I just bought a "new" used bluesbird. It has the original pickups and master volume. Love the neck and tone , but it has a poor refinish job . How do I determine the age by the serial # and where can I purchase a nut ( cut too deep on third and fourth strings ) and the brass indicator pins ( volume and tone ) .This thing kills my lester!!!
Bluesbird info
- Thread starter elojohn
- Start date
matsickma
Senior Member
Not sure of a Bluesbird model with a Master Vol & Tone. Is it a solid body or hollow, arched top or flat, humbuckers or single coil pickups?
SFIV1967
Venerated Member
Except for the color , this is what mine looks like . I was able to purchase a bone nut for it , sure wish I could find those knob position indicators . Thanx for the picture , Ralf . I'll post a picture when I get a new phone.....lost mine in a lake while taking a picture fishing . Now I know that that extra small switch is a phase switch .
HeyMikey
Enlightened Member
Hi and welcome elojohn. I can’t wait to see pictures of your new old Guild. For dating here is an online resource that is pretty good, but is not perfect.
With the serial number Hans or others may be able to help date it.
You can buy bone nuts from Stemac and many other places. Cutting the slots and sizing it to fit properly is a bit tricky. If you’ve not done it before it might be best to take the guitar to a local luthier (not a Guitar Center or similar chain) and have them provide and fit one.
matsickma
Senior Member
Yep. Early M75 solid body with Master Vol, phase switch and the hard stop located a greater distance from the bridge than the later ( younger) models.
Very nice.I had owned a near identical guitar years ago only because I replaced it with a blond top model.
Excellent guitars especially if you like thin necks.
From your initial description I thought you meant a Master Vol and Master Tone. That would put it in realm of a Nightbird, M70 or 80's Bluesbird.
I don't think the solidbody M75 was officially referred to as a "Bluesbird" by Guild. That term was reserved for the hollow body or semi solid guitars that are built like a hollow body archtop.
Guild abandoned that name restriction when they issued the solidbody long scale neck "Bluesbird" of the 1980's.
You definitely got one of the more prized version of the M75 series.
M
Very nice.I had owned a near identical guitar years ago only because I replaced it with a blond top model.
Excellent guitars especially if you like thin necks.
From your initial description I thought you meant a Master Vol and Master Tone. That would put it in realm of a Nightbird, M70 or 80's Bluesbird.
I don't think the solidbody M75 was officially referred to as a "Bluesbird" by Guild. That term was reserved for the hollow body or semi solid guitars that are built like a hollow body archtop.
Guild abandoned that name restriction when they issued the solidbody long scale neck "Bluesbird" of the 1980's.
You definitely got one of the more prized version of the M75 series.
M
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HeyMikey , thanx for the reply . Stewmac is where I found the bone nut I purchased ....still searching for those control knob indicator pins . The guy I purchased this bluesbird from tried to do a refinish job and lost the pins .
M , thanx for the reply . I appreciate the kind words about "one of the more prized version of the M75 series " . I called it a bluesbird only because that is what the seller called it . Just joined this site and am learning a lot of good info.
BradHK
Senior Member
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Here is a thread regarding replacement pins used for the volume and tone markers:
letstalkguild.com
Volume and tone markers
Anybody have a good source for replacement volume and tone “nail” markers? I need some for my 1968 Starfire IV as a previous owner sanded them down flat when they removed the original finish. I am refinishing the guitar and would like to put in new markers after the refin. Thanks and photo below:
letstalkguild.com
BradHK , thank you for pointing me in the right direction . Looks like the brass #18 x 3/8" decorative finishing nails are the way to go !! I'm ordering them today , and will post when they arrive and I install them . Again , a big thank you to all that replied .
mavuser
Enlightened Member
u may be able to fill the existing nut, with some sort of mixture if glue and baking soda, or so I have read...and then re-slot it.
Also I wouldn't say there is a hard rule on not calling an M-75 a Bluesbird. I would consider that a Bluesbird, and a JS bass or S-50 a Jetstar, S-100 a Polara, etc. I owned a 1972 JS bass that had "Jetstar" written on the label from the factory, and I'm sure u can find at least one M-75 that says "Bluesbird" in similar fashion. With that said, @matsickma is extremely knowledgable around here, and he is correct in that the 70's solid body's were generally referred to by the letter/number codes. Seems like Guild was really chasing the Gibson SG at the time (JS, S-100, S-50...), and also wanted to name the new versions of those solid bodys something new. But an S-100 was always a Polara, and an M-75 was a Bluesbird or Aristocrat, going back to Hoboken. If you don't change the model code, you havn't really changed the model name..."Jetstar">"JS" ...someone really brainstormed on that one!
