Starfire II '62 in Honey Amber with Dynasonics

[Mapleman54]

Added to the collection this week, purely for the love of dynasonics! You can see I'm doing a quick spec-check in 'The Source'!! (thanks Hans for that wonderful book!) Serial number BTW is 20358. The pickups wonderful, frets not! Also the non-original bridge needs work. Case appears original.

 

[GGJaguar]

Nice! Can't go wrong with that one, congrats!

 

[Mapleman54]

Nice! Can't go wrong with that one, congrats!

Thank you! I said it was for the dynasonics, but it was really because it was a Guild (with dynasonics)!

 

[sailingshoes72]

Very cool guitar! Congratulations! I think that this is the first guitar that I have seen with the Honey Amber finish color. Beautiful!

 

[Steve Messenger]

It's a beaut ... reminds me of my '61 SF III ( I love them Dynasonics, too ... my other electric is a Dyna-equipped M-70)

 

[Mapleman54]

It's a beaut ... reminds me of my '61 SF III ( I love them Dynasonics, too ... my other electric is a Dyna-equipped M-70)

That’s a beautiful SFIII!

 

[Shakeylee]

nice model 2000s!!!
that is the ultimate guitar

 

[DeArmond Hammer]

Also the non-original bridge needs work.

Are you sure the bridge is non-original? It looks like the Hagstrom AdjustoMatic bridges shown on p. 32 and p. 75 of the Book of Hans.

 

[Mapleman54]

Are you sure the bridge is non-original? It looks like the Hagstrom AdjustoMatic bridges shown on p. 32 and p. 75 of the Book of Hans.

Yeah quite right it does look like it. But I have the Hagstrom unit on 2 other guitars and it’s a bit different, especially the rosewood base which is much finer.

 

[Mapleman54]

Yeah quite right it does look like it. But I have the Hagstrom unit on 2 other guitars and it’s a bit different, especially the rosewood base which is much finer.

Bit busy as recording today … I’ll take some comparative pics and post soon as I can.

 

[Mapleman54]

nice model 2000s!!!
that is the ultimate guitar

Thanks! I’m going to love this guitar… just a bit of fret work to do.

 

[hansmoust]

Are you sure the bridge is non-original? It looks like the Hagstrom AdjustoMatic bridges shown on p. 32 and p. 75 of the Book of Hans.

Take a closer look at Mapleman's photo! That's an aftermarket Gibson-style tune-o-matic bridge!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[Mapleman54]

nice model 2000s!!!
that is the ultimate guitar

I think the Dearmond 2000 was a Fender iteration of the classic Dearmond Dynasonic wasn’t it? These are the original pickups and looking at the wiring it’s pretty conclusive they’ve not been off the guitar, so I think I can safely say they are Dynasonic originals from 1962. On one of my other guitars from the era (Starfire V ‘63) there are also Dynasonics, and when the neck pu went dead, Marc at Mojo pickups in the U.K. beautifully rewound it, so I had a good look at the underside and wiring, making me pretty confident these have never been touched. Sorry to ramble .. interesting topic, thanks!

 

[Walter Broes]

2000 is what the originals were called in DeArmond literature, the pickups people now generally refer to as "dynasonics" (which was really Gretsch catalog-speak for "DeArmond 2000)
Nice guitar!

 

[SFIV1967]

I think that this is the first guitar that I have seen with the Honey Amber finish color. Beautiful!

mbrindell used to have such an Amberstar II:

Curious here. What is your favorite color Starfire

Hi Guys, Out of all the colors Guild used on their Starfires over the years. What's your favorite? Here's mine. But we also have these stunning colors not counting walnut, blond and sunburst... From left to right, Cherry red, Ebony grain, Amber and the two Greenies.

letstalkguild.com

2000 is what the originals were called in DeArmond literature, the pickups people now generally refer to as "dynasonics" (which was really Gretsch catalog-speak for "DeArmond 2000)

Just to back this up, here is the 1965 catalog page from DeArmond:


This page is from GADs great blog post about that topic: https://www.gad.net/Blog/2020/02/01/identifying-dearmond-200-2000-2k-pickups/

Ralf

 

[Brian J]

Congratulations. I love the DeArmond pickups. Here's my only Guild with them.

 

[Mapleman54]

mbrindell used to have such an Amberstar II:

Curious here. What is your favorite color Starfire

Hi Guys, Out of all the colors Guild used on their Starfires over the years. What's your favorite? Here's mine. But we also have these stunning colors not counting walnut, blond and sunburst... From left to right, Cherry red, Ebony grain, Amber and the two Greenies.

letstalkguild.com

Just to back this up, here is the 1965 catalog page from DeArmond:


This page is from GADs great blog post about that topic: https://www.gad.net/Blog/2020/02/01/identifying-dearmond-200-2000-2k-pickups/

Ralf

Awesome info Ralf, thanks very much, I never knew that! And thanks for the GAD link too - really useful!

 

[BradHK]

Beautiful Starfire! Very similar to my 1962 Starfire II. I love those pickups in that guitar.

I have a question regarding Honey Amber. I see that some are clearly marked in the f-hole as Honey Amber the same way I have seen Cherry and others noted on the label. However, there are also many that do not have any color code on the label (my Starfire III is clearly cherry but no color is listed on the label). I have a 1962 Starfire II that I have always assumed was a really faded cherry. It has no color noted on the label. However, from looking at some of these photos and the guitar, I am leaning toward Honey Amber rather than a faded cherry. Below are some pics of my 1966 Starfire III in cherry and my 1962 Starfire II two side by side. Thoughts on the color? Sorry for the slight thread hijack!

 

[hansmoust]

Below are some pics of my 1966 Starfire III in cherry and my 1962 Starfire II two side by side. Thoughts on the color?

They both look like Cherry finished Starfire models to me.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl