Superbird II ??

Who knows anything about this? Looks like a beefed up Thunderbird head on a big cab with 2x15 Lansings?

Orig. 60's-70's Guild SuperBird II Promotional Flyer

Hi John,

There is some similarity of the Superbird amp to the Thunderbird. Actually the Superbird is similar to the 2nd generation Thunderbird amp. ( Note: There are 3 generations of the Thunderbird amp.)The schematic for the 2nd generation Thunderbird amp is also applicable to the Superbird I and Superbird II where special notes apply.

The 2nd generation Thunderbird has a seperate Preamp/Control "head" and Power amp section. The Thunderbird uses a single cabinet that is taller than wider and has 2-12 inch speakers. The Power amp section uses a pair 7591 final tubes just like the origional Thunderbird amp but the power amp section is mounted inside the speaker compartment. The preamp/controls are mounted toward the top of the cabinet and is connected to the power amp section via a control cable that provides bias cables to the preamp and includes an audio connection to an input connection of the power amp section. The 2nd generation Thunderbird amp no longer has the "speaker driven reverb" like the origional Thunderbird. The 2nd generation Tbird amp has a unique 2-stage Tremelo function that is controlled by a switch on the back of the amp. It was marketed as an effect that made a guitar sound like an organ. It is basically a dual range of speed for the tremelo very slow-to mid speed & mid to very fast speed. (IMHO this is the best sounding amp Guild made. I play this amp all the time! and I really like the origional Thunderbird amp!)

At this time in the Guild amp period Guild was trying very hard to build high quality amps. The cabinet construction is very good and uses all high quality plywood- no particle board and vinyl. Heavy duty black tolex covers the amps. Guild began to adopt the advanced concept of separating the preamp/control section from the power amp section-this concept was well in place for bass amps as a standard technique to reduce microphonics and premium Hi Fi gear. I suspect they elected to use this practice because it improved performance and made it very easy to mix and match the preamp/control section with other power amp and speaker cabinets to come out with other amp models.

ergo...the Superbird Series of amps.

The Superbirds have a separate head to hold the preamp/control section. The power amp section is mounted inside the top of the speaker cabinet in the area where the grill cloth is white on your referenced picture. The Superbird I came with 2-12 inch JBL signature speakers similar to a D-120 but without that specific model number. The Superbird II came in a larger cabinet and had 2-15 inch JBL D-130's.

The Superbird heads are similar to the 2nd generation Thunderbird preamp/control section with one small addition. Guild added a Fuzz tone circuit to the Superbird amps. There was on one control for the Fuzz tone-an on/off switc. It appeared as a 3rd switch added to the metal control foot pedal typically used for Reverb and Tremelo. Guild added the switch in the center and below the existing switches to allow clear access. There was no additional marking made to the 3rd switch (i.e., it didnot say Fuzz).

The power section of the Superbird I and II are similar but a little different. The power tubes for both amps are 8417's similar to the Thunderbass and early Quantum Bass amp. The Superbird I is rated at around 70W (140W peak) and the Superbird II is rated at 100W (200 W peak). The early Quantum and Superbird II run the 8417's at a higher voltage than in the Thunderbass and Superbird I model.

(Note: I currently own a Superbird I and am having problems with getting the amp to function thru the effects channnel. It is one of the project I'll get around to some day.)

I have a interesting story about what may have been the Superbird prototype amp...

A few year back (3?) a Guild amp appeared on ebay with a starting auction price of $5k. However there were a few special items about this amp which implied the high starting bid price. The guy auctioning the amp called it a Guild Superbird Amp that was origionally owned by Muddy Waters! His auction included a picture of the amp on stage with Muddy Waters playing through it. In the background was another guy playing guitar. The description in the auction stated that the other guy in the picture was the guys father. The auction did not include a stand alone picture of the amp-just the picture of the amp onstage with Muddy Waters and the guys father. The unusual thing is that the amp in the picture was not a Guild Superbird- It was a 2nd generation Guild Thunderbird. Well this seemed kind of weird and unusual. I knew there are few people who know about Guild Thunderbird amps and significantly less know about Superbirds.

I sent the guy a message and he told me that his dad used to play with Muddy Waters and that he remembered being around and seeing his dad and Muddy together. He said that Muddy gave the amp to his dad and that he had it all these years in the attic. Now I know it sounds like a scam but the guy seemed very honest and sincere. In our correspondence I ask the guy about the Superbird amp name and asked him to confirm that it really said Superbird. I told him that the style of amp should say Thunderbird. He went back and looked and confirmed that the amp said Superbird! (I don't remember why he didn't post picture-think he didn't own a camera and just scanned his family picture and put it on ebay.) So it was very possible that the first Superbird amp was housed in a 2nd generation Thunderbird amp, used a pair of 8417 finals was (custom) made for Muddy Waters.

The auction ended without anyone placing a bid and it was never relisted. I had a copy of that "family picture" on one of my earlier harddrives that went bad so no longer have a copy. It is a hard story to believe but there you have it. Hope some day that picture or the amp resurfaces.

M

Great info, thanks. Good to hear that the cabinet's not made of the same crap my Thunderbird was. It's nearly reconstructed now - I know it's a pretty simple project, but I've just had way too many simple and some complicated projects on the go for a few months now, and the amps have been on the back burner). Pics soon, I hope.

And a great story about Muddy Waters and the possible origination of the Superbird. Love that stuff.

Speaking of Superbirds....from a listing on Craigslist:

Headshot:

pic deleted


Here's where the going gets a little tougher: "...four thousand holes in Blackburn Lancashire. And though the holes were rather small, they had to count them all..."

pic deleted

They counted the holes because sometimes, all the holes actually matter. Superbird Head in Cleveland

I got to check this out. It looks to be a reasonable deal for for parts.

Note: Anyone interested in this item understand that the Superbird has no power supply to operate the head. You need to have the Poweramp section to get this item to turn-on. It has an unusual rectangular shaped multipin connection that interfaces to the the power section. This head is not configured like a normal preamp section as you may expect today.

M

Thanks Mike: what are the several things sticking up that look like wingnuts....wingnuts?

cj

Hi All,

I stumbled on to the picture of Muddy Waters playing his Thunderbird guitar through his "prototype" Superbird amp I described earlier in the thread. I hope the picture shows up ok. See below. The images are from the origional ebay auction.
Notice the amp is located behind Muddy. Also the author of the auction stated the guy playing with Muddy was his dad. As the story went Muddy gave the amp to his dad. It was stored for many years before it was put up for auction.






Enjoy.

M

I just wanted to remind everyone that I eventually located and posted a copy of the picture (on line no less!) with Muddy Waters playing a proto type Superbird Amp packaged inside a 2nd style Thunderbird amp.

M

matsickma said:

Hi All,

I stumbled on to the picture of Muddy Waters playing his Thunderbird guitar through his "prototype" Superbird amp I described earlier in the thread. I hope the picture shows up ok. See below. The images are from the origional ebay auction.
Notice the amp is located behind Muddy. Also the author of the auction stated the guy playing with Muddy was his dad. As the story went Muddy gave the amp to his dad. It was stored for many years before it was put up for auction.

Enjoy.

M

Click to expand...

Paul Oscher, harmonica?



BTW, Muddy Waters videos are a feast of Guilds.