Guild Semi Hollowbody Electric Recommendations

MustangMartigan

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I'm a big fan of the Gibson ES-335, but I don't like their current production stuff. Since I can't afford vintage Gibson anything, I'm interested in checking out what Guild has to offer. I've owned both vintage and reissue Guilds and liked all of them. Including a couple S-100s (a '70s and '90s RI), as well as, a couple M-80s (late '70s 1st ver and '81 2nd ver). I also played and really liked the latest MIK S-100.

Besides the Starfire, I'm not familiat with the semi Hollowbody model names. I haven't played any of the Starfire models, they were recommended to me on another forum. Are there any others that I should check out?

My budget is $1500-2000.

Thanks.
 

dbirchett

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The Starfire models made in Westerly and Corona may be the best buys out there in a 335-style guitar. Mostly you will see the 3, 4 or 5 (III, IV or V). The three is hollow and has a single florentine cutaway. The 4 is the most 335 like as it is a double cutaway, semi-hollow, two humbuckers with a stop tailpiece. The 5 adds a Bigsby, Master Volume and fancier inlays. They all have beautiful figured maple. You would do well to read GAD's reviews of various Guild guitars. Note that there are basically 3 pickup choices and GAD explains them much better than I would. http://www.gad.net/Blog/gads-guilds/
 

GAD

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What neck type do you prefer?

The Guid equivalent of the ES-335 is the Starfire IV. Depending on if you like narrow and thin or wide and a bit fatter will depend on what years we recommend.
 

GSFV

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The Newark street star fires don’t compare to the westerly, but is an excellent instrument. The one I bought (StarFire V) beat out a Gibson 335 back to back for ¼ of the price!
 

MustangMartigan

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What neck type do you prefer?

The Guid equivalent of the ES-335 is the Starfire IV. Depending on if you like narrow and thin or wide and a bit fatter will depend on what years we recommend.

It's hard for me to decide on a preferred neck type. Every time I think I have it figured out, I fall in love with a neck that I'd presumably dislike. I am a fan of the Fender C-Shape.

If I do end up going with a Starfire, I'd probably go with the mahogany body/neck semihollow. It sounds the best to me on paper. What year did the SF's stop coming with the HB-1?

Thanks.
 
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GAD

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It's hard for me to decide on a preferred neck type. Every time I think I have it figured out, I fall in love with a neck that I'd presumably dislike. I am a fan of the Fender C-Shape.

If I do end up going with a Starfire, I'd probably go with the mahogany body/neck semihollow. It sounds the best to me on paper. What year did the SF's stop coming with the HB-1?

Thanks.

If you want HB1s then you want a '70s model. Some of the very first '90s reissues had HB1s, but they're very tough to find. Some of the '80s models are found with HB1s if memory serves, but they would have been a special order since XR7s were the standard for that model then.
 

MustangMartigan

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If you want HB1s then you want a '70s model. Some of the very first '90s reissues had HB1s, but they're very tough to find. Some of the '80s models are found with HB1s if memory serves, but they would have been a special order since XR7s were the standard for that model then.

I had an '81 or '82 M-80 (the second version) that came with XR-7's. They were brutally heavy pups, but I'm not sure how much that tone had to due with the all maple M-80. It was probably the heaviest guitar I've ever played.. both in tone and weight.

Are there any years that are considered the Starfire IV's prime? And in a related question, is there some kind of chart or knowledge base the goes over the changes in neck size? I remember you saying that depending on my neck preference you'd recommend a certain year.

Thanks for all the info and help.
 

GAD

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Read all of these: http://gadsguilds.com. :)

In a nutshell (some overlap):

'60s: 1 11/16" wide - not sure of depth
'70s: 1 5/6" wide - thin
'80s: 1 5/6" wide - not sure of depth
'94 and above: 1 11/16" wide and a bit deeper.
'00s: Same as '90s

'10s: Newark Street (made in Korea)

This is not set in stone, either. For example, the P90 SFIII I had seemed to have a deeper neck than the other Starfires of the era that I've owned.
 

adorshki

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In a nutshell (some overlap):

'60s: 1 11/16" wide - not sure of depth
'70s: 1 5/6" wide - thin
'80s: 1 5/6" wide - not sure of depth
'94 and above: 1 11/16" wide and a bit deeper.
'00s: Same as '90s
Think you mean "1-5/8" on those '70's & '80's widths? (just to reassure Mustang)


This is not set in stone, either. For example, the P90 SFIII I had seemed to have a deeper neck than the other Starfires of the era that I've owned.

Right, and it might be a good time to repeat Hans' periodic reminder that in Westerly every single neck got final shaping by hand on a belt (or spindle) sander, so even though target templates were used there is inevitably some variation from piece to piece. (Forgive me if you actually cover that in one of your blog posts)
And I don't know if this was as true of the electrics as the acoustics, but for sure there are known examples of "off-spec" production runs; the most recently discovered one I can think of concerns some late-80's G-37's, 2 (or 3?) very close s/n's built with 1-5/8 nuts when the standard spec was 1-11/16", implying an intentionally produced batch of "narrow nut" examples.
We also know of several owners' DV series guitars anda Davisman's D65S from '93-'94 getting 1-3/4 nuts when the sec was 1-11/16.
Anyway, all that might help explain why sometimes a neck that is expected to be uncomfortable turns out to feel ok.
With Guild ya just gotta judge 'em all on a case by case basis.
Wheh it comes to necks, at least.
 
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