Starfire bass

[fretless]

did you see the M-85 listed on ebay?

 

[mgod]

My bass was as close to mint as you're going to find after 43 years; I was the 2nd owner - and it went someone who really wanted a sunburst, and has for years.

Its worth mentioning that the 90s SF bridge has more to distinguish it than just metal saddles - its essentially a Fender bridge shaped as a harp.

 

[fretless]

m. i sort of just got here and haven't seen yours. i'll bet it's gorgeous. love the guild sunburst!

 

[fronobulax]

Its worth mentioning that the 90s SF bridge has more to distinguish it than just metal saddles - its essentially a Fender bridge shaped as a harp.

The below is a picture of a D'Armond for sale. It is pretty clear that the bridge has metal saddles that travel on screws, rather than slide in slots. Is that pretty close to what a harp shaped Fender bridge would be? Having never seen a reissue Starfire personally it is always nice to have another data point. Thanks.

Bass pictured above is listed for sale here.

 

[mellowgerman]

I was considering LaBella .052-.110, but I'm afraid the big string, together with the fact that they are not short scale, might cause me some problems at the winding.

...

I'm gonna stick with the LaBella I think... :mrgreen:

Hi saemola,
just wanted to warn you, I tried putting long scale Labellas on my '66 starfire once and the low E snapped once the metal part of the string started winding around the post. It even says on the package to not wind beyond the silk or something along those lines... shoulda listened.
My favorite strings (and I'm pretty sure I've tried all the flats out there) have always been the old formula Fender flats. They just recently started getting them from a different manufacturer and the new ones are pretty crappy. The old ones were heavy, high tension, and sound soooo good once they're broken in; though the breaking in took a much longer time than most strings in my experience. I'm dreading the day that one of these strings breaks because I can't get a new set like em anymore :'(

 

[adorshki]

My favorite strings (and I'm pretty sure I've tried all the flats out there) have always been the old formula Fender flats. They just recently started getting them from a different manufacturer and the new ones are pretty crappy. The old ones were heavy, high tension, and sound soooo good once they're broken in; though the breaking in took a much longer time than most strings in my experience. I'm dreading the day that one of these strings breaks because I can't get a new set like em anymore :'(

Just like they did with the acoustic strings around '02 or so. Time to start digginig to see if you can find out who was making 'em. Doe D'Addario make bass strings? That's who was doing the acoustic guitar strings, and they were recently re-instated. Good luck!

 

[fretless]

daddario chromes are pretty nice. just the slightest bit of texture, unlike labella which is REALLY smooth, almost too much so. i use them on my harmony, which is short scale but takes a long scale string, so you'd probably need to make sure they do short scale. i've heard good things about ghs as well

 

[bklynbass]

LaBella makes medium scale flats that fit on shortscale guilds, though I was never happy with them on those basses.

Also I know a lot of people like them but I can't get with D'addarios, not enough fundamental or character to the sound for me.

As to the tension issue:

I'm a bit of a string obsessive and I've tried the following on my starfire and m-85 basses. They're listed in order of tension (according to the way they felt to me on those basses), highest to lowest.


DR flats

Dean Markley flats -

GHS flats

Labella flats -

Rotosound Flats

GHS brite flats

Lakland flats - light gauge

D'Addario flats: both gauges

Pyramid Flats

T-I jazz flats - (long scale set, lower gauge)

In general a shorter scale bass is going to have less tension than a comparable bass with longer string length. So my inclination has often been to try to use a higher tension string on my shorter scale basses. However, a lot of other factors go into how much tension is on a particular bass and there are exceptions to every rule. Compared to my 50s Kay holllowbody bass (also 30" scale), for example, the tension on the Guilds is actually fairly high, I'm guessing due to the higher angle the strings have over the saddles compared to the Kay. On my '68 Starfire and '70 M 85, I used to use Dean Markley flats - a heavier, darker sounding string. I liked them because they sound "broken in" from when you first put them on. But one day, I was playing my starfire and thought there just wasn't enough "give" to the string and it was playing and sounding choked overall. I went through a bunch of old sets I had lying around and eventually settled on the Pyramids despite the fact that I thought they were too soft, too twangy and too low-output when I first tried them 9 years earlier. Over the years I've (hopefully) evolved as a musician and my priorities have changed. No string, or bass, for that matter, is going to be perfect for every situation, it's really a matter of finding what works most of the time. But right now I have laklands on the M-85 to have the option of playing a Guild/Hagstrom hollowbody with a brighter string than the pyramids. I'm sure I'll change up at some point in the future, but right now that's what's working for me.

