need a new hardshell case for your starfire bass?

mavuser

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Thanks. My comment probably should have been more nuanced because what I was trying to remember is that the 90's basses are not as fat so a 90's case doesn't fit the others. But you clearly demonstrate this case works for all. If you told me that it fit a NS bass I'd believe you but if you asked my guess based upon pictures I'd say probably not. (I'm just looking at the '67 and noticing how much the headstock dimensions look like my 67 in a 70's case and that case will not hold the NS). Ibanez ASB100C case. Thanks.

this is post is a little unclear. The chefs pictures do not show a 90s Guild bass case, it shows a 90s (96 w dark stars?) Guild bass in an ibanez case.

The 1998 Guild SF-2 bass came in a case with red interior, that is too small for a 60s/70s/and presumably Newark St. Starfire bass. This is because the 98 model is 1/4 inch skinnier than vintage.

I dont know what they did in 96 with the bass or the case, and I suppose it is possible to aquire a 98 (or any of them) in the B4CE case (black interior) which fits all Starfire basses.
 

mavuser

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http://www.letstalkguild.com/ltg/showthread.php?177973-Guild-Starfire-Bass-size-differences

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chefothefuture1

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Actually, I put my 67 and 74 in the stock TKL/Guild case for the 96 and in both instances, the basses fit and the case lid closed completely with no restrictions. Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable traveling with this arrangement, as there would be almost no room for the case to absorb any shock.
 
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edwin

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Wow, an embarrassment of riches of options! I had to invest a lot more in cases than $200 when I wanted a decent case, as nothing was really in production that would fit. I spent more than double what I paid for the bass initially for a hard shell case. And then again when I wanted something that wouldn't break my back around town.

My Calton (I need a better picture, but you get the idea). You could drop this thing out of an airplane and the bass would probably be fine. Perfect for on the road or flying:

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And then a Cronkhite gig bag, which is actually super protective despite being a gig bag. Without a doubt, the absolutely nicest gig bag I've ever seen. When zipped up, the bass is very snug and protected from every angle:

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edwin

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Calton was the best. They are pretty much the standard in the acoustic music and bluegrass world. They changed hands recently, so I don't know how they are to deal with now, but hopefully they are still good. I do know that you need to be very careful about what dealer you use. I went through the Old Town Picking Parlor in Arvada CO and the moron there completely mismeasured my bass and filled out the template form wrong. Luckily, I had a bad feeling about it and decided to contact the company myself and got everything straightened out (Al walked me through the whole process on the phone). I will say that I was really pissed off at having to pay the Old Town Picking Parlor their cut. If I had trusted them, the case would not have been even close, and with a 4 month wait, that's a problem. I think I paid around $600 for it, but the price rose right after that. But it will last a lifetime. Even after hard touring, there is hardly a mark on it. They used to have a testimonial page which included Bill Frisell watching his instruments be tossed end over end at an airport while the representative assured him that he'd be reimbursed up to $200 an instrument! Of course, he was completely unaware that they were $10k guitars, and of course they were fine. There was another picture of a tour bus that was a burned out shell and a Calton case that had gone from white to charred brown, but the guitar was in perfect shape. I realize this is a detour from the general conversation here about off the shelf cases, but I think it's worth mentioning the options for people who go on the road and their instruments are subject to the abuse that exists there. In my case, it was about 160 shows a year on the road with the gear in a trailer with no suspension, with temperatures ranging from under 0°F to over 115°F, plus airplane travel. The Calton paid for itself many times over.
 

fronobulax

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I spent more than double what I paid for the bass initially for a hard shell case.

To the extent that I can trust my memory, I bought my '67 used in '77 or so for $150. It came with a homemade cloth gig bag. I replaced it with a case from Guild for $140. The only reason I was not freaking out at the similarity of price is that I had a several thousand dollar tuba with both a hard case and a gig bag and was used to the idea that instruments had to be protected.
 

chefothefuture1

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To the extent that I can trust my memory, I bought my '67 used in '77 or so for $150. It came with a homemade cloth gig bag. I replaced it with a case from Guild for $140. The only reason I was not freaking out at the similarity of price is that I had a several thousand dollar tuba with both a hard case and a gig bag and was used to the idea that instruments had to be protected.

Totally agree that instruments need protection and that in some cases(pun....) it is certainly worthwhile to spend the dough on a case for "the road".
I think that mellowgerman's original point was that the Epi case is a viable alternative to the current Guild case at a better price for similar build quality.
I thought that the Ibanez case offered similar . I have no problem throwing down the dough if the case warrants it- the Gretsch "Cowboy" case and the Silver Speckle case
are prime examples- expensive, but well built and worth the cost.
 
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