What did you do to your Newark St. guitar?

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Hello all,

I'm new to the forum having recently picked up a 2017 Guild Starfire IV ST (Newark St. Collection). I am very impressed with the quality of the guitar so far, however, I am feeling the urge to upgrade some of the replaceable parts to a more higher quality.

A few of my thoughts so far:

1. Changing the toggle switch tip from the stock orange plastic tip is not as simple as I first thought: I recently purchased a 3.5mm Nickel replacement from eBay where I found the internal diameter to be too large. After a thorough web search, it seems to be impossible to find a smaller, 3mm switch tip anywhere leaving me stuck with a cheap looking plastic tip, or the option to replace the entire switch to a higher quality?

2. Changing the volume/tone pots would likely be a problem: As far as I understand, the knobs found on Newark St. guitars are designed to fit 'import' (Alpha?) pots, and therefore, wouldn't fit a USA equivalent such as CTS?

3. As discussed elsewhere on the forum, upgrading the tune-o-matic bridge proves to be difficult with 9.5" radius guitars as third-party bridges tend to be designed for flatter radii.

4. Bone nut: It's great to see a bone nut material on these guitars, however, the slots cut on my Starfire IV are incredibly narrow. This seems to cause the string to catch and leave the guitar out of tune, especially following big bends etc.

Seeing as both the electronics and hardware on these models is mostly generic to the entire line of Newark St. guitars, I would be really keen to hear of any successful upgrades done by other members in regard to the above, or any other parts on the guitar.

Len
 

AcornHouse

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Job #1 is the nut. They do fretwork better than Gibson, but, sadly, they do nut work worse than Gibson (who is also horrible there.)
 

Quantum Strummer

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Unless there's a specific issue with the Guild TOM-alike I'd keep it. Same with the pots, though if you're into high value "500K" pots—like the 525K & similar variants on offer—it might be worth the hassle. Widening the nut slots, yes…for whatever reason the NS slots are a bit narrow even for 10s, and a PITA for 11s without some slot filing.

-Dave-
 

fronobulax

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My search fu is taking Valentine's Day off, but we have talked about the toggle switch tip and I think someone posted dimensions and a part number that should work (or worked for them).

There are a couple of threads about replacing wiring and pots in hollow bodies. All I really remember is that acquarium tubing makes the job much easier. I seem to recall a report that the factory pots on a Starfire bass would not fit through the f hole so the process was harder than expected.
 

adorshki

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I seem to recall a report that the factory pots on a Starfire bass would not fit through the f hole so the process was harder than expected.
"Corroborated".
Believe it was Lungimsam, ah, here we go:
https://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/s...-Starfire-I-bass-Tips-Tricks&highlight=tubing
He also did one on shielding which might be of interest to Len:
https://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/s...-Starfire-I-bass-Tips-Tricks&highlight=tubing
FWIW even the thread on how he maximized tone on his NS-SF bass may have some relevance:
https://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/s...opened-up-!-Roars-now!/page2&highlight=tubing
:smile:
 

JohnW63

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Does the OP have a bass ? I think his is a 6 string, so don't go to far afield with bass links.
 

fronobulax

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Does the OP have a bass ? I think his is a 6 string, so don't go to far afield with bass links.

They don't and I'm sure they understand that the bass comments were made in the spirit of things to watch out for. Perhaps I missed the thread where someone reported that they had changed the pots on a NS Starfire guitar and reported that both the old and replacement pots did, or did not, fit through the f hole?
 

DThomasC

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I dressed the nut slots slightly on my NS Aristocrat. I haven't had the urge to change anything else, and I'm not afraid to make an instrument my own.
 

DrumBob

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I have the same guitar as you, OP, and have done nothing to it other than play it a lot at home and gig it regularly, as I did last night. It's simply the best playing guitar I own. It needs nothing. It plays great today, it played great right out of the box, it sounds killer, and I have no plans whatsoever to upgrade anything, even the open back tuners. It stays in tune all night on gigs with just the occasional tweak between songs. I get compliments all the time from other musicians on it's sound and appearance. It's my favorite guitar. It's reliable and it has never let me down, and I own other high end instruments that stay at home. This $1100 Starfire is the one.

I always wanted an ES-335. This Starfire IV scratches that itch. Maybe I just got an exceptionally good one, as I have heard others here complain about the Newark Series Guilds. I have a feeling that most of the complaints are from the few individuals here who don't like anything other than Guilds built in the USA. As far as I'm concerned, that's their problem.

I decided to buy a SF-IV ST after watching a video Cordoba made of two guys jamming on what sounded like "Strange Brew," the old Cream tune. I remember thinking that the Starfire IV really nailed that old Clapton tone. That was the period in time that Clapton sounded best, IMO.
 

Mark WW

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I am like a parrot. My SF VI needed nothing other than a minor set up by my luthier. I read a lot of bad press about these but I guess based on the bad reviews I just got lucky. But my theory is there were a few with issues that got by QC and we hear about the same guitars repeatedly until it becomes a fact. But that is my personal theory and I am certainly not trying to persuade anyone. The neck on these could be a little chunkier for my purposes but then again just personal preference and I am for sure in the minority when it comes to chunky necks.

But it needed nothing changed. It is a player as is.
 

