Looking for specs and info 1974 Starfire VI

[GAD]

I think he might have been the guy that was trying to sell reissue HB1's as vintage, but I'm not 100% positive. Only about 85% positive.

I can confirm this. These are the pickups: https://www.gad.net/Blog/2017/09/24/identifying-fake-vintage-guild-hb1s/

If you buy from Bonfires you will get half the guitar for twice the price with three times the attitude.

 

[PapaLeo67]

If you buy from Bonfires you will get half the guitar for twice the price with three times the attitude.

Thanks GAD
What do you think of the pictures I posted above?

 

[GAD]

Thanks GAD
What do you think of the pictures I posted above?

It's looks like a SF6 with well worn gold. What kind of info are you looking for?

 

[PapaLeo67]

It's looks like a SF6 with well worn gold. What kind of info are you looking for?

Just wanted to be sure its real. Im sorry we bought it from someone you guys dont like. His 98% positive reverb feedback with over 6000 sales seemed good enough for me. Of coarse, if I get one whiff of fakeness, I will go after him online and get a refund through Reverb, but the guitar looks beautiful to me in pictures. I was really excited about it until I posted it here.

 

[Guildedagain]

The guitar is gorgeous, and yes the Grovers have been changed to the slightly blockier later castings, which could still be USA manufacture as they look like they have some wear.

It is possible that he did just pick it up and that it is not goofed with.

Ask for a pic of the control cavity, original solder joints are pretty obvious.

The wear on all the gold plated parts matches, I'd say it's cool on a hunch. You can always send it back if something's wrong but it looks ok. If it is as good as it looks, you'd be rescuing from him before he does things to it, so it's like a rescue mission.

Reverb will stand up for you if it isn't as advertised. Post pic of the control cavity.

The back plate should have a serial numbered label affixed.

That's a whole lotta Guild ;]

 

[Default]

Pull the pickups and check the backs to see if he swapped them out for reissues. If he did, the going rate is about six hundred for a pair of vintage HB-1s, unless that has gone up.

 

[Guildedagain]

At a glance it looks unlikely they're swapped because the the matching wear with other parts and trem arm, but not impossible. Since Guild pickups can be swapped without unsoldering, ask to see the backs of the pickups as mentioned, but the guitar looks ok to me.

At the full bore collector price, the pots should be original, and the pot date codes will be in keeping with the year of the guitar, within a few months any in my experience, except with Fender, who supposedly used 1966 pots for a few years as they bought a lot that year, and S6-7-8 serial numbers on the necks, which seemed to last into the early 80's on less commonly sold items like lefty guitars.

 

[GAD]

There's no control cavity or backplate on a Starfire. If there is, then run.

 

[GAD]

Bonfires is definitely not to be trusted, but that doesn't mean the guitar is fake. Give it a good look when and if you get it and post detailed pics of the backs of the pickups if you pull them and we'll tell you what's what. I have a 1976 Starfire VI that's just a gorgeous guitar.

It looks nice from the pics but how it looks, feels, plays, and sounds to you when you get it are all that matter. You didn't mention what you paid (and you don't need to if you don't feel the need) but I would say I hope you sent an offer because his asking price was pretty high.

 

[geoguy]

Congrats, that guitar looks absolutely gorgeous, and I hope you're pleased with the purchase.

 

[cupric]

Trc upside down!

 

[Guildedagain]

Oops, no control cavity. I guess I stared at my modded Starfire too long ;]

 

[Rambozo96]

We all hope the deal works out in the end. It would be crow me and other members would be happy to eat!

 

[fronobulax]

His 98% positive reverb feedback with over 6000 sales seemed good enough for me.

That might not mean what you think it does. Most of those sales are not guitars and it looks like Wayne C. provided multiple ratings for one purchase or bought five tubes, in five separate transactions.

98% positive reviews out of 6000 still means there were about 100 unhappy people. How many of those were guitar buyers?

It is also fairly easy to get positive reviews from people who are compensated for their review.

Part of what seem to be going on is that it sounds like you have already bought the guitar and are looking for feedback on the instrument whereas most of the responses (mine included) are along the lines of "don't trust the seller".

So no one is seeing anything too wrong in the pictures, but you are being advised to pull the pickups and verify that they are vintage pickups and not a modern reproduction.

