Since its birth in New York in the early 1950s, Guild had established itself as a serious player in the US guitar-manufacture scene. Jazz was still the dominant serious musical force and, indeed, was where most makers made their reputations.
Gibson, Epiphone, and Gretsch were all competing with fine archtops, but things were changing fast. Rock ’n’ roll was usurping the easier listening of the early '50s, though early rock ’n’ roll players often played full-bodied archtops – think Scotty Moore with Elvis, Bill Haley’s Franny Beecher, or Eddie Cochran.
