Guild Surfliner Unboxing & First impressions - Its twangy! but does it surf?

[@jamesmarkjackson1979]

Great to see a relatively affordable guitar that is not another boring Strat, Tele or Les Paul copy. I hope they bring out more.

[@paperoverflow]

I agree, except that strats, teles and lespauls aren't that boring at all, it's just that the fine ones are usually expensive. I would agree that the cheap ones are indeed boring. I recently bought a Cort cr250 les paul and having a blast with it, not far off from a real Gibson, played epiphones that weren't great at all, having a rather neutral sound. The Guild guitar looks rather exotic, looking forward to getting that one when I'm not broke again :-p

[@edgargranados8524]

I agree man. I get more enjoyment and smiles playing my danelectro than my my overprices strat. The only cool thing about it is that it’s American made. Otherwise not cool at all and the guitar I play the least. It’s definitely nice saying I have a USA strat but otherwise an average looking and playing guitar.

[@stevegordon7194]

Love to see another cool axe most people could buy , affordable fun for all !

[@Anjohl]

It's somehow simultaneously completely derivative, and original. I dig it!

[@ImotekhtheStormlord-tx2it]

bro. you have jaguars, jazzmasters, mustangs, jagstangs LMAO

[@riec0123]

I will literally never get tired of the Two Princetons bit.

[@crankydragon]

Anything can be used for metal. 🤘

[@norseman61]

Very cool and classy look. The guitar looks nice, too😏. My ears perked up when you hit the first note. Most of the tones were exactly what I like. Thanks for the great demo!

[@LuisFonseca1]

I own a T-Bird (hardtail) and it's one of the best deals I ever made. Great quality, finishing and Guild pickups have a very interesting tone, kind of a mix between Gibson and Fender. Love it.

[@rocketguardian2001]

I gotta confess I bought this guitar because it made me smile every time I played it at the shop. Also being a noob I thought it was a telecaster based on the sound alone. It is so much fun to play and it satisfies my need for twang.

[@Olegstuff21986]

Excellent. Which colour did you buy?

[@rocketguardian2001]

@@Olegstuff21986 orange. Still love it.

[@NatRiveraP]

Hi. I am new to guitar playing and I am soon getting my first electric guitar. Is this guitar suitable for genres like metal and metal core but also for like jazz and chill like genres? I am looking at a Fender Squier Strato at the moment but this guitar stole my heart!!

[@georgehowe6750]

I bought one in orange. It's a fantastic guitar. I wish it had a trem, but alas, I will live without and just pull back on the neck. They came out with the Deluxe, that does have a trem but is $250 more. As demonstrated you can get tons of tones out of it.

[@MYGAS21]

Its the first time in years I'm really inspired just by the tone of a guitar.

[@Olegstuff21986]

Possibly because it doesn't sound precisely like anything but still easily reminds one of classic 60s-70s sounds.

[@gernotboesser6901]

This guitar is amazing and it seems to give you a lot of pleasure while playing it. Like the design a lot . It really has got a strong personality, reminding me of the surf sound in the sixties. 👌

[@richardpolcsak3754]

I own this guitar and in that colour. Took a bit of getting used to as the neck is big compared to a Telecaster. I didn't realize the strings were 11's and is probably why I was getting craps after 15 minutes of playing. I changed strings to 9's but seems inappropriate for this guitar, I think 10s would be just fine. It's pretty high quality at this price point. I'm having a blast playing it and yes, a wiggle whammy would be nice!

[@GuajoloteGonzales]

I think that metal sounds much better in those twangy single coils than in the typical high output humbuckers that i tend to hate, while i typically like low output humbuckers like the Guild LB-1 for a more vintage thing like psychedelic rock, especially mixed with Fender Blackface/Silverface amps, that i think that are the best match for humbuckers.

[@paulgentile1024]

i love Guilds.. I am a sax player myself but I've been playing some guitar past year using my friends guild aristocrat & Starfire 3.. they sound really great.. am I pick one of these up just to bang around the house.. price seems right

[@RobertFisher1969]

I was excited when I first saw it until I looked at the bridge. Not only is it odd to put “surf” in the name of a guitar without a vibrato, it seems like they could have made it friendlier to adding a vibrato as well. The HSS layout for a “surf” guitar also gives me pause, but it seems fine as well as easy to mod if desired. I’m not interested as is, but I’ll be watching to see if they offer any variations that I might like better.

