School me on Starfire hollowbody wood care...

lungimsam

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I have only ever had solidbody basses. So I am wondering about the Starfire:

1. Do I need to humidify it? Or just treat it like a solid body bass and not worry about it?

2. Truss rod adjustments trickier than a solid body bass for any reason? I don't know how tweaking things may tweak the thin wood on the hollowbody.

Don't wanna split anything.

3. I like flatwound (.049,.069,.089,.109) bass string sets. Any reason why I shouldn't use these on a Starfire? A .110 set ok? Not too much tension?

Thanks for any info.
 

fronobulax

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I have never humidified my '67.

I have never had a reason to adjust the truss rod.

I have never paid attention to the effect of string gauge in the sense of too much tension. I have, however, kept the same strings on the bass for more than 30 years. That was a set of RotoSounds that peaked at .105, I believe.

In general, my electric basses, solid or hollow, do not get the same kind of care and pampering that my acoustic basses do. In that regard the Starfire has more in common with the JS than the B-50.
 

guildman63

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I humidify my Guild archtops, but more to keep the necks and fretboards in good shape rather than to protect the bodies. I use a whole house humidifier, with an oasis in the case if taking a guitar out of the house.

The truss rod should be the same regardless of the type of guitar as its job is to adjust the neck, which should not have anything to do with the type of body. Others may add more.

I use flats on my GSR Starfire, and to me they are much better than rounds.

I hope that helps.


I have only ever had solidbody basses. So I am wondering about the Starfire:

1. Do I need to humidify it? Or just treat it like a solid body bass and not worry about it?

2. Truss rod adjustments trickier than a solid body bass for any reason? I don't know how tweaking things may tweak the thin wood on the hollowbody.

Don't wanna split anything.

3. I like flatwound (.049,.069,.089,.109) bass string sets. Any reason why I shouldn't use these on a Starfire? A .110 set ok? Not too much tension?

Thanks for any info.
 

SFIV1967

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Is a Starfire bass true hollow? I thought they are semi-hollow with a solid center?
Ralf
 

ukulelelab

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My 90's Starfire bass 2 is semi-hollow with a solid Center block. Not sure about older ones but wouldn't be too surprised if they're the same. I just leave mine as it is with an old set of TI JF324 flatwounds. No need to tweak anything.
 
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adorshki

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1. Do I need to humidify it? Or just treat it like a solid body bass and not worry about it?
The last time that specific question was asked, I'm pretty sure the answer was that the wood's far less sensitive to humidity fluctuations, if at all, because it's laminated. Top and sides being the specific areas of concern, for splitting if too dry.
It's possible a solid center block might affect neck angle to a slight degree but that should only need seasonal adjustment if you're in an area where there's a big seasonal change in humidity.
 

fronobulax

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All Starfire basses have a center block and would not be called a "hollow body" by someone who is imposing a strict precision on the English language. That said, the times when the difference between a semi-hollow and a a hollow are important are fairly limited. The most significant one is that completely hollow basses are more prone to feedback. The pharmacy called and said my meds are on the way over and should arrive in the next hour. I probably should have waited to post.
 

adorshki

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The pharmacy called and said my meds are on the way over and should arrive in the next hour. I probably should have waited to post.

Assuming you've had a chance to get fixed up by now, does the center block seem to react to seasonal humidity changes, in your neck of the woods?
That you've ever noticed, with the OCD and all?
I was thinking it might swell slightly in a humid summer.
Maybe a poll would be in order?

(Sure could use one o' them emoticon thingies right now. Somethin' "smiley" that says "Yeah I'm messin' wit ya but the question is still real" )
(insert wink here)
 

fronobulax

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I've never noticed any seasonal changes with my Starfire. I freely admit to a house that still is about 30% humidity in the peak heating season. That said, a better than beginner quality cello in the same environment has needed a couple of seasonal tweaks for the soundpost that is supporting the bridge foot.

I will note that Jack Casady seems to think the center block makes a difference since his signature bass is completely hollow and he had enough experience with a Starfire to adopt that design if he thought it was better for a product with his name on it.
 

davismanLV

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The truss rod should be the same regardless of the type of guitar as its job is to adjust the neck, which should not have anything to do with the type of body. Others may add more.
That's exactly what I was gonna say. Truss rod is installed in the neck and works only on the neck and can be used to adjust relief in the neck regardless of the neck being attached to the body or not. It should not affect the body of the guitar at all.
 

