76 Starfire 4 stereo model?

[waveland]

Hi all,

Saw this the other day for $1,100.00 and it looks pretty clean. Owner says it was a stereo model that was rewired for mono. If you look at the truss rod cover instead of "Starfire 4" it says "Stereo". Curious your thoughts.
Now for the fun part......let's see if those computer lessons from last time paid off!

Many thanks,
Dave

 

[kakerlak]

Very pretty and extremely clean-looking guitar. I say, if you're looking for a big-pickup SF4 then grab this one; that ought to be a pretty good price.

The only potential issue I can think of is that I see it has a metal jack plate and, if mym memory is correct, my '74 SF-6 does not have a jack plate. Now, that could well have something to do w/ it being a stereo model (not sure if they did that with a single stereo plug or two separate mono plugs.)

Hans would be your go-to on that question.

On the other hand, I've never been too put off by an added jackplate to cover up a minor crack, as long as it's solid and well-mounted, which this looks to be. It's a normal feature on enough guitars that it's easy enough for me to live with, even if it's not "correct" for the guitar it's on.

Very, very pretty wood, though and nice natural finish.

 

[GAD]

That was my guitar. I even took two of those pictures. Here are the rest: http://www.gad.net/GAD/Guitar/Guild-76-StarfireIV/index.html

What would you like to know about it? It's a fabulous guitar with a wonderful sound. Only reason I sold it was because I couldn't bond with the tiny neck.

The jack plate is there because of a minorly botched jack replacement done before I owned it. The hole is rough and won't support just the jack.

 

[hansmoust]

Hello folks,

OK, so what's the deal with this guitar being reported stolen in this thread:

http://www.letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17106&hilit=stolen

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[GAD]

Hello folks,

OK, so what's the deal with this guitar being reported stolen in this thread:

http://www.letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17106&hilit=stolen

http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

Yikes! I hadn't seen that. The original post is gone from TGP.

Worth being careful for sure.

 

[motopsyche]

My eyes are no prize, but judging by the grain pattern, the guitar in the grass is not the same as the guitar on the orange backdrop.

What do you all see? :shock:

 

[GAD]

My eyes are no prize, but judging by the grain pattern, the guitar in the grass is not the same as the guitar on the orange backdrop.

What do you all see? :shock:

The guitar has what I call magic grain. It disappears depending on the light. In fact that's why I took the pics in the grass. The sun brings out the grain.

I took both of these pictures:

 

[waveland]

Hi,
I emailed the guy from the stolen ad link and this is what he had to say:

me: I am a member on the "Lets Talk Guild" website. Did you ever get your stolen Starfire back? I may have a lead. Do you have the serial number? What kind of case did it have?

him: Yes I did. Turns out someone took it for safe keeping, but didn't tell me she took it.
Took several days for it to turn up but it did. Thanks for the concern though.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

me: Thanks.....did you end up selling it then, because it is listed for sale?

him: Yep I did sell it. It was sold to a guy on tgp.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

So.....hopefully that takes care of that. Many thanks Hans for the heads up and I am still going to proceed with caution.

GAD, Many thanks for the link to the great photos. The guitar looks really clean. Did you have any playing issues with it? I noticed your photos were dated June 23, 2009. Do you remember when you sold the guitar? I want to cross-reference it with how long this guy says he has owned the guitar. He also says it comes with a non-original hard shell case. Is that how it was when you owned it?

Lastly, what's up with that stereo/mono thing??

Thanks as always,
Dave

 

[GAD]

GAD, Many thanks for the link to the great photos. The guitar looks really clean. Did you have any playing issues with it? I noticed your photos were dated June 23, 2009. Do you remember when you sold the guitar? I want to cross-reference it with how long this guy says he has owned the guitar. He also says it comes with a non-original hard shell case. Is that how it was when you owned it?

Lastly, what's up with that stereo/mono thing??

I sold the guitar in August of 2009. There were no playing issues at all that I recall. The binding on the neck near the headstock on the treble side had been repaired before I got her. Surprisingly I don't seem to have a pic of that online. Didn't affect playability at all. I bought it with a functional but nondescript hardshell case. Had for or five square stickers on it if I recall. When I sold it I offered it with a Guild hardcase for more money but the buyer declined.

The stereo, from what I could discern, was one pickup in each channel. The master volume controlled both channels. The master volume was a bit stiff but functioned well. I tried ot get the MV pot out to clean and lube it, but it wouldn't fit through the F-holes or the pickup cavity. I think they built the guitar around it!

The guitar was converted to mono by someone replacing the output jack with a mono jack, then wiring the ground of each channel together. Crude, but effective. It could easily be reverted back with a stereo jack and 10 minutes soldering time, assuming nothing else has been done to it.

The guitar is beautiful in person. It reminds me of a vintage violin. The aged lacquer finish just felt wonderful. If it had a bigger neck, I'd still have it today.

 

[Default]

That's pretty much the guitar I'm looking for right there. Good price too.