[@terminalglimmer]

I think it's named after a train???

[@davidcudlip6587]

A Filterton pickup in the bridge would be cool. Or a P90

[@bluwng]

I think a GFS XTrem would work

[@elmotm5441]

Wait til you hear what Jazz players think about Jazzmasters

[@davidcudlip6587]

@@elmotm5441 Leo designed it for jazzers but they never picked up on it. But the surf crowd and alternative rockers love it.

[@chuckvt5196]

Just got one in sunset orange and I love it. I love quirky!

[@umrasangus]

every guitar that has surf in its name sounds like it was made for me, it's unbelievable!

[@Modern_Hippie]

I’m a huge fan of vintage/ weird guitars and a sucker for offsets. I saw this in a local shop and had to play it after around 5 min of playing I started planning on saving for it. (I also like cheaper guitars more 🤷🏼‍♂️)

[@bb_lz9790]

I think it's a great looking guitar, Strat on opposite corners (or maybe Tele by the output jack), SG under your elbow and almost Gibson LP DC on the lower cutaway. I like the Firebird-esque headstock. Sounds great too, especially the neck pickup, the bridge pickup by itself and when combining Bridge and Neck pickups. I wonder if it's a three or four wire bridge pickup so that someone could add a coil split to the humbucker? In all, very cool, thanks for sharing!!!

[@60CycleHumcast]

I’ll be taking a peek at the wiring soon, I’ll post a pic when I do.

[@roccomartelly4773]

It's very strat meets jazzmaster to me

[@stork1122]

They managed to make a surf guitar without a trem? 🤷‍♂️ Really cool guitar anyways. I like it a lot.

[@gringogreen4719]

Ryan! It's all your fault! I bought a Xaviere Strat guitar in Lake Placid Blue based on your Gold one. Well the GFS Tron style pickups were not fitting, the G,B,and E strings were not over the screws. So I put that in an Amazon IYV guitar now named Rumble after the song. By the way those pickups act more like traditional humbucker pickups where you have to have the pickup closer to the strings rather than a real Filtertron where you can raise the screws and lower the pickup. The original pickguard and all the electronics went on another budget Strat knock off that I named "Femme Fatale" and had a decal made for it. Changed the capacitor to an Orange Drop and put in a Switchcraft jack. Still needs a better nut though. Back to the Xaviere, I ordered a new pickguard with HSS placement and did the Surf 90 in the bridge and two Brighton Rock pickups in the middle and neck. The middle is reverse wound for the hum canceling feature. Then Guild comes out with this! I shot my Strat out with the Surfliner. The Guild had more of a nasal quality. The Brighton pickups LOOK the same but the magnets are bigger compared to the Guild and the tone is a bit rounder. The Guild sounded similar but the Xaviere was hotter. The Surf 90 was woolier than the Guild humbucker. I want the Xaviere to do more of a Surf/Garage vibe and it does that a bit warmer and woolier than the Guild. That said the Guild was fine too. But my guitar has a wiggle stick! Anyways Ryan, its all your fault!😜 I also bought the Demonic Machines $50 Fuzz pedal because of you...

[@bennetttmg]

Don't know why so many compare this to a tele when its obviously a guild version of a jaguar especially with the location of the pickup switches. And if your looking for a tremolo you should look at the Deluxe version with a 5 way switch. The color is white sage, I think that is what Guild calls it (sage not seafoam). Even a jag looking headstock. Twangy until you turn off the neck pickup then you can do some good jazz or other. Thanks for the video, very helpful.

[@sassycat]

I like it! It has the sounds I like, despite not having a wigglestick and 23 frets.

[@MrJosephSeely]

I think this would be an excellent choice for a lead soloist when accompanied by other guitars. A rhythm player covering lower voicings would work really well. This cuts right thru.

[@alanthomas8706]

Love ❤️ the glassy sound.

[@frankfarklesberry]

I'm impressed, and I was hoping you'd get to review it when I first saw it. Needs a wiggle stick with that surfability.

