Guild Starfire V Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1968)
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Item # 9840
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Guild Starfire V Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar (1968), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # EN-2053, cherry lacquer finish, laminated mahogany 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 1960s, and is still a mainstay today. This Starfire V from mid-1968 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 small 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 and the Bigsby solid aluminum bridge. It carries two of the mid-1960s style Guild Humbucking pickups, with a smaller coil than the typical Gibsons and a slightly brighter, cleaner sound. The thinline body has a deep cherry red lacquer finish over grained sapele mahogany and is triple bound top and back. The bound rosewood 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 Starfires 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. Only around 330 of these were shipped in 1968, not a large number for the period when Gibson was selling 335's by the thousands. 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 truly superb 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.).
This is a very clean and all original Starfire, one of the nicest of these we have had and about as good as they come 50+ years on. Overall there are only some very small finish dings, chips, and checking, with a bit of pickwear to the top. The lacquer is on the whole is very well preserved with a great unfaded deep cherry color and a nice patina. Even the binding is very solid with none of the common shrinkage problems, and the often-shrunken and cupped headstock veneer shows only slight movement.
The finish and hardware remain all original, complete and unaltered. There is just a bit of cracking to the pickguard around the center mounting screw and some scuffing to its top surface, the other hardware shows only very light wear. This is a great looking, playing and sounding example of one of the coolest relatively unsung '60s guitars; still a great value in a vintage semi-hollow instrument and a very eye-catching and ear-catching performance guitar. Includes the original HSC and Guild's sheet detailing helpful hints for avoiding trouble with your electric guitar. Overall Excellent Condition.
The Starfire series has been Guild's most consistently successful electric guitar since its inception in the early 1960s, and is still a mainstay today. This Starfire V from mid-1968 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 small 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 and the Bigsby solid aluminum bridge. It carries two of the mid-1960s style Guild Humbucking pickups, with a smaller coil than the typical Gibsons and a slightly brighter, cleaner sound. The thinline body has a deep cherry red lacquer finish over grained sapele mahogany and is triple bound top and back. The bound rosewood 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 Starfires 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. Only around 330 of these were shipped in 1968, not a large number for the period when Gibson was selling 335's by the thousands. 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 truly superb 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.).
This is a very clean and all original Starfire, one of the nicest of these we have had and about as good as they come 50+ years on. Overall there are only some very small finish dings, chips, and checking, with a bit of pickwear to the top. The lacquer is on the whole is very well preserved with a great unfaded deep cherry color and a nice patina. Even the binding is very solid with none of the common shrinkage problems, and the often-shrunken and cupped headstock veneer shows only slight movement.
The finish and hardware remain all original, complete and unaltered. There is just a bit of cracking to the pickguard around the center mounting screw and some scuffing to its top surface, the other hardware shows only very light wear. This is a great looking, playing and sounding example of one of the coolest relatively unsung '60s guitars; still a great value in a vintage semi-hollow instrument and a very eye-catching and ear-catching performance guitar. Includes the original HSC and Guild's sheet detailing helpful hints for avoiding trouble with your electric guitar. Overall Excellent Condition.