New to forum with Lefty SF IV restoration (Pictures)

[Fastguy1955]

Hello all

I have a 1967 Starfire IV Lefty in a black finish. It has been a bar player until I bought it about 8 years ago. There isn't much finish left anywhere, and I need to do a re-fin and change the tuners. I want to bring it back to a nice condition, I don't see a "relic" as attractive. It is pretty much stock, the tuners are sta-tites that are worn out. Pickups are stock, not sure about the wiring, the tech that looked at it and thought that the wiring was altered. The tuners are worn out and I'm unsure about what to replace them with, I could use some guidance about that. I am looking to enhance its Jazz capabilities and I was thinking about changing a pickup or two. Mostly, I just want to make it play well and look nice. Any Ideas are eagerly considered

thanks,

Mark

 

[jp]

Welcome to the forum Fastguy!

You'll get a lot of guidance from the good folks here! There's a lot of expertise floating around here.

As far as your Starfire IV is concerned, I like many here favor and encourage restoring as much to stock as possible. I know that Guild expert Hans Moust (who is an active member on this forum) currently has some NOS Grover Sta-Tites tuners for sale on his site--I was just checking it out.

http://www.guitarchives.nl/guitarsgalore/parts.php?p=4

Is there anything wrong with the pickups? If it's a '67, I'm guessing it's got the Guild mini-humbuckers with the smaller pole pieces. I have a '68 CE-100DP with these I think they work really well for jazz--depending on what kind of jazz you like, of course. I've never played through the larger format Guild HB-1s, but it looks like Hans also has two of those for sale. Despite what it sounds like, I'm not affiliated with his site at all. It's just that they aren't so common, and you either grab them while they're there, or search eBay every day for months and battle the bid snipers. There are a few aces on this site as well.

Personally, I'd keep the minis, and rewire or have them rewound if they're toast by Lindy Fralin or Jason Lollar.

No surprise that your black finish is gone. The early Guilds are known for the black fading to leave very strange looking finish--kinda greenish-black. Before you refin, check out this project refin by Don, our fearless site admin. He did all right things.

http://letstalkguild.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1306

Good luck, and post some "before" pics so we can see results of your labor!

 

[coastie99]

Hello Fastguy, and welcome here.

Like JP, and I imagine, a whole lot of others here, I'd love to see photo's of your "project"

I have an '85 SF 4 in black, with gold p/u's and hardware and ebony 'board, and I think it just looks stunning.

You're fortunate in "having" a lefty, rather than looking for one; they're damned hard to find !
My wife's nephew and I spent a lot of time looking for one for him, before eventually buying one from the afore-mentioned Hans.

Greg's is a '76 if I remember correctly..............

[IMG:392:567]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/coastie99/SF4Lefty_3.jpg[/img]


And here's mine.............

[IMG:640:480]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e82/coastie99/IMG_0469.jpg[/img]

Best of luck with your project, and keep us posted.

 

[Fastguy1955]

Hello Guys,


Thanks for the welcome, I'll post my project and pictures here, as I go along. the Sta-tites that are on it are the individual ones not the 3 in a row that Hans has, what was on there originally? As far as the pickups go, I have played using mostly the neck pickup, but I had thought about going for a "darker" jazz sound.


Mark

 

[Fastguy1955]

Here are some pre-restoration pictures, its all there, just needs massive cosmetic help.

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a58/ma ... eIV005.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a58/ma ... eIV004.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a58/ma ... eIV006.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a58/ma ... eIV003.jpg
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a58/ma ... eIV002.jpg

Mark

 

[d-rock]

You're right, it's quite a relic.

Since you have a nice vintage piece, I would recommend going as close to original specs as possible (not cutting into the body to fit larger pickups, etc.).

Stew Mac is a good resource for supplies. Here are the Sta-Tites...
http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guit ... hines.html

I second the idea that the pups could be rewound by an expert. They can rewind to your specs to customize your sound. Looks like a fun project!

 

[jp]

Hey fastguy,

Thanks for posting pics. That is one well-loved Starfire! Oh how I wish I had time for a project!

 

[Fastguy1955]

Guys,

I'm starting to do some work on it, and I need a source for pickup ring screws as well as new screws for the bridge. Any ideas?

Btw, I scored a nice set of NOS Shaller tuning machines to replace the Sta-Tites. If I need to replace the headstock inlay are there any replacements available?


Thanks,

Mark

 

[Fixit]

Hello Fastguy

Message received, PM or call me.

Thanks,

 

[SFIV1967]

Re:

Btw, I scored a nice set of NOS Shaller tuning machines to replace the Sta-Tites. If I need to replace the headstock inlay are there any replacements available?

Hi Mark,
welcome here! Those shown "Sta-Tites" in your picture were not the original tuners anyway! Somebody mounted them later on I would say.

Your 1967 had most probably Japanese made tuners when it came from the factory.

Don't touch the headstock veneer inlays, keep them, they can be fixed, member Fixit seems to already offer help, he did great Starfire restaurations!
Ralf