Guild Starfire V Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1964)
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Item #6387
Guild Starfire V Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1964), made in Hoboken, NJ, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The Starfire series has been Guild's most consistently successful electric guitar offering since its inception in the early 1960's. This is a relatively early Starfire V from 1964, a double cutaway semi-hollow instrument somewhat reminiscent of Gibson's ES-335 series but with many distinctly Guild touches. Like the ES-335, the Starfire V has a solid block running through the center of the double-cutaway thin hollow body, cutting down on feedback and giving the guitar a somewhat brighter tone than a fully hollow instrument. The wiring is also basically Gibson-style with the useful addition of a master volume knob just behind the selector switch. The Starfire V was introduced as the most expensive Starfire series guitar at the end of 1963, although the even more deluxe (and very rare) Starfire VI was soon added in mid-'64-ut was structurally the same but with fancier appointments.
This Starfire V carries the stock Guild Bigsby tailpiece and bridge and the then-recently introduced Guild Humbucking pickups. The thinline body has a bright black-red-orange sunburst finish and is triple bound top and back. There is even some flame to the maple top. The bound rosewood fingerboard has pearloid block markers; the plastic-faced headstock carries the Guild "Chesterfield" inlay. The stock fancy German-made Kolb tuners with diamond-shaped imitation pearl buttons are fairly uncommon, used only around this time period on some higher-end Guilds. This type of Starfire has been a perennial favorite for 50 years now among players of many styles, and is particularly well thought of as an electric blues instrument. Vintage Starfires remain one of the most comparatively affordable classic American guitars; this is a nice early example of one of the best.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). This guitar is definitely a fine example of "Ragged but right"-the finish and hardware is completely original but the instrument has been VERY well-played. There is finish wear to the lacquer all over the guitar: chips, dings and the like and virtually all the finish is worn off the back of the neck-not scraped or sanded but *worn*. This guitar was played for many hundreds of hours but remains original down to the last screw, except for a very fine recent refret with period correct wire. This guitar also has an extremely good neck angle for a 1960's Guild, making the Bigsby and bridge setup more functional than many, and the pickups are wired in-phase, which many period examples are not. While this may not be the prettiest 1960's Starfire we have had, it feels like the most soulful and perhaps the best playing one yet! Includes a similarly well-worn period Guild HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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The Starfire series has been Guild's most consistently successful electric guitar offering since its inception in the early 1960's. This is a relatively early Starfire V from 1964, a double cutaway semi-hollow instrument somewhat reminiscent of Gibson's ES-335 series but with many distinctly Guild touches. Like the ES-335, the Starfire V has a solid block running through the center of the double-cutaway thin hollow body, cutting down on feedback and giving the guitar a somewhat brighter tone than a fully hollow instrument. The wiring is also basically Gibson-style with the useful addition of a master volume knob just behind the selector switch. The Starfire V was introduced as the most expensive Starfire series guitar at the end of 1963, although the even more deluxe (and very rare) Starfire VI was soon added in mid-'64-ut was structurally the same but with fancier appointments.
This Starfire V carries the stock Guild Bigsby tailpiece and bridge and the then-recently introduced Guild Humbucking pickups. The thinline body has a bright black-red-orange sunburst finish and is triple bound top and back. There is even some flame to the maple top. The bound rosewood fingerboard has pearloid block markers; the plastic-faced headstock carries the Guild "Chesterfield" inlay. The stock fancy German-made Kolb tuners with diamond-shaped imitation pearl buttons are fairly uncommon, used only around this time period on some higher-end Guilds. This type of Starfire has been a perennial favorite for 50 years now among players of many styles, and is particularly well thought of as an electric blues instrument. Vintage Starfires remain one of the most comparatively affordable classic American guitars; this is a nice early example of one of the best.
Overall length is 40 1/2 in. (102.9 cm.), 16 3/8 in. (41.6 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 24 3/4 in. (629 mm.). Width of nut is 1 11/16 in. (43 mm.). This guitar is definitely a fine example of "Ragged but right"-the finish and hardware is completely original but the instrument has been VERY well-played. There is finish wear to the lacquer all over the guitar: chips, dings and the like and virtually all the finish is worn off the back of the neck-not scraped or sanded but *worn*. This guitar was played for many hundreds of hours but remains original down to the last screw, except for a very fine recent refret with period correct wire. This guitar also has an extremely good neck angle for a 1960's Guild, making the Bigsby and bridge setup more functional than many, and the pickups are wired in-phase, which many period examples are not. While this may not be the prettiest 1960's Starfire we have had, it feels like the most soulful and perhaps the best playing one yet! Includes a similarly well-worn period Guild HSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
