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Neal

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If someone sold that to me as "used mint" I'd return it. There's no way I'd accept it in a new instrument. I think you're well within your rights to return it.

I'm with TX on this one. Spend the money on an excellent+ condition Westerly Starfire. $1400 will get you a lot of Guitar in a Westerly Guild.

+2 on TX and GAD's comments. A real-deal American-made Guild will come with a few bumps and nicks, perhaps, but they will also come with a pedigree that is unquestioned.
 

txbumper57

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This will give you an idea of what the quality of the wood selection was on late Westerly US built Guilds. These are available in excellent condition for less than or equal to what you are paying for the Korean Starfire VI. Here are a few pics of the Maple on my 2000 Starfire V.

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TX
 
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dbirchett

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Lest you think that TX's V is an anomaly, here is a shot of her sister, one year younger and one of the last of the Westerlies:

DSC_0081.jpg


They are out there and not expensive at all for what you get.
 

davismanLV

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I'm with TX on this one. Spend the money on an excellent+ condition Westerly Starfire. $1400 will get you a lot of Guitar in a Westerly Guild.
Or a Corona Guild and even if it's got a small blemish here or there, the guitar is gonna hold it's value much better than the Korean version. So sorry, Mark. I thought this was gonna be the Goldilocks story.... ".. and this Starfire was JUST RIGHT!!" but I guess not. These are tiny little blems, but like GAD said, on a used mint he'd return it. So, I'd actually let GUILD deal with this one and see if they could make this purchase right. I'd give them a chance. But that's totally up to you. You may be really tired of F**KING with it at this point. And no one would fault you for that!! Keep us posted on the plan and outcome, amigo...... :upset:
 

GAD

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Hey Mark, IIRC you're not far from me. Maybe we could meet somewhere and I could let you fondle my 2000 Westerly Starfire 4 to get a feel for what they're like. I also have a Corona Starfire III, but it's a hollow body and wouldn't feel the same as the V you've been chasing.
 

Sitedrifter

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Guys,

I may be missing something but I am not finding any Guilds (USA made) for anything close to $1500 in good shape at least a V or VI. Wait for it....Wait for it...... Here comes all the URLs that I am too dense to find on my own.. LOL
 

chazmo

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Mark, you've only recently joined this happy band of enablers here at LTG... There is no question in my mind that we can help you find the guitar you're looking for if you give it a chance, unless you're hell-bent on new. You'll need some patience, though. Sometimes the hunt can be FUN, though.

I find it pretty depressing that you -- a new Guild buyer -- have been put through such a ridiculous odyssey of flawed guitars. We Guild-lovers are not used to this kind of stuff in new guitars (late-Tacoma USED models, notwithstanding).
 

GAD

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Guys,

I may be missing something but I am not finding any Guilds (USA made) for anything close to $1500 in good shape at least a V or VI. Wait for it....Wait for it...... Here comes all the URLs that I am too dense to find on my own.. LOL

You're problem is going to be finding a V or VI as I don't think they're as common as IVs, especially in the later-Westerly timeframe, but they happen. Here's one that sold in October for $1500: https://reverb.com/item/3282329-2000-guild-starfire-v-electric-guitar-westerly-ri-hard-case-bigsby

hllkfgrklpd1lmz3a0vk.jpg



A lot of us spend way too much time trolling pretty much everywhere for used Guilds. If you can be a bit patient, I'm sure one will pop up and with all of the G-Team Enabler Squad on the hunt you'll have one in no time.
 

GAD

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Do you like 1 11/16" necks or 1 5/8" Necks? '70s Starfires (where your more likely to find a VI) tend to have smaller necks while the late 90's Starfires tend to have wider deeper necks.
 

Neal

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Just one man's opinion, from my five-year binge-and-purge guitar-buying experience...

Really good ones, at really good prices, do not last long. You have to be a little obsessive-compulsive to learn the market, know what a good deal looks like when it appears, what problems look like (often in a few photos), be ready to make a few mistakes, and accept that in the used market, there is no such thing as perfection.

Be ready to strike the instant something comes on the market that meets your purchase criteria. Late Westerly Guilds are pretty safe bets, as they are superbly constructed and not old enough in most cases to have really bad issues.

Honestly, the easiest, most satisfying purchases (and sales) I have made have been here on this forum, including one last night!
 

Sitedrifter

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Do you like 1 11/16" necks or 1 5/8" Necks? '70s Starfires (where your more likely to find a VI) tend to have smaller necks while the late 90's Starfires tend to have wider deeper necks.


