Newark St. T-Bird ST P90

GAD

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This review is pretty similar to the red T-Bird ST that I did, and I think the intro is probably a direct copy, but I dig this guitar and it deserves its own review:

http://www.gad.net/Blog/2019/03/27/guild-newark-street-t-bird-st-p90/


Guild-NS-T-Bird-P90-TopFull.jpg




As always, please PM with any errata. Thanks!
 
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shihan

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Very cool. I’m not crazy about the blue finish, though. Always a fun read; thanks for doing all that work!
 

richardp69

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Thanks Gary, another really nice job. I go to your site quite often when I'm looking for info on various Guild models. I have this exact guitar and I know everybody's tastes run different but I really like the blue finish myself.
 

Walter Broes

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GAD, I realize I'm really picking nits, but I wonder why you keep calling guitars with the 24 3/4" scale lenghth "short scale" guitars? I'd call them "shorter" scale guitars, with the mention of short scale I automatically think of Fender Mustangs, Gibson Byrdlands, or similar.
 

GAD

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GAD, I realize I'm really picking nits, but I wonder why you keep calling guitars with the 24 3/4" scale lenghth "short scale" guitars? I'd call them "shorter" scale guitars, with the mention of short scale I automatically think of Fender Mustangs, Gibson Byrdlands, or similar.

Hmm. I've always heard 24 3/4" referred to as short scale and 25 1/2" referred to as long scale. I didn't realize that the Byrdland was 23 1/2". I did a quick Googling and I'm not the only one to use the phrases the way I do. Examples:

https://www.soundpure.com/a/expert-advice/guitars/frets-to-the-body-vs-scale-length/
https://bourgeoisguitars.net/our-news/guitar-guru-scale-length/
etc.

That said, it is a bit of journalistic laziness because it's easier to type short scale than 24 3/4".
 

fronobulax

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In basses the term "short scale" remains confusing. Depending upon who is doing the writing it can mean a scale length between 29" and 32". Long scale is almost synonymous with 34". Bass players do not typically talk about anything less than 29" and call it a bass although that might be changing. The definitions become meaningless when "short scale" strings for a Hofner do not fit a "short scale" Guild. At some point useful precision in writing requires a numeric value and not simply a category.

:)
 

kakerlak

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GAD, I realize I'm really picking nits, but I wonder why you keep calling guitars with the 24 3/4" scale lenghth "short scale" guitars? I'd call them "shorter" scale guitars, with the mention of short scale I automatically think of Fender Mustangs, Gibson Byrdlands, or similar.

Same here. The difference b/w 24.75 and 25.5 never bothers me, but once you hit 24" and under, things are just a tick too cramped up for me to get along with. It really sucks, too, b/c there's a lot of really great sounding 24" scale guitars out there -- Jaguars, Mustangs, Micro-frets, etc. I've bought them more than once only to reluctantly sell them after a while. You want to talk yourself into believing you can play it, kind of like a really cool pair of shoes that don't feel quite right when you first try them on. You think "I'll get used to these once I've worn them a day or two" and it never does get any better.
 

GAD

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I think the lesson here is that whatever may be in common use, the terms are probably too devoid of accuracy so I'll try to stop using them. Laziness is a hard mistress to give up, though. :lemo:
 

S100

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Great review! Thanks for taking the time. I thought it sounded really good and the bridge pickup kinda had a Link Wray sound to it.
 

EatTheBeat

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I was considering one of these, being it has P90’s, I love the color & wish it was available on the T-bird ST models.

Aside from a couple videos out there, there is no online or merchant reviews, or even mention of the P90 model on other forums. I’ve been waiting patiently for Sweetwater to blow these out as sales are probably quite stagnant. Being I only paid $359 for my ST, I’m reluctant to pay full price for the P90 model. I do see some refurbs floating around under $600 though, but at this point I’ve moved on.

Thanks for the detailed review. I’ve always wondered what the impressions are of those pickups. The height adjustment for them sounds quite bizarre & aggravating.
 

Quantum Strummer

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Fixed pickup heights were a common thing in the '50s & into the '60s. Rickenbackers still don't offer much adjustment.

Re. scale lengths, I'm always glad my fingers are in the Goldilocks zone when it comes to this…neither too short for long scales nor too long (& thick) for short scales. My first ES-350T bugged me scale-wise, which is mainly why I ended up selling it, but all my other electrics at the time were 25.5". Nowadays my guitars are all over the place, and I hardly notice whether I've got a short- or long-scale instrument in my hands.

BTW, the Byrdland/ES-350T scale length is usually quoted as 23.5" but is actually 23 5/8". Danelectros are mostly 24 7/8" rather than the quoted 25".

-Dave-
 
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