009
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Post by 009 on May 1, 2022 10:35:07 GMT -5
I've always wanted a Guild Starfire III, cherry. Don't ask why; I don't know; never even seen one in person. I am attracted to the older version with the DeArmond PUs, mfr'd. 1960-1963 (Hoboken, NJ). Who has/had one. Opinions?
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Post by Vibroluxer on May 1, 2022 11:25:20 GMT -5
I had a Westerly made SF 3 and it was one of the finest guitars ive ever played. Selling it has been a huge regret.
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Post by Taildragger on May 1, 2022 14:38:37 GMT -5
I have a Westerly Starfire II bass, a thing of beauty. 22 years old and still looks brand new. I think the MIA Guild stuff is under-rated. My only worry about some older MIA guitars (Gretsch more than Guild) is that they sometimes have gotten "binding rot", which is the result of certain plastics or glues "off-gassing" over the years. Only Guild guitar I've owned was an early 1960s T-100 "Slim Jim": one Franz (P90-ish) pup, single Venetian cutaway hollow body, "harp" tailpiece. It was a very cool, if rather limited guitar. Actually looked a lot like a lower-budget, single-cutaway Starfire.
I lust for a Westerly SF IV in flame maple or flame maple burst with a bar-stop tailpiece, but doubt I will ever acquire one: too late in the game to spend that kind of money on a guitar when I primarily play bass now.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on May 1, 2022 15:09:09 GMT -5
Been a while since I played one, but tinkered with a Corona era one a bit years ago. Nicely in between Gretsch and Gibson for vibe. More crisp than a Gibson, more detailed and deep than a Gretsch.
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009
Wholenote
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Post by 009 on May 1, 2022 15:19:44 GMT -5
Thanks, you guys. Well, I just came back from buying this SFIII. I figured I'd better jump on it now. It's a little more beat than I imagined, but I'm happy to have it; always wanted one, esp. the early ones with those DeArmond single coil pickups (probably the same as in your T-100, Taildragger). I know that there are inexpensive reissues (DeArmond brand, late 1990s/early 2000s; and Guild's current Newark line), but I wanted this. It's pretty funny, that I told my wife when I bought that cheap Yamaha classical a couple of years ago that it would be my last guitar, and here I am with a GS mini and this SFIII.
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Post by Taildragger on May 1, 2022 16:02:45 GMT -5
Franz pups are on the left, DeArmond Dynasonics on the right. Which are yours?  |
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009
Wholenote
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Post by 009 on May 1, 2022 16:34:59 GMT -5
DeArmond, white with chrome bezels. The jack mounting nut is missing; the seller fished the jack threads to the outside of the body and tied a string around it to hold it in place. I tried to insert my cord (via a Vox D5) to try the pickups out, but the jack fell into the body. So, I'll have to order a nut, washer and lock washer set. I'm not sure of the nut size, but a guitar this old made in the USA must have a standard SAE nut; Stew-Mac sells some, 3/8"x32 thread. I'm hoping this will work. But I'm not sure of the assembly position of the lock washer: does it go onto the threaded part of the jack *before* the jack is inserted in the hole and out the body (and then place the regular washer and nut)? It would seem so, (to help keep the jack from spinning when tightening); won't be easy. I found these neat tricks online: hazeguitars.com/blog/install-components-in-hollow-body-guitarshazeguitars.com/blog/tighten-guitar-jacks-from-the-outsidewww.stewmac.com/parts-and-hardware/nuts-and-washers/nuts-and-washers-set-for-pots-and-jackswww.stewmac.com/luthier-tools-and-supplies/tools-by-job/tools-for-electronics/bullet-guitar-jack-tightener/Anyway, the guitar was made in 1961 and that was, coincidentally, 61 years ago. It is probably the oldest thing I own. |
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Post by Taildragger on May 1, 2022 18:06:59 GMT -5
If it turns out you don't like the pickups or they're DOA, TV Jones makes a DynaSonic-type set they call the "T-Armond". Of course, you'd want to double check that the pup dimensions and mounting hole spacing match yours, since TV Jones is heavily Gretsch-oriented, but just thought I'd mention it: tvjones.com/t-armond-neck-dearmond-mount/ |
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Post by Riff Twang on May 1, 2022 23:07:45 GMT -5
I have the DeArmond pickups in my Hofner Ambassador from 1966, and I like them. Kinda jangly with some snarl, and quite versatile in my opinion.
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Ragpicker
Wholenote
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Post by Ragpicker on May 16, 2022 22:24:18 GMT -5
A friend has that exact axe. 63 in cherry with a bigsby. Wonderful unique sound. He uses real heavy strings so I dont like to play it but it sounds great. Beautifully aged too. He got it new.
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009
Wholenote
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Post by 009 on May 17, 2022 4:09:24 GMT -5
Yeah, the sound is one reason why I wanted one this old. But I’ve always waned one. I bought this from the son of his father whom, I gathered, must have bought it new. Overall it’s in decent shape compared to photos of others I’ve seen online. But it really needs some maintenance. The strings must be a couple of decades old. All of the hardware needs a good cleaning. A few screws have rust; I’ve read that WD-40 gets that off. Anyway, I plan on disassembling the entire guitar, cleaning everything, probably replacing all pots & caps. It will be a nice project for later this year. I plan to photo-document the guitar and all its parts in detail as I disassemble it.
