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

In truth, my first grown-up guitar - but also a favourite of Gary Kemp of Spandau Ballet, on their first album, before the big ballads took over. Check out "Musclebound" on TOTP in 1981. 

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This is a beautifully built and contoured guitar.  And it still holds its tone and attack after more than 40 years on the planet.  It's definitely been gigged . . . I know that because it was my main guitar for more than 20 years.  For the curious and eclectic, this is the guitar behind "where are they now?" 80s Indie/Pop band President Reagan Is Clever. It's a perfect example of advertising truth: the "extra-fast, very thin solid mahogany neck" makes for the lowest action guitar I've ever played in my life.  A real gem!

See & Hear It In Action
  • Musclebound: And here's the real thing.  Gary Kemp plays the Guild S-100 on Top Of The Pops in 1981, albeit with a black pickguard.
  • To Cut A Long Story Short: And proving that guitar-sharing is not a new thing, here's Steve Norman from Spandau Ballet playing the same guitar from the same era.
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Specification

Make

Guild

Model

S-100 Standard

Colour

White

Year

1976

Serial  Number

141240

Number of Frets

22

Fretboard

Rosewood

Neck

Mahogany

Body

Mahogany

Tuners

Guild Rotomatic Grovers

Pick-ups

Guild HB-1 Humbuckers

Bridge

Guild Adjust-O-Matic

Tailpiece

Guild Stop Tailpiece

Scale Length

24.75"

Full Length

40.375"

Further Information:

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  • 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.

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  • 1976 was the first year that the S-100 became available in white, along with the unbound neck, and clear pickguard.  They also took the opportunity to further strengthen the differentiation with "GUILD"-stamped Grover-like tuners and dot inlays replacing the block inlays on the fretboard.

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  • Even with its offset double-cut body style, unfavourable claims that the S-100 was too close to the Gibson SG led Guild in 1976 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.

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  • 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.

Sources & Links
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