Guild Starfire IV Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar - Vintage Sunburst Reviews

Smooth guitar in every way

I played in bands in the 60's and my one friend played a Guild Starfire which he let me play and fell in love with the guitar. Since then I have play Gibson's customs and various other models. Last one was a Gibson 60's fiqured. Also have played Fender, Gretsch and various other makes. Today I received the Guild Starfire iv. This guitar is extremely well made. The sound and tone quality is what I look for in a guitar. Sure it needs a setup. But I know this will be my go to guitar for playing. I wish I would have bought one sooner. The money I have spent on guitars is way up there. This guitar I would put up against any other guitar I have played even a Gibson ES-335 Custom that I spent 5000.00 on. Sure you would say it is not a Gibson or USA made. But like I said why pay 5000.00 dollars on a guitar. When you can own this one and not break your bank account.

I am impressed by the Starfire IV. I had a Guild Starfire V back in the 60's and it was a great guitar. I've always wanted to find another one. I took a chance on a new SF IV ready to be disappointed. But that was not the case. The guitars Guild is producing overseas are as good and maybe better than my old SFV back in the 60's. No it doesn't have all the mojo that a vintage instrument has but it might get that too someday. All I can say is this is a guitar with very impressive build. Right down to the smallest details. The weight is nice and light, it's a very comfortable guitar to play sitting or standing, it just feels good in your hands and up against your body. Acoustically it rings out but like a 335 it has the center block so feedback is not a problem. The only thing I might change are the pickups. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with the stock pickups and they sound fine but I'd like to experiment with some others to see the difference in sound. Because it's not a standard humbucking size this could be a challenge. But it's definitely NOT a deal breaker for me.

This is really a great instrument. Guild is a master at making true "tools" for making music. You won't get any of the fancy shmancy nonsense you get with Gibson, but if you want a guitar that is simply a well built, quality tool for making music and nothing more, this and anything by Guild is the way to go. Sure, it's made in Korea, and yeah, it's a Poly finish which generally are two things I avoid, however, Guild did it right and when you play this guitar it doesn't feel like either. I was in the market for a 335 and money was no issue, however, there was something about this guitar through a Twin Reverb that kept me coming back. As much as I wanted to have the Gibson name on the headstock, the 335 didn't give me near as much joy to play as this did. It's a bare bones, semi hollow guitar that when you play it, there are no distractions, no pretentiousness, no nonsense. Just a great instrument, with great electronics, a great neck, frets and it stays in tune well. There's definitely not a $ difference between this and a 335. I bought the Starfire and not a day goes by that I don't think of how silly it is to spend $ on a 335 when you can get this for almost 1/4 of the price. This and my D20 are all I need to be happy. Believe me, if you need a great Semi hollow, no matter your budget, this is a great option and it blows anything else out of the water. Thank you Guild, for never going the pretentious, overpriced route that Gibson took. You make tools for making music and nothing more, and I love you for that. Cordoba really brought Guild back from the garbage Fender turned it into years ago. Cordoba makes Guild the way Guild should be made. This is wonderful.

During a recent vacation in Nashville, I had the privilege to hear two excellent guitarists play semi-hollow bodied guitars and the experience cemented my resolve to get one. Didn't hurt that my wife loves the sound of a semi-hollow, too! Times being what they are coupled with a new (older) home that needed some serious work, the budget was somewhat limited.
I'd heard so much about the great quality of guitars coming out of Korea that I thought I'd give it a go. This Guild is a beautiful instrument and fit into the budget. I had tried a couple of other brands similar in price range and for one reason or another, they left me flat.

From the minute I opened the Starfire IV ST, I was blown away. Binding on the body as well as on the neck was fit perfectly; no ridges or misalignment in the slightest. The woods chosen displayed some grain figuring and a smattering of 'birdseye' features to boot. Not as much as you'd get with a much more expensive instrument, but impressive nonetheless. Excellent fit and finish...

The frets are nicely done- no machining marks, nicely polished and no high frets. No choking or fretting out anywhere on the board. The fret ends are more than acceptable- not sharp and BETTER than recent Gibson Les Pauls I own (Classic and Studio), BETTER than my recent Fender Strat and Tele!

But what really floored me- I dialed in a nice low action (slightly less than 4/64ths) and the intonation was, using a Sonic Research strobe tuner, DEAD ON. I have NEVER owned a guitar that was spot on, right off the shelf. More evidence that Guild's Korean builders have got their stuff together!

There was one minute finish flaw on the headstock 'North' of the "G" tuning peg. Thats all.

I play with a fairly flat radius and the truss rod moved smoothly and allowed between .007 / .008 relief with little effort.

