starfire 4 questions

[12manyaxes]

hi all,

as many here I have been bitten by the guild bug, an infection that results in the insatiable quest for more guilds, in the past I have had a brian setzer blues bird , hated those active pups. a starfire 3 and starfire 2 all of which are gone for various reasons

currently I have a 97 and a 77 bluesbird and have just added an 80 starfire 4. all of which you can have when you pry them from my cold dead hands

I do have some questions about this starfire 4 as it is new to me ,, it sounds wonderful, plays wonderful, and with its tobacco burst, looks wonderful,

its a bit heavy for a semi hollow , am I correct in assuming it is made from mahogany ??

i am also hoping that the pups are vintage style hb1 , they of course look to be but i cant find much info on this year guitar.

it has the harp tailpiece and i would guess it to be built pretty much as a mid 70s model , any info about this guitar would be appreciated ..

ii will try to get a photo up tonight

thanks in advance

 

[AcornHouse]

Here is a page describing the SFIV, with a spec sheet. The body is either mahogany or maple. A pic will help clarify that.
http://westerlyguildguitars.com/guitars/starfireIV.html
As far as the pickups, they might be the Seymour Duncan SD-1s. The way to tell (other than pulling one and looking underneath), is by the adjustment screw spacings and the overall size. GAD did a great writeup explaining the differences and how to tell.
http://www.gad.net/Blog/2011/11/25/guild-full-sized-hb1-and-sd1-pickup-variations/

Look forward to the pics!

 

[GAD]

Need to see pics, but my assumption would be that if it's a sunburst, that it's probably maple. They've got a big center block down the middle, so yeah, they can be heavy. A Starfire II or III with no center block feels like an absolute featherweight by comparison. If it's got the double-hump covers, and they're original from 1980, I'd say it's a safe bet that they're HB1s.

The first Starfire I ever encountered was a band-mate's from high school in 1980. His was a 1979, and it made me a Guild fan forever. The only thing I wish this era of Starfires had was a more modern 1 11/16" neck. Every 70s to early 80s Guild I've played had a smaller 1 5/8" neck. Aside from that, which is a very personal thing, I think they're some of the best guitars ever made.

 

[12manyaxes]

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I am pretty green at posting pics , so here it goes..

I pluged her in to my favorite amp and I really don't know what to say other than , I am complete

 

[GAD]

HB1s. I bet that thing rocks!

The finish looks almost like walnut. The color of the wood in the f-holes looks like maple, though.

What's it say on the label in the f-hole?

 

[12manyaxes]

sf4-sb

 

[dapmdave]

That's the classic dark sunburst from that period (very early 80s). I'm going with maple & HB-1s.

Beautiful!

 

[mcflavin]

I don't think think you should keep that guitar. Something is wrong with it. I think you need to sell it. To me.

 

[12manyaxes]

I don't want to rub it in but I got this thing for 1050. shipped, at first I was worried about its condition having only seen the photos, and the photos didn't show all that nice ,so I was a little worried about what I was getting. (I was afraid for the price it was gonna be a road worn beaten loose, mess)
when I opened the case I almost sh*t, couple of tiny dings on the back & headstock that were mentioned and looked way worse in the photos , I was so happy with the condition that I am still in a good enough mood to visit my inlaws.
I can say that this guitar is hard to take a good photo of. I don't know if its the lighting or just the color scheme but I cant get a picture to show how dam nice this guitar is super nice and I really couldn't be happier

 

[Treem]

Welcome aboard and congratulations 12many! Starfires are one of the many favorites Guilds! No brainer, enjoy!

 

[bblooz]

'80 SF IV Wieght?

I don't want to rub it in but I got this thing for 1050. shipped, at first I was worried about its condition having only seen the photos, and the photos didn't show all that nice ,so I was a little worried about what I was getting. (I was afraid for the price it was gonna be a road worn beaten loose, mess)
when I opened the case I almost sh*t, couple of tiny dings on the back & headstock that were mentioned and looked way worse in the photos , I was so happy with the condition that I am still in a good enough mood to visit my inlaws.
I can say that this guitar is hard to take a good photo of. I don't know if its the lighting or just the color scheme but I cant get a picture to show how dam nice this guitar is super nice and I really couldn't be happier

What is the actual weight of this axe? Like someone stated earlier, the SF III is a true hollow-body and mine weighs 6.5 lbs. My '67 SF IV weighs in at 8.5 lbs. To put a perspective on it, my '65 Gibson ES-335 weighs 8.8 lbs, and one of my Les Pauls is 9.8 (boat anchor).

 

[12manyaxes]

What is the actual weight of this axe? Like someone stated earlier, the SF III is a true hollow-body and mine weighs 6.5 lbs. My '67 SF IV weighs in at 8.5 lbs. To put a perspective on it, my '65 Gibson ES-335 weighs 8.8 lbs, and one of my Les Pauls is 9.8 (boat anchor).

I will weigh it when I get home later , also for good measure I will weigh my solid body 1978 m75.. also quite the boat anchor but its charms for out weigh its weight

 

[12manyaxes]

I will weigh it when I get home later , also for good measure I will weigh my solid body 1978 m75.. also quite the boat anchor but its charms for out weigh its weight

ok. this scale my wife has is a heap.. it reads to tenths of a lb. but needs to be heavier than 50 lbs to register
so I had my son stand on and of with and without the guitars in hand. not super accurate but the results were

starfire 8.8
m75 9.5

 

[12manyaxes]

I will weigh it when I get home later , also for good measure I will weigh my solid body 1978 m75.. also quite the boat anchor but its charms for out weigh its weight

ok. this scale my wife has is a heap.. it reads to tenths of a lb. but needs to be heavier than 50 lbs to register
so I had my son stand on and of with and without the guitars in hand. not super accurate but the results were

starfire 8.8
m75 9.5

 

[bblooz]

ok. this scale my wife has is a heap.. it reads to tenths of a lb. but needs to be heavier than 50 lbs to register
so I had my son stand on and of with and without the guitars in hand. not super accurate but the results were

starfire 8.8
m75 9.5

That's the same way I usually weigh my stuff - probably not super accurate, but close enough. Your numbers sound just about right for these two guitars.

Enjoy,

John ;:^)

 

[dapmdave]

Starfires can be pretty heavy. My '01 comes in at 8.6 lbs. I used to have a '69 that seemed to be even heavier, but I never actually weighed it.

 

[griehund]

FWIW
Newark Street SFIII comes in at 6.11 lbs.

 

[dapmdave]

FWIW
Newark Street SFIII comes in at 6.11 lbs.

But isn't the SFIII hollow? It should be a lot lighter than a 4.

 

[griehund]

But isn't the SFIII hollow? It should be a lot lighter than a 4.

When it first came out "they" said it was hollow. Later they said it was semi hollow cause it has a center bar unlike the Arisocrat. The specs on the Guild web page were not the same as we were told in NH. It's heavier than I expected but nowhere near the Gretsch.

 

[bblooz]

But isn't the SFIII hollow? It should be a lot lighter than a 4.

That is lighter that a IV by about two pounds.