My First American: Westerly Starfire III

[DeArmond Hammer]

I have several Guild guitars, but until today they were all made in Asia under either Guild's name or DeArmond's. I finally broke down this week and pre-spent my federal play money on a Westerly-made Starfire III.

First things first. Can someone please tell me when this guitar was made, with serial number AG302204?

It's a nice guitar. The natural maple finish is beautiful. The truss rod and bridge could use a little tweaking, which I haven't tried yet, but the neck looks good. It sounds great on my first sound test. I try Guilds vicariously through @GAD 's articles, so while awaiting delivery I was already shopping for humbuckers to replace the stock pickups he doesn't much like, but I'm glad I didn't order any. The stock pups gave me great sounds in their trial run on my Vibro Champ. I have the tone rolled back a little on the neck pickup so it's clean and sweet, and the bridge pickup is as spanky as I want from a hollowbody.

Value is important to me. This guitar cost twice as much as I've ever spent on an instrument or amp. After I made my gut-check offer to the seller, I'd have been as relieved to have it declined as I was excited to have it accepted. My playing won't sound twice as good on this guitar as it sounds on my Korean Starfires. Still, this is a great addition to my collection, with a special look and sound, and I appreciate owning this piece of Guild guitar history. I can only hope that it will hold most of its value until someday it joins someone else's collection.

 

[DThomasC]

That's a beautiful guitar, I hope the two of you bond.

Value is important to me. This guitar cost twice as much as I've ever spent on an instrument or amp.

And you would have spent at least twice as much again for a similar quality Gibson.

Welcome to LTG.

 

[bobouz]

The serial number list in my reference book (Gruhn's Guide - Vol 2) only goes up to 1997, so I can only say that yours was made after 1997. The Starfire 3 is a fine guitar, and you have a very nice looking example there - Congrats! Here's a pic of my '97 Starfire 3, with the tailpiece swapped out:

 

[Stuball48]

An, absolutely, beautiful guitar and don't know when yours was made but if it was made in the last year's of Westerly production (Fender control), it will be an amazing SF III. Enjoy your purchase!!

 

[GGJaguar]

Beautiful guitar and one of my favorites, congrats! It appears to have FMIC HB-1s so my guess is that it was made between 1999 and 2001.

 

[Cougar]

My First American: Westerly Starfire III

WELL DONE!!! Gorgeous guitar!

 

[ClaytonS15]

Very nice! I had red Starfire III once and should have kept it. It’s interesting that yours has a Bigsby bridge that is designed for an unwound G string. Mine was the older version for a wound G. Cool.

 

[shihan]

That’s one beautiful blonde! I must admit I’m a little jealous; a ‘90’s SF3 is definitely on my want list. I hope you enjoy that one in good health.

 

[GAD]

Congrats! Based on the looks and that it's a westerly I'd estimate 2000. Hans will know for sure.

The Fender HB1s aren't bad necessarily; they just don't stand up to the vintage HB1s.

So, having only Korean Starfires, what's your reaction to the differences in build quality, look, feel, and sound?

 

[SFIV1967]

I'd estimate 2000.

Hans previously dated AG302223 as year 2000. Also Hans dated AG302017 as one of the last guitars stamped in 1999. So 2204 is clearly year 2000.
Ralf

 

[silverfox103]

That guitar is a beauty. You've got to be a happy man. Haven't heard of a better way to spend the federal $$$. I don't know one way or another, but many here say, guitars that came out of Westerly were the best Guilds.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

It’s interesting that yours has a Bigsby bridge that is designed for an unwound G string. Mine was the older version for a wound G. Cool.

Thanks for pointing that out! I think that's the first bridge I've had like that. I'll be careful how I restring it.

Richard

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Here's a pic of my '97 Starfire 3, with the tailpiece swapped out:

I like how the wood's texture shines through that sunburst! Really pretty.

 

[dreadnut]

Aw, nice!

So how does it compare to the DeArmond Starfire Special? It's lighter, no doubt, for one thing.

 

[bobouz]

I like how the wood's texture shines through that sunburst! Really pretty.

Thanks - Love your natural finish, too!
It’s interesting about the change in the aluminum saddle - hadn’t come across that before.

 

[GAD]

I wish more of my Guildsby-equiped guitars had plain third saddles.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

So, having only Korean Starfires, what's your reaction to the differences in build quality, look, feel, and sound?

So how does it compare to the DeArmond Starfire Special? It's lighter, no doubt, for one thing.

I took them all out tonight to compare, but I now have more Starfires than guitar stands so the new Westerly couldn't join the Koreans in the group photo. Below are, from left to right, the 1999 DeArmond Starfire Special, the 1999 DeArmond Starfire Custom, and the 2017 Guild Newark St. Starfire V.

All my Starfire bodies are 16" wide. The Westerly Starfire III is hollow and 2" thick; my Koreans are all semi-hollow and 1.75" thick.

The hollowbodied Starfire III is the lightest at 7.0 lbs., and the most resonant. The Newark St. Starfire V weighs 8.1 lbs. The blond DeArmond Custom weighs 8.3 lbs. and the red DeArmond Special with Digsby is the heavyweight at 9.3 lbs.

The necks have similar feel and I measure them all as 1-11/16" wide at the nut. The DeArmond necks are slightly chunkier. Near the head, the Guild necks both measure 3/4" thick while the DeArmonds measure 7/8".

My playing tonight was limited and low-volume, but all of these guitars have different voices. The Newark Street LB-1 pickups sound most similar to the single-coil DeArmond 2K pickups on the DeArmond Special. Both guitars sound more vintagy, a bit more nasal than the blond Starfires. The DeArmond 2K pickups have relatively low output but I love their mellow tone.

The Westerly pickups, clear strong noise-free humbuckers, sound more modern. In output and clarity, the Gold Tone humbuckers on the DeArmond Custom are similar, but the Gold Tones have a distinctive response curve. They are known for their brightness, which is controllable with the tone knob. The Gold Tones also have a strong bass response, so their response curve might look scooped compared to that of the Westerly humbuckers.

Cosmetically, these guitars have similar appeal, but the Guild finishes are more eye-catching. These Starfires all have binding around the front, back, and neck, and purfling around the front. The Newark Street fretboard is a paler rosewood, but it has block inlays while the others have dots. There are differences in bridges and tailpieces. I can't say, though, that any of them is superior or inferior to the others. The guitars all play well and seem well built.

I feel fortunate to have these different flavors of Starfire. By the time I reduce the collection, I may have a favorite Starfire, but at this point I like them all and I would probably sell the Guilds before the DeArmonds simply because the market would pay more for the Guilds.

 

[GGJaguar]

Nice comparison! I liked my Starfire Special, but at 9 lbs, I found the weight bothersome.

 

[HeyMikey]

Congratulations! Beautiful addition to your line-up. I’ll tell you though that 7.0 lbs is a heck of a lot more appealing to me these days than 8+ or 9+ lbs. It’s something to keep in the back of your mind as time goes on.

 

[DThomasC]

Very nice review. Thanks.