Is this nut original?

rampside said:

I may be mistaken, but the picture of the label on Photobucket, seems to have the word "Brown" on it. Although, what would be the "B" looks like an 8?

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Good move, Terry! :friendly_wink:

Yep, it says "Brown".

Oh and welcome to LTG, Dennis!

All the best,
B.

I was wondering what label you talk about until I saw that Dennis posted two more pictures in his Photobucket album! And Hans was spot on with the TRC. That is one big TRC, it even goes over the washers of the tuners.





Ralf

hansmoust said:

It's most likely one of these:

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

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Hans, I don't remember these TRCs from the book. Are you aware of any parameters for their use? We haven't seen all of Dennis' guitar, but, aside from the color (and the nut), it looks more-or-less standard for a Starfire VI of the period.

kakerlak said:

Hans, I don't remember these TRCs from the book. Are you aware of any parameters for their use? We haven't seen all of Dennis' guitar, but, aside from the color (and the nut), it looks more-or-less standard for a Starfire VI of the period.

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'Custom' truss rod covers were used on 'custom order' guitars, but not consistently. I've only seen them on instruments from Hoboken, but that doesn't mean they were not used in later years. I simply have not seen a later one with such a cover.

Similar truss rod covers were also made in house for instruments of which only a small number were (expected to be) made. Early Duane Eddy models had similar oversized truss rod covers that were engraved on the front ( see page 77 of 'The Guild Guitar Book') and so had the prototype for the George Barnes AcoustiLectric ( see page 81 of 'The Guild Guitar Book'). When production of the Duane Eddy model increased, a special cover with Duane's signature became standard for the model. The Bert Weedon model, which was also produced in very limited numbers, had a similar cover, with the name applied in gold from the back side and painted over with black, in the same way as the pickguards from that particular period (see page 92 and 97 of 'The Guild Guitar Book').

As I already mentioned, not all 'Custom' order guitars did get the 'Custom' truss rod cover and this Starfire VI would be somewhat unusual in having the cover just for the 'custom order' Brown finish, but it's not the first example of Guild being somewhat inconsistent in the use of its ornamentation and trimmings.
It is also very well possible that the customer ordered that feature.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

SFIV1967 said:

Hi Dennis,
welcome to LTG!
You got a wonderful and special Starfire VI guitar from 1966.
I never saw this "Custom" truss rod cover before. The only other one with the same outer shape was on a George Barnes AcoustiLectric as shown in Hans book page 81.

The nut needs probably to be replaced, the slots look very wide to me. Somebody loved his diamonds!
Ralf

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I am curious if the nut is original or not, because it does need replaced (or fixed). Also, is DB-109 the 109th StarfireVI made, or the ninth?
Regards,
Dennis

Dennis said:

Also, is DB-109 the 109th StarfireVI made, or the ninth?

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It is neither, but it is the ninth one of the 'new' serial number system that was implemented during the year 1965. Production of the Starfire started already during 1964, so there were definitely more than 8 Starfire VIs made before they made your guitar.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

Thank you, Hans. That's always been a point of confusion for me. I was told when I bought it that it was the 9th made, but had some doubts.

Dennis said:

I am curious if the nut is original or not, because it does need replaced (or fixed).

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The nut itself might be original, but I doubt the "diamonds" were put there by Guild. That seems to be a "after factory" job I would guess. Also looking at the nut from the sides you should be able to see if it was replaced in its life (any cracks in the color or so). It's shape looks odd, maybe a previous owner even replaced the complete nut, because also the wide nut slots are odd. Anyway, I would give it to a reputable luthier to repair (less likely useful in that case) or change this nut. The mentioned baking powder/superglue method mostly makes sense if somebody filed the slots by accident too deep, but those wide slots are more difficult to repair I would say. Maybe a new one is better. Hans could probably comment on the original used material on that model, so you know what to order from the luthier.
Ralf

SFIV1967 said:

those wide slots are more difficult to repair I would say. Maybe a new one is better. Hans could probably comment on the original used material on that model, so you know what to order from the luthier.

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Thanks, SFV1967. My interest in the nut centered on repairing or replacing. The nut is adversely affecting the playability, string buzzing and other issues. I plan on taking it someplace in SE PA to get fixed, and maybe have some bad buckle rash repaired. Also much of the neck's finish look intentionally removed. The story was this guitar was owned by a popular Midwest touring musician, E. Connely, and spent most of its early life in honky tonks. I like this guitar; it sounds much different from my Westerly SFIII, but after getting use to the narrow neck, I enjoy it.