Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice!

[gonzosmemoirs]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum! Of course I am here because I need some advice. My last guitar (Alexi 200) had decent EMG pickups in it - so I never considered replacing them. However - I got a 'fixer-upper' on ebay for $450. I am absolutely in love with this guitar.

1978 Guild S300-D:

I need to do some body and neck work to it... I am sure that it's pickups definately need to be replaced... Look at these crusty things:

So my question is, of course, what pickups should I slap in this thing? I am not sure what wood it is made out of (there were several types of wood used for these guitars in the few years that they were being produced). You can checkout all of the pictures here:

http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=1151596&ppid=1122&image=722746744&images=722746730,722746737,722746744,722746752,722746758,722746761,722747035,722747041,722747050,722747058,722747062,722747069,722764040,722764044,722764050,722764055,722764062,722764070,722764548,722764556,722764574,722764581,722764597,722764607&formats=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0

My rig is simple:

• This guitar
• Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Roadster II Combo
• Boss Metal Zone Pedal (considering looking into other ones as I've had this for a long time)

I want to be playing thrash as well as doom. Think Metallica, Municipal Waste, Black Sabbath and High on Fire.

So what are your thoughts? I appreciate any input!

 

[chadd]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Looks like mahogany to me, but I'm certainly not an expert. As for the pickups, Distortion or Custom would be a good starting point.

 

[gonzosmemoirs]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

My friend recommended this:

Seymour Duncan Custom in the bridge.
Seymour Duncan Jazz in the neck.

Thoughts?

 

[jimijames]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Are you going to do anything besides thrash/death metal?

I feel like the dimebucker was designed for that kind of thing.

My experience with the custom is that it can do what you're looking for too. I think you'd be really happy with either one.

Jazz and full shred are the two clearest neck pickups I'm pretty sure. I had an a5 in the a2pro (which uses the same wind as a jazz I've heard?) and it is the opposite of muddy in every way. Very clean, very clear, very articulate.

 

[Securb]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

I would slap a Black Winter in that baby and go for broke.

 

[~Vintage~]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Wow, clean that nasty thing up and slap some Duncans in there! lol

I have personal metal playing experience with the SH-6 and it KILLS as a bridge p/u for metal. The controllable feedback is pretty awesome!

For the neck maybe a SH-2N for diversity (Metallica-like solos).

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Well, you started a G.A.S. for me. That is some primo stoner/sludge equipment right there. Its like an SG's weird cousin with the neck tattoo that hangs out in the woods a lot but doesn't do drugs.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[gonzosmemoirs]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Well, you started a G.A.S. for me. That is some primo stoner/sludge equipment right there. Its like an SG's weird cousin with the neck tattoo that hangs out in the woods a lot but doesn't do drugs.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

LMFAO. I am actually cracking up at work. Hilarious.

 

[gonzosmemoirs]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

I read some reviews. I really like how people describe the Black Winter and Full Shred.

What if I did something like:

Neck PU: Full Shred
Bridge PU: Black Winter

Good/bad idea? Would that even work? I can't wait to post more pictures when I clean this up!

EDIT: Now that I'm looking at this guitar again, I don't think it would look as classy without the white pickups...

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Get chrome or cream rings.

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[LatsMcGee]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Get the Distortion set...

 

[~Vintage~]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Definitely keep us in the loop with this one!

I wanna see that Guild shine!!

 

[~Vintage~]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Definitely keep us in the loop with this one!

I wanna see that Guild shine!!

 

[dvanburen]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

distortion mayhem set definetely. distortion sounds amazing in mahogany. Your welcome :firedevil

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

I've got a Distortion in the bridge of my Wilshire (very similar guitar to that Guild) and it does what you want. I love that pup, but the ceramic mag makes the high-end sound a bit brittle. An A8 mag corrects that problem and gives it a more organic sound and feel but retains it's monsterous tone.

 

[gonzosmemoirs]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

It's official! I got it today! I am going to let it sit in the box on my couch over night then let it sit in it's case during the day! Tomorrow night I will take it out, clean it up a little bit and hopefully have some more pictures!

I want to hear the pickups in this thing... Apparently they come stock with a DiMarzio PAF in the neck and a D

 

[Chickenwings]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

What a groovy axe.
See how it sounds for a week or so before you make any decisions on pickups so you can make an informed decision about what would suit it best.

 

[DeathMetalRob]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

Take it apart and sand it smooth, then fill in the holes you don't need and then spray it black for a start.

Using black as a base coat is always good.

Secondly, lose the bridge holes and replace it with a Tune O Matic stopbar with the stop bar straight rather than angled. Do the same for the scratchplate.

Thirdly, replace the current pickups with a Distortion with an AlNiCo 8 or 9 magnet for the bridge and a Dean HWS in the neck (Unless there's a SD equivalent) depending on your preferences. Both come in white.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

No, no, no, just give it a good cleaning and check the wiring. The neck pickup is probably fine. Get a double cream Super Distortion in the bridge and call it a day. That thing needs black speed knobs btw.

 

[jon the art guy]

Re: Turning a beat up Guild S300-D into a thrashing death machine! Need pickup advice

I just thought of a neat idea. If this is going to be a metal machine, take a blowtorch to the pickup holes before you mount the electronics. Get it just on fire then let the flames lick around the hole for a little bit while holding it face-down to let the flames lick against the body a little bit. snuff out the flames and coat it with a matte sealer. It'll leave wicked black ash trails around the pickup holes. Mount some black puppies with black poles in there with black-chrome or aged nickel hardware.

I may do something like that with my Hamer with a paint job instead of lighting it on fire.

maybe...you could do a paint job too. Or light it on fire, that's much more metal.