Guild ST S-200 T-Bird & Hagstrom H-III

review
GUILD S-200 T-BIRD & HAGSTROM H-III
112
Guitarist november 2016
7
6
a neat time-travelling step right back to
60s Chicago or Brian Jones-era Stones.
But toughen up the gain and add a rattier
overdrive and you hear where its punk/
grunge credentials come from. It does nasty
rather well.
The T-Bird, with its more Gibson-esque
build, has a sweeter voice. In Mode 2, the
bass-cut acts rather like a coil-split in
terms of sound, thinning the not-overthick
’buckers for some pretty convincing
Tele-ish tones. With that bypassed, and
some classic rock Marshall voicing, it does
anything from punchy Who to gritty Stones,
garage rock and so much more. These LB-1s
really do hit that mid-point between jangle
and raunch – a hugely classic sound. Mode 1
just voices the neck pickup and, yes, you can
set that for a slightly muted ‘jazz’ comping
sound then flick over to more bite from
the Mode 2, but we do wonder whether
that’s relevant for most players today. Also,
oddly, as you turn down the tone control in
Mode 1, the volume drops too.
Verdict
With their shared vibratos, scale length
and multi-switching, not to mention their
60s heritage, these two pieces certainly
have some commonality. For many players,
though, anything beyond a Fender lever
switch or Gibson toggle will be problematic,
and while both produce credible sounds,
neither would be our first choice as an all-
round workhorse. Meanwhile, the vibrato
imparts its own, quite old-style tonal stamp
along with a rather stiff feel (certainly
compared with a Bigsby) and dodgy tuning
stability on the Guild.
There’s plenty of versatility from the
H-III’s three pickups and on/off switches –
sounds that you don’t find on a regular Strat
– and those preset tone switches, especially
with some punkier, nastier grit and gain, do
become really useful, although they could
be replicated with a standard tone control.
The Guild’s blend of SG-like mahogany
push and those cleaner, edgier humbuckers
make for a really usable instrument that,
seated or strapped on, is far more sensible
than it might look. Its dual mode circuit,
however, brings little to the table, unless you
want to use the ‘rhythm’ and ‘lead’ concept.
That said, its bass-cut switch is a neat ‘coil-
split’ simulator – not dissimilar to the Dry
Switch on Yamaha’s new Revstars. While
its vibrato performance is sub-standard,
you don’t have to use it and along with its
characterful core voice, it’s a near-perfect
electric slide guitar.
But the appeal here is pretty much what
these don’t do. For anyone looking for a
different style or flavour – from original
Chicago blues through to contemporary
rock – there’s an awful lot to like at prices
that really won’t break the bank.
6. The Fender-inspired
straight string-pull over
the nut helps the tuning
stability. The neck also
includes a modern
repro of the Hagstrom
Expander truss rod –
a well regarded design
that lovers of original
Hagstroms believe
has helped to keep
their vintage guitar
necks straight
7. Back in the day, this was
a much-used vibrato
by Hagstrom and other
brands, including Guild.
By today’s standards,
it’s pretty basic
8. We love a switch, or
six! Not as bonkers as
they look, the three
upper pickup on/off
switches mean you
can have all three on
together, or neck and
bridge together, unlike
a standard Stratocaster
GIT413.rev_guild.indd 112 28/09/2016 16:00