Guild Artist Award

[2bornot2bop]

My 71 AA was sold to a fellow forum member a few years back to help fund a purchase of a 35 D'Angelico Excel (as always a big thank you to forum member Max405 for that). While I have no regrets about selling the two Benedetto AA's that I owned (one of which went to a member here from Austria), I have some regret about selling the 71. The 1 5/8 nut was not ideal, but pretty damn playable, and the tone with that DeArmond 1100 pickup was sublime.

That’s funny. I sold my Guild Benedetto Johnny Smith Award to a buyer in Australia. Half way around the world in a 2 day FedEx shipment. Job done without a hitch.

[deacon Mark]

I have never played one of the Benedetto JS AA but did own 2 from 1988 and a sunburst from the mid 1970's. The mid 70's one had more sound was good and the other certainly a quality guitar. The problem is I just have never bonded with the AA like I have with Gibsons. It seem to me a good L5 acoustic just pretty much takes the thunder out of the Guild AA. My guess is they carved them but a bit stiff and left too much wood.

I have heard reports that the Benny AA at times had a heavy finish and not all the reports have been good. That seems odd given Bob certainly knows how to carve guitars even though he personally did not do them.

[wintermoon]

When I think of a humbucker it’s a pickup mounted into the top, not floating above the top. You’re suggesting that both humbucker’s have the same sonic qualities? Hmmm, I don’t agree with that. Personally I believe the AA benefits from a pickup swap, regardless of whether the stock pickup is a humbucker or not. The pickup is trash. Heck, even Heritage had a very solid pickup in their floater #3.

Greg, not all humbuckers are mounted in the top, for example a Johnny Smith is a mini humbucker, but it's a floater.
will a humbucker mounted in the top sound different than a floating one? probably, but it's still a humbucker in construction no matter how it's mounted.

[Jabberwocky]

The Benedetto AAs made in Corona, CA have the heavy finish. The ones made in Westerly, R.I. have the thinner finish.

[ggjaguar]

Greg, not all humbuckers are mounted in the top, for example a Johnny Smith is a mini humbucker, but it's a floater.

As is the pickup that Guild used on the AA from 1988 until the changeover to the Benedetto S-6. You can clearly see it's a humbucker design in this gut shot. It's too bad that it doesn't sound good like the Gibson JS pickup.