New guitar day Starfire IV ST

[East Boston guy]

Hello all out there, hope everyone had a nice Easter weekend, I've been thinking about buying a Gibson ES335, but they just too much money, I could afford it but I just don't think it's worth it. I have a guild hollow body ochtop from the Westerly collection and the qualities. Incredible. So today I pulled the trigger on a guild Starfire IV st. It looks like a great guitar and has great reviews. It looks like the only model have to make is upgrading the bridge and stop bar. The pickups look like they should be pretty good guild small buckets, something like that. Does anybody have one of these guitars, and give me some advice about them? Thanks for listening to my post. And I hope everyone has a great guitar day

 

[GGJaguar]

I don't have the stop tail model, but I do have the NS Starfire IV with the harp tail (same guitar, different tailpiece). I like it a lot. It's not too heavy and has a super comfortable neck profile. The tone is bright and chimey which is what I like. If you find it's too bright, you can use pure nickel strings which will help tame the highs a bit (also use those tone controls!). Looking forward to reading your NGD post when it arrives!

 

[East Boston guy]

Thanks for the reply, do you know what the ST stands for, and also I assume it's made in Korea, is that correct

 

[East Boston guy]

Duh! ST stands for stop tail, I should have seen that in your reply

 

[GGJaguar]

Thanks for the reply, do you know what the ST stands for, and also I assume it's made in Korea, is that correct

Yes, made in Korea. The quality is very, very good.

 

[7GuildsandanSG]

I'd love to see some photos of it!
I have a Newark Street SF IV with the harp tailpiece and I love it!

 

[Karidian]

It looks like the only model have to make is upgrading the bridge and stop bar. The pickups look like they should be pretty good guild small buckets, something like that. Does anybody have one of these guitars, and give me some advice about them? Thanks for listening to my post. And I hope everyone has a great guitar day

I just placed an order for the Starfire IV ST 12-string. I’m curious: why upgrade the bridge and stop bar?

 

[GGJaguar]

I just placed an order for the Starfire IV ST 12-string.

Welcome to LTG! I just got the SF-IV ST-12, too. You can read my new guitar day post here:

NS Starfire IV ST-12

I have a very nice Gretsch electric 12-string, but I’ve been very curious about the NS Starfire IV ST-12. Also, I figured at the very least I can play the “compare and contrast” game with them. But for now, this is a NGD post so let’s go! The model was formally introduced in 2018. Here’s the...

letstalkguild.com

Let us know what you think of yours after it arrives (and we love photos)!

 

[Karidian]

Welcome to LTG! I just got the SF-IV ST-12, too. You can read my new guitar day post here:

NS Starfire IV ST-12

I have a very nice Gretsch electric 12-string, but I’ve been very curious about the NS Starfire IV ST-12. Also, I figured at the very least I can play the “compare and contrast” game with them. But for now, this is a NGD post so let’s go! The model was formally introduced in 2018. Here’s the...

letstalkguild.com

Let us know what you think of yours after it arrives (and we love photos)!

Wow! Thanks for the incredibly detailed review! Massively helpful.

 

[East Boston guy]

I woke up this morning and looked at my phone to see if my guild was on its way, and I found out that American musical canceled my order, in a way I was kind of Happy. I went to guitar center and looked at some ES335s. I found a 2023 '60s reissue cherry. The thing looks like it could be a figured maple top it sounds looks and plays great. I'm going to send some pictures, but the pictures don't do it justice. The color is much darker in person. And the figured grains stand out so much more. I'm sure. The Starfire IV would have been a great guitar. But I always wanted a Gibson ES335 and now I got one. I hope everybody has a great and groovy guitar day

 

[GGJaguar]

Happiness is a new guitar, no matter what the brand.

 

[Teleguy61]

Happiness is a new guitar, no matter what the brand.

Though we prefer Guilds.....

 

[GAD]

Moved to semi-hollow forum.

 

[East Boston guy]

I guess you don't care for The Gibson ES335, but I tried for the guild Starfire, just didn't work out that way. But I'm curious, why does the Starfire cost so much more than the Ibanez 93 AS, they both inported guitars. But the Starfire was made in South Korea, and I have one guild South Korean made guitar and the quality is excellent. It's the hollow body Westerly collection, I also have a Les Paul style made by rondo music. Agile

sounds like something out of Kmart, but the quality is unbelievable. The material is unbelievable, if it had a Gibson headstock on it, you could easily get $4,000 for it. In this as a carved maple top not a veneer. Solid mahogany body. Grover rotomatic tuners, a graph, tech bridge and nut, at $300. What more could you ask for. Well made in South Korea for one. Why can't Gibson give you a figured top like this for 10 times the price. The tobacco burst on the left is the rondo agile, The one on the right is the Gibson 2023 '50s heritage Cherry. Les Paul with non-weight relief and hand wired. Don't get me wrong, the Gibson's a great guitar. But for an upgrade and pickups the rondo is just as good if not better but 1/10 of the price.

 

[fishlog]

A Gibson is a Gibson... no way around it.

 

[DrumBob]

I bought as Starfire IV ST and it took away all the desire I had for an ES-335. It still does. It's one of my favorite guitars.

I have owned several Agiles and sold every one of them. None of them were keepers. They were OK guitars. One of them was their Les Paul Custom replica, and it must have weighed 12 pounds. A boat anchor. The others were playable, but pretty unexciting in the long run. No regrets selling any of them, and no interest in owning any more.

Beautiful looking 335, by the way. Love the wood grain.

 

[Boneman]

That ES335 looks awesome, fantastic swirly grain, HNGD! Congrats.

 

[Tuberous]

That 335 is a beauty. They don't all look that good, especially the new ones.

 

[Boneman]

“But for an upgrade and pickups the rondo is just as good if not better but 1/10 of the price.”

Thats what I told myself all the years I had my Agile, lol, and while it was a good guitar, I finally had the means to get a real Gibson and understood the why. Needless to say the Agile hit the road. But yea, less than $400 brand new back in 2003, fully bound headstock even, had impressive specs for the price, much like current imports. But like those too, the neck felt plastic-y, and the fret markers were not all aligned, and I won’t ever play it again over the real deal I’ve got. The LP is just better in every aspect; feel, looks, playability, tone, and panache