New Starfire bass with 2 pups

fronobulax

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I do wish the moderator could filter out newbie comments like that. What's next, questions like "which style Starfire is best for metal?"

*snicker*

I was actually wondering how good you had to be before a pickup became "unforgiving"? If I want to humble myself I just set things up so I am listing to my playing in headphones. Every PU I have ever tried that with has showed me things about how bad my technique is...
 

Happy Face

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*snicker*

I was actually wondering how good you had to be before a pickup became "unforgiving"? If I want to humble myself I just set things up so I am listing to my playing in headphones. Every PU I have ever tried that with has showed me things about how bad my technique is...

Agreed! But I do wonder if my friend is right. Some more "thumpy" pickups might not pick up as much string noise and fret buzz. Stuff that comes with a sloppy left hand.

Last year the Subs front man was working over sound files from a live show. He complained that there was a terrible "boing" sorta harmonic on one note on my track during "No Time Left for You" . At first it was a mystery, but it turned out that it was because I was doing a lot of finger muting with my left hand on that part. Every time I released it (on that note only) the Darkstars picked up a beautiful loud harmonic which went unnoticed at the live outdoors show. I wonder if another pickup would have even noticed?

But speaking of shortcomings, last night I sat in in with my old band at a benefit show. The current player has a Rick and a Jazz bass so I figured I could just strap on the Rick and play. But on the first song, when I went to move from the E string to the A, I found IT WASN'T THERE! It's amazing how accustomed I've become to how I set up all of my basses. For me it was embarrassing, but no one seems to notice those little things. I just sang louder to cover up my bumbling!
 
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mgod

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You guys worry about this **** too much.
 

Happy Face

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You guys worry about this **** too much.

As in? :

"Good bass players' tracks always sound noisy when soloed. Chuck Rainey's tracks sound like someone's working on a Buick in the background. But plug it into the mix, and the magic is there."
 
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mgod

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Right. Or its not. But it won't be the clanky bass, or (non-clanky bass) that makes it magic or not. You ever hear the Jamerson tracks soloed? Holy ****.
 

txbumper57

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Looks like the List Price for it is only $120 over the Starfire I and M85 Basses.
 

hieronymous

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Any new info on the Bi-Sonic reissues? Was Fred Hammon involved? I've heard that he was involved in the design but not the manufacture.

EDIT: Never mind, heard from Guild - no connection.
 
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ric426

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Any opinions or guesses on how close to the "late summer/early fall" release date they're likely to come. It seems rare nowadays for any product to be available when the manufacturer says they will be. What's Guild's typical time frame like on their new product releases?

I'm certainly glad to see that they're going ahead with the Starfire II. I was literally days away from installing a neck pickup in my NS Starfire, but I was hesitant to cut into what has become my favorite bass. Now I don't have to and can save the extra BiSonic I bought for use in another bass somewhere down the line.
 

fronobulax

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Any opinions or guesses on how close to the "late summer/early fall" release date they're likely to come. It seems rare nowadays for any product to be available when the manufacturer says they will be. What's Guild's typical time frame like on their new product releases?

I'm certainly glad to see that they're going ahead with the Starfire II. I was literally days away from installing a neck pickup in my NS Starfire, but I was hesitant to cut into what has become my favorite bass. Now I don't have to and can save the extra BiSonic I bought for use in another bass somewhere down the line.

Your crystal ball is as good as mine.

My recollection is that the NS SF I was announced in January, the first availability announced was March, that was revised to June and I actually played one the day it arrived in my local dealer's in August. At the time the push back in dates was explained by wanting to resolve all quality type issues at the factory before shipping anything but that may not apply a couple years later.

My dealer also suggested that dealer orders were being shipped in the order that the deposit was received which suggests if you have to have one ASAP the you need to find a dealer who has already placed an order.

The above experience was with Guild owned by FMIC and Guild owned by Cordoba might do things differently but my observation is that all musical equipment manufacturers announce product 3 to 6 months before a dealer actually has one in hand.

The made in Oxnard acoustics have had various availability dates announced and they all have past and the factory still is not permitted to operate. That's not Cordoba's fault but it does suggest predicting availability dates is an art.
 

fronobulax

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Cordoba emailed me 2 days ago & wrote that they expected the first Shipment in about a month.

Did your question or their answer make a distinction between when the MIK instruments arrive in the USA and clear customs as opposed to when they actually arrive in the store of a dealer who has ordered one? I've seen cases where there was about a month between the two events. Thanks.
 

Yggdrasil

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Did your question or their answer make a distinction between when the MIK instruments arrive in the USA and clear customs as opposed to when they actually arrive in the store of a dealer who has ordered one? I've seen cases where there was about a month between the two events. Thanks.

No elucidation on that distinction. Also non-committal on Sunburst:-(
 

ric426

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Just got a very prompt email reply from Cordoba customer service saying "Thanks for your interest in the Starfire Bass II! We're expecting to have these in stock and ready to ship out to dealers beginning of August.". I'll take that as a hopeful sign, but I guess time will tell.
 

fronobulax

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Just got a very prompt email reply from Cordoba customer service saying "Thanks for your interest in the Starfire Bass II! We're expecting to have these in stock and ready to ship out to dealers beginning of August.". I'll take that as a hopeful sign, but I guess time will tell.

Nice. At least they think they have a date.

Since I see the word "sunburst", at the moment the Chris Hillman Signature Starfire I is sunburst. There is a Summer(?) NAMM video kicking around where someone from Cordoba Guild states that there were only 70 Hillman Signatures made so if a bird in hand beats waiting then better order/reserve one now.
 
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