LP Chambered options

[Skylark]

Have always loved the Nightbirds, just not a fan of the EMG versions. Love the concept of chambered LP body to save on weight.
So if I have a decent collection of other guitars that my “LP” probably won’t get a ton of playtime…pros vs cons of Nightbird vs Newark St. Bluesbird. Certainly $1,800+ vs $700 is one factor and one thing I like about the newer Bluesbird is the JB ‘59 pickup combination.
so curious of the thoughts of those that have played both…

 

[Rocky]

Yeah, the pickups were the weak point on the Nightbirds. OTOH, you can get one where somebody else has already swapped the pickups. There's a fair number of those out there.

There are several different versions of chambering/weight relief that Gibson has used over the years, and you're probably best off searching LPF to find all the minutia to find the most 'acoustically active' of the models. But they'll only get you closer to a maple top Nightbird.

I think the chambering on the FMIC era Bluesbirds is at least slightly different than the Nightbird. And of course, maple top again. If you're patient, you can pick one of those up for not much over a grand. I don't really know much about the Newark St. models.

Going the other way, a traditional (non-Player's Edition) pro-line Duo Jet is a nice, light way to go - a Nightbird sounds about halfway between a Jet and an LP. The feel is a lot different due to the neck set

If you want spruce top, you'll be better off looking at a Fender Flame/Esprit or a Benedetto Benny, if you want to drop some cash.

 

[GAD]

There is no comparison between a Nightbird and anything with the Newark St. name on it.

 

[Smitch]

I hear you on the hot EMG in a Nightbird,
But to me, the Fender era Bluesbirds are the best guitars I play. Weight, playability, tone, clean or dirty, these guitars with SD ‘59 are sublime. Certainly worth checking out if you can demo one.

 

[GAD]

I hear you on the hot EMG in a Nightbird,
But to me, the Fender era Bluesbirds are the best guitars I play. Weight, playability, tone, clean or dirty, these guitars with SD ‘59 are sublime. Certainly worth checking out if you can demo one.

I agree. The late Westerly Bluesbirds are great, too. There are also options like the Blues 90s and Bluesbird 90s to consider.

 

[AcornHouse]

EMGs weren’t the only pickups used in Nightbirds.

 

[matsickma]

I had two Nightbirds. One was a 1st year model without the mini Phase switch and small control cavity routing and then a later Nightbird with the mini phase switch.

I swear they felt significantly heavier than the 1990's-2000's Bluesbirds! I thought the chambered routing was the same as the Bluesbird but assumef the mahogany body wood may have been the reason the Nightbirds felt heavier than the Bluesbirds.
Unfortunately...that is just my memory. Don't know for sure!
M

 

[GAD]

I had two Nightbirds. One was a 1st year model without the mini Phase switch and small control cavity routing and then a later Nightbird with the mini phase switch.

I swear they felt significantly heavier than the 1990's-2000's Bluesbirds! I thought the chambered routing was the same as the Bluesbird but assumef the mahogany body wood may have been the reason the Nightbirds felt heavier than the Bluesbirds.
Unfortunately...that is just my memory. Don't know for sure!
M

I don't think the chambering is the same, but I'd be hard pressed to prove it without an x-ray of a nightbird. I think they're different based on these two images. First, this one from K.O.M.A. some years ago of a Bluesbird-90:

Then this image from the Guild catalogs:

They just don't seem to line up to me.

I really need to get one of my Nightbirds x-rayed but just never followed through with finding someone to do it.

 

[Rocky]

EMGs weren’t the only pickups used in Nightbirds.

No, they weren't. They were certainly the most common, though, with epoxy-potted passive Kent Armstrongs coming in second, and the two of them making up the vast majority of the instruments. IIRC, the 'official spec' was for EMG 60 pickups, but most I've seen were EMG 58 models. Not horribly voiced, but outrageously hot, and not very dynamically responsive.

