Guild Starfire V Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1967)
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Item #6100
Guild Starfire V Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, laminated mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The Starfire series has been Guild's most consistently successful electric guitar since its inception in the early 1960's. This Starfire V from late 1967 is a double cutaway semi-hollow instrument reminiscent of Gibson's ES-335 series but with many subtle and 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 brighter tone. The wiring is also basically Gibson-like 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.
This Starfire V carries a stock Guild Bigsby tailpiece (with a roller bar to provide improved tension over the saddle), Bigsby aluminum bridge and the typical mid-1960's Guild Humbucking pickups. The thinline body has a bright black-red-orange sunburst finish and is triple bound top and back. The bound fingerboard has pearloid block markers; the plastic-faced headstock carries the Guild "Chesterfield" inlay and stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. Just around this time, Guild altered these Starfies with a solid block by extending the neck joint out from the body, giving better access to the higher frets. Many players prefer these 1967-1969 examples with any other variant, as they combine the brighter earlier-style pickups with the longer, more accessible neck. This style of Starfire has long been a favorite 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 example of one of the best variants.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 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.). A very nice all-original example; just some light finish wear overall. The ivoroid heelcap shows some incipient celluloid deterioration but is still intact, there are no other binding issues except a bit of typical shrinkage in some spots. Some light checking and chips to the finish overall, most notably around the heel and on the headstock edges. The plastic headstock facing has shrunken up to the point where the edges look bound, but is not lifting. A very good player, includes the original HSC that a bit battered in appearance but fully functional. Excellent - Condition.
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The Starfire series has been Guild's most consistently successful electric guitar since its inception in the early 1960's. This Starfire V from late 1967 is a double cutaway semi-hollow instrument reminiscent of Gibson's ES-335 series but with many subtle and 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 brighter tone. The wiring is also basically Gibson-like 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.
This Starfire V carries a stock Guild Bigsby tailpiece (with a roller bar to provide improved tension over the saddle), Bigsby aluminum bridge and the typical mid-1960's Guild Humbucking pickups. The thinline body has a bright black-red-orange sunburst finish and is triple bound top and back. The bound fingerboard has pearloid block markers; the plastic-faced headstock carries the Guild "Chesterfield" inlay and stock Grover Rotomatic tuners. Just around this time, Guild altered these Starfies with a solid block by extending the neck joint out from the body, giving better access to the higher frets. Many players prefer these 1967-1969 examples with any other variant, as they combine the brighter earlier-style pickups with the longer, more accessible neck. This style of Starfire has long been a favorite 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 example of one of the best variants.
Overall length is 41 3/4 in. (106 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 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.). A very nice all-original example; just some light finish wear overall. The ivoroid heelcap shows some incipient celluloid deterioration but is still intact, there are no other binding issues except a bit of typical shrinkage in some spots. Some light checking and chips to the finish overall, most notably around the heel and on the headstock edges. The plastic headstock facing has shrunken up to the point where the edges look bound, but is not lifting. A very good player, includes the original HSC that a bit battered in appearance but fully functional. Excellent - Condition.
