1967 Guild Starfire IV, factory Left Handed, in the very rare Emerald Green finish. Most of the Starfire IVs were Cherry or Sunburst, so the Emerald Green is considered a custom color for this model, available at extra cost as a catalog item; very rare for a righty, let alone a lefty!
This Starfire IV is a Semi-Hollow Body Electric Guitar, made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # EL-1803(1967), laminated maple body, mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original hardshell case. This model is similar to the Gibson ES-335, which also has the center block for enhanced sustain and reduced feedback. Unlike the Gibson model for the same year, the Starfire has the very desirable 1 11/16 wide nut, which Gibson stopped making in early 1965, when they switched to the narrow (and much maligned) 1 9/16 wide nut.
Inspired by their thinline-semi Slim Jim series, the Starfire was released by Guild in 1960. The single cutaway fell in the hands of various artists, and a twin-cutaway version was later introduced in 1963. The Guild Starfire came in several variations; seven guitars and two basses, and was consided by many players to be a great relative value competitor to the Gibson 335 family of thinline electric semi-hollow-bodies. The Starfire IV model is the best known, and is held in high regard, especially among blues musicians. The great Buddy Guy played a 1960s Cherry Starfire IV during the late 1970s and most of the 1980s.
The pickups are the typical 1960’s style Guild humbucking pickups, generally similar to but a bit brighter and crisper sounding than the Gibson equivalent. Output is 7.32K/neck and 7.01K/bridge.
The frets are original with only minor wear around the typical 1st three frets. The binding is completely intact and in EXC condition throughout, with no shrinking anywhere. The original frets nibs are all intact. The finish is strong and unfaded, with very little checking-very nice condition indeed! There is no buckle wear on the back; there are some typical minor nicks and dings on the body for a guitar of this age. The neck is in great shape; there is a small area(1/2w x 3/16h) under the 8th fret/treble side where the finish is missing; also a smudge-type area on the bottom of the neck under the 9th fret. Those would be the only areas of wear to make note of.
Overall, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to find an all original factory left handed Guild Star IV from the 1960s, especially in this condition and in the Emerald Green custom color. This is a very rare opportunity to acquire a superb vintage left handed Guild Starfire IV!