[@KoaCharvel]

Ryan, loved the review, but hot dang that guitar craves a wiggle stick!

[@Olegstuff21986]

This guitar can do pretty much anything, from rockabilly to heavy metal, and it does it all well. One of the more versatile guitars I've played. It does Tele, Strat and Les Paul all in one.

[@rayharris454]

That guitar is SCREAMING for a Vox amp!

[@danielnugent7046]

Word.

[@The2ndProtectsTheRest]

Another fantastic “Twang Maker”! I love it!

[@ronpopeil7]

Cool guitar - different and I like it. You should try the game changer audio bigsby pedal. May be a nice thing to have for non wiggle-stick equipped guitars.

[@SteeringSteel]

It’s the perfect spaghetti western guitar

[@michaelwheeler8167]

I'm so intrigued by this line. The orange model is calling to me, I have a thing for orange guitars. Great video!

[@awc5uk]

The Good: 1. Maple neck 2. In line vintage tuners 3. The pickups The Bad: 1. No split coil tap for bridge pickup. 2. No wiggle 3. Input jack on the front side.

[@Purezshock]

separate volume for the bridge would be good, input jack on the top is bad? pickup rocker switches are a huge negative for me, a 5 position strat switch or even a 3 way switch is just much more efficient

[@PsychedelicSocialist]

What kind of pickups does it have? Is it similar to jazzmaster?

[@MartinBryan]

Great demo seems like a really fun guitar

[@mortonwilson795]

Great overview! The sounds this thing offers are amazing - I hope they release a follow-up with trem, would buy it in a flash!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Yeah a surf-voiced guitar with no trem, very odd! You could add your own after but..

[@kenhobin2-cc2fg]

I’d get one tomorrow if it had a trem..Then again I’m a sucker for Bigsby’s.

[@45zapatero]

There is a deluxe version with trem now.

[@mortonwilson795]

@@45zapatero Cool! Thanks for the heads up!

[@pskemster]

Wonder if they are using 250 or 500 pots or maybe the caps could be set to a 250 single pickup which I think would put it at a .47 capacitor. Funny just how much spank those little suttlties can make. And the only reason I mentioned it was because of the Humbucker.

[@VvERingmustmOneven]

As Ryan seems to like the same sonic qualities as me it's good to see him review this! Soundwise this really up my alley. Get a bigsby pedal ;-)

[@DrTomoculus]

4:35 - that chord right there, with that guitar was a WOW moment. That is a nice sounding guitar.

[@DoobTube71]

Cool guitar. Sounds like a decent Strat/Tele style. That tilt-back headstock needs a serious valute however to reinforce the strength of the headstock. Likely easy to snap off the headstock with a mild to moderate drop or tumble?

[@davidkastin4240]

The pups sound excellent to me. I really like this guitar 🎸

[@scottbaker5938]

I wonder if you roll back the tone knob if you could get more versatility? It certainly does the bright, surfy sounds well.

[@robertwyatt4891]

I have one and the answer to your question is yes. The tone knob provides a wide array of tones. Below 5 and it gets muddy but 7-8 will get you Strat/Tele tones all day.

[@timbalint]

I really dig the aesthetics. Wish it had a trem. Fun video Ryan!

[@glenflanders5067]

Yeah that's something I'm definitely interested in

[@drewnorth3816]

I picked up a sunset orange Surfliner this week. I love it. No complaints for me.

[@Ruubinnn]

Guild makes such good guitars for the price.

[@butchlauer]

A solid Guild foundation to come out with many flavor combinations in the future I'm sure. Glad to see you are doin better Ryan with that whole flu thing that is. Rock solid guitar and review!

[@Jayeadgbe]

Yes for the surf sounds a bigsby would be nice. Could add one but then the string-though holes... Also love the transparent blue option - if it wasn't a multi piece poplar body underneath

[@DavidLHolzer]

I love guilds. I'm sold but I agree it needs a wiggle stick. Would love to see your mod of adding one.

[@michaelguza6925]

they could add the trem system from the S200-T-birds

[@gsxerwhite]

That’s a slick looking guitar.

