NGD: T-Bird

[GGJaguar]

The “Jaguar” in my member ID is not in reference to the automobile, but rather, the Fender Jaguar (and Jazzmaster). Since I first learned to play, I took a liking to offset guitars so it’s only natural that I ended up with a NS S-200 T-Bird at some point -- and today’s the day! I found a NOS version that was made in 2017 and I haven’t removed the plastic from the pickguard or pickup covers (but took a pic anyway). For the nitty gritty details, I highly recommend GAD’s excellent review.



Some things of note -- the pickups are not microphonic like vintage Fender Jag or Mustang pickups so you don’t hear a “click” when using the slider switches like you do on the Fenders. Fit and finish is excellent, though the nut slots need a little work. The guitar sounds really similar to the NS Starfire V that I had. This isn’t too surprising given the Starfire has a center block and behaves more a like a solid body guitar. Even the neck profile feels the same. While the SF-V was quite heavy, this guitar is lightweight at 7 lbs (3.2 kg). Of course, the Starfire’s licensed Guildsby works much better than the S-200’s replica Tremar tailpiece. In my book, an offset guitar has to have at least one idiosyncrasy so it’s not a big deal. As on my NS SF-III and NS SF-V, I was able to get the T-Bird’s pickups sufficiently balanced for my playing style. Overall, I’d say it’s a fun and quirky guitar.

 

[AcornHouse]

Once you get that nut sorted, you’ll find the Tremar much more useable. As long as you‘re not prone to dive bombing.

 

[GAD]

Nice! And thanks for the plug!

I could never like the Tremar having learned to hate them in the late '70s and early '80s. While the electronics are fun I still think my favorite of the bunch was the red T-Bird ST.

 

[DrumBob]

Nice! And thanks for the plug!

I could never like the Tremar having learned to hate them in the late '70s and early '80s. While the electronics are fun I still think my favorite of the bunch was the red T-Bird ST.

Neither can I. I disabled the Tremar on my latest T-Bird and removed the arm and shaft it goes into. It's hopeless. Just an awful piece of junk. My tech tried and tried to rectify it on my first black T-Bird, and he even he said it was a POS.

I was able to figure out the electronic circuitry easily and although I tried to explain it to a friend of mine who has the same guitar, he can't get a handle on the switching system. He just plays around until he gets a sound he can live with.