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Pros:
- Clear sound
- Highly individualized pickup controls
- Design to fall in love with
Cons:
- You might notice some buzz at the frets
A semi-hollow body electric guitar is a marvelous instrument. It is an amalgam of qualities most revered in hollow and solid body electric guitars. A combination of the deep, warm sound provided by the hollow parts of the instrument and the amplified, electrifying sound of the pickup. It is right in the middle, where it doesn’t have as much feedback as its fellow hollow-body siblings, yet it still retains their acoustic properties. These instruments are inspiring to me, and yet the best of them are not simply inspiring. They are a marvel, a miracle even, visited upon us by the grace of great manufacturers. Let us take a look at one of these marvels, and see what makes them so desirable.
Body Quality
The designs of the semi-hollow body guitars always seem rather refined and exciting to me. It is thus very hard to make me feel bad about a semi-hollow body guitar look. It is very easy to get me excited though. When I get this excited about a design, you should know that the guitar is probably quite amazing. The classic guild starfire design comes straight from the sixties, hitting the modern times with its rounded, beautiful body. It is a lovely-looking guitar, with the two F-holes beautifully accentuating the slender, handsomeness of the instrument.
The body of the guitar is constructed all out of mahogany. This hardwood is known for its many good qualities. Making up the top, back and sides of the guitar, the qualities of the mahogany are especially accentuated and pronounced. The tonewood is known for its powerful resonance with the low tones of a guitar, and in this case, it produces a beautiful, warming effect on the sound. The spike of the mid tones feels rather pleasant and lovely, while the high tones do not lose their power. The sturdiness of the hardwood is highly appreciated as well, though the weight of the wood might be a problem, since the guitar is a little bulky. Though the hollow parts of the body make it more lightweight and make sure you don’t have much of a problem.
The neck of the guitar is of a special, three-piece design, combining mahogany, maple and mahogany again. This allows the guitar extra durability, extending its lifespan by a whole lot. Mahogany and Maple are known to make really good neck woods, so making a three piece neck out of them serves the purpose extremely well. The neck is set through the body of the guitar. The fretboard is made out of rosewood.
Hardware
The guitar comes with a Guild Vibrato Tailpiece bridge. This provides the instrument with some really nice action, making it easy and fun to play. The tailpiece comes in very useful when you get down to bending your notes.
The guitar has a nut made out of actual bone. At this price point, this is to be expected. This allows the guitar some nice harmony and resists the presence of any string buzz.
The tuning machine of the guitar is designed after the vintage, 60’s starfire guitar. The tuning stability on the guitar is impeccable, so I am going to stop talking about it now.
Electronics
The guitar comes with two pickups, both of them humbuckers. Located at the neck and the bridge of the guitar, the Guild LB-1 Humbuckers are definitely a great addition to the sound of the instrument. They have a clear, warm sound with strong output and great tonal range and detail. Their lifespan should not be questioned as it seems they could last forever, and the sound they produce could be fallen in love with.
The guitar comes with two individual volume knobs and two individual tone knobs. The guitar also has a single three-way pickup selector. This allows for great flexibility in terms of customization of sound.
Guild Starfire V Sound
The sound of the guitar borders on the divine. The resonance chamber of the guitar allows for a warm, thick sound to be spread throughout the guitar. The mahogany top and sides of the guitar produce an incredible resonance with the deep tones of the guitar, enhancing the mid tones as well. The humbuckers are highly nuanced in their tonality. The sound is definitely something that you can easily love for the rest of your life.
Conclusion
This is one of the greatest semi-hollow body guitars you can get your hands on. It is highly recommended to anyone looking for an instrument that is somewhere between a hollow-body and a solid body electric guitar.
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