NAMM 2023: Guild unveils the Surfliner HH, a $499 offset that boasts 8 pickup combinations

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NAMM 2023: Guild has announced the Surfliner HH, a budget offset electric guitar with some seriously versatile pickup-switching options.

Following last year’s HSS-configured Surfliner, the HH version gets its name from its pair of Guild HB-2 humbuckers, which feature Alnico II magnets and are designed to replicate vintage Guild HB-1 pickups in a standard-sized humbucker housing.

But this is no stripped-down offset workhorse: the Surfliner HH delivers eight pickup combinations via the brand’s rocker pickup switching system, teamed with push/pull coil-splits on the tone knob.

While Guild’s approach to pickup switching might take some getting used to, there’s no denying the bevy of tones R.J. Ronquillo squeezes from the guitar in his demo below.

Elsewhere, the Surfliner HH is spec’d as per its predecessor, with a 25.5” scale, satin-finished C-shaped maple neck bolted on to a poplar body.

There’s also a tune-o-matic-style bridge and through-body-stringing, while the model is available in two really quite fetching metallic finishes: Canyon Dusk and Shoreline Mist.

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We’re liking the look of this one very much, although those rocker switches are bound to divide opinion – it was one of the few things we criticized about the original Surfliner in our review. Nonetheless, the versatility on offer is pretty remarkable, especially at this price point.

The Surfliner HH is available to preorder now for $499 – see Guild Guitars for more info.

Last month, Yamaha Guitar Group brought Guild Guitars into its stable of brands with the acquisition of the Córdoba Music Group.