Newark St. Starfire XII?

fuman

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Greetings. My first good guitar was a Starfire XII. I occasionally see them for sale, but they're expensive for something I probably wouldn't play a whole lot. Any potential that we will see an import version? There's already a Hagstrom model that's quite similar (and I'm tempted, but part of the joy of having a Starfire XII would be the nostalgia rush from the similarity and the bloodline). Thanks.
 

dbirchett

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Fuman, I have been asking about this for quite awhile. I would love to see a Starfire XII, I think. But it would depend on a number of factors but a twelve string version of this would be really hard to pass up:
starfire_iv_st_nat_flame_front-1500x630.jpg


Concerns? The width of the nut. 1 3/4" is great. Narrower than that and I have problems. Early XIIs were narrower as I recall. The other is the tailpiece. I put flatwounds on my 12 so that I don't have to change the strings often but when I do, I really don't want to have to deal with the tailpieces like the Guild trapeze (or the Hagstrom or the Rickenbacker "R"). A stop tailpiece with 12 holes that you don't have to do gymnastics to change strings would be great.

In the meantime, there is a 12 string made by the same company that would make the Starfire XII, that is SPG in Korea. It is a Gretsch Electromatic G5422-12. It does have a 1 3/4" nut and a trapeze tailpiece that you load from the top, not the bottom. That may be just what would do the trick for you. A lot of Guild fans also love Gretsch. I am one of them.
 

SFIV1967

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There are two that have been on the local MPLS/ST PAUL craigslist for a while so I am sure they would be open to offers.
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/msg/d/first-year-1966-guild/6494571788.html
https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/ram/msg/d/1967-guild-starfire-xii/6488865029.html
Well, the first one is less than original. Stripped finish and changed large size pickups. Changed tuners, changed TRC. Changed bridge. It's the first version with 16th fret neck to body joint.
The second one looks beautiful. The finish on the body is amazingly clean, almost like it was oversprayed with fresh laquer. But maybe it is really original as also the headstock looks like new. And the case looks clean.
Ralf
 
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Good eyes Ralph, I have played the red one and it's a nice guitar but I do think it has been over sprayed in clear. Still a nice player.
Thanks john
 
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