SF I comparison

b0rn2w0rsh1p

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Location
Asheville, NC (prev: Casper, Wy & FL Gulf Coast)
Fronobulax... So how do you compare the '67 SF I to the Korean SF? The pickups are in different positions, right? How about fit and finish... are you impressed with the MIK? I have a few Guilds, but I also have a few "by Guilds" - including some MIK DeArmands, including 2 Pilot Vs, an Ashbory and a jazz box X-155 (and now I have to double check my Madeira P-812 Acoustic).

Thanks for any discussion you'd like to strike up!

Guido
 

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
Moved the post here because answering in place seemed like too much of a veer.

There are probably several posts and threads dealing with my opinion/experience but I'd rather re-answer than search.

The fit and finish of the NS are quite nice. I can't find any flaws. There have been reports of skunk stripes being off center but that did not happen to me.

My '67 is a neck position and the NS is a bridge position. I find playing the NS to be marginally more comfortable although I'm not sure why.

In terms of sound I much prefer the vintage PU. My project to make sound clips keeps getting derailed by Real Life. Until that happens the vintage PU just seems fuller. I suspect that it does better in the mid-ranges.

I played a '66 with a vintage PU in the bridge position (which may have also been maple - I should really ask the question and remember the answer) and if there was not so much emotional baggage associated with the '67, I'd gladly swap the '67 for a '66. For me, and the tone I hope for (think Jack Casady pre-Alembic) the most important factor is the vintage pickup, followed by the position.

That said, I am pretty happy with the NS. Since I have '67 it is not going to replace it but if I only had the NS I'm not sure I would spend a couple grand to upgrade.
 

mikbass

Junior Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2015
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
By the way, speaking of pickup placing. What is the "sweet spot" for a starfire bass?
I haven't seen any reissues with a neck placement. Is that because the bridge spot is
better or what?
I would very much prefer a starfire with a neckplaced pickup but I've never played a real one, only my Dearmond.
 

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
By the way, speaking of pickup placing. What is the "sweet spot" for a starfire bass?
I haven't seen any reissues with a neck placement. Is that because the bridge spot is
better or what?
I would very much prefer a starfire with a neckplaced pickup but I've never played a real one, only my Dearmond.

I think the only people who use the term "sweet spot" learned it from LTG. It is a bridge position but it is not exactly the same place as the bridge position PU on a Starfire II.

It was the only position for a Starfire I through sometime in '66. The Newark Street reissue was modeled after a '66, hence the same position. People who have played Starfire I's in each of the positions often express a preference for the "sweet spot". If my memory is correct it is about a quarter of the speaking length of the strings and thus will definitely be exposed to a different set of string harmonics, compared to the neck position.

I don't know why Guild changed the position but it may have had something to do with manufacturing. Build a body, rout it out for a neck pickup and, if you need a Starfire I, send it of for final assembly. If you need a II make another hole.

As noted my personal experience leads me to prefer the sweet spot location for both sound and ergonomics although I think the biggest factor in the tone I hear is whether the pickup is vintage or not, rather than where it is.
 

gilded

Senior Member
Joined
May 2, 2007
Messages
3,479
Reaction score
197
Location
texas
You want to compare the 'near-bridge' pickup in early '66 and back SF I with the neck pickup location sound in the later SF I basses, right? Well, bear with me. First things first.

Why did Guild come up with the 'near-bridge' location in the first place? Maybe because the 'near-bridge' position is in the same relative place on a 30" scale as the Precision bass pickup is on a 34" inch scale.

That said, the 'near-bridge' position on the earlier SF basses is maybe 1/2" further away from the normal bridge pickup location on most SF II basses (excluding prototypes of SF I 'near-bridge' basses that were factory modded to receive a neck pickup as Guild developed the SF II concept, etc.). The pickup locations are so close that 'sound' of the basses can be adjusted to suit the preference of almost all individual players.

So why did they come up with the neck pickup location? Perhaps Guild realized that their chief competition was not the Fender bass, but the Gibson EB2 bass, which had a neck position pickup. Why did Gibson put their pickup by the neck? Because in the good-old-bad-days, all the amps were crapola and if you wanted a big muddy thump out of a 30" scale bass, you had to have a neck pickup.

So now, how do you compare the 'near-bridge' sound with the later neck pickup sound through modern amps? Beats me! I think they all sound pretty dang good these days!

In conclusion, how good the individual bass sounds to the individual player is more important than pickup location. If a bass 'speaks to you' doesn't have to be determined by pickup location.

Doesn't mean an NS Bisonic reissue sounds as good as the Real Deal, though.

Good luck!
 

Minnesota Flats

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
1,283
Reaction score
1,164
Haven't A/B-ed with any older Starfire basses, but I sure do like the sounds I can get out of my NS SF-I.

That said, I'd love to also pick up an NS SF-II or a nice, Bi-Sonic-or-Dark Star-loaded, maple-bodied, natural-finish SF-II (MIA). Finances won't allow right now, but my lust for specific pieces of gear is usually very selective and long-lived, so stay tuned...
 
Top