'69 Starfire IV - Restored!

[adorshki]

It'll be at least a year until I can afford to do so, though. I'm just about to start my last semester of law school - then I need to land a job, move my family, study for and take the bar exam, find a house, and get my student loans and credit card payments under control... THEN, another Guild!

(In my best Foghorn Leghorn voice): "BOY, I say, Boy, you needs to get yo priorities straight!"
:lol:

 

[capnjuan]

... I'm going see if I can find an old thread here; our BB Admin Don rebuilding / refinishing a '60s Starfire ... let me see what I can do.

Hi Diceman: Don dumped the 'before' pics but left several of the 'afters' (page 2) ... a more extensive project than yours but it's been buried so long, it was time to dust it off. Don's Starfire brought back to life.

 

[Diceman]

... I'm going see if I can find an old thread here; our BB Admin Don rebuilding / refinishing a '60s Starfire ... let me see what I can do.

Hi Diceman: Don dumped the 'before' pics but left several of the 'afters' (page 2) ... a more extensive project than yours but it's been buried so long, it was time to dust it off. Don's Starfire brought back to life.

Thanks! It sure ended up looking great! I always like seeing an old guitar brought back to life. I have a couple of Fenders that I pieced together from junk parts and loose bodies and necks ('64-66 MusicMaster and '63/64 Jaguar - which is the green one in my ugly couch pic). And, my '69 Les Paul (the cherry-ish one in that pic) is in for a refret right now - but may end up getting its original Goldtop finish back eventually.

 

[Diceman]

It'll be at least a year until I can afford to do so, though. I'm just about to start my last semester of law school - then I need to land a job, move my family, study for and take the bar exam, find a house, and get my student loans and credit card payments under control... THEN, another Guild!

(In my best Foghorn Leghorn voice): "BOY, I say, Boy, you needs to get yo priorities straight!"
:lol:

I'M with you. My WIFE.... not so much!

 

[hansmoust]

Hans, I look forward to getting my hands on a copy of your book, and figure that I should post my guitar's SN here to see if you know anything about its production! I know that there were only a handful of Starfire IV's made in '69. SN = EL2245

Hello Diceman,

Sorry for coming in late. It looks like they did a good job at the repair center in Nashville.
I try to visit that place when I'm in the U.S. It's a cool bunch of guys working there.
And usually there are a couple of nice 'vintage' Guild guitars that they are working on, so that's always interesting for me.

The only thing that somewhat surprised me was the use of the pickguard with the 'Chevron' instead of the 'Star'. The 'Chevron' is an early '60s feature but I guess that's the pickguard style they had available. At this point it looks like a replica pickguard, but it's not really a big deal.
It looks good!

Re. The Guild Guitar Book:
Not sure when the new print will be available, but they promised to let me know, so whenever that happens I will post the info here on the Forum.

Re. your Starfire IV:
There's not a whole lot I can tell you about that guitar. Production numbers of the Starfire IV were indeed very low during 1969, which had nothing to do with the popularity of the model. It was the result of the move from Hoboken to Westerly. During '67 and '68 there had been 2 separate Guild operations. The Hoboken plant produced all the mid-level and high-end models while most of the lower end models were produced in Westerly, where they were training the new workers. When the move to Westerly was completed during 1969, they started producing the higher-priced models in that location but obviously starting up a new line in a new location takes some time.

What you might find interesting is the fact that your guitar has a 3-pc. mahogany neck, which was an experiment they had started a year earlier. That practice was abandoned shortly after that and all Starfire IVs that were made after 1969 should have the 3-pc. mahogany neck with the maple centerstrip.

Anyway, I hope that you will enjoy your guitar.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Diceman]

Hans, that is all great and interesting info - I appreciate it! I didn't realize that this was one of the last of the Hoboken Guilds.

Thanks for the info on the pickguard. Truth be told, they gave it to me gratis, so I can't complain much (or at all!). I'll be on the prowl for an original I suppose.

And, I look forward to hearing about the next run of your book.

Thanks again!

-Dan

 

[hansmoust]

I didn't realize that this was one of the last of the Hoboken Guilds.

-Dan

Hello Dan,

It's not one of the last Hoboken Guilds. By 1969 the move to Westerly was completed, so your guitar was done in Westerly, even though it probably still has the Hoboken, NJ address on the label.
However, It is very well possible that some parts of the guitar were already started in Hoboken.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Diceman]

A-ha! Thanks for the clarification. It DOES have a Hoboken label inside of it.

I just restrung her a few minutes ago (I'm an Elixir string lover - I'm not sure what Guild put on it, D'addario I believe). This guitar is playing and sounding fantastic.

Again, thanks for the info. I'm sure this won't be my last Guild!

-Dan

 

[adorshki]

And, if I were to find an old Guild acoustic for a couple hundred bucks - I'm sure I'd be able to make it happen.

See, you're one of us now and you didn't even notice it happpening! Resistance is futile. In a few weeks you won't even remember there was ever a different kind of life. Just watch out for garlic and sunlight.