Nightingale / X3000 with P90's

dklsplace

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Here's a transfer from the old forum. Pics were sent to me in the midst of getting ready to move the forum, so they're long overdue & completely my bad in the delay. :oops:
 

dklsplace

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Date Posted: 03/19/2005 11:56 AM
Posted By: matsickma


Hi All,

I just picked up an unusual guitar. The history on this item is a little mixed but I will document what I was told. A few weeks ago a Nightingale showed up on ebay. It appeared on a Saturday with a BIN for $1900. It lasted about 2 hrs before it was snagged up. After seeing that guitar my interest was re-activated on getting a Nightingale. So one night I got home from work late and spent the next few hours on search engines trying to track the elusive Nightingale. I reviewed the Nightingale and X3000's at Vintage Master and saw the other articles and references with no luck on new listings. When using the "Ask Jeeves" search engine I stumbled on a reference to a Nightingale for $880 in the Boston area.

The next morning I made contact and sure enough a Guild Nightingale was being advertised for $880 with OHSC! I began to get additional info. Here is the unusual stuff...The Guitar was advertised as a Nightingale but one of the guys at the store said it was a X3000. However this guitar had P90's! The guitar was described as a SemiFlame top with a Cherry sunburst finish. The unusual thing was that it had no Guild serial numbers and had a 1/4 inch hole drilled into the back of the guitar. I immediatly requested pictures.

I was told a different story by two different sales guys . Story 1: The guitar was a custom design that got damaged by the hole. It was planned to be destroyed but was saved by a guy who worked at the Rhoad Island plant. No serial number or tag was assigned. Story 2: The guitar was a prototype but the carved maple top grain was not up to specifications. The guitar was made available to someone who worked at the Rhoad Island factory. No serial number was installed so it couldn't be resold as a Guild. A hole was drilled into the back to assure it could not be sold as a new Guild. I really don't know what story is correct but tend to think Story 1 is more likely.

So as I reviewed the pictures I realize this is sweet deal and purchase the guitar. In anticipation of receiving the guitar I did a little home work. The neck is that of a X3000 and not a Nightingale. It is beautifully made with the Guild Shild head, Binding, two tone block inlays with triangle and a pair of very thin inlay lines that run under E 6th string and e 1st string. The pickups are P-90 but I could not find a name on the neck pup. The top is a carved Maple as their is no sign of lamination in the f-hole and the thickness of the wood at the F-hole changes about the arch. The guitar has a 3-position switch and master tone and volume control. A after marker phase switch was added. The bridge and stop are not the type used on a Nightbird. It is of the same style as a Bluesbird or Blues90. The guitar shows a few nicks and the clear finish has a little cracking in the vicinity of the aftermarket phase switch. The neck on this baby is thinner than my Nightbird. I would say more like my 2001 Bluesbird. the neck is not at all like a Blues90.

I am amazed I stumbled onto this guitar. I just sold my Mint Blues90 in liew of a Custom Shop SF4 with 3-P90. However I missed the Blues 90 as soon as it was gone. (The Custom Shop SF4 w 3-P90's is a great guitar with more tone options but the the Blues90 is a more comfortable instrument with a bigger lowend sound.)

I think this guitar is a one-of-a-kind. If anyone has any knowledged of a guitar with my description I would be interested to hear more. I would post a picture but have not been able to figure it out.

Thanks,

matsickma

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Date Posted: 03/19/2005 3:11 PM
Posted By: hansmoust


Hello matsickma,

It looks like you have one of the leftover superstructures of the early '90s X-2000/Nightbirds and X-3000 Nightingales that were lying around after the model was discontinued in 1994. I've seen them on many occasions when visiting the Guild plant while doing the research for my book. After Fender bought the company a lot of the inventory was thrown into the dumpster and this included a lot of vintage parts, half finished guitars, complete pickup harnesses and you name it; all very usable stuff. On quite a few occasions the people who were in charge of 'cleaning up' did something that they were not supposed to do and that is how a lot of that stuff landed outside the factory, without the management knowing about it.
The guitar that you described is probably one of those unfinished X-3000 Nightingales.

Re. The neck is that of a X3000 and not a Nightingale
An X-3000 is a Nightingale. Not the original version of the Nightingale but the '92 version of the Nightingale. It is as much a Nightingale as the X-2000 is a Nightbird.

It is the fourth guitar that I've seen floating on the market so far and there might be a couple more. Actually, one of my friends who worked in the repair dept. at Guild put together one of these X-2000 Nightbirds after the factory was closed in 2001. I believe he was going to put a Bigsby on it.
The fact that it doesn't have a serial number proves that the guitar left the factory without any finish and all the work that has been done to it was done afterwards. That also explains the more recent style Bluesbird bridge and tailpiece which weren't even around at the time these superstructures were originally fabricated.

Whether or not these guitars should be considered original Guilds depends on how you look at it. They could be great guitars though!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust

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Date Posted: 03/19/2005 11:18 PM
Posted By: matsickma


Hi Hans,

Thanks for the info. I examined the guitar very closely and I find the finish to be very Guild like. I would have guessed it was finished off at the factory using the same equipment. The finish is hard to discriminate from my other Guilds. I have never seen a X2000 or X3000 up close but from the pictures they don't seem to have the multi layer binding of the Nightbirds and Nightingale. The guitar I have has body binding similar to a Bluesbird. Is that the way the X2000and X3000 were finished? Also, are they any references to Nightingales being available with P90's?

Your comment about the trashing of the left over Guild materials is a shame. I guess that is the source of the NOS materials that pop up on ebay now and then. I have purchased a lot of Guild NOS parts for Al at aiguitar. He origionally told me he bought 2 or 3 pallets of Guild parts from the RI factory. His stock of items is now pretty thin but he still has Guild stops for most older models. I may install a Nightbird type stop on this guitar. I am also considering the addition of a Bigsby to this guitar. I have a few NOS Guild Bigsby that may do the job.

Thanks,

matsickma

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Date Posted: 03/20/2005 4:25 PM
Posted By: hansmoust


Yes, they do have the multi layer binding of the Nightbirds and Nightingales. However, the bindings on the Nightbirds and Nightingales varied a little over the years. There are basically two styles. The first style was used during the early years and it has a couple more layers.
NbirdBind2.jpg



The second style was introduced during 1987 and was used during the remainder of the Nightbird and Nightingale production years, which includes the X-2000s and X-3000s.
NbirdBind1.jpg



Sincerely,

Hans
 
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