Need Starfire III Westerly neck dimensions pls

[wintonead]

Hi Guild fans.

I've always loved the look of a Starfire iii and after being frustrated by Gretsch's MIJ wide/thin necks (my Setzer hot rod being an exception) I bought a 2000 Corona SF III.

It's a great guitar and I love everything about it, however its neck is just a bit too wide for the depth and gives me wrist pain. Here's what I measured.

21mm deep at first fret (measured next to fret)
23.14mm deep at 9th fret
43.9mm wide at nut
51.68mm wide at 9th

Ideally I'd need slightly narrower at the 9th by 1mm and 23.5mm-24mm depth there.

I've since seen a Westerly SFIII online but the measurements are sketchy.

Does anyone here mind measuring their 90's SF III with calipers?

Thanks! Here's a pic of my barely played SF

 

[GAD]

Look around here. Almost every guitar has neck dimensions:

GAD's Guilds | GAD's Ramblings

GAD's Guilds: One man's obsession with Guild electric guitars and his quest to buy and review them all. Reviews, sound clips, wiring diagrams, and more.

gadsguilds.com

 

[wintonead]

Thanks I have seen that site but it has only the dimensions at the nut/first fret and I find the 9th fret measurements to make a bigger difference to the feel of a neck.

 

[GGJaguar]

Does anyone here mind measuring their 90's SF III with calipers?

Here are the measurements for my '97 SF II and '97 SF III, respectively:

Nut: 41mm wide, 23.4mm deep and 42.1mm wide, 22.6mm deep
9th fret: 48.3mm wide, 24.1mm deep and 49.8mm wide and 23.6mm deep

Hope this helps.

 

[wintonead]

That SF II sounds perfect!

 

[GAD]

Thanks I have seen that site but it has only the dimensions at the nut/first fret and I find the 9th fret measurements to make a bigger difference to the feel of a neck.

Every guitar has measurements at the nut, 5th, 7th, and 12th frets. If a specific article does not let me know which. It’s probably an older article and I may have the measurements elsewhere.

 

[wintonead]

@GGJaguar thank you! Are the neck angle the same on both? Meaning is the bridge the same height on the SFII so a bigsby can be added?

 

[GGJaguar]

@GGJaguar thank you! Are the neck angle the same on both? Meaning is the bridge the same height on the SFII so a bigsby can be added?

Yes!

 

[Greenstar]

Your 2000 model looks really nice! I'm currently looking for a 60's SF III after I read GAD's excellent article about his. I had a pristine 68 several years ago that I foolishly sold and I've been looking for a comparable guitar ever since.

GAD's article about his 90's SF III has now confused the issue however.

 

[GAD]

Your 2000 model looks really nice! I'm currently looking for a 60's SF III after I read GAD's excellent article about his. I had a pristine 68 several years ago that I foolishly sold and I've been looking for a comparable guitar ever since.

GAD's article about his 90's SF III has now confused the issue however.

I love the ‘90s Starfires but they’re definitely more robust than the ‘60s models.

 

[Greenstar]

I love the ‘90s Starfires but they’re definitely more robust than the ‘60s models.

By robust do you mean a heavier build? I went back and read all of your SF III articles again, the soundclips are very helpful. I'm talking to a few different sellers at the moment about a few 90's and 60's models. Your info about the SD pickups in certain 90's models was really interesting.

 

[GAD]

By robust do you mean a heavier build? I went back and read all of your SF III articles again, the soundclips are very helpful. I'm talking to a few different sellers at the moment about a few 90's and 60's models. Your info about the SD pickups in certain 90's models was really interesting.

Yes. The '60s and even Newark St. Starfire IIIs feel almost flimsy to me by comparison, but the '60s Starfires especially with the old wood and the killer pickups just can't be beat if that's what you're after.

 

[HeyMikey]

Nobody has mentioned yet that even though there may be generalities for given years and factories there is still a lot of individual variation. If neck dimensions are that important to you (as they are to me) you have to ask the seller to take measurements.

Often they will simply look at online specs for the same model and regurgitate it in their ad. Never assume the specs are correct without having them actually measure it themselves. Even better is to also have them provide a couple key pictures, as sellers don’t always know how to measure properly.

 

[Guilblues]

I'm not sure about the Starfire single cuts. But the double cuts seem to have no standard. I've been looking for a Starfire IV, V or VI with the neck dimensions of my preference. But I have found guitars made in the same year, with different neck sizes. Either the sellers can't measure or there was no set standard.

In my case, your neck would probably be a better fit than some thin nut ones. 43mm nut is a bare minimum for me. I also like a wider neck, so I can have more string spacing. But it's frustrating looking for the right guitar online when there seems to be no set standard by model or year.

I'm now asking seller for photos of a caliper measuring neck neck, in addition to just the values. So I can kind of see myself how big it is. But even then. The angle of the photo and some people just have no clue on how to measure a neck, makes it very frustrating. Maybe you experience has been different.