GUITAR- GUILD Surfliner Deluxe ____ NEW ____ expect the unexpected

 GUILD SURFLINER DELUXE 

Deluxe $700.00 USD

A year ago Guild brought out their first actually new guitar in decades, the Surfliner. It was a huge success but some complained it did not have a whammy and they did not like the feel or look of a maple fretboard.

I loved it's retro look and a guitar that with a PU change would sound like a Strat without having to be another 'ME TOO' guy like 10 zillion guys with a Strat. I liked the maple fretboard of the standard but 

need a whammy if I was going to Strat-ify my Guild.

Standard Surfliner $500.00 USD

   SPECS     

The guitar has a bound C Shaped neck with a 10 inch radius compared to a Strat with 9.5. It feels about the same but bends on the strings do not fret out so you can have a lower action.

It has a polar wood body which is slightly lighter than alder but sounds close enough for 99% of us to not hear a difference. In fact Gibson uses poplar as part of the top of all their simi's as it mellows the tone and is always a consistent weight whereas Alder can vary quite a lot.

The HB bridge PU is classic Guild with a very early mildly overwound vintage PAF with that punch in the mids. The single coil PU's are by DeArmond which is very 50's. They have their own vibe. The closet thing you have heard is perhaps Burns PU's courtesy of Brian May. Old ones are much sought after by many traditional Blues players. If however you like modding they can easily be swapped out. It could be turned into a Strat very easily. 

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CONCLUSION 

My biggest surprise is the Guild HB PU. It has nailed the best of the 50's PAF vibe. I do not think it needs to be swapped out. Both models are excellent it gets down to if you need a whammy. I love the Retro look. It is just different enough to give it's own character without getting weird just to be different.

The price difference is a bit much. I think $650.00 USD tops for the the DeLuxe. When the standard came out Guild had a sale by the summer so maybe they will do that with the Deluxe. If so $650.00 is my guess for the price. The best thing about either is you don't end up as one of the sheep with another damn Fender clone. I learnt a long time ago if you want to stand out at least one of your guitars should identify You as being You not a Me Too.

 

the fine print

The guitar is made in Indonesia. Like the Japanese business model the company that makes the guitar makes anyone's guitars not necessarily their own. It is a fact these days if you buy the best robotic/computer controlled machinery you can make massive amount more in a very short time with very little waste that can happen with human error. So if you have Asian sweatshop images of Indonesia forget them. A sweatshop can not compete with any guitar that sells over $125.00 USD.

I really expect in ten years that the only guitars made in the USA will be either tiny shops making hand mades and 

Custom Shops with the same high prices. Yes both Gibson USA and Fender USA will be gone with only their Custom Shops.