1967 Guild Starfire V -- Feedback needed

[ac1dt3st]

o.k., as some of you know, i'm looking for a '67 Starfire burst in great shape. here's the guitar i'm currently looking at, and the story.

1967 Guild Starfire V, EN-1740

seller says he bought the guitar from the original owner 30 years ago, played the guitar maybe twice over the next two years, then stored it in the case (with a towel over the pickups and Bigsby, see photos) for the last 28 years, unplayed. now he wants to sell, because he never plays it. says he never should have bought it, because the guitar's large profile doesn't fit his largish frame. (his words, not mine...)

he says the guitar is "completely original" other than the case, and "mint" other than the shattered pick guard. i asked if he's removed the pick guard to check the wood and finish underneath, and he said no, because it would crack in half, and he wanted to keep the guitar original. :? but he's convinced the guitar itself is fine under the pick guard.

so, you Starfire experts... please take a look at the full photo set. is it all original, and is everything where it should be? would you consider the guitar to be "mint"? also, he's asking $2,300 or offer. personally i think the price is a tad high.

should i buy the guitar, and what would be a reasonable offer?

three photos below, and here's the full archive the seller sent me:

http://www.richcafe.com/archive/GuildStarfireV.zip
53 photos, 3.94MB

 

[hansmoust]

... please take a look at the full photo set. is it all original, and is everything where it should be? would you consider the guitar to be "mint"? also, he's asking $2,300 or offer. personally i think the price is a tad high.

Hello ac1dt3st,

Looked at the photos and this is what I think:

Really nice guitar!

I do not consider this guitar to be in 'mint' condition. People who call this guitar 'mint' do not know what the meaning is of the word 'mint'. 40+ year old 'mint' guitars do not exist, unless they were wrapped up after the initial sale and put away.

Having said that, I feel that this is about the best condition that one can expect from a guitar this age. I have not personally seen the guitar, but I would probably call this 'excellent plus' if I had it for sale.

At this point it doesn't really matter if the owner calls it 'mint'; that's just a word and I simply do not agree with the seller on the meaning of the word.

As far as originality is concerned, the only thing that I think is missing is the original metal switch tip. I hope I'm not missing anything. The bridge needs to be reversed 180 degrees but that can be fixed and a period correct pickguard can be found.

Re. the $ 2300.00 asking price:
That's a lot of money but it's not outrageous. I have no idea if there are people willing to pay that for a guitar like this, but we will soon find out.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[ac1dt3st]

thanks so much for your reply, Hans.

i brought up the handful of items re. condition and originality with the seller, and asked for his best price. this was his response:

so what are you offering, what's the right price?

i.e., how much would i be willing to pay? so, i know he'll take an offer, but of course won't be pushed around too much, nor would i want to do that.

if you were selling this guitar yourself, in excellent condition, not completely original but close, and you were looking to get a reasonable price for it in this market, how much would you ask for...?

for comparison, here's a "very, very near mint" guitar that likely went for under $2,500 (assuming they took an offer):
http://www.maharsvintageguitars.com...V_1967_vintage_electric_guitar_Near_Mint.html

let me know your thoughts,
.rich

 

[hansmoust]

Hello Rich,

The one in the link is really nice. It also has the slightly nicer pickguard variation with the gold border. You see them both during this period.

Re. the price if I were to sell the guitar:
I would probably like to get close to $ 2000.00 for it but for that money I would take care of the switch tip and the pickguard.

Good luck!

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[ac1dt3st]

negotiations done, offer made and accepted.
the guitar is mine, pending Brad's test run...

thanks again, Brad, and LTG. what an amazing community...

.rich

 

[coastie99]

Attaboy Rich !!

Lovely guitar .... certainly worth that little extra.

 

[ac1dt3st]

Attaboy Rich !!

Lovely guitar .... certainly worth that little extra.

thanks, man! that's what holiday bonuses are for, right...?

 

[fab467]

negotiations done, offer made and accepted.
the guitar is mine, pending Brad's test run...

thanks again, Brad, and LTG. what an amazing community...

.rich

Congrats on a beautiful guitar! 8)

 

[dbirchett]

Rich,

That is a beautiful guitar. You may not have been its first owner but hopefully you will remain its last!

Congratulations,

Don

 

[ac1dt3st]

thanks again, everyone, and a huge thanks to LTG'er Brad Little, who mediated the transaction for me. he said the guitar was as advertised, in great shape, and there was no damage to the wood or finish under the cracked pick guard. i'll want to do something right away about that nasty white toggle, but that's no biggie.

anyway, i'll remove the pick guard when it arrives (nothing but light strumming and finger picking on this baby for awhile...) and take my own photos and post them here. can't wait!

 

[coastie99]

Personally, I'd prefer the pickguard off anyway. Looking forward to seeing the photo's.

 

[Brad Little]

Nice guitar, I was glad to get the opportunity to play it, even though with the strings it had on and the reversed bridge, it was hard to tell what it will be like when it's setup. You don't know how paranoid I was for a while, walking around with somebody else's 2 grand! Plus, I talked ac1dt3st into donating money to Americares for Haiti relief. Great charity, by the way. Less than 1% of its funds go to administration (http://www.americares.org/aboutus/finan ... formation/), many charities spend as much on themselves as on others.
Brad

 

[northbayj]

Just would like to point out how fortunate we all are to have Hans, and lots of other knowledgable Guild afficianados, on hand to keep these wonderful instruments in the hands of those who are best able to take care of them. This thread really brings it all home. Hoping that ac1dt3st spends many many years getting great music out of his/her "new" Starfire. What a great score!

 

[Dr. Spivey]

Beautiful Starfire, acidtest. Another great tale of LTGers in action. Enjoy!

 

[rcboals]

What a beauty!! Can't wait to see your pics. Congrats on your good investment.

 

[ac1dt3st]

Just would like to point out how fortunate we all are to have Hans, and lots of other knowledgable Guild afficianados, on hand to keep these wonderful instruments in the hands of those who are best able to take care of them. This thread really brings it all home. Hoping that ac1dt3st spends many many years getting great music out of his/her "new" Starfire. What a great score!

i'll second and third that. i'm very indebted directly and indirectly to so many members of this community, most recently and notably from Hans and Brad re. the '67 Starfire, but so many other people were a part of my decisions around keeping my GF-25, buying my F-50R, etc. without this community, many things would have been done blind, or would not even have been possible.

so, yes, we are all fortunate to have, and be part of, such a rock-solid community of Guild enthusiasts at all levels of knowledge and talent.