Guild Bluesbird AAA

I Traded my U.S Strat even for mt Bluesbird, & I have never regretted it for a second. It's a mahogany chambered body, and mahogany neck, figured maple top, seymore duncan SH-1 pick ups, grover tuners, just an all around work of musical art. The one and only complaint I have, is that the strap peg on the bottom of the guitar is a spike, and does not allow the use of a strap lock, you could fill the hole, and then drill to do this, but I wouldn't have the heart to put a drill anywhere near this guitar.

I play a mix of blues, and heavier classic rock, and this guitar suites every style. Big thick sound on the neck, sweet smooth in the middle, and the bottom pick up could slice butter. There's a lot you can do with combining the pick ups as well. You can go from S.R.V. to Yngvie on this baby.

When I first saw this guitar, I was skeptical, I thought it would just be like a Les Paul, (not my fav guitar), but after playing it in the store for only a few short minutes, I had to have it. The action is beautifully set, from the top, to the bottom, it almost plays itself. There was a very small ding on the back of the neck, but barely noticeable to the touch.

I play live at least once a month, if not more, and I have gigged one more than one occasion with no back up guitar, and never been worried. You can hammer on this puppy all night, and she will only ask for more. It stays in tune, adapts to different temperatures well, the finish looks as beautiful as the day I got it, and the pick ups have never let me down, ever!

I never have had to have anything done as far as repairs, or adjustments, so I can't comment on costumer support, but with such a well made guitar, I can't imagine their phones ringing to often.

I have played since I was 13 years old, I have probably owned over 70 guitars in my life, some great, and some absolute garbage. I've went from, Gibson, to Fender, to Lado, to Ibanez, to B.C.Rich, & I have played beauty's in all those brands, but none compare to the Bluesbird for me. The only comparison I could give you would be to say, imagine the nicest Les Paul you've ever played, now ad 5 times the sound, and playability, and remove about 30 pounds in weight. I would definetly purchase another one of these guitars if I came across one, but I have seen very few in my travels, and have met very few people who recognize this guitar. If you ever have a chance to purchase one of these guitars, don't think twice, do it, you will never regret it.

I got this beautiful baby on ebay for 1100 bucks NOS from a dealer in Cal. Natural AAA quilted top,duncan pickups, like a les paul but one inch wider and 3 pounds lighter due to the chambered mahogany body. 2 vol, 2tone controls,3 way p-u switch. Looks like one piece mahogony back, best I've ever seen.Grovers.What else? I changed the guild knobs for fender radio knobs to match the ones on my Vibroking.Also the pickguard had to go.This guitar is worth 3 grand.

I play jazz, rockabilly, country and classic rock.At first I thought I wouldn't be able to cut the tele stuff but I was wrong.The sound lives somewhere between an LP and a 335 but I like this guitar better than either one. Ernie Ball vol>Fulltone fulldrive2>Boss DD3>VibroKing. Unreal, best sound I've ever had. I leave the fulldrive on, and the amp cleans right up from the vol pedal. Warm, focused, and macho.

The guitar is gorgeous as well as a brilliant idea, I mean to look like a les paul but bigger, then to end up being both lighter and meaner. If its discontinued, its a major Fender f-up.

The neck p-up was shorting out for a while, but I think thats because the dealer changed the p-up rings.

I got a great guitar at a great price and no one else has one. AS soon as a well known player gets off his complacent ass and discovers the best new electric in decades, these will be very popular or very expensive.

My 1999 AAA flame top Bluesbird was made in RI quite sometime after Fender purchased Guild. I purchased it new (it had been in their shop all this time) Febuary 2006 from Durdels Music In Toledo, Ohio over the internet (fantastic people, trustworthey).

The Seymour Duncan Pickups are factory original.
The finish on the guitar is excellent, this combined with the flame maple top creats a real jaw dropper.

I love the way the knobs look, kind of retro. You can see the numbers easily while playing.