Also I wouldn't say there is a hard rule on not calling an M-75 a Bluesbird. I would consider that a Bluesbird, and a JS bass or S-50 a Jetstar, S-100 a Polara, etc. I owned a 1972 JS bass that had "Jetstar" written on the label from the factory, and I'm sure u can find at least one M-75 that says "Bluesbird" in similar fashion. With that said, @matsickma is extremely knowledgable around here, and he is correct in that the 70's solid body's were generally referred to by the letter/number codes. Seems like Guild was really chasing the Gibson SG at the time (JS, S-100, S-50...), and also wanted to name the new versions of those solid bodys something new. But an S-100 was always a Polara, and an M-75 was a Bluesbird or Aristocrat, going back to Hoboken. If you don't change the model code, you havn't really changed the model name..."Jetstar">"JS" ...someone really brainstormed on that one!
Thank you for the suggestion about the nut repair . I'm going to go ahead and get the nut replaced with the bone nut I just bought . I have some woodworking skills , but this job is above my pay grade , LOL . You guys sure have been a great source of help and knowledge . Is that DeArmond M-75 anywhere close to a guild ?
mavuser
Enlightened Member
people love those Dearmonds. I feel like I see a lot of famous musicians gigging with them. Jane Weidlin from the GoGo's has one. I'm not sure how much they sound like your guitar though. different humbuckers for sure.
matsickma
Senior Member
The DeArmond M75 is a well built guitar with the feel of a Guild with a little chunkier neck. The neck block inlays are not as aesthetical as the Guild or NS models. They are heavier. The M75 has Goldtone Humbuckers and they they have a clean bright tone for a humbuckers. The M75T is also a good quality guitar using DeA Model 2k single coils that are more like a lower output P90. They are not the same as the model 2000 single coil which mimics a lower output vintage 2000 pickup.
The DeA M77 is similar to the M75 except it has a hard stop instead of the floating harp stop. It is also about 1/8 inch thinner. Subtle difference in headstock shape and size, tuner "buttons", TRC and color options. I especially liked the M77T and wish I never sold mine. The M70 is a slab body with many similarities to the DeA M75 but less fancy hardware, no neck binding and it has the same hard stop shape as your Guild M75. The M72 is another flat slab type model but it has a maple cap, neck binding, dot fret markers and a combination of gold and chrome hardware. The M72 is a good looking guitar. The non "T" models all have the Goldtone Humbuckers. DeA guitars made in Korea are the higher quality models. M and S models with model numbers in the 50's and 60's are the cheaper grade and 70 the higher grade (M50, M55, M65, M68, S65, S67) vs (M70, M72, M75, M75T, M77T, M77T, S73, S7312). All the hollow and semi hollow archtop were good quality and the Jetstar, 7-Star, Bajo-Jet are high quality with Jet Star Special being of lower grade parts and finish.
Similar scenario for the bass guitars. Essentially back in the late 1990's the Indonesian made guitars were of lower quality than Korean. Now they are approaching parity.
When Fender started to consider selling Guild they purged the Dearmond line first and they were available at blowout prices. Today the NS are in the same price range as the escalated DeA so a good value is available at a reasonable price.
The DeA M77 is similar to the M75 except it has a hard stop instead of the floating harp stop. It is also about 1/8 inch thinner. Subtle difference in headstock shape and size, tuner "buttons", TRC and color options. I especially liked the M77T and wish I never sold mine. The M70 is a slab body with many similarities to the DeA M75 but less fancy hardware, no neck binding and it has the same hard stop shape as your Guild M75. The M72 is another flat slab type model but it has a maple cap, neck binding, dot fret markers and a combination of gold and chrome hardware. The M72 is a good looking guitar. The non "T" models all have the Goldtone Humbuckers. DeA guitars made in Korea are the higher quality models. M and S models with model numbers in the 50's and 60's are the cheaper grade and 70 the higher grade (M50, M55, M65, M68, S65, S67) vs (M70, M72, M75, M75T, M77T, M77T, S73, S7312). All the hollow and semi hollow archtop were good quality and the Jetstar, 7-Star, Bajo-Jet are high quality with Jet Star Special being of lower grade parts and finish.
Similar scenario for the bass guitars. Essentially back in the late 1990's the Indonesian made guitars were of lower quality than Korean. Now they are approaching parity.
When Fender started to consider selling Guild they purged the Dearmond line first and they were available at blowout prices. Today the NS are in the same price range as the escalated DeA so a good value is available at a reasonable price.
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SFIV1967
Venerated Member
1971 catalog:
Jan 1, 1973 pricelist:
Starting with the Nov 1, 1973 the BluesBird name was skipped.
Ralf