I like the LB1 pickups. they are different than what I'm used to (Gibson and Seymour Duncan full size humbuckers) but the neck produces a smooth, full tone with decent articulation; the bridge pickup is well balanced- spanky but not shrill in the least. Good rock and jazz tones easily dialed in! Don't be put off by the relatively low resistance ratings on these pups- further proof that OHMs don't necessarily equate to power, articulation or tone.

The volume and tone pots are full size- although I don't know what 'make' they are; they are NOT the typical small diameter pots often used on overseas made instruments.VERY usable sweep. The pickup selector switch functions well- has slightly more side-to-side play that my similarly equipped guitars, but no cutting out, crackles or noises.

The wonderfully finished frets are described as 'Tall Jumbo' (??) they are narrower than the jumbo frets on my Les Paul- but again are finished well and suit the radius of the guitar well. Speaking of which, it is unusual (to me) to have a 9.5" radius on a guitar of this style. But chording and lead lines play with very little effort- there won't be much of a curve getting used to these (my Fender Strat has a compound radius, my Les Paul 12" and my Tele 10") so I'm used to switching around somewhat.

This is a GREAT guitar for me- VERY excited to own it and I am confident it will become a permanent part of the family.

Finally, sales rep Ed Nystrom and his associate Stephanie are terrific people to buy from; QUICK to respond and genuinely concerned about my satisfaction, even though I'm not a 'famous' or well heeled customer! Ed's been my rep for many years and I hope, will be associated with him for many more!

I'm still in the break-in period with the Starfire, but so far, I'm loving it. Completely new to Guild guitars and had planned on picking up a semi-hollow Gretsch in the Electromatic line. After a bit of research, I came across the Starfire and decided it might be worth it to spend a bit more and go for the Guild. Very glad I did--this is a wonderful guitar that plays great out of the box. It's one of the easiest playing guitars I've ever owned, right up there with a Custom Telecaster I played years ago. Great action, comfortable neck. Went with the IV because I wanted a hardtail and specifically didn't want the Bigsby (had had nothing but issues with those in my limited experience and I rarely use vibrato). The build quality appears to be good, though it does seem a bit fragile. As far as I can tell, it's made in the same factory that makes the Gretsch Player models, and the fit and finish is excellent. Still putting the mini-humbuckers through the paces, but so far seem to have a lot of nice chime coming through a Reverb Deluxe, as compared to the full-size PUPs on my Les Paul. Maybe a touch less power, but still plenty of muscle, and definitely a step-up from the Broadtrons on the current Electromatics. Will be taking this for a set-up after a little more time with it, but honestly, there's not much to do. Could not be happier. Fantastic guitar.

I am absolutely in love with this guitar. The finish, the detail, the sound. Everything about this Guild is top notch. I was really excited to receive it and had high hopes but they exceeded my expectations. Awesome guitar!

Once again, Sweetwater is exceptional. Thanks to John.

The Starfire is a guitar I've been considering for a while; I had looked at some other models, but kept coming back to the Guild. The sunburst finish has always appealed to me, so I saw one on Sweetwater's site that weighed 7.6 pounds. Unusual in a semi-hollow, as they normally come in at 8 to 9 pounds.

The guitar arrived in one day. Incredible service from Sweetwater. I can't say enough about them.

On to the guitar. The finish and fit are flawless. It's very balanced tone-wise, the pickups are warm and bright at the same time without any ice-pickiness. The fretwork is absolutely perfect; I don't say that lightly, as I am very particular in that regard. The open-back Grover tuners are very high quality and add a vintage aesthetic. The semi-hollow has been played by Buddy Guy, Larry Carlton, Lee Rienour, Robben Ford, John Scofield, and many others. The Starfire is of such high quality that it easily meets and in some cases, exceeds guitars costing 2 to 3 times more. And on top of all of that, it comes with a TKL hardshell case.

Keep up the great work, Guild and Sweetwater!!!

I have been wanting a semi-hollow body guitar for quite some time and I finally decided to get one. I researched all my options for days before finally deciding on the Guild Starfire IV ST. I read so many good things about it and there was nothing I saw that looked nearly as nice for the money.

After receiving the guitar I ban say I am just thrilled with this purchase! The Starfire is unbelievable well made! The fit and finish are perfect and I can't find a single flaw on it. It is sturdy, but still light enough to enjoy without fatigue. It came well setup from Sweetwater as usual and plays so very easy.

My biggest concern when ordering was the pickups because I have never had a guitar with the Little Buckers in it. Well my worries were completely alleviated after just 15 minutes playing and a little tweaking of the pickup height. The sound is fantastic and very different from anything else I currently own.

If you are looking for a great semi-hollow body guitar you owe it to yourself to try one these fine Guild guitars!

