Guild S-100 Polara vs Gibson SG

victorludorum

You could just get the Dearmond version and mod it to your tastes.

daveyh

Whereabouts are you?

MagicPigDetective

daveyh said:

Whereabouts are you?

Near Porthmadog, Gwynedd. Got an S-100?

tampaxboo

i saw a white polara locally recently and i've always liked them more than the sgs for looks. chunkier and more brutish-elegant looking. nicer headstock. just sexier all round. but the neck looked so drainpipe and huge it put me totally off. maybe white made it look more massive. but seemed to be a deep full semicircle type. a real chunk.

as you say you are used to fenders you may struggle to accomodate something so seemigly big. had i more time i would have tried it just to see. but i was rushy and at a glismpse it looked so wrong i didn't bother. but it looked gretschy fat and blocky to me.

MagicPigDetective

tampaxboo said:

i saw a white polara locally recently and i've always liked them more than the sgs for looks. chunkier and more brutish-elegant looking. nicer headstock. just sexier all round. but the neck looked so drainpipe and huge it put me totally off. maybe white made it look more massive. but seemed to be a deep full semicircle type. a real chunk.

as you say you are used to fenders you may struggle to accomodate something so seemigly big. had i more time i would have tried it just to see. but i was rushy and at a glismpse it looked so wrong i didn't bother. but it looked gretschy fat and blocky to me.

Good post. Yes, that’s what concerns me. I’ve read conflicting views. Surely someone on Fretboard has tried one of the korean made re-issues and can enlighten us? I realise nothing beats trying one, but not many stock them, even on-line. And I live a long way from decent guitar shops. 

MagicPigDetective

victorludorum said:

You could just get the Dearmond version and mod it to your tastes.

Ok I’ve googled this and seen their s-100 copies. I’m not a modder to be honest. If I were to get one I’d want the real deal. 

tampaxboo

@MagicPigDetective this is a random side view from google. fat gretschish chunk of wood back there. can't see the neck curve in this pic but in real life it looks full curve deep. some full necks play ok but not my scene usually.
but quality wise it looked totally immaculate. it practically stinks of quality and attention to detail.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81bNFYGLZeL._SL1500_.jpg

Cookiemonster

OK I played an original one that was in a shared band room. It was fantastic. I am not a huge sound garden fan. But it was a great guitar. I prefered it to the Gibson I've had. 

stimpsonslostson

MagicPigDetective said:

  Resurrecting this thread to ask if there are others who have played an S-100 Polara re-issue? I still have not got to try one and am still GASing for a humbuckered guitar undecided between a S-100 or an SG (with a Vintage Lemon Drop now also under consideration). In particular I wonder how big the neck is, it's described as a 'soft' U. I would not want too thick a neck as I have smallish hands.  

(Sadly with the demise of Soundgarden I doubt that a Kim Thaiyl signature will see the light of day)   

I can't comment on the Guild or SG, but the Lemon Drop I had had a thin neck on it- it was a good guitar, but weighed approximately the same as a smallish planet. 

MagicPigDetective

stimpsonslostson said:

MagicPigDetective said:

  Resurrecting this thread to ask if there are others who have played an S-100 Polara re-issue? I still have not got to try one and am still GASing for a humbuckered guitar undecided between a S-100 or an SG (with a Vintage Lemon Drop now also under consideration). In particular I wonder how big the neck is, it's described as a 'soft' U. I would not want too thick a neck as I have smallish hands.  

(Sadly with the demise of Soundgarden I doubt that a Kim Thaiyl signature will see the light of day)   

I can't comment on the Guild or SG, but the Lemon Drop I had had a thin neck on it- it was a good guitar, but weighed approximately the same as a smallish planet. 

Yes, not sure if such a heavy guitar is a good idea for my back;  yet I do play mostly sitting down. What was your opinion of the pickups on the Lemon Drop? 

MagicPigDetective

Cookiemonster said:

OK I played an original one that was in a shared band room. It was fantastic. I am not a huge sound garden fan. But it was a great guitar. I prefered it to the Gibson I've had. 

Nice.. what Gibson have you had?

stimpsonslostson

MagicPigDetective said:

stimpsonslostson said:

MagicPigDetective said:

  Resurrecting this thread to ask if there are others who have played an S-100 Polara re-issue? I still have not got to try one and am still GASing for a humbuckered guitar undecided between a S-100 or an SG (with a Vintage Lemon Drop now also under consideration). In particular I wonder how big the neck is, it's described as a 'soft' U. I would not want too thick a neck as I have smallish hands.  

(Sadly with the demise of Soundgarden I doubt that a Kim Thaiyl signature will see the light of day)   

I can't comment on the Guild or SG, but the Lemon Drop I had had a thin neck on it- it was a good guitar, but weighed approximately the same as a smallish planet. 

Yes, not sure if such a heavy guitar is a good idea for my back;  yet I do play mostly sitting down. What was your opinion of the pickups on the Lemon Drop? 

They were good, but a bit bland- I was playing a lot of Foo Fighters/Led Zep etc so I replaced them with a Dirty Torque & Blues engine which were cheap and excellent. 

jacklawtey

If you're anywhere near Leeds you can come play my '74 S100 carved. 

MagicPigDetective

jacklawtey said:

If you're anywhere near Leeds you can come play my '74 S100 carved. 

Unfortunately not near. Carved with the acorns? Nice guitar? 

Neil

Why not just order one up from a store, try in the comfort of your own home and if it doesn't suit send it back?

MagicPigDetective

Yes @Neil that’s what I will have to do, after making a decision! I can be indecisive, if I go for the Guild I keep changing my mind on which colour I prefer, Black, White or Cherry Red.

I’ve found a good review. Says about the neck “The guitar has a nice low action, a nice modern neck width, and a nice neck depth that isn’t a baseball bat and isn’t shredder-thin either”.

http://www.gad.net/Blog/2016/07/14/review-guild-2015-newark-street-s-100-guitar/

jacklawtey

MagicPigDetective said:

jacklawtey said:

If you're anywhere near Leeds you can come play my '74 S100 carved. 

Unfortunately not near. Carved with the acorns? Nice guitar? 

My favourite. Like nothin' I've played. It's a fine guitar, but 'tis no SG. Only the looks are similar. It's quite a big fat boy.

MagicPigDetective

Finally got my hands on an S-100, tried a new black one at Back Alley Music in Chester today. First impression was how heavy it was, the body is a big slab of mahogany. The frets were narrow and high. The pickups had a nice chime to them, it was very well built and finished and seemed well balanced. And the neck.....too big for me and what I’m used to. As much as I really wanted to like it, the neck is just too fat for me. So there endeth my quest for an S-100. 

I then went down to Dawsons and tried an 2018 SG Special. Thinner neck and played great. It seems I am a fan of their thin taper neck.

So going back to the point of this thread, for me, the SG wins over the S-100. 

Played the SG thru a Boss Katana 100; sounded good so I bought the amp, so it’s a happy NAD to me  

Funkfingers

MagicPigDetective said:

First impression was how heavy it was, the body is a big slab of mahogany.

The B301/302 bass guitars are similarly afflicted.