Starfire II advice

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Ohjay

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Hey all,
Longtime lurker, but this'll be my first post in this lovely forum :)

Anyway, to make a long story short. I'm going out of town on Monday to check out an old Starfire II, alledgedly from 1966.
Is there anything in particular I should look for that is a known issue with this model? Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

I've only seen one photo of the guitar, this one:
starfire.JPG


Thanks in advance fellas.
 
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Ohjay said:
Hey all,
Longtime lurker, but this'll be my first post in this lovely forum :)

Anyway, to make a long story short. I'm going out of town on Monday to check out an old Starfire II, alledgedly from 1966.
Is there anything in particular I should look for that is a known issue with this model? Anything else I should be on the lookout for?

I've only seen one photo of the guitar, this one:
starfire.JPG


Thanks in advance fellas.
Click to expand...

Can't quite tell from the pic but it looks like a later model than a '66. I'm using the phone, so I could be wrong. ;-)
 
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This looks to be a Fender "re-issue". Are you sure they didn't say '96? (Athough I believe it's from later then that.)

The Guild "script" logo pickguard, plastic TRC, cut-away shape, and warranty card are from much later. There also doesn't appear to be any lines in the Chesterfield and are those HB-1's?

Here is the Starfire page from the Summer 1998 Guild Gallery catalog; (Vol.1 No. 2)

img390.jpg



For reference, here's a photo of my 1967 Starefire II;

Starfire-ll-1.jpg
 
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Nope, they clearly said 1966, but now that you mention it, that cutaway looks dead wrong for a 60's Starfire :(

I got a good grasp of the value of a 60's Starfire, but whereabouts are the re-issues?
And how's the quality compared to a vintage Starfire?
 
walrus

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But - don't the tuners look like 60's tuners?

walrus
 
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Ohjay said:
Nope, they clearly said 1966, but now that you mention it, that cutaway looks dead wrong for a 60's Starfire :(

I got a good grasp of the value of a 60's Starfire, but whereabouts are the re-issues?
And how's the quality compared to a vintage Starfire?
Click to expand...
Quality isn't really an issue. I have both a sixties SFlll and a reissue SFlll and they are both well made, quality instruments. The only issue I have with the newer one is it has less sparkle due to the Fenderbuckers.
The difference in the thickness and the shape of the cutaway (of the guitar for sale) says newer than sixties to me.
 
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The TRC is not periode correct for 1966.
In 1966 it had a metal TRC with printed shield like this one:
3984_05.jpg


The pickguard is not periode correct, it would have the star and the script printed on. (see last picture below in my message)

A 1966 would have had Mini humbuckers, the guitar you look at has large Guild HB-1 humbuckers, which were only introduced in the 70ties.

The bridge is not a 1966 bridge. In 1966 it was mostly the Adjustomatic Hagstrom bridge as shown here:
3984_03.jpg


The mahogany wood and color looks 1966.

Tuners, I can't tell from the small picture, but mostly in 1966 the Japanese tuners like those were installed:
3984_06.jpg


So first look on the label. In 1966 it was made in Hoboken. Later on in Westerly.
Next check the serial number. A rough guid (but with errors) is here:
http://support.guildguitars.com/2012/da ... _Guild.pdf
A 1966 Starfire II would have been a serial number roughly between EK388 and EK2098 (the correct numbers are in Hans' book.)
The reissue models from 1997/1998 would have serial numbers roughly in this range: AG300001 to AG301083 and later.

The cutaway shape however is a dead giveaway that this is a 1997 or 1998 re-issue as Grot already mentioned. (EDIT: This assumtion was totally wrong as Hans tells us later on!)

Just to give you an idea, this is a late 1965 model (in this case a "special" one off with factory added master volume, which was not standard):
(This one is or was owned by our member "Jahn")

SFII005.jpg


Ralf
 
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Ohjay

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Very detailed and easy to understand answer(for a Guild newbie) there Ralf, thank you very much. :)

I'll still go look at it, but I was looking for a vintage Guild not a RI, perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised.
 
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Can you call them and ask for the serial#?

I agree that it's newer, but still a great guitar and the HB1s are excellent pickups. I'd play it and then decide. What's the price?
 
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AlohaJoe said:
Can you call them and ask for the serial#?

I agree that it's newer, but still a great guitar and the HB1s are excellent pickups. I'd play it and then decide. What's the price?
Click to expand...
Yeah I'll try and get a hold of them tomorrow and ask for a serial.
They're asking roughly $2k(which is too much, even if it was a 1966 imho).


hansmoust said:
Hello Ohjay,

Welcome! Looks like a mid-'70s Starfire II to me and other than the bridge it pretty much looks original.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl
Click to expand...
Ah, the legendary Hans :)
Thank you for your input. What separates a mid 70's from a 90's RI(in visual features)?
 
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Taking Hans at his word, I'll just say I'm a big fan of 70's guild electrics. I'm also not the biggest fan of wooden arch top bridges, so I personally would not make that a deal breaker.

The tag really threw me for a loop. Who knows where that tag came from?

My strongest recommendation is to ask permission to take a few photos (even if it is just with your phone) and post the photos here. Be as detailed as possible and be sure to get a shot of the back of the headstock and a shot of the label inside the guitar. That will lock it down. The LTG cognoscenti will chime in.

If you decided to pass on it, please let us know where it is so that one of us can take a chance with it.

Hoping it works out for you and you have a "New Guild Day" in your near future!

K
 
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SFIV1967 said:
Default said:
The only issue I have with the newer one is it has less sparkle due to the Fenderbuckers.
Click to expand...
Steve: At least it looks like the guitar in question still has Guild HB-1s mounted.
Fender made Guild Humbuckers have a smaller spacing between the two pickup adjustment screws as GAD had told us here.
Ralf
Click to expand...

Thanks Ralf! It's quite hard to tell pickup spacing from a 1 cm square Blackberry picture. :p :D
 
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They just got back to me with the serial which corresponds to a 1975 Guild.
 
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