Guild S-100 Polara

MARCH 2019 TOTAL GUITAR
105
I
t’s a long way to the shops if you wanna
rock’n’roll on a double-cut, mahogany
body, humbucker-loaded guitar. That’s
why we picked four of the best examples
for you to shortlist before you set off .
The LTD Viper-400M stands out from the
crowd as the shredder’s dream. We reckon
that’s where most examples will fi nd their
forever homes. Of course, if you happen to
love a super-satin top off set by the rest of the
guitar’s gloss fi nish slim neck but don’t
sweep-pick or tap, the pickup choices give
the Viper appeal beyond your classic ESP/LTD
customer base. We also have to salute this
guitar’s exceptional build and fi nish quality.
The Yamaha RS620 and Guild S-100 are the
pretty boys. We love the former’s satin and
gloss fi nish combination and the latter’s
beautiful white fi nish. The S-100 awards
itself a gold star on its scratchplate. We’ll add
another one for the great sounding pickups
but we would’ve liked an easier action.
Likewise, the RS620 scores big for its tonal
palette but some sharp fret ends marred the
playing experience a bit.
So what of the Gibson? Well, it’s everything
we expect from a great SG. The 2019 Tribute is
the perfect little rock guitar with a timeless
quality. Lightweight on a strap yet tonally
anything but, it conjures up classic sounds
from the 60s and beyond. It also comes with a
padded case and more than half a century of
history and infl uence.
TH
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FINAL VERDICT
Which SG-style electric will tick your box?
TH
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YAMAHA
REVSTAR RS620
LTD VIPER-
400M
GUILD S-100
POLARA
GIBSON 2019 SG
STANDARD TRIBUTE
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
FEATURES
SOUND QUALITY
VALUE FOR MONEY
BUILD QUALITY
PLAYABILITY
OVERALL RATING
SUMMARY
BEST FOR
HEAVY BLUES
BEST FOR
CLASSIC
ROCK
BEST FOR
SHREDDERS
BEST ALL-
ROUNDER
TGR316.gear_test.indd 105 31/01/2019 19:19