Starfire III

Br1ck

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I'm usually in the acoustic section but thought I'd comment on a new Starfire III I'm setting up for a friend. First of all, he got a screaming deal on a going out of business sale. $795. This is a really nice guitar. My son in law has a 68 Starfire IV, and the necks are pretty much the same. Fit and finish are fine. Sure, it's got a plastic nut, but the hardware and pickups are very good and it pretty much nails the vintage vibe they were going for. Plays great, sounds great. What's not to like? Pretty much the nut. That's an easy change.

I'm usually a very vintage guy, but this was a nice guitar.
 

GAD

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I think the SFIII will be my next NS review. Lots of people love them.
 

dbirchett

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That's the one Newark St. model that I have played and I was very impressed.
 

Guildadelphia

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The Guild NS Series guitars are really major bang for the buck. I love my X175B. I'm a bit surprised that the Starfire 3 has a plastic nut. The spec's on the Guild website indicate a bone nut; my X175B also had a bone nut.
 

dreadnut

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I'd like to find one to play; I'd like to see how it compares to my almost-20-year-old DeArmond Starfire (III) Special. Of course, it would have to be a red one! LOL
 

Westerly Wood

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making a mental note, for when i eventually morph into Guild electrics.
 

Br1ck

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This one is plastic. Who knows how long it was at the store. I ran nut files in the slots just to make sure they were clean. When I say plastic, it was more like Corian. Very hard, really very serviceable. Impressed with the neck and the pickups. Would be a hard decision between the Guild and the Gretch Electromatic products.
 

wmachine

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I'm usually in the acoustic section but thought I'd comment on a new Starfire III I'm setting up for a friend. First of all, he got a screaming deal on a going out of business sale. $795. This is a really nice guitar. My son in law has a 68 Starfire IV, and the necks are pretty much the same. Fit and finish are fine. Sure, it's got a plastic nut, but the hardware and pickups are very good and it pretty much nails the vintage vibe they were going for. Plays great, sounds great. What's not to like? Pretty much the nut. That's an easy change.
I'm usually a very vintage guy, but this was a nice guitar.

Couldn't agree more. Bought mine new about 3 months ago. Guess I'd have to call it a super screaming deal, as it was $603.13 from Walmart of all places. It was "sold by Walmart", so I didn't hesitate to buy it with the idea that it would be an easy return to the local Walmart if I didn't want to keep it. Glad I did, as it was the last one.
I knew it would be a keeper less than 10 minutes after opening the case. Actually, the setup on mine is pretty decent right out of the box.
 

Mark WW

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Walmart? Everything I order from there takes me 2 weeks to get it. But that is a great price. The mini Hums in my NS sound great and the body is a little thinner than my Corona which I like but the neck is a little less chunky which I don't like but it is not unplayable by any means.
 
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I have just acquired a 1963 Starfire III and once I get some issues figured out, it will be a cool instrument. The tuners slip a little and a fret or two need some attention. It is red with the original case and it appears to have been a real player. It sounds awesome through a Blues Junior.
 
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