Guild starfire IV from 2002 or 1996...

jmorrell · Jan 20, 2009

I really need some help on this one.

I've been offered a 1996 Starfire IV (tobacco sunburst)

I have a 2002 Starfire IV (tobacco sunburst), My 2002 was made in Carona, Cali. So i'm guessing when fender bought them out they moved manufacturing to Cali...

If i buy the 1996, Is the quality any better, realistically, Is is worth buying and selling mine at a small cost...Are the pickups used any different? I'm really on the fence with this one and can't decide what to do.

Your advice, comments would be really helpful.

jte · Jan 22, 2009

Hmm..

First, it took FMIC about six years to decide to close the Westerly RI plant. Fender Musical Instruments Company bought Guild in late 1995. They kept produciton in RI unitl sometime in 2001.

Now whether the Westerly ones are inherently better than the Corona ones is pretty subjective. The very few Corona instruments I've seen (about four acoustics and two Bluesbirds labeled "Custom Shop"*) were very very well made instruments.

A 1996 SFIV won't be much different from a 2002 SVIV in my opinion. Unless you can play the two guitars side-by-side and one is clearly better for YOU, then I wouldn''t make a change.

*My SFIV is a 2001 era model- it was the FMIC sales-rep's sample guitar. I went to a Fender Road Show and saw these Bluesbirds all labeled "Custom Shop". I asked why and was told that until they got production up an running in Corona, all the one ones they built would be stamped "Custom Shoip". He said he could make me a nice deal on one of the Bluesbirds. I said I couldn't, but jokingly said that I'd be interested in a Starfire IV. I thought I was safe because they didn't have any on the display. He said he had his sample model, and he figured a price for me. My (then) wife was there with me and she jokingly always said "No" to anytihing in a guitar store (and we'd just dropped about 2K on a tandem bicycle for our 25th anniversary). Then she saw the price, and said "You gotta get it for that price!- you've wanted one of those since you were 14!"

jte

krysh · Jan 22, 2009

by chance the 1996 sf4 should have the original guild hb-1's.
quality of the guitar should be the same.
hey, it's a guild :wink: so keep both :mrgreen:

jmorrell · Jan 23, 2009

You know what, you guys are right.

I love my starfire, I'm not sure why i've got this in my head, the paint job mine looks much better too.

I'm going to sleep on it for a week, see how I feel. If i do keep mine i think i'll definitely be buying some guild HB1's and removing these fender design one.

Take a look:

mad dog · Jan 26, 2009

J: Does that SF IV play as good as it looks??? If it feels right to you, that's the one to keep. Unless you could actually play them side by side at length, and the other one is better. But in the meantime, that's a beautiful instrument.

jmorrell · Feb 9, 2009

workedinwesterly · Feb 17, 2009

the 96 model should have seymour duncan pickups, stuffed into an HB-1 looking cover. if you take the pickups out it should verify that ( providing an expert didn't get to them before you).
I'm not sure what fender put into the models they build in corona out of westerly parts. Near the the end of westerlys run, fender was not only producing the HB-1 covers but had begun producing the actual pickups as well...the were awful.
The final insult was that they used them on westerly guilds...AND the cost was higher than buying a duncan !!

GAD · Feb 18, 2009

Thank you for posting all those magnificent pictures. They are the best examples of sunburst SF4s I've found.

Well done.

GAD

Guild starfire IV from 2002 or 1996...

jmorrell

Junior Member

jte

Member

krysh

Guildarist in the mod squad

jmorrell

Junior Member

mad dog

Gone But Not Forgotten

jmorrell

Junior Member

workedinwesterly

Gone But Not Forgotten

GAD

Reverential Morlock