NGD - 1970 Starfire IV Black

[BradHK]

Today is a really good day. I just unboxed my new guitar and it is better than I expected. It is a 1970 Starfire IV in black. Not the Ebony where you can see the grain but a gloss black. The neck is just a hair under 1 11/16” but It feels more full in my hand than my other mid to late 60’s electric Guilds. The action is low with some room to lower and it plays and sounds fabulous. I hate ordering guitars remote where you can’t pick them up and play them and I am always worried there will be issues (and I have had issues!). However, all is perfect and I am a happy man today!

I purchased this from an older established guitar store in Japan and they did a great job packing and shipping. Some of you have probably seen this same guitar listed recently by multiple people on eBay for crazy prices. I found it listed on the store’s Japanese website, had them take specific photos to verify condition (and to ensure they had the guitar), and bought it direct for much less than the price being asked for by the middle men who don’t even own the guitar.

The serial number is EL 2283 and it is a Hoboken label. Anybody know if this was actually made in Hoboken or if this was just an old label being utilized?

pictures below:

 

[walrus]

Black beauty! Love it!

walrus

 

[hansmoust]

The serial number is EL 2283 and it is a Hoboken label. Anybody know if this was actually made in Hoboken or if this was just an old label being utilized?

Hello Brad,

That's a Westerly-made guitar.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[GAD]

Today is a really good day. I just unboxed my new guitar and it is better than I expected. It is a 1970 Starfire IV in black. Not the Ebony where you can see the grain but a gloss black. The neck is just a hair under 1 11/16” but It feels more full in my hand than my other mid to late 60’s electric Guilds. The action is low with some room to lower and it plays and sounds fabulous. I hate ordering guitars remote where you can’t pick them up and play them and I am always worried there will be issues (and I have had issues!). However, all is perfect and I am a happy man today!

I purchased this from an older established guitar store in Japan and they did a great job packing and shipping. Some of you have probably seen this same guitar listed recently by multiple people on eBay for crazy prices. I found it listed on the store’s Japanese website, had them take specific photos to verify condition (and to ensure they had the guitar), and bought it direct for much less than the price being asked for by the middle men who don’t even own the guitar.

The serial number is EL 2283 and it is a Hoboken label. Anybody know if this was actually made in Hoboken or if this was just an old label being utilized?

pictures below:

Gorgeous guitar!

I'd love more insight on your process. Is speaking Japanese required for success?

 

[BradHK]

Gorgeous guitar!

I'd love more insight on your process. Is speaking Japanese required for success?

The hard part was finding the guitar. I knew it was listed somewhere for sale in Japan by the actual owner (due to the multiple eBay post) but no idea how to find it. I found a link to the Japanese version of reverb and it was listed there so that gave me the store’s details. I then went to their website and searched for Guild and there it was. It’s been a few weeks so I would have to search again to find that Japanese “reverb“ site. The store had an inquiry button for international orders on their website. All correspondence in English so no issues not speaking Japanese. I had to fill out some customs papers through FedEx but no other issues. The difficult part would have been if it arrived damaged or something.

 

[HeyMikey]

Beautiful guitar and quite the process to acquire it. Sounds like it was well with the effort. Congrats!

 

[sailingshoes72]

Congratulations! That is a beauty. I like the silver hardware against the high gloss black finish. Enjoy!

 

[GGJaguar]

Looks great, congrats! Does it have a maple or mahogany body?

 

[BradHK]

Looks great, congrats! Does it have a maple or mahogany body?

Maple body

 

[pmarinovich]

It's a beautiful instrument. Congrats.

Really, I don't worry so much about buying used guitars online, because it's so easy to set up a Reverb account and flip it. You might take a little loss, but it opens up a huge world of possibilities.

 

[Opsimath]

That is stunnung! Glad it worked out so well!

 

[shihan]

You took a chance and it worked out beautifully, congratulations! That guitar is well worth taking a chance on.
well done!

 

[mushroom]

Wow what a beauty.
Congratulations!

 

[Aristocrater]

Quite a looker!

 

[Rickenmaxer]

Amazingly clean for a 51 year-old guitar. Congratulations on that beauty!

 

[Jeff Haddad]

Beautiful, worth the effort! Congrats!

 

[fronobulax]

The hard part was finding the guitar. I knew it was listed somewhere for sale in Japan by the actual owner (due to the multiple eBay post) but no idea how to find it. I found a link to the Japanese version of reverb and it was listed there so that gave me the store’s details. I then went to their website and searched for Guild and there it was. It’s been a few weeks so I would have to search again to find that Japanese “reverb“ site. The store had an inquiry button for international orders on their website. All correspondence in English so no issues not speaking Japanese. I had to fill out some customs papers through FedEx but no other issues. The difficult part would have been if it arrived damaged or something.

Considering the discussion of Japanese "brokers" this post is a good "how to" avoid the broker. Thank you.

 

[SFIV1967]

Considering the discussion of Japanese "brokers" this post is a good "how to" avoid the broker. Thank you.

Yes, but that obviously mostly only works if the seller is a reputable big store who knows how to deal with international shipments. A lot of stores in the big cities like Tokyo speak English and ship internationally. But there are also enough private sellers or small local shops where it would be much more difficult to convince them to ship it abroad.
Ralf

 

[Treem]

Congratulations, she's a beauty! Wow!

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

Ooh, with the Guild Adjusto-matic Bridge!

Although they can be a little sharp for palm muting.