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Post by Leftee on May 17, 2022 5:38:39 GMT -5
A ‘61 would be a birth-year guitar for me. I like the thought of having a ‘61 (something) but anything that is affordable I haven’t found yet.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 22, 2022 0:14:52 GMT -5
The Dynasonic is a fairly hi-fi sounding pickup (broad dynamic range), and a different beast from a P90, Franz, Filtertron, and the HB1 humbucker. I'm a huge fan of all these pickups. HB1s in my X150-D Savoy:  And a Franz in this M65 Freshman:  |
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009
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Post by 009 on May 22, 2022 6:36:09 GMT -5
Several years ago, after getting psyched up watching a series of videos of famed guitarist Green (forgot his first name) playing a Guild T-100 for an audience, I went and bought one. Mine is not as nice as yours; yours is in pristine condition, while mine looks, well, used; 1966, with a modern, not OE, Guild case. The tone pot was/is flaky, needs at least a good cleaning, but that quandary of pot cleaning (possibly only a short-term fix) vs. pot replacement (long-term fix) has me stalled.
- not easy to work on these guitars. I've yet to dissect one; maybe it's not as difficult as I think it will be; the plastic tubing trick seems helpful. It's fun to work on a guitar when you can just flip the pickguard over to work on it, leaving the pickups attached. I'm not imagining a lot of fun-factor with a hollow body, just a lot of cussing and swearing (it does help, however).
- I can't escape the issue of if/how to "preserve" the originality of a vintage guitar. Do you replace the pots with very similar ones, or do you go high-tech for something different that performs better with greater reliability? If you're not going to sell it, then I suppose anything is acceptable; it's the only way you're going to be able to use it!!! (I imagine there are some picky collectors that would prefer some vintage guitar not be "repaired" at all, preferring all Original parts. I don't know, but there are a lot of unusual people out there.)
I'm postponing working on the Starfire until later in the year; too many other things to do.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 22, 2022 7:02:16 GMT -5
Guitars are meant to be played.
A non-functional component (the tone pot, in your case) does not allow the guitar to retain any added value if it's inoperative. Replace it with a quality pot, and keep the original defective one in the case. This way if you decide to sell it on, it will have all the original parts...unless anything has been changed before you got your hands on it.
If you're buying a guitar to play, and you also view it as an "investment," you need to fire your financial advisor because they are not too smart about what an actual investment is.
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009
Wholenote
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Post by 009 on May 22, 2022 8:02:19 GMT -5
Nah, no investment guitars for me. I heard, though, that Swatches are good for that…. ;-)
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Post by Leftee on May 22, 2022 8:28:58 GMT -5
I invest in coffee beans. I keep drinking my investment though.
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 22, 2022 11:50:02 GMT -5
I invest in coffee beans. I keep drinking my investment though. ^^^That's like renting beer  |
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Post by Leftee on May 22, 2022 12:17:33 GMT -5
I invest in coffee beans. I keep drinking my investment though. ^^^That's like renting beer Zackly! |
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009
Wholenote
Take me to your leader!
Posts: 519
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Post by 009 on May 31, 2022 6:18:24 GMT -5
The Dynasonic is a fairly hi-fi sounding pickup (broad dynamic range), and a different beast from a P90, Franz, Filtertron, and the HB1 humbucker. I'm a huge fan of all these pickups. HB1s in my X150-D Savoy: And a Franz in this M65 Freshman: What cleaner & polish do you use on your vintage Guilds? I’m not sure what type of finish I have…. I’m tempted just to use a damp microfiber cloth, but I think a little enhancement would be nice, if safely done. |
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Post by Peegoo 🏁 on May 31, 2022 13:04:16 GMT -5
What cleaner & polish do you use on your vintage Guilds? I’m not sure what type of finish I have…. I’m tempted just to use a damp microfiber cloth, but I think a little enhancement would be nice, if safely done. You are on the right track. I use no cleaner/polish on any of my guitars and have not done so in the 50+ years I've been playing. I use a soft cotton cloth, very lightly misted with water from a spray bottle. Do not spray water (or anything else, for that matter) directly onto a guitar when cleaning it. I think the cleaners and waxes sold for use on guitar finishes do nothing other than drain your wallet. My guitars (nitro, polyu, polye, etc.) are all perfectly fine without it. YMMV. Using any cleaner or polish on a vintage instrument is fraught with danger because it can get into the crackles in the finish and actually loosen it, speeding up the finish flaking problem. I've worked on guitars where the finish comes off with painter's tape. It's scary stuff--especially on a prized/valuable instrument. |
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009
Wholenote
Take me to your leader!
Posts: 519
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Post by 009 on May 31, 2022 15:16:29 GMT -5
Thanks for the advice, esp. the cause & effect. Coincidently, there's a guy over on the Let's Talk Guild forum that recently bought an older Guild (presumably for restoration) and describes (with photos) the severe checking with embedded old polish over the entire guitar face; just like you described.
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