New Chris Hillman Signature Starfire Bass?

CA-35

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2011
Messages
2,111
Reaction score
19
Location
South Florida
Please correct me if I'm wrong.....is that Stephen Stills next to him?

CHDC66.jpg
 

ric426

Junior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2015
Messages
48
Reaction score
0
Location
S.E. Michigan
Nope, David Crosby, pre-moustache. There are pictures online of him with the same guitar and hat.
 

gjmalcyon

Senior Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Feb 6, 2011
Messages
4,179
Reaction score
2,417
Location
Gloucester County, NJ
Guild Total
13
And here's the two of them together in Buffalo Springfield. When Neil Young bailed, David Crosby filled in. Didn't tell Roger McGuinn or Chris Hillman, and it may have been one of several reasons that got Crosby kicked out of the Byrds.

 

adorshki

Reverential Member
Joined
Aug 21, 2009
Messages
34,176
Reaction score
6,790
Location
Sillycon Valley CA
Wow. Ric426 good eye my friend
Al show us your surprised face.
'at's what I get fer lookin' at the hat'n'guitar.
I thought he looked a litle boyish, but forgot all about the possibility it could be Crosby.
Admit it, you threw out the red herring on purpose, didn'tcha?
:miserable:
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
By the way, a bit of info regarding the development of the Chris Hillman Byrds bass that I found. The project started already when Guild was still owned by FMIC. At that time, "Chris Middaugh, who was the FMIC Product Manager for the Guild brand, had begun the initial concept of the reissue as a Guild Starfire I Bass, but the project changed course with the involvement of two key players in Hillman’s circle. Tracy Longo, longtime luthier to Hillman, assisted as a liaison to the Guild factory. John Jorgenson, a former bandmate and frequent collaborator of Hillman’s, was integral to the engineering and refinement of the instrument's custom tone circuit. Another feature that was integral to Hillman’s sound was the use of flatwound strings, which were the industry standard at the time, and remain Hillman’s preferred choice for their mellow, smooth tone."

Ralf
 
Last edited:

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
instrument's custom tone circuit

Missed that in the specs. I wonder how the CH differs from a standard NS, how easy it is to hear the difference and which one gets closer to a '66 Bisonic in the sweet spot? Depending on the answers I wonder about retrofitting it to a NS...
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
I wonder how the CH differs from a standard NS...
The pickups seem to be exactly the same according to the webpage. So "custom tone circuit" might refer to other capacitor values or some other parts in the electrical circuit. Would be great to see electrical schematics of both versions.
Ralf
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
The pickups seem to be exactly the same according to the webpage. So "custom tone circuit" might refer to other capacitor values or some other parts in the electrical circuit. Would be great to see electrical schematics of both versions.
Ralf

Another question for the "Let's ask Cordoba once the Oxnard factory is operating" file.
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
1,501
Location
Orlando, FL
Studied the sweetwater listings for the red SFB-I, the black SFB-I, the natural SFB-II, and the Chris Hillman signature. The only difference (besides the finish and inlay) that I found is that the Hillman has a maple (solid?) body and all the others seem to have laminate mahogany. And somehow that equals $400 more than the red or black and $200 more than the 2 pickup version. Interesting.
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
And somehow that equals $400 more than the red or black and $200 more than the 2 pickup version. Interesting.
Any artist signature instrument is more expensive at each manufacturer I believe. There was some talk in that interview above the Hillman bass using a different tone circuit but there is no verification for that yet. Also I would think the artist who gives his name will get a certain percentage of revenue, don't know how those contracts work with them.
Ralf
 

marcellis

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2007
Messages
1,734
Reaction score
3
Location
redneck riviera
2 pick-ups, cherry red? I'm in too. Burst? Nah.

Right now the only sig model I covet is a Clarence White D28. And it's not signed by CW.
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
2 pick-ups, cherry red? I'm in too. Burst? Nah.

Right now the only sig model I covet is a Clarence White D28. And it's not signed by CW.

*snicker*

As the owner of two cherry red Starfire basses if there is going to be another one it would be a sunburst or a color we have never seen on a Starfire before, such as some shade of blue that particularly appeals to me.

As for sigs, if I was going to have another bass and wanted to deal with the long scale, I'd probably be looking at a Jack Casady signature...
 

Happy Face

Justified Ancient of MuMu
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
916
Reaction score
239
*snicker*

As the owner of two cherry red Starfire basses if there is going to be another one it would be a sunburst or a color we have never seen on a Starfire before, such as some shade of blue that particularly appeals to me.

As for sigs, if I was going to have another bass and wanted to deal with the long scale, I'd probably be looking at a Jack Casady signature...

Is there a Sid Vicious sig model out there?
 

Yggdrasil

Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2009
Messages
149
Reaction score
0
Location
Toronto/Buffalo
fronobulax;1698842 As for sigs said:
I hear you Frono - despite preferring short scale, I have 2 Casadys, both pimped with Hipshot hardware, one with TI Jazz Flats, one with Blue Steel rounds - tonal heaven, even if a bit of a hand stretch!
 
Top