Starfire V with strange serial number

[Guest]

Well i´m the proud owner of a Starfire V with the Serial Number "EN 2326".

But on the serial number list on the guild hp (http://www.guildguitars.com/resources/dating.php) the Starfire V serial numbers run only up to "EN 2272". Thats why asked myself how this could be

Can somebody tell me more about this?

 

[fronobulax]

Well i´m the proud owner of a Starfire V with the Serial Number "EN 2326".

But on the serial number list on the guild hp (http://www.guildguitars.com/resources/dating.php) the Starfire V serial numbers run only up to "EN 2272". Thats why asked myself how this could be

Can somebody tell me more about this?

I'm not an expert but I have been told that the records behind that dating list are not perfect. I was looking at an alleged 1970 M-85 bass. The serial number is BB-xxx. According to the chart if it was really a 1970 it should have had a 5 digit number without the letters. However the serial number was right in sequence if the BB range had continued to 1970. Hans' book supports the assertion that the hollow body M-85 was made in 1970 as well.

Bottom line for me (bass players say that way too often) is that if the only reason to wonder about an instrument is that it doesn't show up on the serial number chart, the the chart is probably wrong.

 

[hansmoust]

Well i´m the proud owner of a Starfire V with the Serial Number "EN 2326".

But on the serial number list on the guild hp (http://www.guildguitars.com/resources/dating.php) the Starfire V serial numbers run only up to "EN 2272". Thats why asked myself how this could be

Can somebody tell me more about this?

Hello nimrod,

First of all, the last serial number from 1969 for Starfire Vs is EN-2278.
What's posted on the Guild dating site is not correct.
Your Starfire V with serial number EN-2326 is from 1970. My database also tells me that your guitar has a Cherry finish.

I'm not an expert but I have been told that the records behind that dating list are not perfect. I was looking at an alleged 1970 M-85 bass. The serial number is BB-xxx. According to the chart if it was really a 1970 it should have had a 5 digit number without the letters. However the serial number was right in sequence if the BB range had continued to 1970. Hans' book supports the assertion that the hollow body M-85 was made in 1970 as well.

Bottom line for me (bass players say that way too often) is that if the only reason to wonder about an instrument is that it doesn't show up on the serial number chart, the the chart is probably wrong.

Hello fronobulax,

The serial number chart from the end of the '60s is not wrong (although there are some mistakes in there) but it's basically incomplete.
Between 1967 and 1969 there were 2 locations where Guild guitars were manufactured, Hoboken, N.J. and Westerly, R.I. With the final move from Hoboken to Westerly the person who was responsible for keeping track of the serial numbers lost track of it all. To solve the problem it was decided during 1970 that Guild would continue with an earlier serial number system that was abandoned in 1965. Unfortunately, nobody made a note of the serial numbers of the guitars that had already been made during 1970.
Consequently, the list only shows the ending numbers from the 'new' system and there are no official totals available for the guitars that were made during the early part of the year 1970. This explains the existence of the 'higher' numbers.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl

 

[fronobulax]

[snip]The serial number chart from the end of the '60s is not wrong (although there are some mistakes in there) but it's basically incomplete.
Between 1967 and 1969 there were 2 locations where Guild guitars were manufactured, Hoboken, N.J. and Westerly, R.I. With the final move from Hoboken to Westerly the person who was responsible for keeping track of the serial numbers lost track of it all.

Thanks. If I had been thinking clearly I would have said incomplete.

Does this mean that an "unlisted" serial number is also likely to have a Hoboken label or is my memory of label styles and changes incorrect?

Thanks.

 

[hansmoust]

Does this mean that an "unlisted" serial number is also likely to have a Hoboken label or is my memory of label styles and changes incorrect? Thanks.

You will find Hoboken labels as well as the later style, which does not mention a location, on instruments from 1970. It depends on how early they got through 'final assembly'.

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
http://www.guitarsgalore.nl