildguitars.com/ |
| County of origin: | China |
| Warranty: | Limited non-transferrable lifetime |
| Price: | $695.00 MSRP, $499.00 Street |
| Options: | None |
| Accessories: | Gig bag |
| Available colors: | |
| Acquired from: | Guild Guitars |
| Dates: | Spring, Summer 2018 |
| Locals: | Illinois, Ohio |
| Test gear: | Gallien-Krueger MB 800, Neo 112-II |
TEST RESULTS
1-5 (unacceptable to impeccable)
In-hand
| Features: | 4 |
| Tonal Flexibility: | 3 |
| Ease of Use: | 4 |
| Aesthetics: | 4 |
| Ergonomics: | 4 |
| Tone: | 4 |
| Value: | 5 |
In-hand Score 4.00average
On-bench Score 3.63average
On-bench
| Overall construction | 3 |
| Wood choice | 5 |
| Materials choice | 3 |
| Joinery | 4 |
| Fretwork | 2 |
| Fit and Finish of adornments | 3 |
| Quality of finish work | 4 |
| Ease of repair | 4 |
| Potential range of setup | 3 |
| Balance on knee | 3 |
| Balance on strap | 3 |
| Overall electronic quality | 4 |
| Solder joints, wire runs | 4 |
| Clarity | 4 |
| Noise | 5 |
| Shielding | N/A |
| Quality for Price Range | 4 |
SONIC PROFILE:
Low: Huge and round
Mids: Mild and mellow
Highs: Crisp and bright
TONE-O-METER:
This bass is fairly unique. It has the classic acoustic tone and tonal applicability, but is surprisingly portable, tuneful, and especially affordable, despite great materials and construction.
