NGD - And its electrifying!

[HeyMikey]

Quick peak at what I just unboxed…

One beauty of a spruce top Nightbird II.

Somewhere recently I had posted that I was on the lookout for a Nightbird. I was actually looking for a maple top because a) I love maple on electrics and b) some Guild maple is truly outstanding. However, our member FNG reached out to me with this beauty saying that he wasn’t really playing it any longer and would I be interested?

I hadn’t considered one but then I got to thinking that it would be nice to try a spruce top electric because I’d never had one before. Obviously if GG designed it this way it was for good reason.

Anyway the guitar is a real beauty and in great shape. The spruce top and burst finish is creamy. The pictures just don’t do it justice. I will provide more after I play it a bit.

 

[walrus]

Love the spruce top! Congratulations!

walrus

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

 

[matsickma]

Ahh... that's my favorite Nightbird type and color! Dead ringer for one I owned years ago!

 

[GGJaguar]

Beautiful congrats!! It looks just like mine with the thin, notched diamond inlays (though mine has K.A. pu's). Enjoy!!

 

[GAD]

Nice! I love the thinner slotted diamonds. I like the fat ones, too, but the thin ones look more modern to me.

 

[Bonneville88]

That is one the sweetest guitars ever, gotta be! Such color and great details, and
I bet it can scream like a banshee. Big congrats Mikey!

 

[ruedi]

Love the burst on this one! Congratulations. Nightbirds are probably the most beautiful guitars in this world IMO.

 

[FNG]

Seller's remorse!

Looking forward to the new pick up install thread! Enjoy.

 

[HeyMikey]

Pat… You always have visiting rights any time you like, and dibs if I ever sell.

Thanks to some guidance from GAD I have a pair of Jim Wagner pickups on order. I do actually “own” a soldering iron from a couple years ago when I mistakenly thought I could figure out how to wire my own pedal board (still in pieces) from scratch. So I will give it the old Boy Scout try.

Jim claims that even a Girl Scout can wire pickups. So if all else fails I just need to find me a Girl Scout to solder them up.

 

[GAD]

Soldering pickups isn’t difficult with a good iron and a good tip, but it can be quite frustrating with a cheap underpowered “pencil” iron.

 

[fronobulax]

Soldering pickups isn’t difficult with a good iron and a good tip, but it can be quite frustrating with a cheap underpowered “pencil” iron.

And if @dreadnut offers advice on soldering I'd take it.

 

[HeyMikey]

Soldering pickups isn’t difficult with a good iron and a good tip, but it can be quite frustrating with a cheap underpowered “pencil” iron.

You mean something like this?

 

[davismanLV]

Wow that's beautiful, Mike!! Congrats! I'm a little GREEN, right now!!

 

[GAD]

You mean something like this?

Yeah, I would expect frustration from that rig. Dreadnut may have some advice since he's likely got more experience than the rest of us combined, but the root problem is that you need to heat a fairly large mass (the pot back) quickly and efficiently so that the solder melts quickly. With that iron and that tip, you'll have a hard time getting heat from the iron to the solder because the pot will just wick it all away like a big heat sink.

For just over $100 you can get a Hakko or Weller soldering station that will work much better. For soldering pots you'd want a larger tip than what they come with, though.

If your'e going to solder more, I'd spend the money and get a Pace. I freaking love mine, but they get expensive quickly.

Lot's of talk about irons in this thread: https://letstalkguild.com/ltg/index.php?threads/new-soldering-iron-day.206491/#post-1936714 including a vid of me soldering on an S300 pot.

 

[chazmo]

Very beautiful, Mikey. That is truly a lovely burst. That axe looks minty! Congrats.

Happy soldering!

 

[dreadnut]

Congrats on that beauty!

And asking me for soldering advice is kinda like saying "sic 'em" to a dog, LOL.

Show me a photo of what you are de-soldering and soldering, and I'll offer some advice.

 

[HeyMikey]

You guys are great! I will most likely reach out when I get to it. Probably not for a while. I just read the soldering thread and am lining up some YouTubes. I will practice before attempting and will look for a better tool. I guess I now have to start down the soldering rabbit hole a little bit, but that’s ok.

Just one more rabbit hole in dealing with electrics… pickups, tubes, speakers, pedals, circuit mods… all that quest for tone crap I put out of my head when I went acoustic.

BTW, This book just arrived and looks like a really great read….

 

[richardp69]

I adore that top. Quite stunning. Congrats!!!

 

[Groundwire]

Wow, the top and finish in this one is just lovely. Congrats on the new Fiddle.

One soldering tip: Solder itself conducts heat much better than the tip of the soldering iron alone, so drip a bit of solder on the tip of the iron and it’ll help you heat the back of the Pot much faster. For the lugs and switch, they heat up really fast. Don’t overheat. I’ve made that mistake.

Cheers!