Where are all of the Westerly Starfires in the Cherry Red?

[wproffitt]

Hello All!
I'm new around here. I've been wanting a hollowbody or semi-hollowbody for some time and have come to the conclusion that it's probably going to be a Guild. This forum seems to be THE place to go for information about these guitars.
My questions:
1) The little bit that I've read so far indicates that the later models had a thicker neck than the early models and this appeals to me. I'm also interested in a cherry red finish. While I've seen a few SF III's that match this description, I haven't seen many SF IV or SF V's. There seem to be quite a few blonde SF IV's and V's from the later period out there on the market, but what happened to red? Did they stop manufacturing them in this color or perhaps manufacture fewer of them?
2) I keep looking for them in the local (Maryland) shops, but not too many of them seem to show up around here. Are there parts of the country where they tend to be more common?

Thanks in advance for your help and please forgive my ignorance!

 

[Fixit]

Welcome to LTG! Hang around the cherry red Starfires are out there. I just bought one not to long ago, it was painted black which is in the precess of being corrected. See my post in the tech section "1967 Starfire IV restoration" dapmdave also receintly aquired a nice one as well. They turn up on ebay or CL from time to time. You could even run into one for sale on this site.

 

[GAD]

I've owned many Starfires. The reissues have wider necks (1 11/16" vs 1 5/8"), but they're not all that much deeper. When I read "thick" neck, I think Gibson 1958 Les Paul, and none of the Starfires I've ever played (or any Guild for that matter) has a neck like that.

 

[dapmdave]

Hello All!
I'm new around here. I've been wanting a hollowbody or semi-hollowbody for some time and have come to the conclusion that it's probably going to be a Guild. This forum seems to be THE place to go for information about these guitars.
My questions:
1) The little bit that I've read so far indicates that the later models had a thicker neck than the early models and this appeals to me. I'm also interested in a cherry red finish. While I've seen a few SF III's that match this description, I haven't seen many SF IV or SF V's. There seem to be quite a few blonde SF IV's and V's from the later period out there on the market, but what happened to red? Did they stop manufacturing them in this color or perhaps manufacture fewer of them?
2) I keep looking for them in the local (Maryland) shops, but not too many of them seem to show up around here. Are there parts of the country where they tend to be more common?

Thanks in advance for your help and please forgive my ignorance!

Welcome to LTG!

The Cherry SFIVs are around, so don't despair. I picked up a nice '73 recently.

Dave

 

[fronobulax]

Welcome. It is a safe bet that cherry finish is the most available finish on the vintage Starfire basses that have survived for 35+ years so I have to believe a red Starfire guitar will show up. Lots of enablers will be helping you search :wink:

 

[wproffitt]

I've owned many Starfires. The reissues have wider necks (1 11/16" vs 1 5/8"), but they're not all that much deeper. When I read "thick" neck, I think Gibson 1958 Les Paul, and none of the Starfires I've ever played (or any Guild for that matter) has a neck like that.

Sorry, I meant to say that I like a wider neck in general. As far as thickness goes, I'm certainly not looking for a baseball bat, but something like a medium C.

Thanks again!

 

[guildman63]

While not solid cherry red this is my 1991 cherry burst SF-4 with an original ebony board and gold hardware, just purchased on Ebay a few months ago.