All user reviews of 4/5 for the Guild Starfire III

After much hinting about wanting to get an electric guitar, my wife gave me $1500 as a Christmas present and turned me loose. I had been window shopping and test playing at numerous stores and had all ready decided on the Guild Starfire III. I paid $1395 at Guitar Center in Eugene, Oregon two years ago.

The looks ( I got the blonde ), the playability, and the tone hooked me. The neck reminded me of the 1962 Gibson Les Paul Jr. that I once owned. I test played several Gretsch's and a couple of different Gibsons, but the neck on the Starfire kept drawing me back.

Guild refers to it as light, but it seems to get pretty heavy after hanging around your neck for a couple of hours. Intonation and general set-up needed quite a bit of adjustment. Did not care for the strings it came with.

Overall fit is very good, couldn't say excellent because there are some very minor imperfections at a couple of joints. The finish is holding up beautifully after a couple of years with just the normal cleaning and occasional polishing.

Guitars are very personal. The neck fits my small hands, and I love its looks. I thought when I bought it that it was a tremendous value and I still think so two years later.

This review was originally published on http://www.musicgearreview.com