Guild 1965 X-50 Cordoba, Sunburst, Archtop, Hardshell Case - Used
Guild built its reputation on archtop guitars. The company was founded in 1952 in Manhattan by Alfred Dronge, who assembled a team that included a significant number of craftspeople who had come out of Epiphone's New York operation, and from the beginning the emphasis was on jazz and archtop construction done right. The X-50 Cordoba was the entry point of the Guild archtop line — their equivalent of the Gibson ES-125 — built with laminated maple top, back, and sides, a three-piece mahogany neck, and a Guild Frequency Tested single-coil soapbar pickup. Functional, well-made, and genuinely musical instruments that have held up across sixty years of playing and changing hands. This one was built in Guild's Hoboken, New Jersey factory, their home from 1954 until 1966 when production moved to Westerly, Rhode Island. A 1965 example is among the last of the Hoboken-era instruments.
The pickup is not original — someone along the way routed the body to accept a Guild humbucker from the 1990s. The route has been enlarged from the original soapbar cutout to accommodate the humbucker housing. We are disclosing this clearly because that is how we do things. The guitar is otherwise all original to the best of our research. The Guild humbucker is functioning cleanly and sounds well.
The neck is straight and stable, the truss rod adjusts normally, and the frets have good life left with no major wear. Playing with nice low action — a genuinely cool vintage archtop that earns that description.
Condition is Very Good. The nitrocellulose finish shows checking throughout consistent with a sixty-year-old instrument cycling through decades of temperature and humidity change — natural, expected, and part of what these guitars look like when they have aged honestly. There are some decent dents on the back of the neck worth noting — visible in the photos. Check the full photo series carefully for the complete cosmetic picture.
- Make: Guild
- Model: X-50 Cordoba
- Year: 1965
- Country of origin: USA (Hoboken, New Jersey)
- Body: Full-body non-cutaway archtop, 2 7/8" deep
- Top: Laminated maple, sunburst finish
- Back and sides: Laminated maple
- Body binding: Present
- Neck: 3-piece mahogany, medium C profile
- Neck depth at 1st fret: 0.88"
- Neck depth at 12th fret: 0.94"
- Fingerboard: Rosewood, unbound, dot inlays, 12" radius
- Scale length: 24.75"
- Nut width: 1 11/16"
- Frets: Good life remaining, no major wear
- Pickup: Guild humbucker, 1990s vintage, installed in enlarged soapbar route (non-original — see description)
- Controls: Volume, tone
- Finish: Checking throughout, consistent with age — cosmetic only
- Neck condition: Straight, stable, truss rod adjusts normally; decent dents on back of neck — see photos
- Weight: 7 lbs 10 oz
- Modifications: Original soapbar route enlarged; Guild 1990s humbucker installed in place of original Frequency Tested single-coil
- Includes: Hardshell case
Ships carefully packed and insured for full value.
International buyers are welcome — please contact us for a shipping quote before purchasing.
About Mill River Music
Mill River Music is an independent, human-powered music shop located in downtown Northampton, MA, run by a team of players, enthusiasts, and certified repair technicians. Every piece of used gear we sell is personally inspected, tested, and set up before it ships — we don't list it until we'd be happy to play it ourselves.
As Martin and Taylor certified techs, we hold our guitar work to a high standard, and we're committed to full transparency about the condition of everything we sell. No surprises.
When you buy from Mill River, you're supporting an independent local business that genuinely cares — about gear, about players, and about doing things right. We're here every step of the way. Reach out anytime.