It has the the features required to make it a guitar, what more do you want?

The sound is incredible. It is fat with out being boomy. The highs cut through and can be either smooth and silky or biting. The tone and volume adjustments work to make this guitar incredibly versatile.

I have not found a bad or useless tone in this guitar. Each position of the pick up selectors is distinct and soulful.

I can see file marks on some of the binding (from about 8" away, this is a little anal but I want to be honest) but the inlays look and feel about perfect.

The top is beautiful (think $3000 or $4000 and up Gibson).

I had originally planned on taking it in right away and having it professionally set up, but this thing came from Durdels set up incredibly well.

I thought that the action was too low at first (but no buzzing anywhere), but after playing it for a while (about 5 minutes) I got used to it. I can still grab the strings and bend the hell out of them.

I installed strap lock buttons, I would hate to drop something like this, its to beautiful.

I think you could gig without a backup if you have that kind of personality. This is a mechanical device. All mechanical devices can have problems. A back up just gives you an excuse to go buy another Bluesbird so you can try out some different pickups and keep the first one oiginal. I would recommend 3 or 4 at least (there are lots of colors).

A discontinued Guild guitar from Fender. I have never had ocassion to need service, but I would not expect much, so it will be easy to impress me if I ever need manufacturedr service.

I own a Fender American Deluxe Strat. A USA custom shop swamp ash Schecter S-Pt (Telecater tyle guitar). A 1965 Guild F-30 acoustic.

Three different class A power amps (love the THD Univalve).

I am a Metal Head, but also play blues.

The neck is great. Not too fat (Gibson 50s) and not to thin (skinny tele),

I have already purchased another Bluesbird and have another on order.
I plan on hording all the Bluesbirds that I can afford. I now no longer have any interest in buying a another Gibson, except maybe a cloud nine and they are rare and far, far, far more expensive.

I forgot to mention that the bluesbird wheighs less than my Strat and Schecter custom.

This guitar is incredible and it will only become more rare as they are no longer made. If you are tired of the same old thing buy one of these. If you tink that the same old thing is the shit, you will never know how wrong you are.

Made by Fender, 2 Volume, 2 tone controls, 2 Seymour Duncan SH 1 'buckers, flamed maple top,chambered mahogany body, mahogany neck milled out of a nice tight grained mahogany 2 by 4,rosewood fingerboard, cherryburst with a properly applied polyurethane finish (not sticky),Tune-O-Matic, stop tailpiece,Grovers, Les Paul grade case that I have to keep closed lest I find a cat sleeping in it. This axe is the REAL THING, although I would like a master volume pot (too many years playing Fenders and G&Ls).

I play blues and classic rock, the neck PUP provides s really rich blues/jazz tone and the bridge PUP has a nice bright sound that is easily adapted to a Pete Townshend style. Effects and amp; Toadworks Compressor>> Toadworks Death Rattle 2>> Foxrox Hot Silicon fuzz>>Foxrox Captain Coconut 2 (w/Germanium fuzz)>>Demeter Tremulator>>Traynor YCV 20 amp. Or, straight into a Vibra-Champ

I bought this guitar used but from reading reviews from others, I think it has retained its factory setup and the action is nice and low and the intonation is perfect. The bookmatching is symmetrical but there are a few minor dark lines in the wood. The PUP covers are corroding some, I guess that's common with nickel covers, the trade off here is nickel reduces eddy currents around the PUPs. Despite that it's pretty much perfect, it has a neck as straight as an aicrft carrier flight deck. If this were a custom shop axe I'd give it a 9, but considering it's not............

Despite its relatively light weight this seems like a solid guitar, the mahogany is tight grained and the switch and wiring are first rate. I would never gig w/o a backup as a matter of principle but I can envision 40 years of woodshedding with no major problems.

