Help dating new (to me) Bluesbird

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Hello Everyone,
First post here. Have owned a Guild Starfire III for a couple years & have just bought a beautiful Guild Bluesbird from ebay. It was advertised as a 1997 & would like to verify this with the experts here. It's a cherry sunburst with lots of flame that looks almost 3D at times. The serial number is CL001310. There are no markings inside the cavities on the back of the guitar. In the truss rod cavity there is a JT. It came with the original Guild case, which has a green interior.

Can anyone verify the year & where it was made? Is this a laquer finish? Any other info would be appreciated.
Thanks

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adorshki

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HI Tiki, Welcome aboard!

Although I'm not an "electric guy", what you're describing does sound like a typical late '90's Bluesbird.
And the serial number's quite a bit earlier than a '00 Hans recently dated with a 24xx s/n "IIRC".
Our member Hans Moust is the authority on dating by s/n, you can reach him by email if he doesn't see this and answer over the weekend.
His website is guitarchives.com

There's a fair amount of info here already, let me direct you to this thread:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...ds-Owners-amp-Long-Time-Borrowers-List/page15

More recently there was some discussion about the quality of maple used at that time and what was "AAA" vs "standard", and some folks mentioned serial numbers which may help you narrow down yours while waiting for the definitive answer from Hans:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/sh...p-Dallas-Ft-Worth&highlight=quilted+Bluesbird
In fact, just for giggles, here's a list of search returns for "Bluesbird quilted":
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/search.php?searchid=1192076&pp=&page=3
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be sly and say "go search" as I see on some other forums, I just got kinda curious myself while trying to find that second thread I linked to.
I think we figured out that the "quilted" tops aren't actually the "AAA", as spectacular as they are for most of us.
Have fun!
(PS your photobucket pics aren't showing up for me at least, but it's a known problem with them that's also been discussed recently.
It's so bad several members have rejected 'em in favor of more useful alternatives, but I'll let somebody else tackle that subject)
:friendly_wink:
 

AcornHouse

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Yes, photobucket is holding your pics hostage until you pay them an outrageous fee to be able to share them.
 
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Thanks to all who responded. Cancelled photobucket. Tried uploading a photo to OneDrive and adding the link here, but doesn't seem to work either. Will try imgur as time permits.

I did play a gig with the Bluesbird on Sat night, worked and sounded great. Still need to read the links provided above.
 

SFIV1967

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The serial number is CL001310... In the truss rod cavity there is a JT.
Welcome to LTG. I can't see the pictures as Photobucket no longer works. But I can tell you based on former info I collected that your Bluesbird was made in 1998. "JT" are the initials of Jeffrey T*****, who was a neck fitter in Westerly until 2001. So your guitar was made in Westerly/Rhode Island.
The finish is Polyurethane.
The pickups are Neck pup = Seymour Duncan Classic Cover™ series '59 model™ SH-1N and Bridge pup = Seymour Duncan Classic Cover™ series '59 model™ SH-1B.

I attach a picture of your new guitar below, she has a great looking top!

$_57.JPG



Ralf
 
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mavuser

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Welcome to LTG. I can't see the pictures as Photobucket no longer works. But I can tell you based on former info I collected that your Bluesbird was made in 1998. "JT" are the initials of Jeffrey T*****, who was a neck fitter in Westerly until 2001. So your guitar was made in Westerly/Rhode Island.
The finish is Polyurethane.
The pickups are Neck pup = Seymour Duncan Classic Cover™ series '59 model™ SH-1N and Bridge pup = Seymour Duncan Classic Cover™ series '59 model™ SH-1B.

I attach a picture of your new guitar below, she has a great looking top!

$_57.JPG



Ralf

looks to be the samme AAA flamed top as Walrus' Bluebird (as opposed to "quilted")
 

adorshki

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looks to be the samme AAA flamed top as Walrus' Bluebird (as opposed to "quilted")

'at's what I wuz thinking too.
I think every d--n one I've seen from that period is freakin' gorgeous, triple-A or not.
Well, maybe that tobacco 'burst that GAD posted in one of those threads I linked doesn't quite float my boat, but that's about it.
 
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Alright, using imgur, I think I finally got my images of my new Bluesbird to display. Sorry, if they seem so big.

It appears this guitar is a 1998. It's sweet sounding and after a little set-up work, plays wonderfully and stays in tune.
Thanks for all your comments.

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GAD

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'at's what I wuz thinking too.
I think every d--n one I've seen from that period is freakin' gorgeous, triple-A or not.
Well, maybe that tobacco 'burst that GAD posted in one of those threads I linked doesn't quite float my boat, but that's about it.

This one?

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I actually don't like tobacco burst but that guitar is freaking amazing. I greatly prefer a cherry burst like the one being discussed in this thread (nice!) but in my experience Guild really seemed to favor tobacco burst for some reason as I see a lot more of them then I do cherry.
 

adorshki

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This one? ....
I actually don't like tobacco burst but that guitar is freaking amazing. I greatly prefer a cherry burst like the one being discussed in this thread (nice!) but in my experience Guild really seemed to favor tobacco burst for some reason as I see a lot more of them then I do cherry.
I think overall the tobacco/antique style bursts are more popular, I see a lot of love for 'em in the acoustic side as well.
Maybe it's a "tradition" thing.
Me, I love the Cherry- and Amber-bursts on acoustics or electrics..
 
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