Mahogany or Maple Starfire VI

[jromano]

Hi all,

I've been a fan of the forum and recently joined as I've started getting into vintage Guilds. I currently have a '67 Starfire VI (which I'm selling) and trying to determine if it's maple or highly figured mahogany. At first I assumed maple but upon closer inspection it looks to be mahogany, especially if looking at the back through the f hole (though that could be just part of lamination). The guitar sounds beautifully unplugged and is much more dynamic than other 335 type guitars I've played acoustically. The neck is definitely mahogany. Any ideas or background on mahogany examples which seem to exist? I may end up keeping as it's a great one but trying my best to thin down.

Thanks,

Joey

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome. The rule of thumb for 60's Starfire basses is that factory sunbursts were usually on maple and everything else was probably mahogany. But that's just a place to start and not a definitive answer. But at least at that time the guitars and basses had similar "rules".

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG! Beautiful SF-VI that looks like mahogany to me. Thanks for sharing!

 

[jromano]

 

[GAD]

Beautiful! Looks like ‘hog to me as well.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

The top's horizontal ripples look like maple to me.

 

[mojotro]

FWIW, I've got a '66 Ebony Starfire VI that is definitely maple laminate. A true Gibson 335 killer. Those LB-1s are so tonally different from PAFs or Patent #s.

 

[cupric]

A lot of flame! I would guess maple.

 

[fronobulax]

The top's horizontal ripples look like maple to me.

Mahogany or maple? Does horizontal vs, vertical suggest different wood or different sawing and construction?

I'm not really trying to argue as much as I am trying to understand why what I was told decades ago was wrong.

 

[Boneman]

It might be both, the top is definitely maple. The Guild Guitar book says the VI was maple top, back and sides(some mahogany bodies) in parenthesis like that:


I think you got one of the “some”, looking through the fhole that is surely mahogany.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

The Newark St. line briefly included a Starfire VI in Cherry Red, as well as a Starfire V in that finish. The grain of the V's mahogany and the VI's maple was apparent.

Mahogany Starfire V:

Maple Starfire VI:

 

[powerwagonjohn]

Nice Starfire. That would be a hard one to part with for me what ever kind of wood it is! I have a mahogany 73 Starfire IV and it is a great guitar.
Thanks John

 

[spoox]

With mahogany, even when the pores have been filled with either clear sealer or paste wood filler they should still be visible. If you can't detect pores in the grain then it's most likely maple. On antique mahogany furniture even with a heavy varnish finish the pores are still evident. I have had some pieces
that were highly figured in a way that somewhat resembled flamed maple when there was some crotch grain, but again you would see pores.

 

[jromano]

Nice Starfire. That would be a hard one to part with for me what ever kind of wood it is! I have a mahogany 73 Starfire IV and it is a great guitar.
Thanks John

I’m definitely still not sold on the idea of selling but trying my best to get down to just a couple of pieces. The hard part is I’m already down to the keepers at this point but have a little more ways to go.

 

[chazmo]

Good luck, jromano. That's a very nice Starfire you have. I hope you choose to keep it, but keep our marketplace in mind here if you choose to sell.

Mahogany or maple? Does horizontal vs, vertical suggest different wood or different sawing and construction?

I'm not really trying to argue as much as I am trying to understand why what I was told decades ago was wrong.

Fro, the grain on that bass's top is clearly mahogany, not maple. I think there are cases of striped/flamed mahogany but jromano's guitar does not appear to be mahogany to me. Although a close up, like yours, would be helpful to confirm that.

 

[chazmo]

^ Oh, and I was trying to make a point, but my ossified brain didn't complete the thought...

Grain and figure are related but are basically different features of a slice of wood. For example, quarter-sawn spruce often shows what's called "silking" which is perpendicular to the actual grain of the wood. Some of maple's wildest figuring is really hard to relate to the actual wood grain... Anyway, complicated topic, but valid question(s)!

 

[jromano]

I think you all convinced me to keep it!

 

[jp]

I think you all convinced me to keep it!

I think you made a wise choice. It seems that clean vintage examples of TOTL Guild models are either being sequestered away in collections, or are being posted for ridiculous prices. I know I would regret it if I had a SF VI that nice.

 

[Ixtlan]

I think you all convinced me to keep it!

I think you all convinced me to keep it!

If you like the sounds it makes, keep that thing forever!

 

[Hobbesickles]

I have a '74 Starfive VI with Mahogany and a walnut finish. I think yours in mahogany as well. I've seen flame like that in mahogany but it is uncommon to see. Mine as a flame maple neck/mahogany body. See pics below!