67 Starfire XII restoration questions.

[Nuuska]

Sounds like a really cool top wood and colour I wonder whether it would have warmed up with a different pickup choice, or perhaps an over wound alnico III or II Strat style? Wonder where that guitar is now?!

You might start by askin Pete at Lavonne-Wagener-Music

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Pete - I've tried to e-mail him - but no answer - but you might try to get in touch - and if you get connected w Pete - he knew me by my nickname Nuuska.

Good luck

 

[Jennings]

A Starfire XII update…still waiting for an original pickguard, so in the meantime I made my own guesstimation. Doesn’t look too bad as a stop gap, I don’t think.

 

[Guildedlily]

Great recovery! Amazing you found an og AH pup. Those things are key to the unique starfire sound. I would wait for an original pickguard. It looks fine till then without. Great work. Welcome to forum.

 

[Jennings]

Thanks…much appreciated I’ve enjoyed breathing a bit of new life into the Starfire. And I’ve been really impressed with both the playability and the tone. These AH pickups are a great match for the design…has me wondering what they might be like in other guitar formats.

I’ve managed to get hold of a NOS pickguard blank now…just need to do the pickup cutouts and then paint it. I’d like to try and add the gold boarder to be period correct, then overspray black. I’ll have to work out the best way to get the boarder done though.

 

[BradHK]

I love watching old guitars come back to life and that Starfire will look really good with that pickguard. Below are some detailed photos of one of my original pickguards with the gold line to help you determine sizing and distance from the edge. The inside of the gold border lines up with the bottom of the Guild logo. Another detail to note is that the inside corners on the gold border are sharp edges and the outside corners flow with the curve of the pickguard. Hard to explain but you will see in the photo below. Good luck!

 

[Default]

Thanks…much appreciated I’ve enjoyed breathing a bit of new life into the Starfire. And I’ve been really impressed with both the playability and the tone. These AH pickups are a great match for the design…has me wondering what they might be like in other guitar formats.

I’ve managed to get hold of a NOS pickguard blank now…just need to do the pickup cutouts and then paint it. I’d like to try and add the gold boarder to be period correct, then overspray black. I’ll have to work out the best way to get the boarder done though.

After you spray the back, make sure to put a piece of tape where the screw holes are particularly where the pickup bracket runs. That's on the original pgs to keep the bracket from scratching through the paint.

 

[jp]

It's also good to spray a coat of clear over the black to protect it from scratches. I recall reading here once that this was standard procedure in the Guild factory, too, but I could be wrong. Either way, it makes sense.

 

[sailingshoes72]

After you spray the back, make sure to put a piece of tape where the screw holes are particularly where the pickup bracket runs. That's on the original pgs to keep the bracket from scratching through the paint.

I always wondered what that long piece of masking tape was on the back of Guild pickguards. Makes sense!

 

[SFIV1967]

After you spray the back, make sure to put a piece of tape where the screw holes are particularly where the pickup bracket runs. That's on the original pgs to keep the bracket from scratching through the paint.

Just to illustrate:



Ralf

 

[Guildedlily]

My starfire doesn't have the gold border, and it's an original. Are these from the 90s reissues?

 

[SFIV1967]

My starfire doesn't have the gold border, and it's an original. Are these from the 90s reissues?

The Starfire IV had the gold border from 1964 till 1970 and it disappeared in 1971 I believe. It was different for each Starfire model. The 1969 catalog showed for instance the Starfire III, V and VI without the gold border.
Which Starfire model do you have and from which year?

Ralf

 

[lungimsam]

It looks better without the pickguard!

 

[Guildedlily]

The Starfire IV had the gold border from 1964 till 1970 and it disappeared in 1971 I believe. It was different for each Starfire model. The 1969 catalog showed for instance the Starfire III, V and VI without the gold border.
Which Starfire model do you have and from which year?

Ralf

III from '66

 

[Jennings]

I love watching old guitars come back to life and that Starfire will look really good with that pickguard. Below are some detailed photos of one of my original pickguards with the gold line to help you determine sizing and distance from the edge. The inside of the gold border lines up with the bottom of the Guild logo. Another detail to note is that the inside corners on the gold border are sharp edges and the outside corners flow with the curve of the pickguard. Hard to explain but you will see in the photo below. Good luck!

Thanks I’m enjoying the process…cheers for the detail too, that’s really useful. I might do it in stages perhaps. The straight parts first, maybe. Or make a sort of template to trace round. Maybe I’ll use a gold marker, however I’m sure the black paint will cause that to run. Hmmm…I’ll maybe do some tests on some scrap plastic to see what works best.

After you spray the back, make sure to put a piece of tape where the screw holes are particularly where the pickup bracket runs. That's on the original pgs to keep the bracket from scratching through the paint.

great tip, thanks …will do

It's also good to spray a coat of clear over the black to protect it from scratches. I recall reading here once that this was standard procedure in the Guild factory, too, but I could be wrong. Either way, it makes sense.

another great tip, thanks I’ve got some black and clear spray paint to hand, so I can do that easily.

Just to illustrate:



Ralf

Amazing, thanks Ralf

It looks better without the pickguard!

I did mull over the guard for a while. I like it both ways…but ended up going with the guard as the stepped design is a bit unique. At least as mods go it’s quick and easy to pop on or off.

 

[lungimsam]

It looks good either way. But I like to see all that nice finish on that guitar!!
That wooden bridge looks really cool, too!

 

[Jennings]

I like my Les Pauls like that too…and I did have a 335 style that looked ace with no guard. It was flame top, so the guard sort of got in the way of the look.

 

[SFIV1967]

III from '66

Looking into the 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1968 catalogs, the III didn't have the gold line:



Same in the 1969 brochure, but there the V and VI already had no line anymore:





Ralf

 

[Jennings]

That’s really interesting…sort of marks a gradual model to model transition.