Ngd sf-4

mavuser

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I acquired this 1984 SF-4 over the weekend. it looks like it has barely ever been played. Have not done anything with it yet, and a little busy the next couple weeks, but it feels really good and plays well as far as I can tell. I do plan to plug it in tonight and see how she sounds. It really is in mint condition though, I am somewhat hesitant to really dig into her...so for now might just be back in the closet for this queen. its also a birth year to someone very close to me so I may hang onto it for that person. We'll see. here's some (crappy) pictures, better than none at all I suppose-

S3ee0J.jpg


Z2Kx3z.jpg


3ew7nC.jpg


agstuT.jpg


8gepzf.jpg
 

mavuser

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its one of those gutars u just have to see and hold in the flesh. very vibey indeed!! quite the find. Thank you Hans for the specifics and answering my many questions!
 

Treem

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Congratulations Bromigo! Nice burst!
 

mavuser

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the pictures do not do justice at all, the burst on the bottom lower bout perimeter is much more gradual and lighter in color, it is perfect. there is no black on the guitar at all. it looks like the "antique burst" and a perfect example of one. it was bad hotel room lighting, and my phone camera.

it sounds incredible plugged in. But the strings are much too heavy gauge, at least 12s are on there now. can I get away with 10s?
 

txbumper57

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Awesome Grab Mav! That old girl looks like she could have been sold new yesterday. Interesting that it has a Master Volume on it as a Starfire IV. I know the Starfire IV's in the 70's had the Master volumes but they also had the Block inlays and were basically a Starfire V branded as a Starfire IV. The pictures are fine but I'll bet when you get some more light on it that Burst just comes to life. I am really loving the grain of the top and back as well. I love the early 80's Burst finishes on the Starfires like this that are almost completely transparent to the edges, Also love the dark brown teardrop bursts they did on some acoustics from this period as well.

On the subject of running 10's I don't see a problem with it. You may have to tweak the truss rod if you get a little buzz due to less tension but it should be fine. I run 10's or 11's with and without wound thirds on all of my Starfire's from all time periods without any problems whatsoever. She truly is a Gorgeous guitar and if it sounds half as good as it looks you are in for a treat for a long time! What is the nut width on this one and are those pickups stock or aftermarket?

Congrats man and I look forward to hearing more about it as you get familiarized with it!


TX
 

mavuser

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Thanks all, the pickups are original Pacific pickups, which appear on solid bodies like the S-280 Flyer and X-88 Motley Crue Flying Star, all from right around 1983-1985. A little bit mystified by the bigsby, and had not even realized the MV was not standard on 80s. I guess it is basically set up like a SF-V but without the inlays. it does all appear original and very clean as far as i can tell, together with the information and circumstances surrounding my acquiring it. The label does not say the word "special," but I could show you some pictures of all the crazy things Guild was doing in 1984, and convice you in short time, that putting a Guildsby on a SF-4, without writing the word "special" on the label, would not have been such a crazy chain of events. There are many, many, hypothetical scenarios but one can only speculate. my best guess is the guitar was made of leftover parts, maybe a V neck just wasnt made and a IV was? there are no extra holes under the bigsby! The original Guild case is very clean, original key in original envelope. The whole package looks like it was barely touched, ever.

Also the back of my neck is not sunburst like other 80s SF-4s. it is "normal" walnut/mahogany stain, just like a JF-55 NT neck.
 

mavuser

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Hey Tex, i see the MV knob on at least a handful of other 1984 SF-4s doing a quick google search (but those have the stop tail,and HB-1s or XR-7s)
 

shihan

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Congratulations! Hope it sounds as good as it looks. Enjoy!
 

chazmo

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That's really nice, mav.

Just wondering, but is the bridge in the right position? For some reason it looks (oddly) close to the bridge pickup.
 

GAD

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Wow - I'd never even heard of those pickups. Very pretty guitar.

Nabbing the correct look of a burst like that is always a challenge. If it's warm enough, try taking a pic outside on a cloudy day.
 

txbumper57

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Hey Tex, i see the MV knob on at least a handful of other 1984 SF-4s doing a quick google search (but those have the stop tail,and HB-1s or XR-7s)

That is really cool Mav, I wasn't implying that the MV wasn't factory, Just that it is cool that yours has the MV with the Dot inlays. The combination of that and the California pickups with the Factory Guildsby makes it a wonderfully unique piece of Guild Nostalgia to me. I really Dig it!

TX
 

mavuser

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Wow - I'd never even heard of those pickups. Very pretty guitar.

Nabbing the correct look of a burst like that is always a challenge. If it's warm enough, try taking a pic outside on a cloudy day.

the pickups look similar to XR-7s (but not identical) so for the most part they fly under the radar.

Hans told me they are "Pacific pickups." then I did some reasearch and saw there appears to be "Pacific" and a second one called "California" pickups. Then Hans told me "the back of the Pacific pickup should be stamped "California Pickup" in purple" (which they are) so my feeling is they are just one in the same? I did not follow up with Hans on that, maybe he will clarify here.

GAD, do I need to bring the guitar to your house, so you can write a blog about the humbuckers? and take pictures?
 

mavuser

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That is really cool Mav, I wasn't implying that the MV wasn't factory, Just that it is cool that yours has the MV with the Dot inlays. The combination of that and the California pickups with the Factory Guildsby makes it a wonderfully unique piece of Guild Nostalgia to me. I really Dig it!

TX

Tex,

Thanks agian for the compliments and info, I had not realized some SF-IVs have block inlays (and no bigsby). Guild was just off the rails with specs, aye???

i understood what you meant, on the MV. I just meant it seems to me 80s SF-4s also have it (without the inlays). heres a few others:

1984:
ip4RPl.jpg


1984:
rDYcEa.jpg


1984:
8mk2xy.jpg


1981:
r220AL.jpg


and yes, the bridge is located pretty close to the pickup on these. mine is set up quite well. I loosened the strings and tightened the truss rod a little. it is like a brand new guitar! I will change the strings tonight to 10s for now, but can go to 11s if I need to (no higher, electric or acoustic, for me!). thanks for the string gauge input Tex. This guitar is rock solid.
 
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mavuser

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Congrats, thatd a beauty.

thanks very much Frank, and everyone else. she is all strung up and set up now. other than changing strings, it just needed a very minor truss rod adjustment and minor tightening of 3 roller saddles. 10s are fine with no problems, it sounds great. if i were to actually play the guitar though, i may switch to 11s, just for that little extra bite. for the moment though it will be back in its case, as ive only played it about 10 minutes total, and it does not appear to have much more play time on it than that, total- since 1984. i am willing to play it, and dig in a bit, i just dont have a specific need to right now. when the SF-4 SB bell rings though, i will be ready!
 
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