Starfire I SC vs Starfire I Jet 90? Which One and Why?

jack.plugg

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I think I'm gonna add a SF1 SC to my stable at some time in the future. I really like the psudo semihollow aspect of the design and resistance to feedback. Historically I liked the DeArmond SF Special because it was a semihollow SC design but the SD 1 SC with the center block in the area of the bridge is an ideal feature.
M
... Hi matsickma.
I had two DeArmond Starfire guitars about ten or fifteen years ago, a red single cutaway one and a sunburst double cutaway one. They were both quite nicely made guitars but they were fairly heavy instruments, the Starfire Special in particular. The weight issue was the reason I got rid of them. The new Starfire SC1 is a lighter guitar.
 

matsickma

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Hey jack.plugg,
I know what you mean! I kept the DeA Starfire Special all these years and did a pickup swap in eary 2000's with a set of vintage Franz pickups. Those Franz pickups on the semihollow SF Special were an awesome combination. Maple semihollow body and the bright Franz pups gave that guitar a sharp piercing tone when you wanted the lead notes to stand out. I have to pull that guitar out of the back of the closet!

M
 

BurlingtonDave

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Thanks!

1) You'll probably not be able to buy a complete harness unless you bought one of the ones being sold by Guild. When I say "replace the harness" I would build one myself. Honestly, though, if you're not gigging, I wouldn't worry much. It's not super durable as-is, but if it works it works.

2/4) All the Guilds that look similar in the same line likely start out as the same guitar then they cut them differently to work with different pickups/layouts. They are quite probably made in the same factory, but they're all CNC machined so that shouldn't matter much. If a similarly shaped SFI has what you want, then I'd bet that what you want would be easy to accomplish.

When I say "the same line", I mean that the Starfire-I SC (Indonesia) is a completely different design than the Starfire-III (Korea). Unfortunately Guild has very much muddied the waters with their terrible naming conventions

3) The modern version of the Guild company isn't like the old ones. The guitars are made en masse in Korea/China/Indonesia (depending on price point) and even if they would do it, deviating from their assembly process would likely cost more than a vintage Guild. But I can almost guarantee you that they won't. Couldn't hurt to ask, though! I love being proven wrong.

Sorry if I confused the numbers. :)
Thanks again. It will definitely be used for gigging, it's main purpose. Do you have any parts sources other than Stew Mac for reliable and reasonably prices parts for the harness?
 

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Tons more,but that's what came off the top of my head.
 
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