 

[SFIV1967]

I'm not a Grover expert, but those Rotomatics look like recent tuners (maybe Ralf can chime in). I believe they should look like these:

Yes correct, originally in 1974 they would be that style:

Now BV offers tons of vintage sets for high prices which he obviously removed from vintage guitars (and probably replaced with newer cheaper sets), but to proof it is damn complicated, you would have to contact the previous owner to know what was sold to BV. So I would not worry too much if the newer set works fine.

"Grover gold" in The Bonfires Vintage | Reverb

Shop The Bonfires Vintage on Reverb

reverb.com

Just as example, this set could be the one from the Starfire VI, but how to proof...

Grover Rotomatic guitar tuners 1970 Gold original vintage USA Gibson les paul custom ee345 es355 | Reverb

Worldwide Shipping!Original vintage c 1970 Grover GOLD USA rotomatic guitar tuners for your Gibson les paul custom, es345, es355, SG. Excellent patina, complete with bushings, washers, and screws/Enjoy!

reverb.com

Ralf

 

[Guildedagain]

Had I been buying that guitar and had known that he had vintage sets, I would have asked him to swap the newer ones for the older ones for the sake of correctness, although older ones can be sloppy and with dried out grease = tuning hassles.

Anyway, even for BV, it's hardly worth swapping tuners in an effect to make a couple extra bucks. I don't think vintage tuner sets are exactly flying off the shelves, and at least he has the decency not to sell them one by one, which is even more common.

I've sold a lot of vintage tuners, they're not fast movers.

 

[Guildedagain]

I contacted him about the one and only set of tuners, as posted in link, that is the appropriate set for this guitar, and his response was that he doesn't know what they were off of exactly, and hypothesized "probably a Les Paul Custom", so it's quite likely that he did not take them off of the Starfire unless he really knows how to cover his tracks.

 

[SFIV1967]

"unless he really knows how to cover his tracks."

I'd say he knows very well!
But I totally agree that the set on it now might be much better.
Ralf

 

[Guildedagain]

I personally like the look of the older ones better.

A tough lesson I had with the Grovers on the S100, the 1st set of Grovers I've had in a long time, is that they really do a number on the string end, leaving it curled up like a pig's tail, and unfit for re-use, in fact even a hazard to the headstock - dreaded string end scratches - vs the way the Schaller tuners leave the strings, much less wound up.

By comparison, a string change on a Starfire with harp tailpiece and Schallers is very smooth and pleasurable.

On the S-100, don't even try to slip the curled up string through the tailpiece screwed to the body, I did, but it's a nerve racking job trying not to scratch the body finish, the kind of thing nobody else sees but we can't forget about.

 

[PapaLeo67]

Bonfires is definitely not to be trusted, but that doesn't mean the guitar is fake. Give it a good look when and if you get it and post detailed pics of the backs of the pickups if you pull them and we'll tell you what's what. I have a 1976 Starfire VI that's just a gorgeous guitar.

Hey Guys, Today is the day!!! Ive always wanted one of these and here it is. I have a few questions and concerns, and I may send it back based on not as described. If I sell a guitar, I damn sure photograph everything I think is a flaw. This guy did not. He called it excellent condition, where I would say good condition. Called it original vintage when the tuners are obviously new. Said been in case since new which is a joke. It has a lot of miles. Also called it a 1975 when its really a 74.
Before I took it apart I played it and it does sound good and plays well. Neck is straight and action is excellent. I believe the pickups are original, please confirm.

So anyway, here are my questions and concerns...
What were the frets made out of in 1974??? The fingerboard has a lot of grime on it, but there is no fret wear. Do these look like new frets?
Why would someone change the frets and not clean the fretboard???
The jack is chrome, should it not be gold?
There is a heavy scratch on the neck that almost looks like a crack, but I'm pretty sure its a scratch. I do not like the way the scratch starts exactly where its set in the body. Looks like it was scratched before it was set in the body. Its hard to believe a scratch would start exactly at the joint and not be in the body at all. Its the other end of the scratch that makes me believe its a scratch. I am taking it to my luthier tomorrow to be sure. Not described!!!
There is a small binding crack, but Im not surprised on an almost 50 YO guitar. not described
The smallest abalone inlay is missing. not described
There is a weird black mark on the back near the edge. Almost looks like magic marker. not described
There are tons of normal wear and tear scratches everywhere and some buckle rash. Not described
The way this guy takes pictures, you cant see anything I'm describing.
Here are some cell phone pics. I am now going to clean it really good, restring, and play it a while. Luthier inspection tomorrow. I will take some pics with a real camera and post them over the weekend while I'm deciding. If I send it back it will be a lot cleaner than when he shipped it.
Please let me know your thoughts.