1997 Starfire III Review

GAD

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The review:https://www.gad.net/Blog/2019/06/04/1997-guild-starfire-iii/

Guild-1997-StarfireIII-TopFull-1.jpg


Number three in my Starfire review-a-thon, this 1997 Starfire is the one I probably looked most forward to reviewing.
 
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GGJaguar

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Excellent review as usual GAD, thanks for taking the time to write it! The late Starfires are my fav, especially the III. I think the difference in tone between the mahogany and maple examples is more than subtle and, therefore, enough to justify having one of each (not that I'm trying to be an enabler). :smile:
 

WayToBlue

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You seem to know quite a bit about the Starfires. Would you happen to know if Guild ever made a V or VI without the tailpiece?
 

GAD

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You seem to know quite a bit about the Starfires. Would you happen to know if Guild ever made a V or VI without the tailpiece?

Hans is on the case. No one knows more than Hans.
 

walrus

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Great review, GAD! I had a late 90's II and a IV, but never a III - and you can't beat these guitars in black!

walrus
 

parker_knoll

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Purdy. Nearly bought me a black SFIII recently, and still might. Incidentally, my Corona SFIII-90 is so comfortable in my hands; i can't fault the manufacture on that guitar at all.
 

WayToBlue

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davismanLV

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So far only this:

....fluorescence when studying them with microarray scanners, so that’s not strictly guitar related.0 I first noticed this as a teen in the early ’80s.....

Just a typo.

Back to reading now....

This is one of my favorite lines!!!

"Then again, as it’s been said, writing about music (or tone [timbre, really], in this case) is like dancing about architecture."

That's just awesome!!
 
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Steve in Concord

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GAD, I loved your 1997 SFIII review. It is also a perfect description of my 97 SFII, except for the bridge and the Bigsby: maple, black laquer, the yellowed bindings, SD1’s, build quality, and that neck pickup, which is one of my big attractions to the guitar. It’s an absolutely unique sound (at least in comparison to my other guitars). BTW, my SFII is only 3 oz lighter than yours. I would expect your Bigsby and metal bridge would contribute to a bigger difference - guess my tailpiece isn't all that light. Regarding the bridge, my SFII has the rosewood bridge, which does not appear to be intonated for my plain third string. My intonation is good for every other string, but not the G.

Regarding your comments on black lacquer fluorescing, you might be interested in the article “A Summary of Ultra-Violet Fluorescent Materials Relevant to Conservation” at https://aiccm.org.au/national-news/summary-ultra-violet-fluorescent-materials-relevant-conservation.
 

adorshki

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Regarding your comments on black lacquer fluorescing, you might be interested in the article “A Summary of Ultra-Violet Fluorescent Materials Relevant to Conservation” at https://aiccm.org.au/national-news/summary-ultra-violet-fluorescent-materials-relevant-conservation.

There it is!
I noted his query myself and did a short search but didn't find anything as definitive as that.
For GAD's "scientific" explanation let's start by defining fluorescence, from the usual source :
"Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence."
So it's an accepted "given" that NCL lacquer is stimulated to emit a greenish light when stimulated by UV radiation, but why?
I wondered if it was the cellulose or the solvents, or both.
Saw a comment in one blog that cotton t-shirts fluoresce and thought "There's an indicator!", but one commentor mentioned the use of optical brighteners in laundry detergent being the cause.
I wasn't satisfied that was completely correct but dropped it at that point.
Now your source indicates cellulose itself, the primary constituent of cotton fiber and indeed a primary source of NC itself, going all he way back to "gun cotton" does fluoresce.
Bingo.
Followed immediately by 2 more derivatives of cellulose (cellulose acetate and the primary form in question here, cellulose nitrate) which fluouresce at a different wavelength (color) than "plain" cellulose.
GAD also mentioned seeing this as confirmation that these late Westerly Starfires were NCL finished which kind of suprised me because I never had any question about it, but going back and reading the '96 catalog and Guild Gallery #1, I can only find specific confirmation that all the gloss finished acoustic guitars were indeed NCL.
I do know that Hans has said in past that they did "experiment" with poly in Westerly but only recall ever seeing one specific model ID'd (not a Starfire).
So GAD's uncertainty about the true nature of the finish is understandable.
I didn't think they used poly on hollow/semi-hollow electrics until Corona (X-150's, IIRC), but am now no longer as sure as I was 10 years ago.
Have even seen some compelling evidence to suggest that at least some late (post '94) satin finishes on acoustics are in fact poly, but still only demonstrative evidence and owner claim, not yet corroborated by somebody like Hans or Jay Pilzer, that I know of.
After all that, what still "gets" me, is if NCL generically fluouresces, why is a blacklight test supposed to detect repairs?
Possibly the difference in age of the finishes, ie, the fluorescence increases with age?
Something to do with the yellowing of the lacquer, perhaps?
Or maybe because the NC content itself is increasing since NCL continuously outgasses its solvents as it ages, and becomes increasingly crystalline in structure?
 
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parker_knoll

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This is one of my favorite lines!!!

"Then again, as it’s been said, writing about music (or tone [timbre, really], in this case) is like dancing about architecture."

That's just awesome!!

Frank Zappa quote, no?

GAD, did you buy this off Reverb?
 
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