[@gregweber3387]

There's a lot to like on this guitar. I like the single volume and tone control and the switches for all 3 pickups. I think it sounded pretty good in the demo too. The fact that they didn't include a tremelo bar in a "surf" guitar is a little dumbfounding and causes it to fall short for me.

[@Olegstuff21986]

I don't think it matters that much, he gets great surf sounds out of it anyway.

[@MakoGo]

It's a great guitar. I wonder if they saw all the indie bands who use offset/"surf" guitars without the whammies in, and Gretsch decided to skip surf musicians altogether and just market these "surf"liners towards the people who they think are buying guitars like this

[@PsychedelicSocialist]

Do you mean Guild?

[@sopanmcfadden276]

I'm impressed

[@lucymoody4927]

Benn looking forward to this review.

[@rindred]

Definitely a lot of Strat quack out of those pickups. Any time the neck pickup doesn't sound like it's 100 feet below water, that's good by me.

[@jhdore]

Looks good, sounds good! Price is right too! The only thing I’m not keen on is that white colour, I’d have either the other two :-D

[@axtonkahler7360]

Those single coils look exactly like the Brighton Rocks pickups that Guitar Fetish sell. I've got them in a home build and LOVE them.

[@thomasd9237]

Amazingly cool guitar. I like different & old school and am totally sold on this little guy. Into the arsenal it goes !! Hook this up with an Analog Alien Rumbleseat & goin to town !! Thanks for the honest review :-)

[@andrefornia]

Thanks for the great demo, Jurgen Klopp!

[@jeroenvdlinde9006]

Hi Ryan! I saw you playin on a Ibanez_ AZES31! I wondered how you handelt the tuning instability issues? Did you end up putting locking tuners on it? Or was the famous pencil doing the work?

[@srfrodoxd]

That neck pickup sound so good for cleans but the moment you use it with the 250 it flops so bad, fortunately middle and bridge sound way better

[@richardreagan2412]

I hope it comes with a spare neck! One little mishap and, judging by the tilt of the headstock, it's over

[@Bruisewillies]

Well this is a coincidence.......I'd only heard about these this week and am seriously considering getting one.... .then you put this up..........

[@s13e]

super cool guitar! been interested in this as well! interesting to have an angled neck on such a fender-like guitar! crazy decision on pickups Guild!

[@jacksonb8114]

The headstock is brilliant

[@thatguy66199]

I like the cursive Guild logo, reminiscent of the Guild electrics in the 80s

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

Over the years it will increase in value because it is brand name. Not a separate brand name representing the dumbed down Guilds. It is NOT a Squier or an Epi by Guild. It already sounds as Pro as the very best and no more than $200 to a good tech would having it playing as good or even better than anything you pay $2500 for.

[@mjvicc1952]

I just got a Surfcaster based upon your review of this “geetar”! Could you give your V&T settings on the guitar and on the amps. The tone you coax out is remarkable to say the least. Keep ‘em comin’! 😊

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Sounds great, but a surf guitar without a trem? Hmmm odd choice. Love the all-pickups sound especially. Very pretty. Oof i might have to own another guitar… 🤔

[@Lespaul13100]

You had me thinkin' about Mad Season-river of deceit....love that tone!

[@Paul_Lenard_Ewing]

When I seen this guitar about a month ago I thought they decided to make you a signature guitar, LOL

[@markallen6458]

First time I used the word Glassy to try and describe someones guitar tone was Robbie Blunt on Robert Plants solo albums in the 80's. I like that Guild Surfline.

[@Jimbowholivesinsoup]

Very beautiful ! Thanks for the review ! (-: want this

[@coolcatsguitars]

SURF APPROVED

[@solidsixx8562]

I really like it! I think it would have looked better with a matching headstock since I’m not a huge fan of the maple fretboard and neck being slightly different colours. Also how are they gonna call it a “surfliner” and not include a wiggle stick!! Here’s hoping we see more iterations of these over the years, it really looks like it has the potential to be something awesome!

[@GilmourBlackStrat]

Great Review! Great Guitar!

[@birdman316]

450?? thats a sweet deal! if that humbucker is coil splittable you can install a on/off/on slider switch on the control cavity cover and unlock 21 tones on this thang! all in phase!

