GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 1998 Guild Starfire III

All images and text copyrighted and property of Greg Gagliano.

FACTOIDS & TRIVIA

After a 20-plus year hiatus, the Starfire III was re-introduced in 1997 by FMIC, the owner of Guild from 1995 to 2014. It is not a reissue of the 1960s Starfire, but rather a reintroduction of the 1970s Starfire that has a body with a rounder bottom, deeper cutaway, and narrower upper bout and waist. Body length, lower bout width and top thickness remained unchanged, but the headstock grew to 3-7/8 inches wide compared to 3-9/16 inches for the ‘60s headstock. Initially, the new Starfire III was offered with a laminated mahogany or laminated maple body, but the mahogany option was dropped by 2001. Finish options included natural and sunburst for maple bodies, and the traditional Starfire transparent red and black for mahogany bodies. Instead of using their tried-and-true HB-1 pickup, Guild opted to use Seymour Duncan SD-1 humbuckers which are nearly identical to the specifications of the Duncan SH-1 '59 pickup. Sometime in 1999 the Starfire III was fitted with Fender-made HB-1 humbuckers in place of the Duncans. These were allegedly wound to the same specs as the previously-used Duncan SD-1s. Some players claim there is difference in sound between the Duncan and Fender/Guild humbuckers and others don't, so in the final anaysis, let your ears guide you. The guitar shown here is a less common mahogany example made during the second year of production for the rebooted Starfire III.

GUILD STARFIRE III (1998)

Body: Hollow; laminated 1-piece mahogany top, back, and sides; double bound bound top and back