On the positive side, the Kents were passive. The sound is a matter of taste. On the negative side, the three-point mounting is different, and the cross bar for the mounting of the two bass-side screws can't be transferred to another pickup if you decide the Armstrongs are not for you.

The third stock pickup I'm aware of are the twelve fillister-head Seymour Duncans, as seen here https://reverb.com/item/49320016-1985-guild-nightbird These have the standard crossbar mount that the EMGs had.

They're super rare - I've only seen a handful of guitars with them, and I consider them preferable to the other options, but there are a plethora of aftermarket options that sound better. IMHO, of course

 

[GAD]

No, they weren't. They were certainly the most common, though, with epoxy-potted passive Kent Armstrongs coming in second, and the two of them making up the vast majority of the instruments. IIRC, the 'official spec' was for EMG 60 pickups, but most I've seen were EMG 58 models. Not horribly voiced, but outrageously hot, and not very dynamically responsive.

On the positive side, the Kents were passive. The sound is a matter of taste. On the negative side, the three-point mounting is different, and the cross bar for the mounting of the two bass-side screws can't be transferred to another pickup if you decide the Armstrongs are not for you.

The third stock pickup I'm aware of are the twelve fillister-head Seymour Duncans, as seen here https://reverb.com/item/49320016-1985-guild-nightbird These have the standard crossbar mount that the EMGs had.

They're super rare - I've only seen a handful of guitars with them, and I consider them preferable to the other options, but there are a plethora of aftermarket options that sound better. IMHO, of course

You forgot one.

There were also DiMarzio pickups with plain black plastic covers, though I don't recall if they're the same as the ones you mentioned.

 

[matsickma]

The HB1 pickup version could be the model that would motivate me to return to the Nightbird club.

I will admit to having a preference for independent volume and tone control for each pickup. But I could live with master volume but want seperate tone controls. However with HB-1's I would not adjust the tone...wide open bright HB1's.

As an aside the independent volume with master tone control of the S-275 doesn't sit well with me but I really like the S-275 "solid" body shape and 2 octave neck.

M

 

[ruedi]

I don't think the chambering is the same, but I'd be hard pressed to prove it without an x-ray of a nightbird. I think they're different based on these two images. First, this one from K.O.M.A. some years ago of a Bluesbird-90:

Then this image from the Guild catalogs:

They just don't seem to line up to me.

I really need to get one of my Nightbirds x-rayed but just never followed through with finding someone to do it.

There are answers to your questions already @Nuuska 's picture.



more:

Still life on airport

Because of Covid-19 the airport has quieted - but some birds have been seen time to time.

letstalkguild.com

Re: pickup versions. My Nightbird has HB-1's, they are wonderfully balanced, and I never felt the need to control them separately.
Weight: No it's not a lightweight guitar. Mine is 3.83 kg which is 8.44 pound.

 

[krysh]

just in case you want to know how a Nightbird/Nightingale (they are almost identical) will sound with HB-1s:

 

[Rocky]

You forgot one.

....There were also DiMarzio pickups with plain black plastic covers, though I don't recall if they're the same as the ones you mentioned.

My bad. I'm not as familiar with the later ones, mainly because they're mostly maple tops. Those (HB-1) are fairly low-resistance winds, yes?

I'm unfamiliar with the black plastic cover DiMarzios, but I suspect they're hotter - similar to the ones in the other solidbodies.

 

[AcornHouse]

My bad. I'm not as familiar with the later ones, mainly because they're mostly maple tops. Those (HB-1) are fairly low-resistance winds, yes?

I'm unfamiliar with the black plastic cover DiMarzios, but I suspect they're hotter - similar to the ones in the other solidbodies.

All the guitar parts in this were recorded using a Nightbird I with DiMarzios. Not overly hot.

 

[Skylark]

Well…Music Go Round in Boston, MA had a Nightbird up for $1,399 but would only offer it for pickup the first 30 days so locals could buy…(they claim it helps trade ins)… I would have bought it but already sold after a week. Sucks.