There are a couple of caveats on this instrument. The PUP covers (see above) and the heel of the neck (not the neck itself)that is very thick past the octave; another trade off, this time for resonance. In fact this thing is so resonant I have had to change some damping techniques but I really don't care. This is a magnificent instrument, fast action, beautiful tone. Oh, heck, I have to go and play it.

2003 Bluesbird AAA. Color is "amber", really a natural flame top. Beautiful look! Optional Duncan P-90's for pickups. Very well built guitar, solid as a rock. Not too heavy - chambered rather than a true solid body. Neck is fast, great action and feel. Grover tuners - the best!

Sounds great! Nice cross between a solidbody and hollowbody - spound silky smmoth. Handles heavy stuff, as well as smooth jazz sounds. Very versatile. I use either a small Peavey with lots of effects built into it, or a big Roland that I play through clean.

Nice set up. Also gone over by the music store I bought it at, so I don't know if they made any major adjustments - I doubt it. The fit is tremendous - no way to tell where one peice of wood ends and another begins - typical Guild quality.

We'll see - too new to tell. I have a Guild acoustic that is over 20 years old that has held up great, and I feel confident this will do the same. You can just tell by its feel that it is rock solid.

Have not dealt with them.

I've been playing for over 30 years, and can say without hesitation Guilds are my favorite guitar. I have had a Martin, an Epiphne, a Fender, but all I have left are my Guilds - no, I have 1933 Epiphone Olympic archtop acoustic, too, but that's a different animal.

The only problem is how hard it is to find a Guild dealer. Fender does not promote them very well, but they very quietly make a great, high quality guitar - at least the US made ones. I highly recommend this guitar for any type of playing!

This Guild Bluebird AAA is a 2004 and I obtained it used (not even four months old). The guitar and case sre in like new condition!!! The specs are listed on several other reviews. The only difference is that the previous owner had a SD Antiquity Humbucker placed in the neck. The guitar is a beautiful AAA cherry sunburst flame top!

This guitar is so under rated. I understand it has been discontinued. What a shame. It compares to any Les Paul I own and is lighter. This guitar is suited for any style. I play blues, rock, pop and jazz.

The only adjustment I made was changed the strings and raised the action a little. I don't know it the other owner kept it factory set or not. The sound and finish is flawless.

This guitar will stand any playing (live, studio or bedroom). It is a quality built instrument and the finish is very good. All the hardware is good and sturdy. This baby will withsatnd anything I can give her.

Don't know. Never had to contact Fender/Guild for any problem or concern. I own other Fender guitars.

I have been playing over 35 years and this is my first Bluebird AAA. In the future I would like to find one w/ p-90s in it. This guitar is just as good as a Les Paul. This guitar will get a lot of playing time. I own Gibsons, Epiphones, Fenders and PRS.

This is a 2004 Cherry Sunburst triple AAA. It is basically the same configuration as a Les Paul, thought it has a chambered hollow body, which makes it lighter. It is also a little wider, so it is easier to play sitting on a chair. Semour Duncan Pick-ups, cream bindings (gorgeous yellowed). The looks of this guitar is stunning. Mind you that a honybust Les Paul is also not bad looking at all. Neck is a little bit chunky, reminds me of a reissue Les Paul with a big neck. Not my preference but the sound was so nice, I could'nt resist. The finish and the attention of the luthiers who built this guitar are flawless.

