finally got a Starfire (IV)!

[fisherking]

Hey all:

I was on here some earlier this spring, and after continuing to mull it over, I have finally landed a Starfire IV! It's a Westerly 1998 I believe, in the transparent red. I got it used from a Guitar Center in CA. I offered them a price last April which they did not accept. So I continued to watch it , and they gave it two price drops this last month or so, so I ended up getting it for 33% less than their orig. asking price (and even less than what I offered them this spring)! $999 was what I paid.

All seems to be good and healthy with it. Sounds really good to me. I used it for a rehearsal Wed. night and was very pleased w. it. The neck feels great to me, and I'm enjoying the slinkier feel on this guitar. This must have a shorter scale length than fender teles / strats right? More akin to ES-335 / Les Paul in the scale length right?

The intonation was a bit off on the G string which I tweaked. The neck also had too much relief, strings were pulling on it too much so I tightened the truss rod some and I think I've got it close now, neck is pretty straight with just a slight bow.

One thing I want to ask--the stop tailpiece. I've never had a guitar w. this kind of system before. Is that made so that it's just the strings that hold the tailpiece against the posts that mount to the guitar? Bec. when I changed the strings that tailpiece slipped out (and I reengaged it when I put new strings on). I was just curious if those posts should be screwed down so they pinch the tailpiece in place more? I spun them a little w. a screwdriver but then realized they didn't really seem to be biting down more so I turned them back to where they were and left it alone. I only prob. spun them at most a 1/4 turn during this...

I'll post some pics when I get home! I'm quite pleased that I got a great guitar for a great price.

 

[jte]

COOL! My Stafire IV is a late Westerly one (got it from the FMIC sales rep in 2001- it was his sample one).

The stop tailpeice screws don't clamp down on the bar at all. They only change how high the bar sits above the body. If you change one string at a time, it won't move at all. When you take all six strings off at once (I only do this about every other year for cleaning) just be carefull so it won't fall off and scratch the guitar. The idea is that changing the angle of the strings across the bridge might affect the feel of the strings (it WILL NOT CHANGE THE "TENSION" despite assertions to the contrary- the tension is a function of the string gauge, the scale lenght (between the bridge and the nut- nothing else affects the tension), and the pitch). But the extra downward pressure at the bridge might have some small effect on how the strings feel when you bend them. That angle also affects how easily the strings might come off the saddles when you hit them hard.

I set mine so the strings break over the bridge without rubbing against the bridge assembly.

John

 

[fisherking]

Here are some pics of the Starfire I got. The finish isn't as streaky as it comes out looking in the pics, I think that's due to the flash etc:

 

[GAD]

Very nice score! Nice price too!

Fabulous guitars.

 

[mad dog]

Fisher:

That is one fine-looking guitar. Good luck with it. Play hard!
MD

 

[NEONMOONY]

I set mine so the strings break over the bridge without rubbing against the bridge assembly.

Some people wrap the strings over the top of the tail piece. They feel this gives the strings a looser, slinkier feel when they play. Nice looking guitar BTW.

 

[fisherking]

I've got a question regarding the neck of my new Starfire. The neck is more noticeably able to be flexed than on my Tele or Strat--with very little push on the headstock I can flex the neck quite noticeably, so ie when I'm playing chords down towards the nut, I need to really make sure to not grab the neck too hard or I can bend it out of tune. I'm not talking about fretting too hard even, but just how my hand might wrap around the neck, if there's some pressure I can bend the neck out of tune a bit. My question is whether you would say this is normal for Starfires or guitars of this style? There doesn't appear to be any breaks or headstock repairs or anything like that. With a lighter touch I can keep things in tune..and playing up the neck this isn't as noticeable bec. there's less leverage as you go up the neck.

FYI the truss rod seems to be working fine, I had to tighten it because there was way too much relief when I got the guitar. I now have the relief adjusted so that fretting at the 1st and last fret and checking my gap at 8th fret, I've prob. got about .015 gap or so. Before I adjusted it I bet there was prob. like .040 or something. The neck when sighting down it before my adjustment had a noticeable bow, now after my adjustment it looks darn near straight but does have the slight relief I mentioned. So the truss rod is doing its thing.

Do these red Westerly Starfires have mahogany necks? If so maybe that's what the diff. is bet my Tele and Strat and this. I've got maple necks on my Tele and Strat which is maybe a stiffer wood than Mahogany and maybe that's the difference I'm experiencing

Any thoughts or input anyone?

 

[krysh]

fisherking,

the flexability of the neck seems to be normal because it is a slim neck.

usually the sf4 has a mahogany neck. only some limited runs (i.e. like mine) had maple necks.

 

[jp]

One thing I want to ask--the stop tailpiece. I've never had a guitar w. this kind of system before. Is that made so that it's just the strings that hold the tailpiece against the posts that mount to the guitar? Bec. when I changed the strings that tailpiece slipped out (and I reengaged it when I put new strings on). I was just curious if those posts should be screwed down so they pinch the tailpiece in place more?

Hey fisherking. Congratulations on a beautiful guitar. This setup is pretty standard. If it bugs you, and you're not a purist about parts, Tonepros makes a variety of parts which may fit your SFIV. They're originally made for Les Pauls and other guitars with similar bridge/tailpiece setups. I think there are studs which lock the tailpiece down, and the bridges have little Allen screws with hold them to their studs.

 

[fisherking]

I've got a question on the pickguard. I'm used to playing my Telecaster, and I find the Starfire a bit awkward in regards to how high the pickguard is in relation to the strings. When I first got the guitar, the strings were near to being flush w. the pickguard, but after setting the guitar up more correctly (it needed some adjusting), now I have maybe ~3/16 height above the pickguard. It doesn't look like the pickguard can be lowered at all. I don't want to raise my strings anymore bec. then they start getting further off the neck and playability on the neck suffers. I would like a little more breathing room string height vs. pickguard height if I could.

Is this just how these pickguards are? I know sometimes I see where people take their pickguards off. I think it's something I can / could get used to, but just wondering if this relationship is considered 'normal' on these guitars...

Thanks for any input! I'm enjoying this guitar, love the sound of it!

 

[GAD]

That is the old model pick guard. It sits on top of the pickup rings and drives me NUTS. What year is your guitar? Looks like a newer one in which case that's the wrong guard.

The new ones aren't like that. Old ('73) vs. New ('00):

 

[fisherking]

GAD: Thanks for the info. Based on serial # info that Hans has posted on these forums, I'm thinking this guitar is a '98. But my pickguard is not the kind that's notched, it does sit on top of the pickguard covers like your '73 picture...it sounds like you agree that it's a bit uncomfortable, a little too close for comfort..

 

[GAD]

GAD: Thanks for the info. Based on serial # info that Hans has posted on these forums, I'm thinking this guitar is a '98. But my pickguard is not the kind that's notched, it does sit on top of the pickguard covers like your '73 picture...it sounds like you agree that it's a bit uncomfortable, a little too close for comfort..

There are two things I dislike about old Starfires: The tiny necks, and the AWEFUL pick guard design. Get that old thing off of there and find a period correct one. You'll be MUCH happier (if you can find one).

 

[fisherking]

I just checked based on another thread to tell whether I have the fender hb1's or the guild hb1's and it looks like I have the Guild pickups (narrow flange on treble side, wider flange on bass side). I was happy to see that! They sound good to me whatever they are...