Happy Face

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I recall that a member here with a few Starfires and such once mentioned that he has never bothered with humidifying his collection. But my memory may be faulty...
 

fronobulax

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I recall that a member here with a few Starfires and such once mentioned that he has never bothered with humidifying his collection. But my memory may be faulty...

Here?

Alas there is some ambiguity since mgod has owned and played Starfires for nearly four decades...

FWIW, I've been doing this for nearly 4 decades and have never thought about it.
 

chazmo

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Yeah, there's really very little to worry about with these laminated, arched bodies and tops. I have a neighbor who's had his '60s Starfire 6-string sitting in a guitar stand in his house for years, with RH often dropping below 30% in winter... It's the solid wood guitars that are a major concern and I give VERY different advice for those.
 

guildman63

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Keep in mind that all environments are not the same, and the tops are not the only concern. In my house in Massachusetts, with forced hot water, the RH gets into the single digits in the Winter. Before my MA Guild days when my only electric was a 1995 Fotoflame Strat, I didn't think I needed to worry about humidity, and I didn't. Nothing could possibly change with the body, right? Wrong! The very thick poly finish checked like you wouldn't believe. Also, the neck got dry needing much more frequent adjustments, and the frets began becoming more prominent along the edge of the fretboard. Some of that resolved once I started gathering Guilds and then began to humidify my entire house, but the Strat is not quite what it once was. To me, humidifying my home is a very easy, and relatively inexpensive thing to do. Not only does it give me piece of mind with my archtops, including my GSR Starfire VI, but it helps with the wood furniture, and it makes for a more comfortable living environment. Now, not everyone will get such extreme RH conditions in their homes. If it only drops to 30% I would not stress about it, but if it gets much below that I would at least stick an Oasis humidifier in each case to help protect the neck/frets and the finish. Some people don't care about finish checking, and even consider it desirable, but I see it as a sign that a guitar was not properly humidified and was allowed to dry out, which results in excessive changes in the wood. If a Strat with gobs of poly on it can check as badly as mine did that shows me that a semi-hollow is capable of much worse. But again, mild drops in humidity should not be a problem.
 

adorshki

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Nothing could possibly change with the body, right? Wrong! The very thick poly finish checked like you wouldn't believe. Also, the neck got dry needing much more frequent adjustments, and the frets began becoming more prominent along the edge of the fretboard.
Excellent points, easy to forget about when we're only thinking about wood splitting.
 

Happy Face

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Excellent points, easy to forget about when we're only thinking about wood splitting.

Yep, as someone even further north thank you, Guildman, it's a great point. I run humidifiers where we sleep and hang, but not in my music room. I should ponder that.
 

SFIV1967

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Here? Alas there is some ambiguity since mgod has owned and played Starfires for nearly four decades...
Mind that mgod lives in the greater LA area where there is really not much to worry about I guess. Different story if you live in other areas of your country or the world (both too humid or too dry can be dangerous).
Ralf
 

fronobulax

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To reiterate, I don't humidify my Starfire but I have never observed a RH less than 30%. The key here is the 30%. My experience should not be applied if it is drier. I also have to say that a humidifier is under $15 USD and you can make one from a soap dish and a sponge, so if you are at all concerned you would have spent less effort humidifying (even if it doesn't really need it) than reading this thread. There is such a thing as too much humidity and that can harm guitars but people who ask about humidifying guitars usually are not in the humid areas where too much is a possibility.
 

fronobulax

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Yeah, there's really very little to worry about with these laminated, arched bodies and tops. I have a neighbor who's had his '60s Starfire 6-string sitting in a guitar stand in his house for years, with RH often dropping below 30% in winter... It's the solid wood guitars that are a major concern and I give VERY different advice for those.


Just to clarify when you say "solid wood" you mean a hollow (or semi-hollow) bodied guitar assembled from solid wood, not laminate, and not a solid body (probably electric) guitar, right? :)
 

chazmo

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Actually, frono, I'm not going to defend or clarify my post because I'm a little sorry I gave it in the first place. My inclination originally was (and always has been) to give conservative advice on this subject because humidity care us usually pretty easy to handle, so I think that's the best advice to give the OP here, as guildman did above. As someone who has first-hand gotten burned by cracking two, heirloom guitars, I urge everyone to learn from my mistakes. I've been kicking myself in the butt for being so stupid, and I would spare you all that pain.

The irony here is that I just fired up my humidifier last night as RH dropped into the 30s yesterday in my house. Now my guitar room is back where it should be.
 
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