lungimsam
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Recently got this used-like new! There was my chatter about it in another thread but thought I would post a thread here since greenies don't get talked about too often here in case anyone would find it interesting. Serial starts with KSG17, so I think it means a 2017 model, even though seller said he bought it from Sweetwater in 2019.
It is the CMG version before they started using binding on fingerboards, which I like because I do not like bound fingerboards. Bonus!!
Brief Backstory and purchase:
I already own a 2013 FMIC Starfire cherry mahogany Bisonic I. I had to do alot to it to get it sounding good, but finally did and that Cherry one is great now. I added a neck pup and that sounds fantastic on it.
But I always wanted a "II" model and thought one with maple would be good for variety. So it was either gonna have to be the maple finish or green version for a new production bass. Green came up on Fbook Marketplace for an awesome price and I was happy to see it was never really played. 0 fret wear, no scratches, nothing wrong at all that I can find. I drove over an hour to go check it out thinking along the way that I must be crazy to do so because I just knew something would be wrong with it and I would just have to turn around and go home without it. But I was really surprised to see it was really in like new condition, and the color was much nicer than pics online show these green models to be. I even checked to make sure the Trod worked and the bridge was good before buying it. Seller seemed to be a very nice man and said he never really played it because he didn't like the way the big semi-hollow body felt. I have heard others say the same. I like the big Starfire body, myself. He had an interesting and beautiful collection of off-brand basses. And looked like a '60's silver face fender cabinet and head I played the bass through.
Sound and electronics:
The green one already sounds great, as-is, and the electronics seem to work better than the stock FMIC pots on my cherry I bass ever did. Nice sweep on everything. On a side note, I didn't really think about it before that after going from 9 down to "1"on the knobs, you can keep going about 25% more to towards the word "Tone" or "Volume". I mean I knew the knob turned all they way and worked, but you could technically say the knob goes "9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-blank gap-T-O-N-E" Not sure why I never noticed that on the FMIC bass I already had. Doesn't really matter. Just a curious point on those knobs that the audible sweep goes beyond the numbers.
As far as sound goes, they are very similar (neither is better or worse, I love them both) but the green bass has more kick and definition on the low E string. The tone of the bass also has more "body" to the sound, is the only way I can put it into words. Like more depth of tone. The tone is more consistent when playing. The FMIC is more one dimensional tone. Not as "deep" sounding. They both have the same string set on them. The neck pups produce the same type of voice on both basses. The bridge pickup on the green bass is waaaaaaaayyyy better sounding. Nice full tone and bright and clear. The FMIC bridge pup is alot deader sounding, to the point I only use the neck pickup on that bass.
Physically they feel the same and seem to be the same thing dimensions-wise. The green is maple body, hog/maple (?) stripe/hog neck. No binding, which I like. The edges of the fretboard finish is well done and not foggy like my FMIC cherry Starfire has.
Color:
It is translucent green. Like a Minty dark green. Not army green, like some pics online show. Lights up bright and translucent in daylight or bright lights.
Can easily see all the wood grain in daylight, though I cannot capture it in pics. The human eye is much better than any camera. If you look close at the pick of the back of the headstock, the grain is kind of fanned looking, like feathers, which is neat.
When light hits the bass some contours light up brighter making it look almost bursted in some spots. It is fun to look at. It is easier to see the grain on my cherry FMIC bass than the green bass.
When I first got it I noticed that after putting a new set of strings on it sounded like everything below the 5th fret on the E and A strings sounded out of tune even though the tuner said it was all in tune. I noticed the E and A strings were not stable and would go lightly flat or sharp alot. After straightening the neck and cutting the nut slots down to a good height (stock was way high), and adjusting the action and intonation, those strings still sounded funny. Then I remembered that I cut the string ends off without bending them first, which can be a problem with the type of strings I use, destabilizing the ribbon and ruining the string. I put a new set on and all is well now. Praise the Lord everything is fine and sounds great! I hope to play it at church this weekend.
I love both of my Starfire basses and I am glad I got this one. Having two now I was thinking if I should do different strings on them, like make one rounds, one flats. Or one metallic sounding flats and one rubbery tone flats. But which one? I like them both so much just the way they are. But I will hopefully put Hipshot ultralight tuners on the green one like I did on the red one to alleviate the minor neck heaviness. Worked great for the red bass, hopefully just as well for the green bass although it really doesn't dive with the Comfort Strapp I use. I already installed my favorite Dunlop Dual Design Straploks.
