Hi Friends, I have been amiss in my responsibilities by neglecting to post photos of my 1962 Guild Blackstar III, so my apologies to you all. This guitar is part of my collection of four Starfires all with Dearmond pickups and all custom colors available during the early years. They consist of a 1963 Starfire III in cherry red (standard color) and 1962 Amberstar II, Emeraldfire III and this Blackstar III. I have already posted pix of the collection but never have posted just this guitar.
The finish is called ebony grain and for good reason. The color is black but you can see the grain of the maple body very well through the color. Seems that the black and green were made of maple while the red and amber were mahogany. At least all mine are. The guitar is in all original condition with it's original case. I did have to replace some parts to make it all original once I got it. Thanks to my parts drawer and special mention to our good friend K. Bell, I replaced the tuners, guildsby and bridge with original parts. It came with Grover rotomatics which were not used until '64 I think. It also had a harp tail and an adjustomatic bridge. It is now all original once again. Here is the first photo.
I have had dozens of starfires over the years, everything from a SF1 to a SFVI. All excellent guitars. I do prefer the SF II and IIIs because of the hollowbody which seems to give me better tone for my style of play and is much lighter than the semi hollow models. That does not mean I do not like them however. This blackstar is one of the best all around starfires I have ever played. The neck is straight and true and it almost plays itself. Still plenty of room to lower the bridge which can be a problem for this model. The neck is perfect and the frets are still in great shape. The bigsby does not throw it out of tune at all. Photo # 2.
The tone is simply fantastic from the Dearmond Dynasonic pickups. They are without a doubt the quietest single coil pups I've ever heard. The tone is to die for. I play mainly blues and rockabilly and this guitar is able to do both quite nicely. For blues the neck pup with a bit of the bridge mixed in gives it a great sound. For rockabilly the bridge pup is outstanding. It bites but not too trebly to hurt your ears. And for good old R & R just mix the two pups together and it cannot be beat. My other 3 starfires are all set up exactly the same, but for some reason this one seems to give me just a bit more precise sound for my liking. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the others, but this guitar just has a bit extra mojo that makes it really stand out. I think you folks know what I mean. Photo #3.
This photo really gives you a good look at the grain of the body. It really is eye catching up close. This is just one of those guitars that we live for. It does everything right. Playability, tone, appearance, etc... It's one in a million to me. I can't put it down. If I ever decide to sell my other Guilds I can say now that this one will be buried with me. Simply one of the best Starfires I have ever played. And I have played and owned dozens of them over the last two decades. Photo #4.
Well thanks for letting me ramble on about this amazing instrument. I love all my Guilds past and present, but this one is right up there on the top of the heap.
The finish is called ebony grain and for good reason. The color is black but you can see the grain of the maple body very well through the color. Seems that the black and green were made of maple while the red and amber were mahogany. At least all mine are. The guitar is in all original condition with it's original case. I did have to replace some parts to make it all original once I got it. Thanks to my parts drawer and special mention to our good friend K. Bell, I replaced the tuners, guildsby and bridge with original parts. It came with Grover rotomatics which were not used until '64 I think. It also had a harp tail and an adjustomatic bridge. It is now all original once again. Here is the first photo.
I have had dozens of starfires over the years, everything from a SF1 to a SFVI. All excellent guitars. I do prefer the SF II and IIIs because of the hollowbody which seems to give me better tone for my style of play and is much lighter than the semi hollow models. That does not mean I do not like them however. This blackstar is one of the best all around starfires I have ever played. The neck is straight and true and it almost plays itself. Still plenty of room to lower the bridge which can be a problem for this model. The neck is perfect and the frets are still in great shape. The bigsby does not throw it out of tune at all. Photo # 2.
The tone is simply fantastic from the Dearmond Dynasonic pickups. They are without a doubt the quietest single coil pups I've ever heard. The tone is to die for. I play mainly blues and rockabilly and this guitar is able to do both quite nicely. For blues the neck pup with a bit of the bridge mixed in gives it a great sound. For rockabilly the bridge pup is outstanding. It bites but not too trebly to hurt your ears. And for good old R & R just mix the two pups together and it cannot be beat. My other 3 starfires are all set up exactly the same, but for some reason this one seems to give me just a bit more precise sound for my liking. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the others, but this guitar just has a bit extra mojo that makes it really stand out. I think you folks know what I mean. Photo #3.
This photo really gives you a good look at the grain of the body. It really is eye catching up close. This is just one of those guitars that we live for. It does everything right. Playability, tone, appearance, etc... It's one in a million to me. I can't put it down. If I ever decide to sell my other Guilds I can say now that this one will be buried with me. Simply one of the best Starfires I have ever played. And I have played and owned dozens of them over the last two decades. Photo #4.
Well thanks for letting me ramble on about this amazing instrument. I love all my Guilds past and present, but this one is right up there on the top of the heap.
