Beginning in 1954, when Guild first put names with it’s original model numbers, the Stuart name signified the company’s best electric archtop. The Stuart X-500 was one of the few consistencies in the model line as Guild underwent three ownership changes: to Avnet, an electronics company, in 1966; to an investment group, doing business as Guild Music Corporation, in 1986; and then in 1989, in the midst of a court-ordered financial restructuring, to FAAS Corporation, which became U.S. Music.

In 1994, Guild upgraded the Stuart model, as indicated by the change in model number from 500 to 700. The only significant change was the top – from laminated maple to solid, carved spruce.

The Stuart X-700 made it through yet another ownership change, when Fender bought Guild in 1995, and then received another upgrade in 1999 when famed archtop maker Bob Benedetto joined Fender and gave it a makeover. It continued simply as the Stuart model in the Benedetto series, and it’s long run ended when Benedetto left Fender/Guild in 2006.