1976 Guild S-100 Standard, as made famous by Gary Kemp

Further Information:

​

• Guild produced the original S-100s from 1970 to 1978, as an evolution of the two single-coil pick-up Polara S-100 first introduced in 1963.  The S-100 was reissued from 1994 to 1997, after which, as the full circle goes, Guild reintroduced the Polara name.

​

• 1976 was the first year that the S-100 became available in white, along with the  clear pickguard and "GUILD"-stamped Grover-like tuners.​

​

• 1976 was also the year that Guild started to phase out the S-100.  Even with its offset double-cut body style, unfavourable claims that the guitar was too close to the Gibson SG led Guild to introduce the S-300, a dramatically different body shape.  It has its lovers, and it definitely looked the part in the late-70s/early 80s, but it just hasn't stood the test of time like the S-100 has.

​

• What's mystified me for all the years I've had the guitar is the unbound neck and dot inlays.  Search for a 70s Guild S-100 and you're going to find something with a bound neck and block inlays as standard - and you''ll see the same on any of the reissues.  So, I'm utterly indebted to Guild guitars expert (and, another story, surprised hirer of the 1964 Harmony Rocket H59 for his 80th birthday in 2025) Ted Beesley for finally solving the mystery.  As Guild transitioned from the S-100 to the S-300, they did what many other brands did - used up old stock.  Turns out the neck on my S-100 is the neck of a S-90, repurposed with the standard S-100 headstock design, from available stock.  The case is solved, thanks to Ted.  And the uniquely refined look of this S-100 is at last explained!

​​​

• Final fun, if geeky, fact.  The headstock inlay is often called the "Chesterfield" logo.  From all I've read, Guild never called it that themselves.  But its resemblance to the logo seen on Chesterfield cigarettes didn't go unnoticed.  The origins of both logos are not on record, but Chesterfield was definitely first.  So the comparison stuck.  And besides it was a lot easier to call it the "Chesterfield" logo than the "Torch With Stylized Burning Flames And Crown" logo ;-).

​​

• This one has its fair share of fading & distinctive dents - relic'd through use rather than craftsmanship.  To play, it remains a fantastic low-action, high-speed guitar, all parts original, all parts working perfectly.