NGD: Late 90s Bluesbird

[D30Man]

Nice score RB. My buddy owns that same model from the 90's. He is a blues guy who had been all about strats but says the Guild BB is his go to absolute favorite. Plays like butta.

 

[D30Man]

And yes the grain on that maple is really nice. I had to do a double take.. Almost an Ash like appearance..

 

[Sam Powrie]

Nice guitar! Mine is almost identical but made in Westerly in 1999. It's sporting Dimazio Virtual PAFs which sound pretty good. I remember the original SDs which were a bit quieter & in some ways, more transparent as an earlier poster has suggested. You got a great deal!

 

[koaguilds]

Less than a month after my last Guild purchase I added a third!

Purchased from a guy in London who tried to get into solid bodies for jazz but decided to stick with archtops. I live in Scotland and the owner was hesitant to ship so took an overnight train down and came back the next night with the guitar. We agreed on £550 ($675) to offset some of the cost to travel, which I think was a fair price.

The stock pickups were swapped for PRS McCartys at some point. They sound pretty good, if a little dark and not as clear as the Guild HB-1s on my X-160 Savoy. May consider swapping them out down the line so open to suggestions. It it strung with Thomastik Jazz 11 flats which I will probably keep. A previous owner drilled 3 small holes to install a pickguard at some point, but those were filled at some point and aren't really noticeable. The wiring was also redone and one of the pots replaced, but it is otherwise original.

Besides that just usual wear, some minor buckle rash on the back and a few dings and scratches, nothing too bad. Case is in pretty good condition as well for the age, which is a plus. The guitar is a nice weight at around 8lbs and really comfortable to play.

The previous owner didn't know what year this was built. SN is CL000688

Thats a beautiful Bluesbird. Congrats! I wonder who made those pickup rings as they seem to fit and as many of us have found out Guild used a very odd size pickup ring for the Bluesbird which is larger than most anything out there. That's one thing about Guild that irks many is when it came to hardware they tended to pick proprietary and extremely hard to locate replacement parts. Maybe certain PRS mounting rings are the elusive fit?

 

[GGJaguar]

I wonder who made those pickup rings as they seem to fit and as many of us have found out Guild used a very odd size pickup ring which is larger than most anything out there.

I thought the Bluesbird used regular PAF size pickups and pickup rings not the larger HB-1 rings. Where's @GAD?

 

[GAD]

I thought the Bluesbird used regular PAF size pickups and pickup rings not the larger HB-1 rings. Where's @GAD?

The ones I've owned were routed for HB1s and had HB1 rings on them even though they had sttandard sized pickups:

1997 Guild Bluesbird Guitar | GAD's Ramblings

Today’s review is for a 1997 Guild Bluesbird guitar from the Westerly factory that I picked up on eBay for a great price. I didn’t need it, but it was so pretty that I couldn’t resist. Sadly, that happens to me a lot. The Guild bluesbird of this era is quite clearly inspired by the …

www.gad.net

 

[koaguilds]

My 00' bluesbird's mounting rings are larger than standard. The mounting holes are a tad outside of standard holes.

 

[GGJaguar]

The ones I've owned were routed for HB1s and had HB1 rings on them even though they had sttandard sized pickups

Thanks for clarifying!

 

[GAD]

Thanks for clarifying!

Thanks for asking!

 

[Sam Powrie]

I've just regretfully sold my BB - very similar to yours. It had Dimazio Virtual PAFs installed which I think gave it a broader pallet than the original SDs. I don't have much experience with pickups but I recall really liking the transparent character of the SDs - which I suspect were originally selected to try to match the BB's semi-hollow construction - but the Dimazios were a definite improvement. Interesting to see your DVMark - I also have this fantastic little amp!