Nightingale Basses/Guitars

[AndyTravis]

Hi guys,

I'm seeing if anyone knows more about Nightingale custom guitars, who built Charlie Jones' 1st Plexiglass bass.

I know there was a link with Bernie goodfellow, as his Rumour model is very similar to a Nightingale i've seen.

All I really need to know is if they're still going, they used to advertise in the back of guitar mags, but i haven't been looking until now.

The googling i've done hasn't come up with much, apart from a load of broken links, and a non-working phone number.

Also, i suppose i'd like to know if anyone on here has contact witch Charlie Jones, to see if he still has the Nightingale P-Bass?

I'm in a Plexi-P mood at the moment.

Thanks for any info

Trav

[Russ]

Alas, Nightingale Guitars are no more.

Nightingale basses were made by Neil McDonald, who used to be Bernie Goodfellow's business partner in the original Goodfellow Guitars venture. Neil struck out on his own and started Nightingale after Bernie sold the Goodfellow name to Lowden in Northern Ireland (a few years before he started GB). The Nightingales shared a lot of features with the Goodfellow/GB basses, including the custom Kent Armstrong pickups and Dick Straker's active circuit, as well as some similar styling cues, including an almost identical headstock for a while (I loved Nightingale's yin/yang owl logo). The Nightingales were awesome instruments. I owned a lovely bolt-on 4-string for a while and it's one of the basses I really regret selling.

Back in the mid-90s, Neil McDonald moved his workshop from Croydon to Denmark St. He started to build a profile as a guitar tech, and after he made the perspex bass for Charlie Jones he got some extra visibility as a luthier, but by 2002 or so, he'd closed up shop. No idea what he's doing now, alas. I know Bernie G still services Nightingale basses, since they used more or less identical pickups and circuits to the early GBs (not to mention that the newer GB "bass processor" active circuit just drops straight in).

The Gallery in Camden actually have a 4-string fretless Nightingale in stock, as it goes. It's the only one I've seen in a while.

[Rumple]

My mate had (possibly) the only Nightingale guitar, Bernie made it for him when he was in partnership with Neil in Croydon, it was eventually sold back to him.


R.

[AndyTravis]

many thanks mate, it's a real shame he's not doing it, as i think the bass he did for Charlie is the dogs chopper.

Oh well, search rumbles on for a plexi-p