Hello all....
Its been awhile since I posted about a new old Guild.
I've found a 1960 early Starfire......here it is sitting to the right of my '61.
Forgive the grainy looking photo....tried for the natural light and not so good....
The '61 is a great guitar.......when I acquired it I was told the black topped DeArmonds came from a 50's Gretsch DuoJet.
I like it the way it is....whether the Gretsch version or the Guild DeArmond's with white bobbins differ in any way I have no idea.
Don't care really....this guitar sounds excellent the way it is.
But this '60 with the odd wine colored finish is another story.....first off......the price was worth the risk.
It needed some cleanup and setup....was out of circulation for awhile. The original old Gretsch case it came in might likely be worth a good deal of what I paid.
The best I can figure is that somewhere along the way....probably a long time ago, someone oversprayed a dark transparent tint over what was originally a cherry finish over maple. Someone did not like cherry red!
Its a thin finish, old and checked, and has some blotchyness too. I'm sure the person that did this was not an expert with a spray gun. Or perhaps it looked pretty good until the tint faded over time revealing the unevenness.
Beyond the mystery of the unfortunate finish, the hardware and harness are original, but the switch tip was swapped for a black one.
This guitar has an exceptonial sound and feel.....its so fine to play, I can live with the funky finish.....it looks good in low light!
(this coming from someone that has always been obsessed with originality)
The real story is the old DeArmond pickups as were used on a number of early Starfires. From some research and observations, its based on the same design as seen on the DeArmond 210 soundhole pickups for acoustic guitars, but in a different frame. These things sound fantastic.
The '61 with the more commonly seen Gretsch DeArmonds has always been one of my favorites and still is, but this '60 with these pickups while in the same neighborhood for color and sound, have note to note clarity and balance that really stands out.
For whatever reason, the sound of these pickups in the blend position is more useful to me on this guitar, not so much "ice pick" on the bridge pickup.
Other things worth pointing out......The '60 has a maple body with a thinner top......the '61 is mahogany with a much thicker top.
The '60 is more prone to feedback with that thin top, but its manageable.
I've set these both up with wooden bridges.....I prefer the sound of strings contacting the wood saddles to the original Adjustomatics.
One can easily see how Guild built these first Starfires by modifying the T-100 model. This one is essentially a T-100 with DeArmonds.
Lots of fun....
z
Its been awhile since I posted about a new old Guild.
I've found a 1960 early Starfire......here it is sitting to the right of my '61.
Forgive the grainy looking photo....tried for the natural light and not so good....
The '61 is a great guitar.......when I acquired it I was told the black topped DeArmonds came from a 50's Gretsch DuoJet.
I like it the way it is....whether the Gretsch version or the Guild DeArmond's with white bobbins differ in any way I have no idea.
Don't care really....this guitar sounds excellent the way it is.
But this '60 with the odd wine colored finish is another story.....first off......the price was worth the risk.
It needed some cleanup and setup....was out of circulation for awhile. The original old Gretsch case it came in might likely be worth a good deal of what I paid.
The best I can figure is that somewhere along the way....probably a long time ago, someone oversprayed a dark transparent tint over what was originally a cherry finish over maple. Someone did not like cherry red!
Its a thin finish, old and checked, and has some blotchyness too. I'm sure the person that did this was not an expert with a spray gun. Or perhaps it looked pretty good until the tint faded over time revealing the unevenness.
Beyond the mystery of the unfortunate finish, the hardware and harness are original, but the switch tip was swapped for a black one.
This guitar has an exceptonial sound and feel.....its so fine to play, I can live with the funky finish.....it looks good in low light!
(this coming from someone that has always been obsessed with originality)
The real story is the old DeArmond pickups as were used on a number of early Starfires. From some research and observations, its based on the same design as seen on the DeArmond 210 soundhole pickups for acoustic guitars, but in a different frame. These things sound fantastic.
The '61 with the more commonly seen Gretsch DeArmonds has always been one of my favorites and still is, but this '60 with these pickups while in the same neighborhood for color and sound, have note to note clarity and balance that really stands out.
For whatever reason, the sound of these pickups in the blend position is more useful to me on this guitar, not so much "ice pick" on the bridge pickup.
Other things worth pointing out......The '60 has a maple body with a thinner top......the '61 is mahogany with a much thicker top.
The '60 is more prone to feedback with that thin top, but its manageable.
I've set these both up with wooden bridges.....I prefer the sound of strings contacting the wood saddles to the original Adjustomatics.
One can easily see how Guild built these first Starfires by modifying the T-100 model. This one is essentially a T-100 with DeArmonds.
Lots of fun....
z
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