Newark St. Starfire I SC Review

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
Here is my review of this Starfire I SC with GVT in glorious seafoam green that aims to answer the questions, Why are they called Starfire Is?, What the hell is a GVT?, How are they selling Starfires so cheap?And perhaps the most important question of all, How do they sound?

Read along while I spend too many words examining everything down to the solder joints on this very green Guild Starfire I SC

Review: https://www.gad.net/Blog/2020/05/31/guild-newark-st-starfire-sc-review/

Guild-Starfire-I-SC-TopFull.jpg
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
As always please PM me with any errata. Thanks!
 

matsickma

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2005
Messages
4,280
Reaction score
1,028
Location
Coopersburg, PA
Looking forward to when mine arrives along with a blue DC model.
In terms of naming convention I think Cordoba could have taken the simplicity of the DeArmond naming convention. Just call them Starfires with the appropriate suffix(s).

Fun read GAD. Thanks!
M
 

shihan

Senior Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Jan 18, 2013
Messages
1,540
Reaction score
796
Location
Ventura CA
Really fun review. I usually read these more than once; there’s a lot of information to absorb.
Thanks for taking the time to do all that work!
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
Great review again! The wiring looks worse than the 80ies wiring in Guild guitars! 😂 Unbelievable how such soldering can be quality approved! Hopefully somebody from CMG reads and sees this to do corrective actions there.

Ralf
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
Very nice. As usual I was annoyed at your incomplete characterization of Starfire naming faux-pas. I decided, since you do weigh evidence, I was going to back up my point with catalogs, price lists and literature. Guess what? I think I am wrong. I can find no example of Guild literature that calls the basses Starfire (or SF) I or II without also using the word "Bass". So, according to Guild, Starfire I refers to a six string guitar. I will stop blaming Guild for using Starfire I ambiguously and getting annoyed with authors who follow Guild's lead. This post is so people have something to point to the next time I forget and claim Guild called a Starfire II Bass a Starfire II and thus added to the naming horror stories.
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
Thanks all!

Great review again! The wiring looks worse than the 80ies wiring in Guild guitars! 😂 Unbelievable how such soldering can be quality approved! Hopefully somebody from CMG reads and sees this to do corrective actions there.

The '80s wiring is haphazard in wiring layout, but more or less otherwise sound. This looks like someone went out of their way to irritate someone like me.
 

walrus

Reverential Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
23,956
Reaction score
8,019
Location
Massachusetts
Entertaining and informative, as usual! Thanks for all the great info!

walrus
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
Very nice. As usual I was annoyed at your incomplete characterization of Starfire naming faux-pas. I decided, since you do weigh evidence, I was going to back up my point with catalogs, price lists and literature. Guess what? I think I am wrong. I can find no example of Guild literature that calls the basses Starfire (or SF) I or II without also using the word "Bass". So, according to Guild, Starfire I refers to a six string guitar. I will stop blaming Guild for using Starfire I ambiguously and getting annoyed with authors who follow Guild's lead. This post is so people have something to point to the next time I forget and claim Guild called a Starfire II Bass a Starfire II and thus added to the naming horror stories.

I'm glad because I'm 100% guilty of forgetting about the basses. I'm glad you did the leg work to ensure that it didn't matter. :)
 

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
I should also note that this review pushed all the others down a notch because it's a current guitar that a lot of people are talking about. I kind of missed the boat when I got a Jetstar and didn't immediately write about it, so I figured I should try and get this one done quickly.

Back to photographing holographic sparkles. :cool:
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
By the way, those B500k tone pots are ALPHA pots but made in Korea by Jin Sung as far as I found from various sources on the internet. ALPHA sells both Taiwanese and Korean made pots as it looks.
Ralf
 
Last edited:

GAD

Reverential Morlock
Über-Morlock
Joined
Feb 11, 2009
Messages
22,582
Reaction score
17,799
Location
NJ (The nice part)
Guild Total
112
By the way, those B500k tone pots are ALPHA pots but made in Korea also by Jin Sung as far as I found from various sources on the internet. ALPHA sells both Taiwanese and Korean made pots as it looks.
Ralf

Interesting. Few things irritate me like completely unmarked or uselessly marked electronics. Like this, for example.
Guild-NS-HB2-Back.jpg



My Nightbird DX has Dimarzios that are completely unmarked aside from the brand:

Guild-1991-Nightbird-DX-BridgePickup-Back_1600.jpg


That's just ARRRGHHH! Don't they realize that someone will be trying to figure out what they are 30 years in the future? Yeesh.
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
Few things irritate me like completely unmarked or uselessly marked electronics. Like this, for example.
That's just ARRRGHHH! Don't they realize that someone will be trying to figure out what they are 30 years in the future? Yeesh.
At least even if the sticker is gone you still see the BH logo (minus the Korea however...so it could be Chinese as well) and the F for Front. That's at least something...
If a SD pickup has no label you also don't know what it is.

1591025382082.png


By the way, I'm pretty sure the push pull volume pots are also Alpha pots made by Jin Sung in Korea.

1591025551664.png


Compare: https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32336890045.html

Ralf
 

amnicon

Member
Joined
May 3, 2009
Messages
360
Reaction score
159
Guild Total
6
The versatility of the split coils looks great. Now I only have to hope in future model years they make a color I can get behind.
 
Top