I don't use the term "Great" that often. I gave this guitar 4.5 stars instead of 5 because this instrument needed a bit of tweaking. I expected that, I guess, but I was hoping it would be perfect right out of the box. For a lot of people, it might have been ... but I was trying to match a starfire 4 I had purchased in the dim but glorious past .... 1968 to be exact. ... That guitar was absolute magic right off the shelf. ... In the mid seventies circumstances forced me to sell it. ... I sold it to a professional guitar instructor and club player. ... A year ago I located him and, though he absolutely refused to sell it back to me, he did permit me to play it a bit. ... It was beat up and pretty ugly, and repaired here and there and pretty much all over hell ... but it felt exactly as I remembered it. ... And I could play it as easily as I had played it almost 50 years ago. ... It was that Guild magic. ... Anyway, ... I had the same hopes for this instrument, but not really the complete expectation. ... So the bar may have been set just a little high to begin with. ... However ... I started my quest by waiting till the right finish showed up online at Sweetwater. ... The right shade of fretboard. ... the right appearance in the wood. ... the big difference in the architecture was that this new one had a stop-tailpiece. ... Mine, of yore, had a metal saddle on a wooden floating bridge. ... like the black one offered by Sweetwater ... but I'm stuck on the "Antique Sunburst".

So ... when the guitar arrived, I was very pleased with the weight and the feel and everything was pretty right so far. The workmanship was exact and the guitar was absolutely solid. And the balance was perfect.

The finish was flawless. I felt at home with this guitar right away.

The mini-humbuckers were kind of an unknown, but in the end they sounded right, too ... if I didn't turn them up all the way.

The frets were wrong, but smooth and fast. ... But I had them lowered a bit anyway. ...The strings, too. ... and , though I kept the stop tail piece and still used it to anchor the strings ( 9's ), I added a Guild Harp tail piece as well ... to me a Guild Starfire doesn't really look like a Guild without one.

The neck needed a little adjustment ( a couple frets buzzed and died out kind of fast ), but that was easy enough to fix.

THE ONLY REAL COMPLAINT I HAD WITH THIS INSTRUMENT was that THE RETAINING WIRE IN THE BRIDGE rattled like mad ... like a cheap Epiphone. At first I thought it was all the strings up and down the entire neck, but it was the bridge wire.

I took the guitar to a guitar maker I know ( Joe Riggio ) and he re-rigged it to take out the rattles.

The mini hum-buckers were way too bright ... my fingers whistled across the strings constantly ... but I dialed back the volume (as much as it pained me to do it ... ( live music is loudest ) and suddenly, around 8 and a half, there was that beautiful old Guild tone that I swear you can't get from any other make of guitar ... so I was happy.

The lowered frets worked their magic, too ... so ... again ... I'm happy. ... My Guild Starfire 4 is a first rate instrument ... after a little tweaking.

Three other surprises to note: ... a real bone nut, ... beautiful aged-looking purfling , ... expertly applied ... and an absolute killer hard case, ... right out of Guild 1968.

And Thanks to Drew at Sweetwater, who made sure that as many of my needs as possible were met at the point of sale before shipping. Believe me, I put him through the ringer.
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I have only had this for a couple of days, but I would have to say to anyone fearing to purchase this because of far east manufacture (guitar is made in Korea - as far as I know in the same facility where the consumer Gretsch hollowbody guitars are made), don't let that stop you. Fit and finish is very good. Binding and inlays all look good - no noticable gaps or filler. Finish is very good. Guitar came set up with the bridge a little on the high side, but I lowered it and have no fretting out or buzzing issues. Tuners are open-back, but seem to work smoothly and stay in tune (strings are new, so I may update this later, once the strings are broken in) Pickups are bright and articulate, as you would expect from a minihumbucker, probably a little less grit than the average P90, but more grit than a medium output Fender single coil (say a tex-mex or similar). Think slightly underwound PAF and you have it. I would guess this could approximate either Gretsch or Gibson tones, though not perfectly - it's its own thing. Neck is a little brighter and chimier than you would expect in a 335. Neck is very comfortable for me - fretboard feels more spacious than my Epiphone Dot, even if the specs are similar. Quality is subjective, but I would rate this as high as my MIM and MIJ fenders - maybe higher.

I got this on sale for around $800.00 - at that price I would give it 5 stars. At the $1100 street price, I am still tempted to give it 5, but competition is a little fiercer there, so 4 it is.

A note on customer service. I had this guitar within two days, even though I picked free shipping. My sales rep (Luke) called me personally to let me know the guitar shipped and to recommend leaving it in the case a few hours after arrival to slowly come up to temperature - a nice touch. Guitar was set up pretty well and was playable right out of the box with only minor tuning. Action was slightly high, but not uncomfortable at all. Intonation was pretty close, allowing for environmental differences. All in all, I have been very satisfied with every Sweetwater guitar purchase (this is my third).