Guild Jetstar Review

Cost: $599.00 new, buy from Reverb.com

Thanks to Keena from Cordoba Music, makers of Guild Guitars, for lending me and then selling me this gorgeous instrument!

Overview and Final Score: 9.7

This guitar has quickly become one of my main instruments, and before I dig into it, I have to make it clear I liked this instrument so much, I purchased it shortly after the review. The Guild Jetstar is a re-issue of a classic, historical model that mixes distinct design with vintage tone. Looking like something that should be found in Dan Auerbach’s arsenal of pawn shop guitars, the Jetstar has a truly original body shape, with an eye catching bite out of strat body and an awesome reverse headstock. Adding to the charm is two LB-1 humbuckers, Guild’s toaster top style dual coil pickups with plenty of output, low hum, and a Rickenbacker-esque chime. 

Sound: 9 

The Jetstar sounds somewhere between a jangly, British invasion tone and a crunchy, garage rock guitar. The neck pickup is full, round, and warm, like you would expect a neck pickup to be, but retains much more top end and treble than others. This is a tone that may not be for everyone, but for me, a loyal bridge pickup obsessive, I loved being to switch up my sound without losing all that top end. The bridge pickup was spot on perfect, it shined through recording mixes and jam sessions when played clean, over driven, or with heavy distortion or fuzz on top. The guitar even pushed my Vox AC15 tube amp to breakup a bit as I cranked the volume, but the humbuckers here are still a far cry from the breakup you can achieve with PAF-style humbuckers. The only real negative is that the pickups tonal options are somewhat limited by a tone knob that doesn’t have great spread, as you have to really turn it past 5 or 6 to hear much a change. 

Playability: 10 

Tuning stability has been superb so far and the 22 frets are all easy to access thanks to the friendly, large cutaways. Furthermore the Fender 25.5” scale length feels familiar and comfortable to play even though it is paired with Gibson-esque features such as a stopbar tailpiece and dual humbuckers. The guitar is also incredibly easy to play, with a “Pau Ferro” fretboard on top of a Mahogany neck and body. The distinct shape and dual body contours on either side make it comfortable to play sitting down or standing up, and even better, the guitar feels fairly light as a feather, and feels well balanced in my hands. 

Finish and Construction: 10 

One of the best features of this whole guitar is the awesome finish options. I was fortunate enough to be sent one in Seafoam Green, which looks stunning and has already drawn audible attention from everyone who sees it. It is also available in white and black finishes, with a beautiful tortoise shell pickguard. The guitar feels reliable too, it stays in tune, it’s lightweight enough to play comfortable for hours, and feels like one solid piece of wood. It’s important to feel that you can trust your guitar once you put it on before a gig or recording session, and this guitar certainly evokes that sense of trust quickly. 

Value: 10 

For the mid-range price of $599.00 USD, there is a lot to like for the guitar. That price is firmly in the price range of most experienced players, and wouldn’t even be outlandish for a young player’s second guitar. With oddball, vintage reissue guitars being very popular right now, especially in indie and alternative rock scenes, I fully expect these to continue to be good sellers. Even though this guitar doesn’t feature a lot of extras such as tremolo arm, coil splitting, or fancy wiring schematics, it flat out plays great and sound great for an affordable price. You can feel how just much higher quality it is in than more budget oriented options the minute you pick it up.