Guild B-301 1977

[paulo]

I don't know much about these basses but I'm assuming the pickup and pickguard are not original.
https://reverb.com/item/43881606-guild- ... 7-mahogany

[fivebass52]

The pick guard is certainly different from an original... below is a picture I found showing how much more "pointy" the stock guard was, and reached much farther past the pickup... which is why a filled hole can be seen on the bass for sale. Also, as the picture below shows, there is an input jack in the stock guard, whereas, there is none on this bass... makes me think some past owner decided to drill a hole and install a jack on the bottom of the bass, which may be why you don't see one in the the guard. If so, that could effect the overall value of the bass. The price would be fair if the bass was in original condition... what say y'all?

[Carmine]

I really love the 300 Series Guild basses, so much so that I have 3: a black mahogany B301; a natural B301-A (ash body); and a burst mahogany B302. IMO one of the most collectable solid body Guild basses ever- yet they are still pretty much under the radar- particularly for lefties, as there weren't that many made. But the build quality, playability and tone of the vintage guild stuff is every bit the equal of, and in some regards better than, what Gibson was turning out at the time.

Previously Guild had been somewhat mimicking Gibson's EB designs, but as Gibson transitioned to the Ripper/ Grabber series Guild went in their own direction with both an original new body shape/ neck profile (very well balanced and comfortable) and new proprietary single coil pickups. Those fat single coils have a unique tonal character and surprisingly versatile range... imagine something similar to the bridge pickup in a Rick, add in some warm Gibson-ish low end, plus a little J top end sizzle and bite ... that's what these sound like.

Prices have been escalating, to the point where that price might not be too far out of line line for an all- original in good condition. Unfortunately the lefty up for sale has a standard J bass pickup in it (which I would never do unless forced to due to PU failure- a P, J or humbucker in there may still sound good, but it won't be the same). Replacement pickguard, and looks like some home refinishing involved as well. A cool bass in its own right, but I'd say several price points must be deducted accordingly.

[Jeroen]

Carmine, I love these! Especially the 302. The pickups appear very close to the classic Rickenbacker 4001/4003 positions, I can imagine the tone bearing some similarity . They look tremendously cool. I always assumed they were fairly compact instruments, but looking at bridge placement and reading it has a full 34" scale, I'm not so sure anymore

[NoXX]

… again, this proves my theory that if it’s cool, Carmine has at least one of them

[tim]

Here's a good video of one of these in action. Sounds pretty kick butt:

https://youtu.be/xoxXTzpxbjg

[jayceofbass]

Damn... This body shape really speaks to me. I'd make this guy an offer, and probably over pay a bit to snag it but.... £500 to ship is making me draw a line. That comes out to over $900 CAD. Even at pandemic rates, I can't abide by that.

[bbl]

I had an all-original B-302 and sold it for $825 a couple of years ago. Was on reverb for about 3 weeks.

Just like a Ric, I'd never consider buying one with non-original pickups (unless they were dark stars).

[pjmuck]

Pretty ambitious pricing, as usual, despite the rarity.

I love these a well, though they can be prone to neck dive. The two pro bassists I can think of offhand who I've seen playing a B301 (or B302) are Bryn Merrick of The Damned and Jean Beauvoir of The Plasmatics. It seems these were popular with punk bands, as I also recall seeing a few local punk bands in NY around the early 80's using them too. Supposedly Sheryl Crow owns one too, though I've only ever seen her with her Guild M85.

gettyimages-81891004-594x594.jpg (33.64 KiB) Viewed 7598 times

[paulo]

I had an all-original B-302 and sold it for $825 a couple of years ago. Was on reverb for about 3 weeks.

Just like a Ric, I'd never consider buying one with non-original pickups (unless they were dark stars).

I still kick myself for not buying that one!

[Carmine]

Just came across this cool thread on Talkbass started by my local Chicago comrade and fellow B301 fan/ owner Jake Serek (Serek Basses):

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nbd-gu ... 01.778017/

PJ, mine don't really neck dive, they hang on the strap pretty much the same way you see Jake’s below- but as someone in the thread mentions, it is a stretch getting to the 1st fret. The upside of that is the access to the upper frets with the neck being clear of the body… I’d think swapping in some lightweight tuners would help eliminate any dive issues though.



My favorite quote in the thread:
“Fred Hammon (maker of the Darkstars) has said that he thought the pickups in the B301 & B302 were the second best Guild ever made after the Hagstrom”.
I agree 100%.

Here’s another nice tone sample on YouTube!
https://youtu.be/LRubFx-VkYM


And a couple other B302 players:

[Carmine]

… again, this proves my theory that if it’s cool, Carmine has at least one of them

LOL- that used to be my Mission Statement! But these days I'm happy to let Paulo do all the heavy lifting

[fivebass52]

Wow, interesting tone... never heard this song before... what a Great Bass line!

[bbl]

IMO, it's those pickups that create an open and growly low-mid-range tone.

And the set-neck construction. And the really fat neck. And all-mahogany (in most models).

Like I said, it's the pickups.

[bbl]

The midrange tones are so good I often had evil thoughts of defretting mine!

[bbl]

I had an all-original B-302 and sold it for $825 a couple of years ago. Was on reverb for about 3 weeks.

Just like a Ric, I'd never consider buying one with non-original pickups (unless they were dark stars).

I still kick myself for not buying that one!

Yeah, I was kinda surprised by the lack of interest after posting it for sale here first, especially after lowering the price to $700.

http://www.leftybassist.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=8524

I still get inquiries on it, people asking me to tell them who bought it (which I'd never tell without the buyer's permission).