NGD: Red Bluesbird

GAD · Jul 13, 2016

It's a Westerly Guild Bluesbird. It rocks. Scored on eBay for $750. Some corrosion on the pickup covers and some rust on the screws, but otherwise in great shape. Came with all case candy and the case is in great shape, too.

kakerlak · Jul 13, 2016

Nice top, great buy!

txbumper57 · Jul 14, 2016

That is one beautiful Top GAD! I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks. Congrats!

TX

GAD · Jul 14, 2016

txbumper57 said:
That is one beautiful Top GAD! I'll bet it sounds as good as it looks. Congrats!

TX

It actually does sound killer. Red is a hard color to photograph with digital cameras, but the top is hard to discern in regular light anyway. I'm eager for a sunny day so I can get some pics in the grass.

txbumper57 · Jul 14, 2016

I love the grain on the Rosewood fretboard as well. You got a steal on that one. Are those the Seymour Duncan 59 pickups in it?

TX

GAD · Jul 14, 2016

The fretboard is very nice. It was pretty dried out when I got it, and judging by the look of the pickup covers and the rusted screws, I'd say it sat out in the open for a while or was in a very humid environment.

I haven't pulled the pickups yet but they sound incredible, whatever they are.

Alan_M · Jul 14, 2016

$750! Wow what a score!

kakerlak · Jul 14, 2016

Alan_M said:
$750! Wow what a score!

They're out there, but not usually this clean or this nicely topped. A lot of guitar for the money!

guildman63 · Jul 14, 2016

For whatever reason red BB's tend to be less expensive than burst or natural versions, all else being equal. That works for me as I love the red.

kakerlak · Jul 14, 2016

guildman63 said:
For whatever reason red BB's tend to be less expensive than burst or natural versions, all else being equal. That works for me as I love the red.

I think part of it, as GAD mentioned, is the figure doesn't come through the red finish as well (same thing w/ green ones) -- this one looked nowhere near this nice in the original seller's pics.

The Guilds of Grot · Jul 14, 2016

Did you get the strap with the strap-locks as part of the case candy?

GAD · Jul 14, 2016

The Guilds of Grot said:
Did you get the strap with the strap-locks as part of the case candy?

Sadly, no. I do have other straps with those Strap Locks already, though. Did I miss out on some cool rare Guild swag?

The Guilds of Grot · Jul 14, 2016

GAD said:
Sadly, no. I do have other straps with those Strap Locks already, though. Did I miss out on some cool rare Guild swag?

No, I just find it annoying when you buy a guitar and it comes with strap-locks. You'd think they would save the original strap buttons and put them back on when the sell it since they would need the strap-lock buttons to go with the strap they're keeping. Why break up the set?

walrus · Jul 14, 2016

Love the finish! Great price, too! Congratulations!

walrus

GAD · Jul 14, 2016

Pickups are confirmed SD '59.

There seems to be a love/hate relationship with these on the Internet, but I gotta say that I'm pretty darn pleased with them in this guitar, and that's from a guy that would happily pay $300+ for a set of WCRs.

GAD · Jul 14, 2016

The Guilds of Grot said:
No, I just find it annoying when you buy a guitar and it comes with strap-locks. You'd think they would save the original strap buttons and put them back on when the sell it since they would need the strap-lock buttons to go with the strap they're keeping. Why break up the set?

Ahh - got it. I would prefer to install my own because I like the Dunlop strap locks better, but since my Strat has these same Fender locks it's no big deal.

walrus · Jul 14, 2016

GAD said:
Pickups are confirmed SD '59.

There seems to be a love/hate relationship with these on the Internet, but I gotta say that I'm pretty darn pleased with them in this guitar, and that's from a guy that would happily pay $300+ for a set of WCRs.

I love how mine sound!

walrus

Zelja · Jul 15, 2016

guildman63 said:
For whatever reason red BB's tend to be less expensive than burst or natural versions, all else being equal. That works for me as I love the red.

kakerlak said:
I think part of it, as GAD mentioned, is the figure doesn't come through the red finish as well (same thing w/ green ones) -- this one looked nowhere near this nice in the original seller's pics.

I prefer the red or green as well.

Congrats on your binge GAD, looks like you did very well! Your pics are great. How do you get them done - white background & then some software to just get most of the guitar & not the background? Has me stumped as I see the shadow of the neck etc. Very well done regardless.

GAD · Jul 15, 2016

Thanks for noticing!

The pics are just the guitar on some white foam poster board. I shoot in raw so have a lot of leeway to what can be done, but really most of the work is in Photoshop where I adjust levels, select the background, remove the seams and distractions, then crank up the white so far that all detail from the background is lost.

I could do it with a more professional lighting setup, but I no longer have my studio lights. I generally use a Canon 5DMIII and a 24-70 f/2.8L lens with my old 550EX flash. Honestly, though, the trick isn't in the camera, but rather the setup and post processing.

Here is an example of the pics through the process.

Zelja · Jul 16, 2016

Thanks for the explanation! Very cool process & even better end result!

NGD: Red Bluesbird

Reverential Morlock

Senior Member

Enlightened Member

Reverential Morlock

Enlightened Member

Reverential Morlock

Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Senior Member

Enlightened Member

Reverential Morlock

Enlightened Member

Reverential Member

Reverential Morlock

Reverential Morlock

Reverential Member

Senior Member

Reverential Morlock

Senior Member