G McBride Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 I have been looking for a Guild Thunderbird for a couple of years now. I used to own one back in the 70's and let it get away from me. I finally found one and bought it. Played it most of the day yesterday and it is as good a guitar as I remember it being. This is a pretty rare guitar, only about 200 were produced and they built in a metal bar that flipped out and acted as a stand. Problem with the stand was that it had the guitar tipped back a such an angle that they would bump over pretty easy and a lot of them did. The Guild has the same problem as Gibson on the headstock snapping off when dropped so many of these guitars have probably been lost now due to that problem. My question to those of you in the know, there is a large place on the back that the finish has been rubbed off and it is down to bare mahogany. Would you try to restore the back of the guitar or leave it be. The guitar is the red model and not the burst, so it should be easy enough to do a good match. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 i'd leave it. all bout them mojos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 Cool guitars! Can we see it? I would leave the finish original. Honest mojo is a plus in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAS44 Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 My Guild A-50 is of the same year! Congrats man, glad you like her. Can we get some pictures? I'd leave the finish as it is by the way, merely a personal choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 ..... Would you try to restore the back of the guitar or leave it be. The guitar is the red model and not the burst, so it should be easy enough to do a good match. What do you think? Are you interested in the guitar as an all original? . You could do some research on the comparative values of the guitar all original versus restored. That answer might lead you to leaving it original based on monetary reasons or free you to decide which way YOU would like it. An yes, how about a pic or two. . B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted October 8, 2011 Author Share Posted October 8, 2011 I will get some pictures up soon. Here is a shot from my phone. I guess I knew the answer was leave it alone, just wanted to be reassured by my peers. Thanks Guys Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 . Oh man . . . that looks great! Who cares about buckle rash . . . it's a killer guitar. . B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 8, 2011 Share Posted October 8, 2011 My two cents worth would be along the lines that on the back of the guitar there may be a concern I'd not have on the front where "mojo" may or may not have a degree of importance in a performance. My thought is for the guitar itself. My first thought is that if it's smooth, bare wood simply from general friction up against a player, I'd let it fly as is. OTOH, if the wood grain is open in the sense that it appears rough rather than furniture smooth, I'd consider adding some finish to protect the wood from splintering. In a sense, it's probably along the same lines as an antique table that's still in use: How does one protect, yet not in ways destroy? I'd be less concerned with protecting the wood if we're talking the front of the instrument, but more or less the same concern would apply. OTOH, for the pro-mojo guys, or the "keep it antique for a sale to collectors crowd, I'd not mess with it at all. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks for all the responses guys. This is truly an amazing guitar. I had forgotten how they felt to play and all the tonal variation that you can get out of this guitar. In the end, the LP in my avatar and my 359 are probably going to remain the favorites. I love to pick up a different guitar and let it lead me to playing something different. They all seem to have a little different feel or sound that make you play something that you hadn't heard for years but the guitar just brings it out of you. One of the advantages of being a 58 year old player is that there are a lot of different songs stored away somewhere in that vault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S t e v e Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 i'd never even heard of that guitar till now, it is pretty sweet looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 There were only about 200 of them made. I think they made them from 63 to 68 or in that era. Mahogany neck and body, set neck, binding on the neck. Feels kind of like a Gibson 60's neck profile. They have become very rare and hard to find. The two finishes available were Sunburst and Cherry. I wanted a Cherry because that is what I owned years ago. Muddy Waters played one, Guitarist for Lovin Spoonful played one. If you ever have the opportunity, pick one up and play it a while, I think you would like it. Gill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Gill... My Guild S100c is from the same era. A great guitar.\ m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 These guitars were nice, don't know why they didn't go over well of when Fender bought them out if that killed any chance of a solid body Guild being produced again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I think the problem with some of the Fender buyouts is that they apparently saw it as a way to diversify product with specialized lines that don't particularly overlap Fender/Squire lines. The old Guild solidbodies were rather special, IMHO. m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G McBride Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Couple of views of the guitar that show more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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