I picked up a '69 Starfire IV last year for under $1k, and it had a few issues. Frets were about shot, neck had been refinished solid brown, headstock veneer was peeling off, the wiring had been "redone" with some heavy gauge automotive wire, and the pickguard was missing... So, I contacted the Guild Custom Shop (Thane Shearon there, in particular) - and decided to send my guitar their way to get everything cleaned up. They discovered that the neck had a slight twist, so we decided to add to the list of work a fretboard plane and refret.
I got the guitar back from them several months ago, and they did a spectacular job. I figured that there are some folks here who might appreciate seeing this old guitar come back to life.
This was the photo in the Craigslist ad which led me to her...
And, here is the peeling and warped headstock veneer:
I love the finish. A bit of the old "rewire" can be seen in here....
So, off it went to Guild. My first updates showed the new veneer in place, and the neck having been stripped.
The neck was then refinished, along w/ the peghead.
She arrived home a few months later - and just prior to Thane sending it back, he called me to ask if I had a pickguard for it (I didn't, and hadn't even thought to ask if they could make one - I figured I'd have to hunt for a used one). Measurements were taken, and the guitar was sent home, with the promise that a new pickguard would follow a few weeks later.
The headstock was tinted to match the rest of the guitar. And, those are Pat. Pending Grovers on there - not original, but I liked them on there and decided to leave them.
And, the neck refinish matched perfectly!
A few months later - the pickguard and mounting hardware arrived as promised!
And, here she is with a few siblings - on my award winning ugly couch.
Anyway, I'm new to the board, and figured this would be an alright way to introduce myself! I hadn't given much thought to Guild prior to finding my Starfire - but, I was so impressed with my old Guild that when I needed to raise some cash, I kept it, and sold my '67 Gibson ES335.
I'm assuming that Thane and the shop there are well known to the guys on this forum - but if not, I cannot say enough good things about the Fender/Guild Repair Center in Nashville. They'll work on any kind of guitar there - not just the home team brands. I think that my '64 Jaguar will make it there eventually (or, the neck will) for a refret. My Starfire feels and plays like a brand new guitar - but still has that vintage tone and mojo that I love.
I've always got my eyes open for another old Guild, but they are pretty tough to find in my part of the country (Western Montana). Also, I'm working on getting ahold of a copy of Hans Moust's book, but it was backordered on Amazon.com for about 4 months before they informed me that they couldn't complete my order. This was earlier in the year. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy?
Thanks for looking!
I got the guitar back from them several months ago, and they did a spectacular job. I figured that there are some folks here who might appreciate seeing this old guitar come back to life.
This was the photo in the Craigslist ad which led me to her...
And, here is the peeling and warped headstock veneer:
I love the finish. A bit of the old "rewire" can be seen in here....
So, off it went to Guild. My first updates showed the new veneer in place, and the neck having been stripped.
The neck was then refinished, along w/ the peghead.
She arrived home a few months later - and just prior to Thane sending it back, he called me to ask if I had a pickguard for it (I didn't, and hadn't even thought to ask if they could make one - I figured I'd have to hunt for a used one). Measurements were taken, and the guitar was sent home, with the promise that a new pickguard would follow a few weeks later.
The headstock was tinted to match the rest of the guitar. And, those are Pat. Pending Grovers on there - not original, but I liked them on there and decided to leave them.
And, the neck refinish matched perfectly!
A few months later - the pickguard and mounting hardware arrived as promised!
And, here she is with a few siblings - on my award winning ugly couch.
Anyway, I'm new to the board, and figured this would be an alright way to introduce myself! I hadn't given much thought to Guild prior to finding my Starfire - but, I was so impressed with my old Guild that when I needed to raise some cash, I kept it, and sold my '67 Gibson ES335.
I'm assuming that Thane and the shop there are well known to the guys on this forum - but if not, I cannot say enough good things about the Fender/Guild Repair Center in Nashville. They'll work on any kind of guitar there - not just the home team brands. I think that my '64 Jaguar will make it there eventually (or, the neck will) for a refret. My Starfire feels and plays like a brand new guitar - but still has that vintage tone and mojo that I love.
I've always got my eyes open for another old Guild, but they are pretty tough to find in my part of the country (Western Montana). Also, I'm working on getting ahold of a copy of Hans Moust's book, but it was backordered on Amazon.com for about 4 months before they informed me that they couldn't complete my order. This was earlier in the year. Does anyone know where I can pick up a copy?
Thanks for looking!
