Dating my Nightbird

[Greg1233]

Planning on selling my Nightbird II but can't find the serial number on the Guild website list, hoping someone (Hans?) can help. There seems to be a gap in the early '80s where the list just says "NA". Guitar is a Nightbird II, serial # GL100315, fairly early issue. I worked for a large Guild dealer and bought it from the Guild rep's sample account after a lot of arm twisting to get him to let it go, there was no way I was going to let him leave the building without a purchase order.

Not sure how to I'm going to sell it, all of the damaged shipping stories are making me paranoid about shipping. I'm thinking that I might just drop it off with Pete over at Lavonnes to sell it on consignment. Please let me know if anyone can give me a year and also what factory it came from, would be nice to know exactly what I have.

Thanks!

 

[chazmo]

Greg, good luck with your forthcoming sale. You'll just have to bite the bullet (and your nails) and ship, most likely. There's always risk.

I can't help you with the date, but if this guitar is from the '80s, then it was built in the Westerly, Rhode Island shop.

 

[hansmoust]

Planning on selling my Nightbird II but can't find the serial number on the Guild website list, hoping someone (Hans?) can help. There seems to be a gap in the early '80s where the list just says "NA". Guitar is a Nightbird II, serial # GL100315, fairly early issue.

Please let me know if anyone can give me a year and also what factory it came from, would be nice to know exactly what I have.

Without photos I can't be 100% sure, but it looks like you have one of a few Nightbirds that did get the GL-serial number prefix instead of the regular BL-prefix. That happened during the year 1986 in the Westerly, RI plant.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Nuuska]

I'm thinking that I might just drop it off with Pete over at Lavonnes to sell it on consignment. Please let me know if anyone can give me a year and also what factory it came from, would be nice to know exactly what I have.

Thanks!

Howdy - if you meet Pete - say hello from me - if he does not remember - I'm The Finn that used to work at Berns Music about 40 years ago. Ask what happened to that 12-string solidbody guitar w 24 free frets and vibrato, that he got from me.

Thank you

 

[GAD]

Neeeeed pics!

 

[Greg1233]

Nightbird photos area attached (I hope), specs as follows:

Spruce top - tight grain with silking
Grover Rotomatics
Armstrong pickups
Mint condition (I know everybody thinks their guitar is 'mint' but this one really is)

 

[GAD]

Very nice!

 

[chazmo]

Sure is, Greg!

 

[HeyMikey]

Very nice Greg! A beauty! Looks a lot like my 1989 spruce-top Nigjtbird II, except for the pickups. I see Hans identified the year for you. Mine was another oddball to date. The sometimes inaccurate online codes put the s/n possibly in the year 1990 as a CU, though it doesn’t match the CU specs per GAD’s article. Hans was able to confirm from his records that it is in fact a 1989 II. Thank goodness we have Hans.

 

[GGJaguar]

GG on the TRC = Gorgeous Guitar!! Just beautiful!

 

[GAD]

Quick note that as far as I know the guitar is a Nightbird or a Nightbird GG and not a Nightbird II.

 

[Greg1233]

Thanks for all the responses, problem is that all the comments are making me wonder if I should keep it even if it never gets played. I always thought it was a Nightbird II, thinking that the Nightbird I was the plainer version, so what is the difference between the II and the GG?

At least now I know what I have, wondering what the odd serial number and being an older issue does to the value. Haven't found very many previous sales to help with pricing and haven't found any that are in near new condition.

Oh well, back to reality, time to trim the herd and move it along to someone who will play it.

thanks again!

 

[Rocky]

Thanks for all the responses, problem is that all the comments are making me wonder if I should keep it even if it never gets played. I always thought it was a Nightbird II, thinking that the Nightbird I was the plainer version, so what is the difference between the II and the GG?

On introduction, there was only the Nightbird GG - for George Gruhn, who was the prime driver behind the instrument.

With the introduction of the less expensive Nightbird I, what was the Nightbird GG became the Nightbird II. With the exception of the ones like yours, the Nightbird GG and Nightbird II used the same serial number prefix of BL, making it one continuous series. At or about this time, the notched diamond inlays became thinner.