I was debating between a Les Paul , which is a safe value nowadays, a Brian Moore (synth access) or a Godin. I used to play in Clubs and hotels and at the time I had a Trini Lopez Gibson (same as 335 but with Fender Headstock and diamond shape soundhole). The sound of the Bluesbird is reminescent of a semi-accoustic Gibson and a Les Paul. I would say that for Jazz and instrumental clean stuff, it has more bite , less mudiness, and way more definition than a Les Paul. It tends to have more clarity than a Les Paul, without loosing the warmth of a hollow body. Now compare to a Godin: the Godin is beautifully constructed and has synth access; however, it has only one volume and one tone for the Humbuckers; you cannot really mix the amount of bridge and neck pickup like you can on a Paul or 335 and the Bluesbird. It has also a more focused sound, with less harmonic complexity. As far as market value, a Les Paul is a sure bet, but I always wondered why. I had 5 Les Pauls, custom, Special, Standards. I even saw a 1971 Black Beauty on EBay going for $1800 or $2000 US. I can't really understand why; I had a good one at the time a 1971 also and they were awfully heavy with barely no frets (fretless wonder remeber that?) and were not very versatyle unless you wanted to play Hocus Pocus or Framton. Les Paul is a strange breed; one out of twenty will sound fantastic; lately I tried a beautiful honyburst, which in my view was way way better than my older 70 or 80 Les Paul. It really captured the essence of what Gibson used to build in the fifties. But again , it was one out of twenty. I belive that people in general want so much to stay in the pack that they think only a Strat or Tele and Les Paul can do it! Those are the same people who buy Hondas four door and Toyotas based on reputation and Customer Reports only even if the cars are so blend looking. The new generation is so conservative that they miss good opportunuties . Funny to say that but the only thing that they will revolutionized is the way they do their hair. Other than that, they act very similar to the Nice guy with a tie in the sixties.

Set-up was perfect. Lowest action possible from factory. Lower than this, I would have had to carve the bridge. Intonation was perfect. Always buy a Guitar in the summer or sring; humidity and dryness is more predictible.

I would say that Guild build durable guiars. My teacher used to have an M75 Aristocrat which dated from the 1950 I belive, Still plays great

Never had to deal with them. Never will I suppose.

I have been playing since 1968 and I am a schooled Musician(I can read music, which by the way is another thing that never ceased to amaze me; guitar players, in general have an allergy about reading). I own Steinberger, Rainsong Jazz Guitar, Mex Strat (Roland ready) , Us Telecaster and A beautiful Gibson j-45. I have to say that none of those instruments are perfect but for Top 40 and all around Guitar, Strat is a Good choice. For Les Paul type of music or commercial and standards, Bluesbird is a wonderful instrument. I hate to rate 10 because I think it has too many times something to do with the price or the reputation that a product commands.But the Bluesbird is truly a perfect 10 (like the girl I saw at the esthetic surgeon lately, but this is another story...) If you want one, hurry, they are discontinued by Fender.

Mine was a mid-late 90's (can't recall exactly.) Triple A flamed maple top, the rest just as described here. At the time was in a blues/road-house/honky-tonk band, wanted an LP style git to compliment my Strats. Had had a Gibson LP Studio and, many years ago, an early 70's LP Deluxe (never shoulda sold that one, sighh...) Have also owned a number of LP and 335 clones, wannabes, "nearly likes", etc.

Anyway, I was tired of lugging LP style chunkiness and Gibson necks (which are not my cup of tea) around, and someone suggested the BlueBird. The only one I could find locally was the AAA flame-topped model, so I started playing that at my favorite git store.

It was love at first sight. My custom '62 RI Strat (the only stock parts left are the body, pots, and pickguard) will always be my #1, but this BluesBird (and my Taylor) are a couple of the few guitars that will make me put down the Strat.

I give it a 10 for features because, although it doesn't have a lot of features, it is so beautifully conceptualized, designed, and produced that I could give it no less. Someone else noted that the flame top BB's are works of art, that is how I see it as well...

The BluesBird has sweet tones and can really sing. The body is chambered and is very resonant (at least for any kind of "solid" body guitar.) IMO it definitely was made for blues, it just cries out to be made to cry. I'm not big on a lot of other styles, but I imagine it'd do well, with the S-D humbuckers and nice action. I think that in ultra-high-gain situations (punk, thrash, metal, whatever the buzzwords are) the highly resonant body (from whence the tone comes) would be a liability, but for others this guitar is top-notch.

