NGD - 1966 Starfire II

[HeyMikey]

Let me pile on and congratulate you. That burst is terrific. Great price too. Even if it does need work there is plenty of room. You scored!

 

[jp]

. . . I can’t believe Elderly did not clean this up, set it up, and ask for a lot more money.

That's a beautiful and singular finish for a Guild. Nice job on the clean up, Brad!

I agree with what you say about Elderly. I'm often surprised at the attention given to guitars of lesser build quality, such as many 60s guitars like Silvertones or Japanese Teiscos and Guyatones rather than Guilds.

 

[drlucky]

That's a real beauty...congratulations!!

 

[chazmo]

Nice find, Brad. And, nice cleanup! Like you said, the finish looks beautiful!

 

[Walter Broes]

Wow, great looking guitar!

 

[Fender1980]

That's a very nice looking guitar and interesting case candy.

$261.00 "all in" in 1966 is equal to $2,525.22 in 2023 dollars!

 

[Teleguy61]

What a great score!
Good luck!

 

[Eric66]

Beautiful finish!
Never saw that deep red/brown tint on the sunburst before.

Let us know how the intonation goes. Your photo shows a bridge base that looks correct for that model even though you swapped that one in.

I’ll have to look up the receipt for my ‘66 Starfire II to check the price. Looks like the original buyer got a good deal but that mid $200’s price seems familiar.

 

[Norrissey]

WOW WOW WOW. What a beautiful guitar. I love '60s Guilds!

 

[Harp Tail]

That's a very nice looking guitar and interesting case candy.

$261.00 "all in" in 1966 is equal to $2,525.22 in 2023 dollars!

Not a bad deal considering a Chinese Bonamassa endorsed Epi sells for half of that these days...

 

[BradHK]

Your photo shows a bridge base that looks correct for that model even though you swapped that one in.

That is the original bridge in the photos. My job this weekend is to make a bridge base that looks the same but is a little thinner. I will post some photos when done. I could sand down the original as i don’t need too much taken off but I would prefer to keep the original Brazilian rosewood bridge unmodified.

 

[Fender1980]

That is the original bridge in the photos. My job this weekend is to make a bridge base that looks the same but is a little thinner. I will post some photos when done. I could sand down the original as i don’t need too much taken off but I would prefer to keep the original Brazilian rosewood bridge unmodified.

I put those modern guild "bridge cups" on my 1966 Starfire II. It seemed to do the trick to get it slightly lower. They are $10 from Cordoba/Guild website.

 

[Eric66]

That is the original bridge in the photos. My job this weekend is to make a bridge base that looks the same but is a little thinner. I will post some photos when done. I could sand down the original as i don’t need too much taken off but I would prefer to keep the original Brazilian rosewood bridge unmodified.

Check that - you’re right not to modify that Brazilian rosewood piece!

Hope the neck is set the way it should be and not needing to be fooled with. That old 6 piece saddle setup works great on mine, very adjustable for vertical sitting on those 2 posts. It’s also tricky due to the wooden bridge is not fixed to the top and can slide around or not put back exactly when changing strings but you already knew this….

Here’s a closeup of mine just in case if you want a glance. Excuse my late teenage “artwork”

 

[Harp Tail]

If I'm not mistaken, a similar white pinstripe adorned the edge of some vintage Guild models. I'd say it's not a major (nor irreversible) profanation, and the job isn't too bad either (at least for a creative teenager).

 

[GGJaguar]

a similar white pinstripe adorned the edge of some vintage Guild models.

The Starfire IV, V and VI did (as well as their Newark Street series counterparts).

 

[BradHK]

Check that - you’re right not to modify that Brazilian rosewood piece!

Hope the neck is set the way it should be and not needing to be fooled with. That old 6 piece saddle setup works great on mine, very adjustable for vertical sitting on those 2 posts. It’s also tricky due to the wooden bridge is not fixed to the top and can slide around or not put back exactly when changing strings but you already knew this….

Here’s a closeup of mine just in case if you want a glance. Excuse my late teenage “artwork”

Thanks and I agree. I am a fan of the Hagstrom Micro-Matic bridge. I love the ability to adjust the string spacing. Not a ton of intonation adjustment but not bad with the saddles being able to be flipped. Also easier to intonate on the floating bases compared to the fixed rocking ones used on the solid bodies of this era with the Tremar. However, I still have been able to intonate my solid bodies with these bridges. Some people don’t like them as they can hit the pointed edge of the low E saddle with their hand when palm muting. I don’t run into that issue the way I play.

And I love your Starfire. Very pretty

 

[Eric66]

If I'm not mistaken, a similar white pinstripe adorned the edge of some vintage Guild models. I'd say it's not a major (nor irreversible) profanation, and the job isn't too bad either (at least for a creative teenager).

Thanks for your encouragement!

Yes, I’ve seen a few pinstriped pickguards with Guilds (few and far in between) but at that time it was mostly the Gibson 335’s etc that caught my eye. If I would have been more mature, the stripe would have been thinner in width, as it is, it’s too thick, and perhaps I wouldn’t have scraped out the bottom of the Guild logo as I worked on the back. If I had the patience I could scrap and fill in to make it thinner and maybe restore the logo but……

I’ve toyed around with trying to source another authentic pickguard to swap with it.

 

[Eric66]

The Starfire IV, V and VI did (as well as their Newark Street series counterparts).

I’m no expert in terms of the details of the Starfire models from the 60’s but I do not recall any pinstripes during this period. I keep forgetting that “vintage” can also be 1970’s through 1990’s and into the 2000’s. I’ll have to check Hans Moust book just received from that eBay seller that’s still on my desk in its original plastic wrapping.

Once I “permanently connected” with my Starfire I really didn’t pay attention to other guitars except to occasionally try out some other models like Fender, etc., that people had at home during some social occasion and always being disappointed due to being spoiled by my own. Every now and then I’d walk by the music shops on 47th Street NYC to window shop and compare any used Guilds hanging.

 

[Harp Tail]

I'm actually impressed by the fact that you were drawn to the sober elegance of the Starfire during teenage, when most tend to lust after flashier or better known instruments.

I believe the "music row" of NYC used to be on 48th Street and not 47th, though.. I myself have spent more than a few afternoons at "We buy guitars" after having somehow befriended what I believe was the owner. I still have the pics I took of a Hendrix owned Strat (with case candy and some stage clothing) that he then sold at auction.

 

[BradHK]

I’m no expert in terms of the details of the Starfire models from the 60’s but I do not recall any pinstripes during this period

Here are my vintage Starfire IV and V from this period with pinstripes on the pickguards