Newark Street Starfire IV

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Hmm, never even heard of Sound Professional, but that makes sense on the code-I always presumed Samick was the "S" in the code, as it follows the same convention you see on Epiphones from over there... didn't realize that even the biggest companies over there were using jobbers for some lines...

It's possible when FMIC ordered up the prototypes, they ran a bunch of decals off with the "12" serial #s, and in finest Fender tradition, decided to use them instead of trashing them for proper "13" serial #s... waste not want not... again, total conjecture on my part!

Now for the real-life gig report-having never played a Guild before, let's just say I'm digging it!!! Really like the way the strings feel, very hollow-body in their snap and response. Pickups were warm and clear, not muddy like a typical Gibby, with plenty of juice-I had to turn my Tubescreamer's drive knob down to get back to the smooth fat sound I like out of that pedal. Can't judge them against the real McCoy, unfortunately, but they do sound really good! I can tell this guitar will be able to play just about anything from jazz to honky-tonk, to psychedelic rock, to straight up blues-lots of great tones to be had here! All other electronics were solid, and the volume controls had enough sweep to allow me to get a lot more tones when I had both pickups on, a favorite trick of mine.

The guitar stayed pretty much in tune all night (occasionally having to retune the high E) which is saying something, since I often do some Buddy Guy 2 whole step bends, and the bridge did not budge... at all... no tape or rosin either... I'm impressed!

I wound up playing the SF IV the entire night, it just sounded and played that well... it's already earned a spot in my regular rotation (I usually carry a strat and telecaster, along with a lap steel) and likely will get a lot of play time, including a festival I'm playing in a couple weeks... yeah, I think we have a winner here!!!

Franc Robert
 

Winnie Thomas

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Regarding my original question about the scarf joint, which by the way I found out the Newark Street models do not have.

A scarf joint is when the neck is made of two pieces of wood glued together on an angle making a parabola seam on the neck, like a "scarf", hence the name.

Epiphones have them, my Gretsch Historic model has one.

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss355/phishaholik/DSCN0178.jpg

The Newark Street guitars have three-piece necks laminated along the entire length of the neck,

Here's the back of a SF4 Newark St . you can see the three pieces of wood, laminated. This makes tor a strong neck, less likely to twist than a one-piece.

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-StarfireIV_backbody.jpg

Winnie
 

Synchro

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Great thread and very informative. I recently bought a Newark St, Starfire III and am blown away by the quality and the sound. It holds it's own against MIJ Gretsches I own that cost nearly triple the price. The mini-buckers sound great through my Deluxe Reverb and were a real surprise. In the past I usually factored replacement pickups into the cost analysis for Korean-made guitars but these are flawless.

I am definitely sold on the Newark St models. They strike me as a true bargain and a respectful copy of vintage Guild guitars.
 

Synchro

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Regarding my original question about the scarf joint, which by the way I found out the Newark Street models do not have.

A scarf joint is when the neck is made of two pieces of wood glued together on an angle making a parabola seam on the neck, like a "scarf", hence the name.

Epiphones have them, my Gretsch Historic model has one.

http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss355/phishaholik/DSCN0178.jpg

The Newark Street guitars have three-piece necks laminated along the entire length of the neck,

Here's the back of a SF4 Newark St . you can see the three pieces of wood, laminated. This makes tor a strong neck, less likely to twist than a one-piece.

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/closeup/xl/1600-StarfireIV_backbody.jpg

Winnie
Long time no talk, Winnie. :)

Scarf joints are very strong if properly done right. They are an approved repair for wooden spars on aircraft. I never did one on an aircraft in service, but I was taught how in tech school. I've seen any number of scarf joined necks on guitars, including a Historic Model Gretsch I once owned. Considering the stresses on a guitar neck, it's obvious that they are strong enough to do the trick.
 

Winnie Thomas

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today I finally was able to try one of these through a decent marshall bluesbreaker. since I have owned a 1990 sf4 for a while, all I can say is wow!
WHAT A GUITAR FOR THE MONEY! plays perfectly, sounds amazing and is darned cheap!
if only guild would offer them with a guildsby....

Guess what?
newark_street_mainimage_starfireV-1030x432.jpg


Starfire V
Newark St. Collection

$1,699.99 List Price

More Information
Overview

Semi-hollow body. A deluxe double cutaway loaded with features that give fully expressive voice to your individual playing style. The classic Guild Starfire V is a semi-hollow beauty with a graceful 16 3/8″ thinline body (1 6/8″) and twin Guild “Anti-Hum” dual-coil pickups that make it an outstanding choice with an authentic Guild voice perfect for rock, blues, roots and more.
 

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Waiting for confirmation that the lead pups have been fixed. I have reasons to suspect that will happen. Until then, i'looking for a used NS SF III for a science experiment.
 

Winnie Thomas

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Waiting for confirmation that the lead pups have been fixed. I have reasons to suspect that will happen. Until then, i'looking for a used NS SF III for a science experiment.

I have not experienced any problem with the low Lead pup. It is as loud and responsive as the neck Pup.
 

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Thin and wispy compared to my original and most other vintage Guild minibuckers which normally run between 6.8k and 7.5k. In a email exchange with a muckitimuck whith Fender, it was discovered that the sample pup that was used had never been vetted. Fender had a broken lead pickup replicated for the ENTIRE minibucker equipped Newark Street line. It was in the process of being corrected when Fender was sold to Cordoba and Cordoba is ontop of the issue in a way that Fender would never have been. Cordoba is a lot nimbler than FMIC!

Good things in the wind!
 
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OK, just saw this whole thread, and I put a multimeter on my Starfire- 7.3kohms on the neck pickup, and 5.16kohms on the bridge-dunno if it was truly a bad pickup, but it clearly was underwound by a fair amount... explains why the bridge pup is so bright compared to the neck...

Franc Robert
 
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