Every thing was perfect. Have never detected a flaw and have never had to make any adjustments. I wish most guitars (including some approaching "boutique" status) would come this well setup.

I don't believe the guitar is frail, as has been suggested. The thing is very well made, the finish appears to be pretty durable, and so far I've not noted that the guitar is either frail or soft (scratch-prone, whatever.) Handled with a little care and diligence, I see no reason this guitar should not be around for at least a generation or two.

However, mahogany *is* a soft wood, and with much of the body wood gone (chambering), I have to believe the guitar will not stand up to *abuse* well at all. That's not a problem for me, I take care of my gear and it is never left with others who don't, but ymmv.

Never needed any.

I currently own just the custom '62 RI Strat, the BluesBird, a Taylor 815c, and a Takamine. There's also a "PRS" Santana (Korean-made PRS design) in the family (my daughters') that I could use if I wanted to.

FWIW, when I bought the BluesBird I was past my years of accumulating gear, so it was a very deliberate and well-thought-out addition.

I bought this guitar new. Made in 2002 or 2003 at the Fender facility in Corona, CA. It has Seymour Duncan SH-1(59)humbuckers in both bridge & neck positions. Case candy: combination truss-rod/phillips screwdriver & polishing cloth. Cherry sunburst flame-maple top. Everything else has been covered in other reviews so no need to be redundant.

I play many different styles of music, mostly as part of a worship team. This guitar sounds great and is able to cover a wide range of. I traded in a Les Paul Studio & American Strat for it...outperforms them both. As others have described the sustain is superior, especially when using high gain. It sings and is able to cover a wide range of musical styles. The resonance is distinct & very noticeable when unplugged. The "59" pickups are top quality.

The factory setup for string height was medium (1/16 inch at 12th fret)although the amount of neck relief was above 1/64 inch and probably a bit high. Wood moves so it was no surprise. A small turn of the truss rod is all that was needed & a bit of tweaking for action & intonation. However some individuals would probably have liked the setup as recieved. Pickups were set just fine. The nut was a bit tight & dry. It was grabbing the "B" string during tuning. I filed a very small amount from the slot to correct it. I did a visual inspection of this guitar with a magnifying glass before I bought it. The only flaw I could find was a very small amount of filler around some of the fingerboard inlays. Otherwise the quality was outstanding.

If properly taken care of this guitar should provide many years of service. However I did have a problem with the pickup selector switch. When switching to the bridge pickup the volume level was greatly reduced on two separate occasions. I used some "air duster" to blow out the contact area of the switch. Since then it has been OK. Others have had similar complaints. Covered under warranty.

Since I have not dealt with the company I cannot comment.

I've been playing guitar off/on for about 30 years. Other than the Bluesbird I have a Fender American strat with humbuckers, a Johnson JM120 modeling amp, & a Peavey Delta Blues 210 all tube amp. I would replace the guitar if necessary. The Bluebird is a professional quality instrument and when properly setup plays like a dream. One of my favorite features is the neck which is thick & meaty. The harmonics when played during high gain are superb. I would have liked the guitar to have a coil splitting setup (pickups) for more flexibilty. For the price it is an excellent value. I'm very happy with my purchase.

I purchaced my Guild Bluesbird about two years ago used. As best as I can figure it was made between 1996 - 1998. I know that most of the specs of this guitar have been mentioned in previous reviews but just to recap it's an American made guitar but because of the ambiguity surrounding it's production date it could have been made either in R.I. or California, 22 fretts, the top is carved maple, two volumes, two tones, one three position toggle, two Seymour Duncan SH1-59s humbuckers, passive, chambered Honduran mahogonay body,the same mahogany was used for the neck but with nice slab of Indian rosewood with a 12" compound radii (flattens out closer nut but it is a but more rounded near the octave, Dean does this with some of their guitars), I do know that the focus of the review posted here have been on the AAA version of the Bluesbird one should not rule out the polyurethane versions either, same woods, same attention to detail, hundreds less, and while a lot of people call the Bluesbird a Les Paul style guitar for a quick point of refrence in my oppinion the Bluesbird is much closer to it's body style to some of Gibson's less loved guitars such as the L5 and L6 or even the Marauder but just let's call it a single cut and have done with it, Adjusto-matic bridge with a stop tail piece, Grover (!) machine heads, 24 3/4" scale neck, medium jumbo fretts, the afore mentioned rosewood rosewood fretboard, and 1 11/16" bone nut set this thing up to be comfortable for almost any player for any style.

