Pics of my new 1978 Starfire SF-4

RyanV

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Hey all, I recently bought a Newark SF and I've been so impressed with it, that it gave me major GAS to find a Westerley made Starfire

I had been scanning Craigslist and found this gem in Asheville, NC. It was owned by a 91 year old lifelong bluegrass musician.

I'll let the pics do the talking. Also, the tone/vol knobs have these little aluminum covers which have fallen off. All have been accounted for though and I'll be gluing them back on soon.

Note: I haven't cleaned it up, but I will.


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walrus

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A beauty! Very cool grain on the back! Congratulations!

walrus
 

RyanV

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Impressions so far are....wow awesome.

The neck profile to me seems about the same as the Newark SF except the slightly thinner nut width. I set the string action to 4/64ths at the 12th fret, but I'm thinking I may add a little neck relief at the truss rod tomorrow.

I oiled the case clasped and they're now smooth as butter.
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RyanV

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A beauty! Very cool grain on the back! Congratulations!

walrus

Thanks Walrus! I thought it was gonna have a 2 tone caramel burst, but it's actually a nice sunburst. So even better!
 

Bonneville88

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Nice score on a sweet Starfire - cool pics, love that burst - congrats!
 

Kitarkus

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Great looking guitar. Enjoy! Well... does it best the Newark?
 

GAD

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Super Nice!

And what are your impressions moving from NS to Westerly-made?
 

RyanV

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Great looking guitar. Enjoy! Well... does it best the Newark?

Super Nice!

And what are your impressions moving from NS to Westerly-made?

Thanks GAD! Thanks for all the insight as well recently and answering my questions.

Far as comparing a Newark to this 1978? I think Guild has done a great job with the Newark line in building a quality, butter smooth playing and sounding guitar at a reasonable price point. Hell, they sold me with this Newark. I think it's a better playing instrument than the D'Angelico Excel models and the way more expensive Gibson semi-hollows I've tried.

That said, the Westerly SF is the real deal in terms of feel, look, sound and build quality. It's built solid like a 70's American car. Heck, the top on the Westerly is 5mm thick compared to the 3mm thick Newark model. I think the Newark model does a good job at attempting to live up to that Guild quality, but due to the price point there's just no way Guild could produce this 78' Starfire for that kind of money.

Ryan
 

GGJaguar

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Beautiful! I love the look of the 5-piece neck.
 

Zelja

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She looks a beaut! Congrats. Is the neck on the 78 smaller(thinner and/pr shallower) than on the NS?
 

RyanV

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She looks a beaut! Congrats. Is the neck on the 78 smaller(thinner and/pr shallower) than on the NS?

The fretboard width on the 78 is slightly thinner than the NS, but I think both have the same shallow D profile neck. It's not as thin as a 60's Gibson thin taper profile.

I need to weigh both guitars as the 78 is definitely heavier, and it has what looks like a mahogany center block whereas the NS has a maple center block. The Grover kidney beans on the 78' are way better than the Sta-tites on the NS.

I think it's apparent that Guild made the NS thinner and lighter on purpose, but it works very well.
 

shihan

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Congratulations on your beautiful SF! It must be a gas to have both the old and the new. How do the NS pickups compare with the ‘78?
 

RyanV

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Congratulations on your beautiful SF! It must be a gas to have both the old and the new. How do the NS pickups compare with the ‘78?

EDIT: So far I think the HB-1s are better overall, but LB-1s have their own thing and I like it a lot. I've got a Hot Wax pedal running into an AB/Y pedal into a Princeton and a Deluxe Reverb, so the tone is just bonkers in here right now!

Congrats on the great acquisition, Ryan! It's a beauty!

Thanks!
 
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jp

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Hey all, I recently bought a Newark SF and I've been so impressed with it, that it gave me major GAS to find a Westerley made Starfire

I had been scanning Craigslist and found this gem in Asheville, NC. It was owned by a 91 year old lifelong bluegrass musician.

I'll let the pics do the talking. Also, the tone/vol knobs have these little aluminum covers which have fallen off. All have been accounted for though and I'll be gluing them back on soon.

Note: I haven't cleaned it up, but I will.
Sweet Starfire, Ryan! I love the Starfires with the block inlays.

Maybe you already know this, but those knobs aren't original. They should be silver-topped, Guild knobs with the G shield logo and larger numbers 1-10, without the words Tone and Volume on them, which were the stock knobs after about 1973.
 

RyanV

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Sweet Starfire, Ryan! I love the Starfires with the block inlays.

Maybe you already know this, but those knobs aren't original. They should be silver-topped, Guild knobs with the G shield logo and larger numbers 1-10, without the words Tone and Volume on them, which were the stock knobs after about 1973.

I was wondering about that, because I've seen other 1978's with these same vol/tone knobs. I'm wondering if they're actually stock on this 78' model?

https://reverb.com/item/14364954-guild-starfire-iv-1978-cherry

https://www.creamcitymusic.com/vint...-hollow-body-electric-guitar-sunburst-finish/
 
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GAD

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Those same knobs were used on Guild S300s around 1977 or so, so it's possible that they may be original.

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jp

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I was wondering about that, because I've seen other 1978's with these same vol/tone knobs. I'm wondering if they're actually stock on this 78' model?

https://reverb.com/item/14364954-guild-starfire-iv-1978-cherry

https://www.creamcitymusic.com/vint...-hollow-body-electric-guitar-sunburst-finish/
Ah. I didn't see the little white arrow indicators. My bad. I've honestly never seen these on a Starfire before, but I will defer to the other experts who know more about this Guild era, such as Mr. GAD. From your pics it's obviously totally possible.
 

RyanV

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I noticed the 78 had a wound 3rd string, which I couldn't bend much so I restrung it with my go-to 10-46 Ernie Ball's. I noticed the frets on this 78 are really low and flat compared to the NS.

I have to wonder if Guild is going to put HB-1's in the 2019 models, I'm really curious to see what they will have to offer.
 
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