S-series neck profiles

[starfire4]

Hi everyone! i'm new here, but an early-70s Starfire 4 has been my main axe ever since I bought it in the late 90s. It's still the best instrument I have owned (and there have been a lot)

I've been wanting a solid body, and the S-series "bell bottoms" appeal to me, but it sounds like they generally have thin necks, which is kind of a deal breaker for me. I don't necessarily need a baseball bat, but rather something in the 'medium to thick' ballpark. So should i give up on my S-series dream? I know they can vary, and of course I'd love to try some out, but that's not too easy to do. For example, it looks like there's a nice one for sale now on this site, but I'm thinking I might be setting myself up for disappointment in the neck profile. Is there any hope of finding one with a chunky/meaty neck?

also, the other thing people seem to complain about is the low frets? It's amazing how long I have been playing guitar without ever thinking about the size of my frets lol. Do you think this could be an issue if I'm already used to playing a 70s SF?

thanks in advance... i'm excited to be here among my fellow Guild fans!

 

[GGJaguar]

Welcome to LTG! Looking at GAD's excellent info for the S-65 I would call the neck "medium". It's certainly is on par with many of my Fenders and is chunkier than my G&Ls. So, I wouldn't give up on your dream. As for frets, I think Guild used the low, wide frets through the 70s and into the 80s. Not my favorite, but the guitars are certainly playable (I have several Guilds with these frets).

 

[GAD]

Dig around here and look at the guitars you're interested in. Every one of them has detailed neck measurements:

GAD's Guilds - Reviews and More | GAD's Ramblings

GAD's Guilds: One man's obsession with Guild electric guitars and his quest to buy and review them all. Reviews, sound clips, wiring diagrams, and more.

www.gad.net

A quick note that as tempting as it is to label them as "S-Type", in Guild nomenclature S means Solidbody, so there are a great many Guild guitars that have S in the name that aren't what you're looking for. One of the first catalogs that included them simply called it “the new Guild shape.”

As for the necks, there is some variation, but they're very similar to a late-70s Starfire. The early-mid '70s Starfires I've played sometimes had thinner necks, and the frets should be similar if not the same.

Fret measurements for the guitars is also listed on my site for these guitars and a few Starfires as well.

 

[starfire4]

thank you GGJ and GAD for your responses! Keeping the dream alive! both of your websites are awesome, btw.