Boy oh boy...
This may go down as one of the single best gear purchases I've made. I'm 28, so I have some time, but hot damn it's the best deal I've made thus far!
I now have in my possession a killer '64 Starfire V in original Sunburst. It was advertised as a '65 but the owner (and myself on my own investigative accord) soon discovered it was indeed a '64. I actually had no clue that Starfire Vs were made prior to 1965, so this was very exciting for me. The tuners and the volute were the giveaway.
The guitar is 100% original down to the frets (which are well worn but will get me by for a while). Came with the original beat up snakeskin Guild case. The guitar has spent most of its life on stage and has mojo for miles! Worn in all the right places but structurally sound and intact. To me that's the sign of a good guitar; one that's been played every day. This was a gigging musician's guitar for sure.
The neck is just awesome! Most of the finish is worn off (naturally) and it plays so smooth, even with the lack of a proper setup. Not sure of the nut width but it's comfortable. Beautiful rosewood fingerboard. All the binding around the entire guitar has aged to a nice yellow and is all there! No shrinkage! Original Guildsby with the painted black inset practically worn away. The Kolb tuners are some of the coolest I've ever seen. This guitar SPEAKS in so many ways. These pickups are ridiculous by the way. Just phenomenal sounding. All the elements of a humbucker that I like, with the qualities of articulate single coils, which are my favorite overall pickups.
The entire body has some great subtle flame, almost bringing it into Starfire VI territory.
I'm still trying to learn more about the guitar from an historical standpoint. There doesn't seem to be much information on double cutaway Starfires prior to 1965, and I've only really seen on example of the same guitar sharing the same year. Were these built in limited numbers in 1964? Somebody told me that the SF V was the flagship model until the VI came out in 1965.
Enough rambling. Here it is!
This may go down as one of the single best gear purchases I've made. I'm 28, so I have some time, but hot damn it's the best deal I've made thus far!
I now have in my possession a killer '64 Starfire V in original Sunburst. It was advertised as a '65 but the owner (and myself on my own investigative accord) soon discovered it was indeed a '64. I actually had no clue that Starfire Vs were made prior to 1965, so this was very exciting for me. The tuners and the volute were the giveaway.
The guitar is 100% original down to the frets (which are well worn but will get me by for a while). Came with the original beat up snakeskin Guild case. The guitar has spent most of its life on stage and has mojo for miles! Worn in all the right places but structurally sound and intact. To me that's the sign of a good guitar; one that's been played every day. This was a gigging musician's guitar for sure.
The neck is just awesome! Most of the finish is worn off (naturally) and it plays so smooth, even with the lack of a proper setup. Not sure of the nut width but it's comfortable. Beautiful rosewood fingerboard. All the binding around the entire guitar has aged to a nice yellow and is all there! No shrinkage! Original Guildsby with the painted black inset practically worn away. The Kolb tuners are some of the coolest I've ever seen. This guitar SPEAKS in so many ways. These pickups are ridiculous by the way. Just phenomenal sounding. All the elements of a humbucker that I like, with the qualities of articulate single coils, which are my favorite overall pickups.
The entire body has some great subtle flame, almost bringing it into Starfire VI territory.
I'm still trying to learn more about the guitar from an historical standpoint. There doesn't seem to be much information on double cutaway Starfires prior to 1965, and I've only really seen on example of the same guitar sharing the same year. Were these built in limited numbers in 1964? Somebody told me that the SF V was the flagship model until the VI came out in 1965.
Enough rambling. Here it is!