Really does not matter to me too much but a tad wider is always a +.
My other guitars are a J200, Songwriter Deluxe, LP R0, Gretsch Corvette (no bigsby :( ), PRS SE Mark Tremonti and an ES335 Dave Grohl.
So you can see I like quality and for what it is worth, the PRS for $599 is laser perfect but the pickups are meh.
FWIW. I went through hell on the ES335 due to defects, the J200 was a search too but the Les Paul R0 and the Songwriter Deluxe were spot on upon delivery.
With that, I am not mad at Guild perse' since gumball Gibson has QC issues all the time (but when you get a good one you cannot beat it) and I dealt with it, but rather I am more upset that Guild may wreck the iconic brand name by choosing to accept poor QC (not where it is made)
 

geoguy

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Your experience does not seem to be typical re: Newark Street guitars.

I'd probably let Guild provide the replacement instrument. You paid for a warranty, might as well use it.

Hopefully Guild will use what they learn from your third guitar, to improve their QC in the future.
 

Sitedrifter

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--geoguy

You may be right but I am pretty sure it is typical ( or at least with the current year) since I got 3 stinkers from different vendors. The 2 VI's were 1k+ serial numbers away from each other and the CE100-D a completely different model.
I really think most people tend to ignore things or do not even find them or accept them (like the crazy Gibson zealots I spoke of earlier). Personally, I do not think there is an excuse for a Guitar with a street price of $1499 to have flaws like the ones I had.

Anyone can go check any Yamaha guitar from their $139 to their $2k models and they all are great because Yamaha manages the manufacturing onsite which is key. I will however try again not to far in the distant future but I will wait to Sweetwater gets the one I want and posts hi-rez pics so I have a fighting chance. In the meantime, I am on the outlook for a USA made Guild.. You guys got me hooked.
 

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Hey there, Sitedrifter --

I'm just catching up on your situation and the horrible luck with the NS Guilds. I wholeheartedly agree with the gang here about finding a nice Westerly or Corona example. As I mentioned before, the hunt is half the fun, and I'll happily keep my eyes peeled for a beauty. Until then, I hope the Guild folks come through and send you a nice NS SF V or VI.

Fingers crossed, yet again!
 

Default

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Some interesting guitars at used Guitarcenter. I feel stirrings of GAS pains. :-(

Also, NS Guilds appear to be available there???
 

JohnW63

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Man. I really hope someone in Oxnard is lighting up the phone lines to these dealers or their factory in Korea over this trend ! Has anything changed since Cordoba bought the brand in how fast these guitars are cranked out ? Have they told their dealers to NOT return guitars that have "cosmetic" issues to keep them on the shelf while the next batch came out of the supply pipeline ?

I'm not happy about it, and I'm not the one shopping ! My NS X-175B has no flaws that I am aware of. It's a few years old.
 

davismanLV

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John, Cordoba has stepped up to the plate and asked to help. So if no one returns a guitar for a warranty issue, then it goes back to the dealer. So people return guitars to the dealer and they do .... whatever they do. Try to pawn it off on someone else who won't notice these issues. If the dealers AND the customers don't take them up on their warranty or their quality, then they're not going to respond. I'm sure they're paying attention. At least I hope they are. And from what Sitedrifter has said, they've offered to step up to the plate. But so far, no one has engaged them, so.... what can they do?

When I got my first Washburn EA-20, it came with a huge dip in the fretboard between 9th and 12th frets. It was awful. So I took it back to the dealer, they sent it back to Washburn and then they send me another one, which I still have to this day. So to hold a company accountable, you have to ALLOW them to do their thing and make good on the quality of the guitar. So far that hasn't happened. The dealer is the one held accountable. Not saying that's wrong, but what will the dealer do? And how will that effect Cordoba in the long run?

Just some stuff I'm thinking......
 

txbumper57

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And from what Sitedrifter has said, they've offered to step up to the plate. But so far, no one has engaged them, so.... what can they do?

They can Quit letting guitars with "Issues" Ship out for sale and fix them before they ever leave the factory. Just a suggestion. I know it is impossible to catch everything but some of the stuff we have been talking about lately are pretty obvious defects. Either that or get some new spectacles for the QC person!

The Starfire VI even though being Korean Made is what I would call the Flagship Guild of the Newark Street Line. You are really going to send those out with a crooked Guild Logo on the headstock and an Off Centered wood lamination of the back of the Neck? Come on man!

TX
 
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