2014 Guild Orpheum Slope Dreadnought – £1799

NEW ARRIVAL  In 2014 Guild managed to tempt Ren Ferguson away from Gibson where he’d been Master Luthier at Gibson Acoustic. For one year only he was given free rein to use the Guild Custom Shop team to build something very special, before becoming VP of Manufacturing and R&D in 2015. His idea was to imagine what Guild guitars would have been like if they’d been produced in the 1930’s – the result was the Orpheum range. Using hide glue construction, an Adirondack Red Spruce top with scalloped Adirondack bracing and Honduras Mahogany back and sides, the guitar is a tone monster. There’s a bound Ebony fingerboard, with carved Ebony rectangular bridge, plus a Script Guild headstock logo and vintage inspired tortoise pickguard. There’s also a distinctive marquetry rosette and rope body binding adding to the vintage vibe. Tonally the guitar has a strong attack, yet the bass is controlled, with full mids and tight trebles. With fingerpicking the guitar is very controllable, with flat picking it really cuts through, and when strummed it fills the room. It’s a very versatile guitar, capable of handling any playing style. The guitar’s in good condition, with one long scrape on the top that doesn’t go through the lacquer. It has an LR Baggs I Beam pickup, and comes in it’s original hard case.