Starfire IV - Westerly

walrus

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rlevenberg, welcome!

That guitar looks mint - what a great natural finish! Very pretty! Good luck if you go after it!

walrus
 
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Guild Starfire IV - My journey

I've been looking for a semi-hollow body guitar to supplement my "collection" and thought a Guild Starfire IV would be a perfect addition although I hadn't tried one yet. I've been looking on Craigslist, eBay, reverb.com, Guitar Center, and gbase.com, and came across one on Craigslist that looked like The One, a 2000 Westerly. I spoke with the seller, who is the first and only owner of the guitar, and I visited his workspace in Newton, NJ today to check it out (57 miles each way!). As promised in his ad, the guitar is indeed flawless. I played it for awhile and wound up not buying it. Why, you wonder? It's just that the body is heavier than the neck, and the guitar doesn't want to stay horizontal on my right leg. I tried balancing it on my left leg, instead of right, to see if that helps, but since I'm not a classical guitarist, that didn't work for me. Jim, the seller, lent me a leather guitar strap and that really helped a lot whether sitting or standing, especially since the leather doesn't slip. In the end, though, I decided not to buy the guitar solely because of the balance thing, although I can tell you that I kept wondering on the way home whether I did the right thing. I'm sure that there's a Guild Starfire IV fan out there who would REALLY LOVE this guitar. Jim is a terrific guy and his Guild Starfire IV can be found here:

https://newjersey.craigslist.org/msg/6017516678.html

Guild Starfire IV Guitar "Flawless" - Pre Fender - $1400 (Newton, NJ)
For your consideration is this beautiful Guild Starfire IV. The guitar has less than 12 hours playing time. A virtually unused instrument in excellent condition. It comes with the original Guild case and owner's manual. This Guild is one of the last from the Rhode Island plant late 2000 early 2001. I am offering this great guitar for $1400.00, I will consider serious offers. You can come and play before you buy at my business in Newton, NJ. You will not be disappointed. If you are reading this ad the item is still for sale. Thank you for your interest.

I'm a new LetsTalkGuild member and I just want to say thanks for the welcome and information.
 
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krysh

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Pre-Fender would be before 1995 though.

corrected: before Nov 1995
 
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Sitedrifter

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You did the right thing because if it does not suit your playing style, do not buy it. It is not worth anything as far as collections go so no loss there. I wanted that same guitar and was ready to drive ALL the way up to newton but the boss (wife) said NO. LOL
 

Quantum Strummer

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I've found over time that I'm less tolerant of "body dive" than the neck variety. As a result I play some guitars on a strap while standing even if it's in my bedroom next to the bed. :) In the Guild world this is in part why I've latched onto the fully hollow M75s: they're comfy to play sitting down while also feeling more electric than acoustic.

-Dave-
 

adorshki

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Pre-Fender would be before 1995 though.

Even at that, it was so late in '95 that they may not even have had any effect on production standards until '96.
I'm looking for confirmation but from memory I'm about 95% positive the deal wasn't actually finalized until October or even November, from an article we saw posted here a couple years back.
 
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Even at that, it was so late in '95 that they may not even have had any effect on production standards until '96.
I'm looking for confirmation but from memory I'm about 95% positive the deal wasn't actually finalized until October or even November, from an article we saw posted here a couple years back.

Fender Buys Guitar Maker
By Bloomberg Business News
Published: November 20, 1995

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 19— The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, one of the most famous names in guitars, has acquired the Guild guitar unit of the U.S. Music Corporation. The two closely held companies did not disclose the terms of the transaction. Guild, based in Westerly, R.I., makes acoustic guitars. Fender, based here, is one of the largest makers of electric guitars and amplifiers.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/20/business/fender-buys-guitar-maker.html
 

adorshki

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Fender Buys Guitar Maker
By Bloomberg Business News
Published: November 20, 1995

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 19— The Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, one of the most famous names in guitars, has acquired the Guild guitar unit of the U.S. Music Corporation. The two closely held companies did not disclose the terms of the transaction. Guild, based in Westerly, R.I., makes acoustic guitars. Fender, based here, is one of the largest makers of electric guitars and amplifiers.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1995/11/20/business/fender-buys-guitar-maker.html

Frono calls it "Search Fu".
Yours, sir, is mighty impressive, and I'm no slouch myself!
Reason I brought up the "production standards" thing is that we have a member here, Hideglue, who was at Westerly during the Fender era and he made a post a few years back that Westerly's QC consistency was at a zenith under Fender because they introduced a checklist system to ensure all QC procedures got performed consistently.
Thee statement was misinterpreted, so he had to take pains a while later to emphasize that he didn't mean the guitars were better, just that they were more consistently good.
For us Westerly fans it's our rebuttal to 2 internet myths: that pre-Fender guitars were better, and that Fender didn't take 'em over until Corona.
 

dbirchett

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Body dive doesn't bother me because I always play with a strap. I can't comfortably play with a guitar on my lap because I am so long waisted. A strap puts the guitar right where I want it. Neck dive is another story. I had two guitars that did that fairly badly: a Mossman 12 string and an Epi Sheraton. In both cases it was Grover Rotomatics that were the culprit. I switched out the heavy metal buttons for ebony ones and problem solved!
 

Black Rooster

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With a 2000/2001 Starfire, it will have the Fender HB1s. The change from the Seymour Duncan SD-1s came, I believe, during 1998-9.

For shure in 1997 there are the Seymour Duncan in Starfire 4……don't know exactly when they switch to Fender but shire after 1997.Mine from 97 Have SD…. p.s i tried to post pictures but don't know why i'm not allowed :-(
 

adorshki

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For shure in 1997 there are the Seymour Duncan in Starfire 4……don't know exactly when they switch to Fender but shire after 1997.Mine from 97 Have SD…. p.s i tried to post pictures but don't know why i'm not allowed :-(
Hi Rooster:
The forum doesn't store pictures, they most be hosted someplace else like Imageshack and then linked using photo icon in the toolbar at the top of the reply window.
Here's a more complete explanation:
http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?185122-FAQ-Posting-pictures-to-LTG
 

Black Rooster

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Quantum Strummer

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Rooster, in Photobucket you need to choose the Direct Link option for each photo to copy the correct web address, then click on the Insert Image icon (directly left of the Film Strip icon) above the area here where you type in your posts, then paste the Photobucket web address you've copied into the Insert Image text box. Your photo should then show up.

-Dave-
 

dbirchett

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Blackrooster, can you set the pictures to public rather than private?
 

Black Rooster

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Rooster, in Photobucket you need to choose the Direct Link option for each photo to copy the correct web address, then click on the Insert Image icon (directly left of the Film Strip icon) above the area here where you type in your posts, then paste the Photobucket web address you've copied into the Insert Image text box. Your photo should then show up.

-Dave-
Maybe this is correct...i hope!
15665521_1047198965425331_3447169538487659805_n_zpslq4deccw.jpg
 

Black Rooster

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As i said times ago...i bought from a friend for 1000€ it's from 1997 SD pick up..... i love it! :)
15697970_1047198958758665_3982033732375548391_n_zpscjze3my4.jpg
 

Black Rooster

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Thanks to everyone help me to understand how to post the pictures :) (anyway a "strange" way to do it...never seen before in a forum) hope you like my SF4....it's my first Guild...last month i was so close to buy a 1997-8 Bluesbird,but at the last time i had to swap my stratocasterreissue 62 for a Gibson SG.....not the same thing i know
4938347_1480261958_zpsbqqsj1lb.jpg
 

shihan

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Congratulations! Mine is the same year. If yours is anything like mine, you will be a happy guy. Enjoy!
 
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