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Your cart is empty. A deluxe double cutaway loaded with features that give a fully expressive voice to your individual playing style. The classic Guild Starfire V is a semi-hollow beauty with a graceful 16 3/8″ thinline body and twin Guild LB-1 “Little Bucker” pickups that make it an outstanding choice with an authentic Guild voice perfect for rock, blues, roots and more. The Starfire V’s all-mahogany body features an arched top and back, with dual f holes, elegant ivory white body binding, black/white purfling and center-block construction.
Other premium features include bound three-piece mahogany/maple/mahogany neck with vintage-style “soft U” profile, 22-fret rosewood fingerboard with 9 1/2″ radius and pearloid block inlays, three-way pickup selector switch, individual volume and tone controls for each pickup and master volume, Tune-O-Matic bridge with rosewood base, Guild vibrato tailpiece, Grover Sta-Tite™ tuning machines, nickel hardware and a gorgeous Cherry Red finish. Includes plush-lined hard-shell case. Also available in Black and Snowcrest White.
fightforfreedom
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2025
Great quality and tone. Excellent fit and finish. Big Guild fan. Best bang for the buck.
Ronald Carr
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2024
I've owned this Beauty for two years now, and just realized that I had never written a review. I'm 70y.o. now, and have owned a number of guitars.. including several high-end Gretsch models. The Guild tarrier V is far superior in it's playability and tonal qualities.
C.A. Blatz
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2022
This is a wonderfully built instrument and an incredible value for the money. It punches well above its price bracket.The pickups are warm, airy, articulate, clear and have a unique vintage character. I’ve heard them described as somewhere between PAFs and Filtertrons and that seems on point. They have their own voice. There’s a nice texture to the sound and lots of tones available between the three selector settings and the master volume configuration.The hardware is excellent—Grover tuners, Guild branded Bigsby-style tremolo tailpiece, even the tune-o-matic bridge, which is a style I’ve never been fond if, feels solid. The pots feel smooth and high quality. If anything, the switch is a little loose, but connections are sound.The fretwork is the best on any new guitar I’ve played. The binding and inlays are clean. The finish is beautiful.The neck profile is thicker than my Fenders, but not uncomfortably so. It’s chunky but feels fast and easily playable with the narrow jumbo frets.The nut on mine was binding a bit with tremolo use, so I had a setup done. It’s the easiest playing guitar I have now. And a fun sidenote—my luthier said it was on par with any of the US made guilds he had worked on. That’s high praise.If you’re looking for a semi-hollowbody in the 335/Gretsch category but you’d like something with a unique look and sound, and phenomenal playability, this is a great option for you.
Brad Kane
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2021
Sounds great, looks great, and matches my wife's drum kit. No question - I would buy this again! The cardboard box it came in was a disaster, but the case was unharmed, and the guitar was happily nestled in the case. I would not suggest buying this without a hardshell case for shipping.
ronald peter
Reviewed in Canada on March 8, 2017
Love the sound and feel of this guild...plays great...was a little worried buying this blind but my fears were unfounded...it ships in the TKL case inside the manufacturers box which is a classy move on guild's part...I had someone stay at my place to receive the package so it wasn't sitting outside my door...
Andy
Reviewed in Canada on February 2, 2017
I was expecting something consistent with the price of this guitar: a mid-range instrument with nice but imperfect fit and finish. That's not what I got.This thing is immaculate, every bit as beautiful as a high end Gibson. The tone is incredible, the setup was perfect right out of the box with perfect intonation up and down the neck. It's impossible to describe how perfect the finish is, the attention to detail, the feel of the tuners. It tunes well, stay in tune, plays beautifully. It looks and feels better than most $2000 guitars out there.The single 1-star review here seems completely off-base. The guitar is not Chinese made, but Korean. It has a post-Fender serial number, hand written, meaning it was made after Guild left Fender. I can't find any sign of any quality issues of any kind.The guitar came setup with 11-49 strings. Some people might find these heavy, but I'll stick with them for now, given that they sound amazing and the setup is perfect for them. I'll probably look at dropping to 10-46's when I change the strings but I'm reluctant to do so since it will mean a new setup. I hate to change such a near-perfect instrument.I would say don't hesitate to buy this guitar. If you're concerned about quality, don't be. My $2000 Fender DeLuxe tele had issues from end to end, right out of the box. This guitar has 0 issues. I'd take it on stage as-is, and I probably will. Just buy it, trust me! :)
Nacho
Reviewed in Canada on March 10, 2016
Ordered this item based on online reviews & Amazons sale price. Arrived with manufacturing damage (was not damaged in shipment). Returned to Amazon & received a second unit at no charge. Second appeared fine. A beautiful looking guitar. Would not function in neck pickup position and wiring was also not connected properly in middle switch position. Before ordering you should know these guitars are made in China. It seems most people are very happy with their purchase but that was not my experience. Getting two consecutive guitars with issues makes me believe Guild has quality control issues. I also wonder why Amazon is selling these at 50% of their retail price. Are these factory seconds? Because of these issues I requested a refund. Make sure you read Amazons return policy. Full refund only applies to certain items. In the case of this guitar they deducted their cost to ship it to me and I had to pay the cost to ship it back to them (this cost me a total of $175.00). I received faulty items and did not receive a 100% refund. To say I am unhappy with Amazon would be an understatement. I'm sure most people have a good experience buying a guitar online, just be aware of what can go wrong
Alexis L.
Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2016
Beautiful guitar. I have played guitar for over 30 years and never had a semi hollow body electric. Guild has a lot of quality in this product. It is very nice to play and has beautiful and very different sounds with the two pick ups and the separate tone and volumen controls. Set up was spot on and it came with a very good hard case. Have been using it through a Fender Mustang III with the four button foot switch and it is awesome. Very happy with it.
goldybark7
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2015
Excellent sound and fantastic price from Amazon. This was to replace a Starfire IV I had back in the 70s. Guild is still one of the best hollow body electrics ever made and the new V is beautiful.
Ken Yo
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015
Unbelievable was in my hands in Oz within 3 working days- amazing job Thank you.As for the guitar it is a beautiful instrument; which arrived in perfect condition and well set up. Sounds sweet.Only got it today, but I couldn't stop playing.Definitely worth the purcahase price; which included a nice case.
GSinScottsdale
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2014
I have always wanted a thin semi-hollow guitar with a Bigsby. When I saw the Guild announcement for the Starfire V, I knew my quest was over...if I could find one. For months, none of the local shops stocked this latest Guild electric and it wasn't until last May that I found one one Amazon, being sold by Moore Brothers Music. The guitar (made in Korea) arrived promptly and in pristine condition. All that was required was to re-tune to slackened strings to standard pitch and start playing. The only nit to pick was that the nut slots were too narrow for the unwound strings, leading to pinging when the Bigsby was used or the tuners tightened. Now, as a retired engineer, I am constitutionally incapable of leaving well-enough alone. So, my (probably unnecessary) enhancements include: 1. Replacing the nice open-back Grover Sta-Tite tuners with Grover locking ones; 2. Replacing the Tune-O-Matic bridge with a Golden Age roller bridge from StewMac.com (with a little hole drilling in the new bridge); 3. Adding the Vibromate Spoiler to the Bigsby to simplify string changes. (I also fixed the nut slots.) Overall, I was very satisfied with the guitar, even before I "improved" it. If you are also on a quest for this type of guitar, do consider the NEW Guild Starfire V, and good luck finding one.
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