The Guild Starfire IV was arguably the most popular guitar in the Starfire line, enjoying the longest production run into the early 1980s. It was originally introduced in the early 60s as a mid-level semi-hollow electric, and promoted as having the same quality and look of the Starfire V without the more expensive hardware. Looking back on it now, that promotion probably was flawed due the fact that all Starfires were of similar construction. Regardless, legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy lent his endorsement to the model in the 70s.
During the first few years of production the IV changed very little. But in 1967 the neck was slightly modified by moving the joint from the 16th to the 18th front. When the Starfire V died in the early 1970s, the IV inherited the RotoMatic tuners, block inlay, and master volume control. The modifications are most likely what extended the Starfire IV's life as long as it did.
By the early 1980s the Starfire IV was the only model still in production. The old humbuckers were replaced by Guild XR-7 pickups, a move that wasn't well received by some Starfire IV aficionados. Two other significant changes that may have eventually led to its downfall were the replacement of the block inlay with a dot inlay on a mahogany fretboard, and a new Quickchange SP-6 tailpiece. Toward the end of its life the Starfire IV had undergone enough changes that it only resembled the original in terms of overall aesthetic appearance.
With the demise of the Starfire IV in the 1980s, one of Guild's most popular electric archtops was no more. When Fender bought out Guild, they tried to resurrect the line under the DeArmond name with little success. Today, the Starfire IV is a good collectible guitar that a lot of dealers and blues musicians would be happy to own.
The Guild Starfire IV was arguably the most popular guitar in the Starfire line, enjoying the longest production run into the early 1980s. It was originally introduced in the early 60s as a mid-level semi-hollow electric, and promoted as having the same quality and look of the Starfire V without the more expensive hardware. Looking back on it now, that promotion probably was flawed due the fact that all Starfires were of similar construction. Regardless, legendary blues guitarist Buddy Guy lent his endorsement to the model in the 70s.
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