[@tomritter493]

I like the slipper headstock .I dont use wiggle sticks .so that's good sounds real muddy on high gain

[@Olegstuff21986]

I guess it's not really a "high gain" guitar. Maybe it's the amp settings/pedals?

[@timmackinnon]

I want the orange one!

[@msaintpc]

Did I hear a little bit of Bad Company's "Shooting Star" while you were feeling out the axe?

[@mikegutterman3427]

I'd probably buy one if it had a jazzmaster vibrato on it!

[@adamfindlay7091]

Going for a Goldie, since i hve a Epi the size of a Buick. Need a slim.

[@CraigFlowersMusic]

When you say "Buy a shirt if you're naked," do you think of that live stream when everybody took their shirts off?

[@gramsci420]

I could be wrong but the single coils look like uncovered Tele neck type pickups. Whatever you call those

[@davidaustin6423]

If it had a wiggle stick, I would've ordered one already. Still might after hearing it here.

[@Olegstuff21986]

I think you can install a wiggle stick on it if you want, as it is the surf sounds it gets are great even without one.

[@sercastamere9853]

This guitar seems like it might be a good contender for getting close to that Rickenbacher tone especially a Tom Petty vibe with a Vox

[@Giitzerland]

I have the HH version, I swear it's what you'd get if you bred a tele with a strat, a hybrid TeleStrat maybe? ^^ I still can't believe these are under $500. One wouldn't think it, but it's a hell of metal machine too.

[@Dannyexplosion]

Cool video. I’m digging this guitar!! I’ve gotta go now for “metal reasons”.

[@progresspedals]

Interested- Powercaster or This? -- The hbs on my MIK Starfire "Newark Series" and the build in general is impressive, so I'd take a chance on another low end guild...

[@PopsIntrepidPedaler]

Not really sure it should have 'Surf' in the name without a wiggle stick. Would have to immediately Mod a top mounted trem onto it~

[@dw7704]

Kind of wondered that myself, but if you have two guitars in the band & the other one has it, you should be okay. (For surf I would likely use a Mustang, which has one)

[@dl21633]

It most certainly does NOT need a 'wiggle stick' (Tremolo arm). Guitars are usually better without them, except (maybe) the Fender Strat.

[@Anjohl]

100% agree. If you need one, get a Floyd and be done with it. Nothing else comes close.

[@kenhobin2-cc2fg]

Totally agree needs a wiggle stick..

[@DavidGarcia-pi9wn]

No whammy or vibrato? They kinda missed the point for surf but it’s still awesome

[@BenjaminSteber]

Did you add the tremolo bar? Is it compatible?

[@ElectromaticG5120]

Could be a nice future classic.

[@savoirfaire8979]

Wish they offered more colors, tho. Always wanted a silver sparkle guitar…or purple, silver

[@Edward-MTBKR]

I too received a notice of winning a Guild Surfliner. "Ryan" wanted $100 to ship the "free" guitar. The PH# was from Nashville area. Beware.

[@60CycleHumcast]

Yeah that’s a scam. We are trying to stay on top of blocking those accounts but they are crafty.

[@lavachemist]

I got one but I think Ryan already blocked/removed it before I clicked on it, lol. I was like, wow that was an odd way of announcing a winner of something, haha

[@stephanieclinton4696]

Can someone PLEASE let me know the make of that sparkly light green offset behind him, I need to know.

[@60CycleHumcast]

I think the lighting is throwing off the true color, but it's a Fender Jagstang refinished in gold sparkle - steve

[@spottedsaint957]

For metal purposes you gotta have a Telecaster 😁👍

[@caiusmadison2996]

With EMGS

[@spottedsaint957]

@@caiusmadison2996 mine actually does pretty well with the standard single coil pickups.

[@thomasradcliffe298]

I believe it was made to be played clean. Not really happening with drive hard to listen to actually. Cool stumming guitar as stated.

[@jmdean_]

Very light minty, seafoamy slatey kind of bluish -- sweet dreams are made of this my friend

[@kenmcf]

Nice jangle. I have always like Guild. I have a solid mahogany Guild acoustic very nice. Old New York Guitar Company. Don't see this replacing my strat though.

[@Olegstuff21986]

This isn't meant to, its sound is different from the standard strat sound.