My First American: Westerly Starfire III

[Default]

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

Tubesandmore.com has them!

 

[DThomasC]

Yeah. I advised GAD to get one, but it didn't fit on his bridge. (Don't remember exactly what model.) I think the hole spacing was a little off.

Anyway, I use one on a Bigsby 'Sorkin' bridge, so maybe it's possible to buy an entire new Bigsby bridge that will fit the plain G saddle? Maybe Guild didn't always (ever) use genuine Bigsby bridges?

 

[Default]

It fit on my Westerly bridges, didn't fit on the 1968 SFIII bridge. You can buy the wheels and bridge at the same place, though.

 

[GAD]

The post-to-post distance was wrong.

 

[dreadnut]

Man, that is some beautiful flame on your SF III! I bet it sounds great!

Thanks for the review. Yeah, I love my DA Starfire Special, but at 9+ lb. my friend says "It's heavier than a dead preacher." I must say though, the workmanship is impeccable and it absolutely screams with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. Works pretty well on Georgia Satellites "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" through my Fender Super Champ tube amp, LOL!

Interesting to know that the DA's bodies are 1/4" thicker than the Guilds. Probably because the DA's are only semi-hollowbodies?

I'm really Jonesing after a Westerly Starfire II. I still regret not buying the NOS black one from my local music store for $900 a few years back.

 

[GGJaguar]

Thanks for the review. Yeah, I love my DA Starfire Special, but at 9+ lb. my friend says "It's heavier than a dead preacher."

My memory is fuzzy, but didn't they have an agathis center block? Every guitar from the late '90s that had anything to do with agathis seemed to weigh a ton.

I'm really Jonesing after a Westerly Starfire II.

Highly recommended! I find I play my '97 SF-II more than my '97 SF-III. Sometimes ya just don't need a Guildsby.

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Man, that is some beautiful flame on your SF III! I bet it sounds great!

Thanks for the review. Yeah, I love my DA Starfire Special, but at 9+ lb. my friend says "It's heavier than a dead preacher." I must say though, the workmanship is impeccable and it absolutely screams with Ernie Ball Power Slinkys. Works pretty well on Georgia Satellites "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" through my Fender Super Champ tube amp, LOL!

Interesting to know that the DA's bodies are 1/4" thicker than the Guilds. Probably because the DA's are only semi-hollowbodies?

I'm really Jonesing after a Westerly Starfire II. I still regret not buying the NOS black one from my local music store for $900 a few years back.

Lol about the dead preacher, but it's a great guitar anyway. It feels so solid, and I have a thing for those DeArmond 2K pickups. Those pickups were the reason I noticed (and bought) my first DeArmond guitar, the 12-string green slab in my profile pic.

Coincidentally, my streaming service brought up some music I liked yesterday, and when I looked for a video of the band I saw the guitarist playing a DeArmond Starfire Special. Check out Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, with Phil Wandscher on lead guitar:



And just to clarify, my DeArmonds and Starfire V are all semihollow and their bodies are all 1/4" thinner than my hollowbody Starfire III. The DeArmond necks, though, are both 1/8" chunkier than the Guild necks. They all feel fine to me.

Richard

 

[GAD]

Guild Starfires changed body depth over the years, so different eras have different thicknesses. Here's a 2000 SFIV next to a 1973 SFIV as an example:

 

[GAD]

And here's a '98 next to a '00:

 

[M.S.Cone]

Great guitar! My looks very similar, a ‘97 Starfire II with a Bigsby. Those Westerly Guild electrics are really nice.