A 50 Year History and a Modern Reissue
The Guild Starfire III has been an icon in the Guild electric guitar lineup since the early 1960s, delivering incredible tones, playability, and style to guitarists for many decades. Blending the warm, organic tones of its hollowbody design with a thinline body depth and Florentine cutaway, the Starfire III has something for every type of player and musical style. Over the years it has enjoyed several iterations, and the current reissue models that reside in the Newark St. Collection blend the best of all eras with modern refinements, premium build quality, and value.
All Mahogany Thinline Hollowbody Design with Florentine Cutaway
Mahogany is known for its sweet and warm tonal characteristics, with beautiful sustain. The Starfire III is designed with an arched mahogany top with two period correct f-holes, arched back, and mahogany sides built in a thinline body depth with Florentine cutaway.
The thin depth controls feedback while still delivering classic hollowbody warmth and richness, and the Florentine cutaway provides a comfortable and ergonomic playing experience with 14 frets to the body and 24.75” scale. Altogether the Starfire III is incredibly lightweight and resonant compared to typical hollowbodies.
Guild LB-1 Pickups
Guild “Little Bucker” LB-1s were first introduced in the early 1960s as alternatives to single coil pickups. They offer an output that sits somewhere between a single-coil and a vintage-style PAF humbucker, offering more jangle than a PAF, but a little more warmth than a traditional single-coil. With Alnico V magnets and a narrower size format than a traditional humbucker, LB-1s have become the secret weapon of many guitarists over the years, delivering a wide range of coveted boutique quality tones that can drive, sustain, shimmer, and spank.
Premium Appointments
With a Ebony fingerboard, Mother of Pearl headstock Guild “Peak” and “Chesterfield” inlays, volume and tone controls for each pickup, a hardshell case and many more features, the Starfire III is professional level instrument. A Guild Floating Vibrato tailpiece allows for smooth bends, tremolos, and nuances, while 18:1 tuning machines ensure accurate tuning.
Classic Aesthetics
The Guild Starfire III comes standard with a transparent Cherry red finish in high gloss. The grain pattern of the mahogany body is visible, and the finish coating is ultra-thin for maximum resonance.
*New for 2023, Guild has re-released a limited run of the Starfire III in all black gloss.
This guitar is available through any Authorized Guild Dealer. Find one near you by clicking the button above. If you have any troubles finding a dealer near you, please don’t hesitate to contact us and a Guild Representative will be happy to help.
*This is a running spec change to comply with CITES regulations. More information.
| Body Type | Hollow Body |
| Body Shape | Starfire III |
| Body Top | Arched Mahogany |
| Body Wood (Solid Bodies) | N / A |
| Soundhole / F Holes Binding | Unbound F Holes |
| Body Sides | Mahogany |
| Body Back | Arched Mahogany |
| Purfling | Black / Ivory ABS |
| Body Binding | Ivory ABS |
| Neck Material | Mahogany |
| Scale Length | 24 3/4" (629mm) |
| Neck Shape | Vintage Soft "U" |
| Nut Width | 1 11/16" (43mm) |
| Neck Thickness 1st Fret | 20mm |
| Neck Thickness 9th Fret | 24mm |
| Truss Rod | Dual Action |
| Truss Rod Wrench | 7mm Socket Wrench |
| Fingerboard Material | Indian Rosewood or Ebony (Dependent on production date)* |
| Fingerboard Radius | 9 1/2" (240mm) |
| Fingerboard Inlays | Pearloid Dots |
| Fingerboard Inlay Location | 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 (x2), 15 |
| Frets Total | 20 |
| Fret Type | Narrow Jumbo |
| Fingerboard Binding | Ivory ABS |
| Color | Black (BLK) |
| Bridge String Spacing | 2" (51mm) |
| Hardware Finish / Plating | Nickel |
| Bridge | Guild Tune-O-Matic with Rosewood or Ebony Base (Dependent on production date)* |
| Tailpiece | Guild Vibrato Tailpiece Hollow Body - Aluminum |
| Nut Material | Bone |
| Tuning Machines | Grover® Sta-Tite™ |
| Strap Buttons | Vintage Pawn |
| Pickguard | Black with Guild Logo |
| Bridge Pickup | Guild LB-1 |
| Neck Pickup | Guild LB-1 |
| Pickup Switch | 3-Way Toggle: 1. Bridge Pickup - 2. Bridge and Neck Pickups - 3. Neck Pickup |
| Controls | Neck Volume & Tone, Bridge Volume & Tone, 3-way Toggle Pickup Switch |
| Strings | D'Addario EXL115 Nickel Wound, Medium (.011 - .049) |
| Included Case | Guild Deluxe Electric Guitar Hardshell Case |
| Upper Bout Width | 11 3/4" (299mm) |
| Lower Bout Width | 16 3/8" (416mm) |
| Body Depth Upper Bout | 1 3/4" (44mm) |
| Body Depth Lower Bout | 1 7/8" (48mm) |
| Body Length | 20 1/4" (514mm) |
| Overall Length | 41" (1041mm) |
| Item # | 3792005806 |
Due to ongoing product development efforts, exact specifications are subject to change from time to time.