One other reviewer said this guitar does not have a lot of voodoo knobs and mojo switches but if you want them there's a ton of old B.C. Rich's that need a good home.

I have to coment on the neck; in my opinion it is much more like a cross between a Fender "U" shaped Strat neck and a late 60's early 70's Gibson SG. I liked the neck so much that I had it copied (except for the scale and frett size) to be used on a Tele. I have pretty freakin' big hands but I am not a fan of super chunky Les Paul necks so for me this is a nice blending of classical designs and modern taistes. Just 'cause it's old dosen't mean it's great.

Because I bought my Bluesbird from a shop it did not come with the stock case nor did it come with a strap.

I'll be the first to admit I am much more of a drummer than I am a guitar player so please bear that in mind while you read this. Style; let's just call it "doom" (Eyehategod, Sleep, Down, Crowbar, Black Sabbath) and I plug the Bluesbird through direct into one of two amps, a little Marshall MG 10 CD and a larger Rivera MS 60. While "doom" is much more my focus the Rivera MS 60 allows me to play with it's dizzying aray of sound options, vintage Fender Tweed, check... Vox Super Beatle, check... Marshall Plexi, check... they are all there and the Bluesbird responds in kind. The Bluesbird will take you anywhere your intrests and skills will take you with the possile exceptions of twang orientated country or surf but it's got humbuckers in it so you won't get that tone out of 'buckers any way.

I have played a ton of Les Pauls in the past and played back to back I think the Bluesbird just mops the floor with them. It's a thicker, punchier, more complex tone than you can get out of your garden variety Les Paul and if you have been lusting after having both a Les Paul and an ES 335 in your quiver, save your money, buy the Bluesbird and you will get a single guitar that will fill both bases, trust your ears and your pocket book will thank you. I will say that the distortion on the Bluesbird is much nicer than any ES 335 that I have heard because it will not get all fuzzed out the same way an ES 335 will.

One other reviewer had comented on the Bluesbird's sustain and let me say if that is part of your style then the Bluesbird will deliver sustain as if it's life was depended on it; rich, warm, singing sustain. Who says you have to have a heavy guitar to get sustain? The Bluesbird is more of an SG weight than it is a Les Paul so you will not feel nearly as wrecked by playing it as you will to the single cut the Bluesbird has been compaired to.

I will say this, however, my only real dislike is that it can sound a bit boxy with the Rivera (oddly enough so will my Tele, go figure)and there is a volume drop when you click on both the bridge and neck pick ups but a lot of Les Pauls will do the same thing. For me, it dosen't matter too much because I use the neck pickup much more as a bass and mid boost any way.

I love the Duncan pickups but I did reconfigure how they were set up from the factory. I followed the recomendations that Bill Lawrence posts on his website so the pickups are tilted closer to the high E string and is lower in relationship to the low E. I found it leads to a much more even resopnce across the whole tonal spectrum and it may save you some cash rather than replacing the stock Duncans.

I have tried both the SH 1-59 version of the Bluesbird and the second version that uses P90s and I will say I like the P90 version better, they are a little punchier even with a lot of amp gain and they have a characaturistic "bloom" to them that I really like. To best describe it when you first strike the string with the P90 version you first hear the note then it is quickly followed by a glorious cascade of gain. I think that is one of the reasons I set up the pickups the way I did was to mimic the sound of the P90s. I would have loved to have picked up the P90 version but I could not find one in my price range.

