About the Guitar:
Roy's personal guitar gallery was quite extensive. Besides his trademark '53 Tele Roy owned and recorded with many other guitars, a '54 Tele, '55 Tele, Martin D28, Martin D35, Les Paul, and after visiting the Guild Guitar factory a 1986 Guild Nightbird, and two Guild T-200. In his last years, Roy experimented with custom made variations of the Telecaster's styling, culminating in the Fritz brothers prototype which preceded the Roy Buchanan bluesmaster.
In 1986 Roy started using a Guild following a visit to the Guild factory sometime around New Year's Day, 1986 and selected a Guild Nightbird from the instruments they had there. Roy discussed the development of the T-200 RB a version of a rosewood board Telecaster.
The guitar was then replaced by the T-250 model by mid 1986.
According to the contract signed with Guild, Roy got two T-200 RB guitars a white and a blue one. The instruments were custom prepared by Willie Fritscher, Guild factory manager at that time and the guitar neck was marked by him "Roy B." It has extra jumbo frets at the request of Roy. Roy played the instruments in concert. The white one can be viewed in a performance of Booker T. and the MG's Green Onion with the tape over the "Guild" logo. The black tape over the headstock is believed to have been ussed because Guild dissed Roy by not naming the guitar "The Roy Buchanan Model" even though he helped design it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A3NZpNjKA0
The blue one was played by Roy in late '86 at Toad's Place, a nightclub in Connecticut as documented in photo.
The T-200's were produced in very low quantities and the T-250's took up directly after the T-200's in serial number sequence, so an exact number produced is difficult to ascertain. The sum total for the two models is 123 for 1986, and there are at least 24 of the T-200's, but probably not many more than that. By 1988 this guitar line, which never made it to the official Guild catalogue, was gone.
So this guitar is one of the two 86's Guild USA Roy Buchanan Tele-style electric guitar prototypes. 25.5" scale. 1.63" nut width. 8.4 lbs. This Guild is a beauty despite the odd shaped headstock. It features dual EMG pickups used due to Roy's use of semi high gain tones. These respond perfectly and noiselessly - allowing for a full range of tones. The cleans are very 'Tele' with a bit more bottom end. The overdriven tones are beautiful - the 'Tele' sound is in there but you can turn this up to full saturation without fear of feedback or noise. Beautiful. The neck here is very thin with a C profile and extra jumbo frets - accommodating the big bends which were a big part of Roy's style. The look here is gorgeous- beautiful blue finish with gold hardware and Roy Buchanan etched truss rod cover. Another EMG pickup (a little bit hotter) w/note to Roy is available.