 

[saemola]

very interesting points everyone.
in the meantime I got some pics:

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7284/guildp.jpg
http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/8975/15959264.jpg

(I used links cause they're huge and will mess the forum layout)

looks like I'm definitely going to give up on this.
again, the serial dates it as a '73.
the seller is asking for 1500$.
anyone insterested?

 

[fretless]

the right one will come along. i never thought a mint '66 would ever show up on ebay, and there've been a couple of '67 show up i think both SF Is, but I'm sure you'll have us looking for you

 

[fretless]

looks pretty nice though. tell him to call you when he'll take $1000. or go fretless for a thousand

 

[mgod]

As far as as I'm concerned, that's a $2k bass because it will need Dark Stars to be musical.

 

[fretless]

i definitely don't think bi-sonics and dark stars are overrated, but i definitely think vintage Guild humbuckers are vastly under rated. but what do i know. i'm crazy enough to think that a '71 fretless Guild ought to at least be worth what a Harmony is

 

[Yggdrasil]

As far as as I'm concerned, that's a $2k bass because it will need Dark Stars to be musical.

Hey Dan, how's it going?

In the course of selling my non-DarkStarred De Armond Starfire (referenced above), I've been surprised at the lack of awareness of this. One fellow remarked that by the time he DarkStarred my De Armond, he'd be within a few hundred dollars of a 70s Guild. I pointed out to him, that to achieve the same sound, he would also have to DarkStar the 70s Guild - it hadn't occurred to him - in fact he seemed not to know this at all. I know that the 70s humbuckers, and even the "USA" pups found on the De Armonds, have their fans, but I think the sound that draws most people to the Starfire is defined by the bisonics - which means that for any Starfire post 70/71, you're likely upgrading to DarkStars & perhaps a Bayou Cables harness.

Frank in Toronto

 

[saemola]

some developements:
I offered the guy 900$, and he accepted.
he said he was told it was a 60s, but since it's a 73 he's willing to sell it for those money.
considering that 90s guild sell for that price, I think it's a pretty good deal, even if I'm gonna stick some DS in it.
do Guild Humbuckers have any market value?

anyway, I think I'm gonna go ahead and make the deal, except I still haven't figured out how to make the money/bass exchange (he wants a hand transaction, but I'm in Massachusetts and he's in Wisconsin).

 

[fronobulax]

do Guild Humbuckers have any market value?

anyway, I think I'm gonna go ahead and make the deal, except I still haven't figured out how to make the money/bass exchange (he wants a hand transaction, but I'm in Massachusetts and he's in Wisconsin).

There is usually a Guild humbucker or two on eBay at any given time. I can't recall that I have ever seen one sell, but then I don't recall seeing an asking price under $200 either. So yes they have some value but it is almost certainly not $200 per PU. Depending upon the installation the PU rings and mounting hardware may have some value. Also note that the neck and bridge PUs and mounts are not identical.

There might be an LTG member in Wisconsin who would be willing and able to act as a go-between and ship. You might consider posting in the Members Only area and asking. Worst case, you might have to trust the seller and give them the money before you see the bass.

 

[Yggdrasil]

some developements:
I offered the guy 900$, and he accepted.
he said he was told it was a 60s, but since it's a 73 he's willing to sell it for those money.
considering that 90s guild sell for that price, I think it's a pretty good deal, even if I'm gonna stick some DS in it.
do Guild Humbuckers have any market value?

anyway, I think I'm gonna go ahead and make the deal, except I still haven't figured out how to make the money/bass exchange (he wants a hand transaction, but I'm in Massachusetts and he's in Wisconsin).

That's an excellent price - you would be hard pressed to find a 90s Westerly Guild for that...Grab it & DS it!
I doubt there's much of a market for the stock pups.

 

[mellowgerman]

you're likely upgrading to DarkStars & perhaps a Bayou Cables harness.

tell me more about this bayou cables harness?

 

[fretless]

yay. i thought you could probably swing a deal. my take on the humbuckers... check ebay, i've seen some listed, probably the same situation. also, should you ever decide to sell it, there are some purists who might want all the original parts. if that's the case you might keep them, since you don't have to destroy the '73 to put them in. i'd just check what they're going for and decide whether or not it's worth the money to be missing the originals, even though most people want that bi sonic sound. it's like when people put real tuning keys on a Harmony H22. sure the originals suck, but it's part of the charm. most my friends that mod stuff for playability keep the original stuff for vintage value and authenticity

 

[fronobulax]

you're likely upgrading to DarkStars & perhaps a Bayou Cables harness.

tell me more about this bayou cables harness?

I'd start here although I didn't immediately find a lot of reasons why they were better than the alternatives.