Some electric guitars were simply just ahead of their time. Guild’s S-300 was one of them. It was probably too much guitar for the mainstream, all those angles, the offset waist, a phase switch at time when the standard configurations for pickup switching were being set in stone. Nonetheless, it became something of a cult item.
And yet, launched in 1977, futuristic, “radical” – what better time to launch a forward-looking guitar than the year when George Lucas transformed pop-culture with Star Wars?
Well, what about now? The S-300 is back, returning as part of Guild’s Newark St. Collection, this Deluxe edition offered in the choice of Vintage Sterling Metallic and Neptune Blue Metallic finishes, and with the same super-cool silhouette as its late ‘70s forebears.
With the trend for offset guitars showing no signs of abating, the very idea of a dual-humbucker guitar with an out-of-phase voicing most appealing in an age of abundant options, the S-300 Deluxe could be one of the hits of 2026.
“The S-300 was viewed as fairly radical when it was introduced nearly 50 years ago,” says Nick Beach, product manager, Fretted Instruments, at Guild. “The guitar’s offset body had dramatic cutaways and contours that gave it a futuristic look, and its phase switch was also unusual at the time – but since then it has become increasingly popular and collectable.
“With the new S-300 Deluxe guitar, we’re bringing back a classic with a few key changes to make it even more comfortable and giving players a choice of eye-catching metallic finishes.”
These guitars have solid mahogany bodies, those double-cutaway contours just on the right side of bonkers without making them look like pawnshop oddities. The angle of the compensated tailpiece adds another bizarro touch.
The necks are in matching mahogany, carved into soft vintage U profiles, and we like that the metallic finish is reprised across the neck and model’s back.
They have a 24.75” scale, with bound rosewood fingerboards inlaid with pearloid blocks. The drive on these is straightforward enough. Guild puts everything close to your picking hand.
There’s a three-way pickup selector switch, volume and tone for each humbucker, and there’s a mini-toggle switch that puts them out of phase, a useful tone option for many, but certainly not a deal-breaker if you have no need for it.
The pickups are Guild’s HB-2+ humbuckers, which are Alnico V designs, wound to be a little hotter than your typical PAF-alike (hence the plus sign in their designation).
The hardware looks quality, open-gear tuners with metal buttons, an Ultimate Angle Tune-o-matic-style bridge, and that “Peak” logo and Chesterfield inlay on the headstock is vintage Guild, very cool.
The S-300 Deluxe is available now, priced $799 street. See Guild Guitars for more details.