If you have a green Starfire of any era I encourage you to post pics and write a review! I’d be interested to hear your impressions of it!!
It is the CMG version before they started using binding on fingerboards, which I like because I do not like bound fingerboards. Bonus!!
Brief Backstory and purchase:
I already own a 2013 FMIC Starfire cherry mahogany Bisonic I. I had to do alot to it to get it sounding good, but finally did and that Cherry one is great now. I added a neck pup and that sounds fantastic on it.
But I always wanted a "II" model and thought one with maple would be good for variety. So it was either gonna have to be the maple finish or green version for a new production bass. Green came up on Fbook Marketplace for an awesome price and I was happy to see it was never really played. 0 fret wear, no scratches, nothing wrong at all that I can find. I drove over an hour to go check it out thinking along the way that I must be crazy to do so because I just knew something would be wrong with it and I would just have to turn around and go home without it. But I was really surprised to see it was really in like new condition, and the color was much nicer than pics online show these green models to be. I even checked to make sure the Trod worked and the bridge was good before buying it. Seller seemed to be a very nice man and said he never really played it because he didn't like the way the big semi-hollow body felt. I have heard others say the same. I like the big Starfire body, myself. He had an interesting and beautiful collection of off-brand basses. And looked like a '60's silver face fender cabinet and head I played the bass through.
Sound and electronics:
The green one already sounds great, as-is, and the electronics seem to work better than the stock FMIC pots on my cherry I bass ever did. Nice sweep on everything. On a side note, I didn't really think about it before that after going from 9 down to "1"on the knobs, you can keep going about 25% more to towards the word "Tone" or "Volume". I mean I knew the knob turned all they way and worked, but you could technically say the knob goes "9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-blank gap-T-O-N-E" Not sure why I never noticed that on the FMIC bass I already had. Doesn't really matter. Just a curious point on those knobs that the audible sweep goes beyond the numbers.
As far as sound goes, they are very similar (neither is better or worse, I love them both) but the green bass has more kick and definition on the low E string. The tone of the bass also has more "body" to the sound, is the only way I can put it into words. Like more depth of tone. The tone is more consistent when playing. The FMIC is more one dimensional tone. Not as "deep" sounding. They both have the same string set on them. The neck pups produce the same type of voice on both basses. The bridge pickup on the green bass is waaaaaaaayyyy better sounding. Nice full tone and bright and clear. The FMIC bridge pup is alot deader sounding, to the point I only use the neck pickup on that bass.
Physically they feel the same and seem to be the same thing dimensions-wise. The green is maple body, hog/maple (?) stripe/hog neck. No binding, which I like. The edges of the fretboard finish is well done and not foggy like my FMIC cherry Starfire has.
Color:
It is translucent green. Like a Minty dark green. Not army green, like some pics online show. Lights up bright and translucent in daylight or bright lights.
Can easily see all the wood grain in daylight, though I cannot capture it in pics. The human eye is much better than any camera. If you look close at the pick of the back of the headstock, the grain is kind of fanned looking, like feathers, which is neat.
When light hits the bass some contours light up brighter making it look almost bursted in some spots. It is fun to look at. It is easier to see the grain on my cherry FMIC bass than the green bass.
When I first got it I noticed that after putting a new set of strings on it sounded like everything below the 5th fret on the E and A strings sounded out of tune even though the tuner said it was all in tune. I noticed the E and A strings were not stable and would go lightly flat or sharp alot. After straightening the neck and cutting the nut slots down to a good height (stock was way high), and adjusting the action and intonation, those strings still sounded funny. Then I remembered that I cut the string ends off without bending them first, which can be a problem with the type of strings I use, destabilizing the ribbon and ruining the string. I put a new set on and all is well now. Praise the Lord everything is fine and sounds great! I hope to play it at church this weekend.
I love both of my Starfire basses and I am glad I got this one. Having two now I was thinking if I should do different strings on them, like make one rounds, one flats. Or one metallic sounding flats and one rubbery tone flats. But which one? I like them both so much just the way they are. But I will hopefully put Hipshot ultralight tuners on the green one like I did on the red one to alleviate the minor neck heaviness. Worked great for the red bass, hopefully just as well for the green bass although it really doesn't dive with the Comfort Strapp I use. I already installed my favorite Dunlop Dual Design Straploks.
If you have a green Starfire of any era I encourage you to post pics and write a review! I’d be interested to hear your impressions of it!!
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That is the only biggie I found among my sample of two Starfire basses. Of course, now the production Starfires have neck binding so no issue there.
