Black Starfires - how rare?

johnbiscuti

johnbiscuti

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I may (fingers SUPER crossed) have a '68 Starfire I coming in next week. It has been modded with a Badass bridge, but it is still wearing it's original black finish. The current owner is only the second owner, and he's had it for over 30 years. He swears it's the original finish.

I guess I'll find out for sure when it comes in, but just how rare are these black beasts?

 
mellowgerman

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That looks super clean and shiny... Almost too clean and shiny in my opinion. I would ask for a picture of the inside label, which should say blk or something like that after the model number.
 
mavuser

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Looks good to me! They did it right in the 60s, if the bass was used sparingly or even just well cared for the finish could look "like new". I have seen more than one in that category. The bridge replacement though, raises question as to anything else. Also some of the black finishes can fade to an olive green, as reported on this forum. I think it's called "ebony grain" . Then there are 70s and 90s basses. So when u ask "how rare is black?" That could mean alot of things. But on a 60s one in good shape I'd say that whole package is not something u will see very often! Snag it!
 
johnbiscuti

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mavuser said:
Looks good to me! They did it right in the 60s, if the bass was used sparingly or even just well cared for the finish could look "like new". I have seen more than one in that category. The bridge replacement though, raises question as to anything else. Also some of the black finishes can fade to an olive green, as reported on this forum. I think it's called "ebony grain" . Then there are 70s and 90s basses. So when u ask "how rare is black?" That could mean alot of things. But on a 60s one in good shape I'd say that whole package is not something u will see very often! Snag it!
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Thanks a lot! I'll find out tonight; it's in a distant city and a friend is checking it out/picking it up for me. If it's even mostly structurally sound, it will be mine. :)

What is the story with that extra button I see on a lot of basses from late '67 and '68?
 
hansmoust

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johnbiscuti said:
I may (fingers SUPER crossed) have a '68 Starfire I coming in next week. It has been modded with a Badass bridge, but it is still wearing it's original black finish. The current owner is only the second owner, and he's had it for over 30 years. He swears it's the original finish. I guess I'll find out for sure when it comes in, but just how rare are these black beasts?
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Hello John,

Black on a Starfire Bass is somewhat rare compared to the other available finishes, but when we look at the large number of black instruments from the late '60s that have been reported over the years (not just for Starfire basses, but also M-85s, M-75s and Starfire guitars) we can conclude that towards the end of the '60s the black finish must have become more popular than during the period before that. I have at least a dozen Starfire basses with a Black finish (not counting the Ebony finish) from the 1968-1970 period in my database; I should add that the majority of these basses are double pickup models. I believe that #BA-1858 is the only single pickup I have listed, but I must admit that I've just glanced over the list real quick.

Let us know when you receive the bass!

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
fronobulax

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johnbiscuti said:
What is the story with that extra button I see on a lot of basses from late '67 and '68?
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The suck switch? We get to go over this again. It showed up on Starfires in 1967, I'm thinking around BA-1440 and later but that is from memory. There is a coil(?) in the well for the neck PU and the switch engages it, or not. Some people can tolerate the circuit as configured at the factory while others claim it sucks the tone out and disable it as soon as they can. twocorgis scored a green Starfire II (at an outrageous price for any finish, let alone green, and the seller sold it as black) and there are pics somewhere of the coil in place before it was removed.

My p0rn collection is highly biased towards pre-1968 basses and my gut feel is that black about as rare as green in that period and I defer to what Hans says for later periods.
 
hansmoust

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johnbiscuti said:
How you like me now? :)

Guild-Starfire-2767-Black_2007_zps07bdff09.jpg


Original finish, BTW!
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Hello John,

So, what's the complete model designation and the serial number that are written on the label?

Sincerely,

Hans Moust
www.guitarsgalore.nl
 
Treem

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Wlecome John! Congratulations on scoring a vintage black beauty!
 
mavuser

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Nice one John! Score another one for the big apple. Way to reel it in from out of town. Not easy to do with such a hot ticket item, was clearly meant to be. And oh yeah I flirted with the idea once but turns out it takes a certain type of Guild player and owner...but others here will tell u first hand, that with Guild, "once u go black, u never go back." Enjoy the bass!

And oh yeah Hans and the rest of us want to know the serial # and model code on the sticker. Should say SF Bass BLK or something of that nature. Also can we see the back? Is it the regular neck with the "maple stripe" in the middle, or the less common 3-piece mahogany neck (no stripe)? Doesn't really make a difference. But my 68 has the 3-piece mahogany neck so I was curios. What a score!
 
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Beautiful! What I'd like to know is how do you like the badass bridge on that? the one thing I have never been enthralled with are the bridges. In 1972 one of the mods I had done on my single pup ebony/ green was a 2 piece bridge ( done by Rick Turner and co.). They also did quite a lot of modding to the Hag and added on a see through blue bridge pickup and a batteries. Did not like it after that but was offered a pretty penny for it so could not refuse. Inknow Dan has a badass on his M-85 but thats a solid. Wondering how it adjusts and plays on the SF?
 
fronobulax

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copacetic said:
Beautiful! What I'd like to know is how do you like the badass bridge on that? the one thing I have never been enthralled with are the bridges. In 1972 one of the mods I had done on my single pup ebony/ green was a 2 piece bridge ( done by Rick Turner and co.). They also did quite a lot of modding to the Hag and added on a see through blue bridge pickup and a batteries. Did not like it after that but was offered a pretty penny for it so could not refuse. Inknow Dan has a badass on his M-85 but thats a solid. Wondering how it adjusts and plays on the SF?
Click to expand...

Welcome. I suspect you might have some stories to tell :)
 
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