Default

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The SF-lV I had was a pretty good guitar. To my knowledge, it was the first one sold in the Philly area. 8th Street Music had not even taken it out of the box. The nut was the only physical issue it had. It was way too high.
 

adorshki

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They don't and I'm sure they understand that the bass comments were made in the spirit of things to watch out for. Perhaps I missed the thread where someone reported that they had changed the pots on a NS Starfire guitar and reported that both the old and replacement pots did, or did not, fit through the f hole?
That ]was the first link, it was also the one with "wiring trick" using aquarium tubing.
The 2nd one had generic relevance to the issue of shielding; the 3rd to the importance of sting height, bridge height vis-à-vis break angle; and string height over poles.
I was pretty sure OP would understand it was the concepts not the specific measurements relevant to bass that were important.
:tranquillity:

Also, the OP's only asking what folks have done to their NS-SFs; not that he had any major issues with it, they're primarily cosmetic, except for bridge and nut and that is in fact a genuine recurring problem.
And it's not constantly repeated by folks who don't like anything but US-built Guilds, it's from folks who bought 'em and kept 'em and just want to tweak 'em to their own personal preferences.
Much like even the US-built "loyalists" are known to swap out pickups and some consider Fender HB's to be not quite as good as Guild HB's.
 
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Walter Broes

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1.jpg

What I did to my Newark Street Guild? Plenty.

-Vintage Franz pickups under new covers.

-moved to the bridge pickup more towards the bridge, where it sits on a vintage X175.

-It has four CTS 500K pots, switchcraft jack and switch. One tone pot is a push-pull type that switches the pickups out of phase.

-The new pots are solid shaft, and I put big black Daka Ware stove knobs on them.

-USA Guild Bigsby that I put a '56 style "duane eddy" arm on. I also drilled a hole in the bottom of the Bigsby's spring cup, wood screw goes through that into the guitar's top and bracing.

-The bridge base is screwed to the guitar's top with two tiny (tuner) screws.

-The bridge is a custom item by small Indonesian hardware maker "Aldridge". It's sort of a cross between a heavy duty tune-a-matic and a melita, all brass with a chrome plated bridge body. the saddles bolt into place once intonated. It has a 9.5" radius and adds quite a bit of punch to the guitar.

-I made a multi layer pickguard for the guitar - this one is kind of sloppy, and I need to make a better one.

-I replaced the tuners with Grover "milk bottle" rotomatics, and I replaced the buttons on those with Kolb-diamond shaped buttons.

The guitar didn't really NEED any of these mods - it was pretty great as it came, if you work the nut a little bit for your preferred string gauge/neck relief.

I sort of reworked the guitar to be a backup for my oldies and the guitar I take on flying gigs when I prefer to take my oldies at home - one of the reasons that everything that normally floats is screwed down tight. Has worked great so far.
 

DThomasC

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I dressed the nut slots slightly on my NS Aristocrat. I haven't had the urge to change anything else, and I'm not afraid to make an instrument my own.

Shamefully, I completely forgot that I reworked the Grover Sta-Tite tuners. The ones that came on the guitar were not just tight, but sticky; they required a comparatively large amount of torque to start them turning. After that, at least until tuning was complete, they were merely 'tight.'

Other people reported liking these tuners, so I bought a replacement set from Stew-Mac. They had the same problem. So... I took them apart. I found that the problem is in a nylon crush washer. This washer literally gets crushed into shape when installed. I replaced them with a couple of 'wavy washers' and a brass shim. Now, the turners are a joy to use.

Truth is, I fixed only three of the six tuners because I wanted to see if the change really was an improvement. The answer is a resounding yes. When I get around to changing the other three I'll document it and put it in a post in the tech section.
 

GSFV

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I have a SF V. I've done a few reversible mods to to. And ultimately put it back to stock. If your nut slots are narrow then definitely need fixing. To me, it'd be priority number one. Mine was good straight from the factory. I wouldn't worry about the switch tip. I'd just replace the whole thing honestly. My pots have always been scratchy, but the ones that scratch I rarely use. So hasn't been a necessary fix for me just yet. My switch needed some hefty cleaning (I think Deoxit took care of it, but it was multiple uses).

Long term I think I'll switch out all the pots. But you gotta make sure that you get metric ones because the knobs won't fit over american pots. I for one firmly believe that the guild shield knobs must remain on the guitar. Lol. If you agree, then make sure you get the metric ones. I also like the crappy looking switch tip...but it stands out against my White SFV. I think it looks cook, but I do understand that it might not look good on some of the other colors. Totally subjective.

Overall it's been an amazing guitar!! I wish I could swap out the pickups. Not because these are bad, but just because i'd like to hear some options and keep possibilities open. I feel boxed in knowing I really can't change 'em. I realistically have no need to switch them out. Probably more of a physiological thing. I love it. For sure! I'm glad that you are enjoying yours as well.
 

JohnW63

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I haven't changed anything on mine but the strings. I put flat wounds on it, because I'm working on jazz tunes. On both the X-175s I have, the switch is the one thing I touch a lot that feels a bit " budget ". I may replace it some day, if it's not hard to get out and back in. I hear rubber tubing is the ticket.
 

Zelja

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I have an NS Aristocrat. I had the pickups rewound and also a magnet swap. The bridge pickup has a coil tap as well so I replaced the bridge tone knob with a push-push pot to go between full coil & coil tap. Very satisfied with the guitar after that.
 

guitarslinger

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Walter Broes-"I replaced the tuners with Grover "milk bottle" rotomatics, and I replaced the buttons on those with Kolb-diamond shaped buttons."

Where does one find those tuner buttons?
Those old engraved Kolbs with the diamond pearl buttons are, by my estimation, the most elegant tuners ever.
 
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