Because I bought the Bluesbird used I can only guess how it was set up from the factory so when I got it the person who had it before me had the guitar set up with really high action and with 11s on it. Yeouch! I pulled off the strings it came with, srung up some GHS 10s and lowered the action. Aaaaah....

I don't know who had the guitar before I did because I just want to slap them silly. There was a pretty good gouge on the top cap (did you watch The Kid's Alright too many times buddy?) and there was another deep one the back of the neck. As I had mentioned it did not come with the stock case but some ragged acoustic case with a bunch of hippy and Greatul Dead stickers on it. Needless to say they have all been ripped off and I'm going to get a new case when finances permit.

That said, despite it's abuse it still plays wonderfuly.

As mentioned before the guitar was pretty rough when I first got it and I accidently contributed to it's misery when my foot got caught in the chord while turning off an amp and I yanked it off my stand and fell face first like a drunk on a New Years Eve binge. Oh... the horror... the heartbreak. I have have seen a lot of Les Pauls and SGs with broken headstocks so I braced myself for a worst case scenario but despite it's case of gravity poisoning it survived it's impact with a minor chip at the headstock.

Not that I would want to repeat the accident, nor do I recomend abusing an instrument but this thing is pretty darn tough.

I have also pulled out the ass end strap peg but with a couple of gentle taps with a soft malet it went back into place without any further problems. Had I been thinking I should have put in a little wood glue.

I wouldn't take the guitar to a gig with a lot of people who are prone to diving off the stage or huck beer bottles at you but short of that gigging shouldn't be a problem at all.

I haven't had any need to and since it's used it will not be covered under warranty any way.

I am embarassed to say that the guitar is a secondary instrument to me so most of the people on this board will have been playing considerably longer than I have so I will just leave it as such. That said I do have a couple of other guitars, a custom made Tele by Michael Dolan in Santa Rosa CA, a Martin D15 and a 1930's Stella/Westbrook.

I wished I asked who the @#$&*!!! owned the guitar before me becuase they took such poor care of it. Nnnnnrg... Never trust a junkie.

If lost or stolen would I replace it? Oh hell yeah. I would have to sweat blood in order to buy a new one but I would replace it with another. If the choice came down to two Bluesbirds, both the same price, one with humbuckers and the second with P90s I would be tempted to go with the P90s. If it were finacially impossible for me to replace it with a duplicate guitar I would probably go with either a Thinline Tele and gut it's stock pickups and drop in some Bill Lawrence or some Duncans humbuckers or I would look at a "Faded" series Les Paul.

The Bluesbird is Mr. Flexiablity and Mr. Tone. It is not a country or a surf guitar so you can forget about that right away. I have a pretty ganked left shoulder so I can apreciate the lower weight of the Bluesbird (my ash Tele just kills me after a while). I do wish that the Bluesbird did have better high fret access (there are people who play bast the octave ya know) but I don't think it would nearly have the same amount of sustain if the neck were joined another way.

To compare the Bluesbird to any other guitar would do it a diservice. It really is it's own unique blend of engineering, style, and playability. Any person serious about buying a new electric should at least play the Bluesbird. Even if you don't fall in love with it you must admit it is one hell of a guitar. As far as I am concerned you can have your PRS, I can apreciate the fine level of detail that goes into them but an extra grand for finish work? Nah. Fancy finishes do not make music, guitars, amps, fingers and guts do.

I would have liked to have had the original case but for the price it was hard to say "no".

Because it is asked as part of the review process if there was any thing else I would like to share and that is, yes, not every one who plays heavy music, not every one who listens to heavy music, are idiots. I have a college degree, I have writen ballet and opera reviews for a magazine, I have been playing clean and sober for the last ten years and I will say it is a lot easier to play now than it was the prior twelve years @#*!ed up.