NGD 1987 Guild Nightingale

Dat boyz got mad skilz!
 
Small items getting ticked off the list. The bridge was missing one of its black nuts on the side that locks in the grub screw that allows the bridge to move slightly left and right. My 1987 Nightbird has gold nuts on the side rather than black. I did some searches and found other Nightbirds and Nightingales from this period with gold bridges and black nuts so I guess they came with both. I used black to match the one original still on the bridge. If anybody is looking for replacements, they are metric M3-0.5 hex nuts. Of course you have to order them in large quantities so now I have 199 left after using the 1 I needed. I guess I just need to buy more Guilds with that bridge!

Original:

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Replacement. They look exactly the same so I kept the original on one side.

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Knobs. The knobs you see 99% of the time are the black knurled with the two bands, semi-gloss finish with no white dots. I have a set of those but at my other place. However, I had a pair of exactly the same vintage knobs with a white dot on the top. I have compared them to the ones without the white dot and they look like they were made by the same factory. I have seen another Nightingale with these knobs so I have no idea if any Guild guitar came with these. Until I can pick up my other set without the white dots, these will have to do. Does anybody have a 1980’s Guild electric with these knobs original?

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I have never seen those white dots knobs on a Guild, but I don't think I've seen those white dot knobs anywhere! They're super cool and as a huge proponent of keeping Guilds originals I don't think I would mind them at all.
 
Brad, if you ever decide you don’t want those white dot ones I’ll buy them. I’m still looking for a pair of proper knobs for the red NB CU I bought a couple years ago.
 
GAD said:
I have never seen those white dots knobs on a Guild, but I don't think I've seen those white dot knobs anywhere! They're super cool and as a huge proponent of keeping Guilds originals I don't think I would mind them at all.
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I am torn as I am used to seeing the non-white dot versions on Guilds but these are in a little better shape than the ones I have without the white dots. Below is a photo of another Nightingale with what looks like the same knobs. No idea if these knobs are original on that Nightingale. When it was posted for sale the seller stated that the pickguard and back plate were replaced due to the originals gassing off but stated everything else was original. However, I can’t even begin to count the number of times somebody has said something on a Guild was original and they were incorrect!

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Pretty much done. I was going to make the pickguards as usual but given my current schedule, I cheated and had them made by Tony at Pickguardian. Given the shrinkage of the original, he made a template clear guard and sent it to me to test. I made a few small tweaks and then he made the guard and back cover plate. We compared the original tortoise to a handful of materials and ended up going with a celluloid material as the non-celluloid just did not look original. I also had a set made in black just as an option (or if I end up getting a black Nightbird at some point as I think they would look better with black versus tortoise). The binding is ivoroid and black but looks lighter up against the original since it has aged.

Pictures of old guard and reproduction:

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Old back cover and reproduction (the original looks darker as the back had been painted with black shielding paint).

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Tortoise versus black

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Completed Nightingale. The darkened finish from the original pickguard is not visible at all with the pickguard installed!

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Looking good.

I actually liked the tiger-striped replacement pickguard.
 
Those look fantastic Brad. Nice restoration!
 
Sweet looking guitar! It was fun to watch the journey :)
 
mavuser said:
do u like it better than your 1970 semi-solid bluesbirds?
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Not sure. Both are great, but different. Sounds like a fun comparison and I might pull out my 1972 M75 Semi-solid this weekend and see the difference.
 
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