Happy Face
Justified Ancient of MuMu
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2007
- Messages
- 924
- Reaction score
- 247
A lovely thing. $2500 might work for someone.
Yes. Talk Bass.Talk Bass forum?
I recalled that someone here had one once.Just had a look, and it's not my old one! I liked mine, but I like my Starfires better.
It's a GSR M-85 II located in Jupiter, FL:I didn't find it on TalkBass, probably due to impatience on my part but if someone snags a link they should share.
I liked mine, but with a body that light and a headstock that big, the neck dive issue couldn't be resolved, even with Hipshot tuners. Also, the pickups really left something to be desired, especially compared to my Dark Starred DeArmond Starfire, and Greenie too.mine is super nice but i never play bass
thanks, I am down to only 2 basses now, and no bass amp. I would like to put Novaks in the M-85, and sell my last vintage SF bass (and buy a bass amp). might be a while, howeverAnd if you never play bass, maybe consider starting? You have some nice ones!
None of the Starfires I've owned (two vintage, three DeArmonds) have ever had a hint of neck dive, but I think that's because they're pretty heavy to begin with, at least for a semi-hollow. The body on the GSR M85II is so light, and the headstock is so big, that ultralite tuners didn't help at all. And there's no practical way to add mass to the body, like when I added the Supertone bridge to the Casady bass. The GSR much lighter than the NS reissue, or even Grot's hollow vintage example, if I recall correctly. It was a beautiful bass, especially the finish, but not really the greatest design. And the pickups left something to be desired as well. For the kind of coin that Guild was asking for them, they really should have come with something better. I really had nothing to complain about, because I spent Newark Street kind of money on mine, but others didn't.I know they kept pretty on-point with vintage-correct neck and body dimensions on the reissue basses, so I wonder if they're using particularly heavy mahogany and maple for the necks these days? Again, none of my vintage Starfires have had neck dive, even with standard heavy tuners, both maple and mahogany necks. It's also not the case that I'm somehow less sensitive to neck dive, because I've had to either install ultralites on basses in the past (my '62 EB-0 being a good, current example) or just get rid of them when it's particularly bad and incurable
I have a decent practice amp you can use if you'd like! The Novaks would definitely help the tone, and it's possible one of the Hipshot Alembic style bridges might help add a little mass to the body. If you know Jason Ferguson, he'd be the go to guy for all of that.thanks, I am down to only 2 basses now, and no bass amp. I would like to put Novaks in the M-85, and sell my last vintage SF bass (and buy a bass amp). might be a while, however
If that was a 60's vintage hollow example, I would be all over it. Which reminds me, in case anybody sees one for sale, please drop me a line
The new ones look nice, but I can't justify dropping over $2k on a bass with import Bisonics. If they were Dark Stars or Novaks, I might have a harder time ignoring it.
On a related side-note, for those of you with experience playing the vintage hollows, how was the neck-dive factor on them? I know a lot of folks complain about neck-dive on NS Starfires, but I've never had an issue with that with any of my vintage Starfires. Hoping the same goes for the M85 models (i.e. Reissue problem vs. Vintage non-issue)
I've not heard of anyone installing Novaks in a GSR M85II, but despite the investment, it would almost certainly be an improvement. I considered it, but decided to sell mine instead and do the Dark Starred DeArmond SF thing, with a lot of help from @mellowgerman (thanks again buddy!). I'm very happy with my decision too. The Dark Starred DA is perfect.i didn't find any issue at all with neck dive, or anything else, on the GSR M-85 bass...it plays like a dream! I sold off a major Starfire bass collection after realizing this one suited me best. neck dive however never really has been a thing for me. i like when the neck just falls into your palm. i do not like when the neck starts creeping up ("ass dive!"), and usually that means there is a boat anchor of a body weighing down the other shoulder. but that's just me!
has anyone ever actually Novak'd or Dark Starred a GSR-M-85? of the 13 that exist? a pair of Novak pickups in 2022 is no small investment
and thanks for the offer on the amp, Sandy!