I'd love to hear from someone who owns one. I, too, am curious as hell. The other day I was in a big music store in NYC and was shopping for an LP. The one Bluesbird was up in the corner all lonely. I tried it and even if the neck was skosh larger than I prefer, it was very comfortable and I LIKED it, and I kept coming back to it, and I plugged it into a Marshall and it was intense.
I remember playing one off the rack when they were first in production
Always a lot of speculation about the Guild Bluesbird and comparisons to the Les Paul. Many are inaccurate. First, is to compare the actual models most are interested in: “production” Les Paul that is common today (as opposed the Paul’s original design) and the Guild “Westerly” product build in the Guild factory in Rhode Island in the late90s.
Most important, Guild never made a copy of anything Gibson. Guild was formed when Gibson purchased Epiphone and moved production. There are no Les Paul qualities in a Bluebird other than some similarity of look and they are both “fine musical instruments.” And let’s face it, they both use the basic hour-glass guitar shape used for 100s of years. The Bluesbird came from a radical Guild design called the Black Bird, and an evolution of the Guild Aristocrat. Guild was primarily an acoustic and hollow body electricbuilder.
The Bluesbird is a semi-hollow design (chambered). It has small frets and a narrow neck. Most used the Seymore Duncan 59 pickup. BB tend to have a “tinny” sound and are not as easy to play as a Les Paul. However, where it stands out against the Les Paul is in definition and clarity with use of high distortion. If you have played the 335 in “Revolution mode,” you will see similar results. BB is an excellent choice for R&B style rock and roll, rock-a-billy, punk, new wave. I even love it for some drop-D metal. So, its not what you think. Its name and its look give to a “refined” man’s instrument. Its more of a meat grinder in its best use. As for the Gibson Les Paul, you already know it has arguably the best depth of sound and midrange in a production guitar. If I were going to play actual “Blues,” I would choose the Les Paul over the Bluesbird all day long. The Gibson, played clean, has unmatched clarity and precision in its sound. If a Guild Bluebird sounds like anything, it would be an early period Telecaster, IMO.
So, here is the takeaway. The Blues Bird is nothing like a Les Paul. End of story.
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