DrumBob
Senior Member
I've had the Starfire I Jet P90 for over a week and can say that it's a very solidly built, substantial and a surprisingly heavy instrument, in fact, it is almost as heavy as my Les Paul Standard., which I consider a great guitar, but a bit of a boat anchor. Fit and finish is generally good, but upon close inspection, one can sense that it's a budget model, not that that's a bad thing. The fret work is very good, with nice smooth ends and no dead spots on the fretboard. My only real gripe is the tune-o-matic style bridge, which contributes to the guitar's inability to stay in tune when using the Bigsby. A roller bridge would help solve that issue, and perhaps a little lubrication on the nut. I almost always find Bigsbys negatively effect tuning stability. I've sold every Bigsby-equipped guitar I've ever had. It stays in tune pretty well when the Bigsby is not used.
Like some of you, I find the names Guild uses for some of their electrics to be puzzling. This is no exception.
In terms of sound, the guitar is very versatile. It does almost everything quite well, except extreme metal and heavy duty mellow jazz, and the playability is very good. It's a good rock guitar. The "Franz" P90s (which of course, are not made by Franz), handle overdrive nicely. They sound like most P90s, with good midrange response and lots of snarl when hit hard with OD. My review in VG will be largely upbeat, with a suggestion that Guild use a roller bridge as standard equipment.
I know some of you have turned up your noses at this instrument, because it's a mashup of features, but consider this: there are only a finite amount of vintage models Guild can reissue, so doesn't it make sense to introduce new models? I think so. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have the option of buying the guitars I get from Guild when I'm done with them. I will be sending this one back, unless I am knocked out with its performance at a band rehearsal this Saturday evening.
I'm turning in the review Saturday, so check it out in an upcoming issue of VG.
Now, I'd like to see Cordoba reissue the X-79.
Like some of you, I find the names Guild uses for some of their electrics to be puzzling. This is no exception.
In terms of sound, the guitar is very versatile. It does almost everything quite well, except extreme metal and heavy duty mellow jazz, and the playability is very good. It's a good rock guitar. The "Franz" P90s (which of course, are not made by Franz), handle overdrive nicely. They sound like most P90s, with good midrange response and lots of snarl when hit hard with OD. My review in VG will be largely upbeat, with a suggestion that Guild use a roller bridge as standard equipment.
I know some of you have turned up your noses at this instrument, because it's a mashup of features, but consider this: there are only a finite amount of vintage models Guild can reissue, so doesn't it make sense to introduce new models? I think so. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have the option of buying the guitars I get from Guild when I'm done with them. I will be sending this one back, unless I am knocked out with its performance at a band rehearsal this Saturday evening.
I'm turning in the review Saturday, so check it out in an upcoming issue of VG.
Now, I'd like to see Cordoba reissue the X-79.
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