BradHK
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2014
- Messages
- 1,031
- Reaction score
- 2,686
Ok, I obviously have GAS issues and LTG does not help! I make the, obvious, mistake of frequently looking at what Guilds are for sale here, Reverb, EBay, Craigslist, etc.. I am particularly susceptible to GAS with 1960’s electric Guilds. I was looking around last Sunday night and came across a black Starfire V. Non traditional colors kick my GAS into overdrive. I sent a message to the seller just out of curiosity, received a response overnight, and pulled the trigger when I woke up. I was nervous as the seller is not an instrument person and price was very reasonable. All of his sales (eBay) were used and new misc electronic equipment. This lack of guitar selling expertise was verified when the guitar showed up yesterday in a retail box for garage shelving. This made me more nervous as I let it acclimate overnight constantly thinking about potential damage from shipping.
I opened the box this morning and there were not ANY packing material around the guitar in the case and the strings were at full tension! Luckily, no damage. I took out the guitar and it was like somebody had played it for a few years, put it away in the case, put the case in the closet and just left it there. Inside the case was a set of vintage Gibson strings from when they were in Kalamazoo, a vintage Bobby Lee guitar strap, picks, an old box of glass tube fuses and a set of keys for the case! The case is original and in great condition with the Guild metal badge. All hinges and the lock work and they are even still shiny.
The guitar had not been cleaned or anything in years it appeared. I did a quick clean and inspection. No binding issues, plenty of room to lower the bridge, all parts appear original, electronics work, no buckle rash, no bad smells, and the finish cleaned up really well. The only issue is that there is a piece on the back of the headstock where it has a line where it sat on something for a while that reacted with the nitro. I knew that before I purchased it so no surprises.
All in all, I am VERY happy. The best part is that it fits in perfect alongside my black Starfire IV! It’s hard to beat a set of vintage black Starfires (Other than constantly wiping off finger marks!). Photos:
The pair together:
I opened the box this morning and there were not ANY packing material around the guitar in the case and the strings were at full tension! Luckily, no damage. I took out the guitar and it was like somebody had played it for a few years, put it away in the case, put the case in the closet and just left it there. Inside the case was a set of vintage Gibson strings from when they were in Kalamazoo, a vintage Bobby Lee guitar strap, picks, an old box of glass tube fuses and a set of keys for the case! The case is original and in great condition with the Guild metal badge. All hinges and the lock work and they are even still shiny.
The guitar had not been cleaned or anything in years it appeared. I did a quick clean and inspection. No binding issues, plenty of room to lower the bridge, all parts appear original, electronics work, no buckle rash, no bad smells, and the finish cleaned up really well. The only issue is that there is a piece on the back of the headstock where it has a line where it sat on something for a while that reacted with the nitro. I knew that before I purchased it so no surprises.
All in all, I am VERY happy. The best part is that it fits in perfect alongside my black Starfire IV! It’s hard to beat a set of vintage black Starfires (Other than constantly wiping off finger marks!). Photos:
The pair together:
