Where are current Starfire Basses built in Korea but with USA prices?

theactor19

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I have been craving a Starfire II bass as I'm a huge Jefferson Airplane fan and love Jack Cassidy's playing, especially in 1967.

So while perusing the Guild website, I was salivating over the current production Starfire II's. But then I found out they are made in Korea, not America.

I found this surprising because the prices are similar to what you'd pay for a USA-made instrument. On top of that, I've read comments about lots of issues with these Made in Korea Starfires.

Seems strange to me. I would happily pay this price for an American-made Starfire.

On top of all this, I would have to swap the electronics/pickups to get that 1960s sound plus a good set of flat wounds. So add another few hundred.
 

adorshki

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I have been craving a Starfire II bass as I'm a huge Jefferson Airplane fan and love Jack Cassidy's playing, especially in 1967.
Hi actor, I usually don't say this but I'm going to suggest you do some searching right here in the bass forum.
There's a LOT of Jack Casady love here, myself included, so perhaps first and foremost would be the observation that in '67 chances are very high that the Casady playing you love was done on his Fender Jazz bass:
From here: http://www.flyguitars.com/interviews/jackCasadyGuildBass.php
"I think '67 I found one. I'd heard from someone about the Guild Starfire and I can't frankly remember exactly how I arrived at it. I was probably here in Los Angeles cause we did all of our recording in Los Angeles.....One of the people in the studio I think, (told me about) that Guild bass and I bought that. I started playing around with it and brought it to the session, but I don't think I recorded with it. That third album was still a somewhat modified Fender Jazz bass"
That would be Baxter's, recorded June- October '67 and released in November '67.
I myself believed for a long time that Baxter's was the SF bass because of the woody tones, until I finally got put right, here.
So the SF actually didn't appear for certain until Crown of Creation, barring possible concerts late in '67.
He used the Jazz bas at Monterey Pop, for example.
On another point, your question about buying American for Korean price, well, it's been observed here before that the biggest competition for new Guilds is vintage Guilds, and the market seems to have found the equilibrium point.
There's a wealth of info in this subforum that will answer the rest your questions very well, good luck in your hunt!
 

lungimsam

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Perhaps Guild pays the Korean workers in Korea as well as american workers in america are paid to work on the basses and that drives up the price?
I would get a SFII for under 1300$US, no hesitations. But my early iteration 2013 SFI had some probs:

I have a 2013 SFI and I would not want to pay more than $800 new in box for one of the same year (new SF are different since Guild sold, according to Guild - hopefully better). I paid $1050 and mine had edge of fingerboard cosmetic flaws, very neck divey, had to remove pickup mounting ring to get pup further from strings so it sounded better (even after bottoming out pole pieces), rosewood saddles cracked, pots bad, and slot in bridge for low E string not long enough to allow saddle travel long enough to properly intonate low E string. I think all of this is inexcusable for a bass over 1,000$US.

That said:
The bass is amazing otherwise and I love it so much!! Looks great, sounds great, and plays great. I am in the process of putting a new harness in as the original pots went bad, but otherwise I love this bass and am grateful for such a fantastic short scale bass model to be made available. I cannot think of a better shortie to have. Maybe a Mustang, but the ergonomics don't work for my elbow, and you cannot play high on the neck as easily as a SF). Gibson SG bass- sounds atrocious, though it plays like a dream and looks great.

I would not hesitate to buy a Guild Starfire II. I think $1299 is fair for how great these basses are, and Sweetwater would probably drop it a little more if you asked.They are well worth getting, even if you might have to do the mods I have done.
I want to get a maple sunburst if they ever come out with one.
 

Walter Broes

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The street price isn't all that high. Must have been a while since you checked the price on American made semihollow bass guitars.
 

Minnesota Flats

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"mine had edge of fingerboard cosmetic flaws"

In my experience, this is the most common QC issue with Newark Street Starfire basses.

I've seen used Newark SF-I basses in very nice condition go for as little as $650. That's not a bad price,considering what you get. If you are comparing the street price of new ones (or MIK SF-IIs) to that of solid-body, bolt-on neck basses, take into consideration that considerably more labor is required to construct a semi-hollow, fixed-neck instrument: both in terms of woodworking and wiring up the electronics. If you doubt this, rewire a Precision Bass pickguard and then an SF Bass body and see which takes longer. Making a solid body can be done almost entirely by CNC machines and requires no assembly until the neck and electronics get bolted on/in: not so with a semi-hollow whose top, back, sides and binding must be assembled.
 

fronobulax

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I have been craving a Starfire II bass as I'm a huge Jefferson Airplane fan and love Jack Cassidy's playing, especially in 1967.

So while perusing the Guild website, I was salivating over the current production Starfire II's. But then I found out they are made in Korea, not America.

I found this surprising because the prices are similar to what you'd pay for a USA-made instrument. On top of that, I've read comments about lots of issues with these Made in Korea Starfires.

Seems strange to me. I would happily pay this price for an American-made Starfire.

On top of all this, I would have to swap the electronics/pickups to get that 1960s sound plus a good set of flat wounds. So add another few hundred.

If you are comparing a Newark Street Starfire to a made in USA hollow body bass and making your statement about price that's fine but remember that you are not getting a Starfire. There hasn't been a made in USA Starfire since the late 1990's and I'd say if you want any made in USA Starfire you will be buying a used instrument and should budget at least $2000. IMO.

There have been issues with NS Starfires but not every bass has had issues. Mine didn't. I would not be afraid to buy one under circumstances where I could inspect it and return it at no cost. My sense is that, like so many "bad" things, the basses with flaws are the ones that get talked about. No one bothers to post "My bass arrived with no problems."

I'd be curious as to why your going in position is that you would have to swap pickups to get the 60's sound. The pickups are pretty close and the people on LTG who are most vocal about how the PUs don't match the 60's sound also have a lot of experience with vintage 60's Starfires. If you aren't used to playing a vintage Bisonic then maybe you'll be happy with the newer pickup. I should note that with Jack Casady his hands have much more to do with his tone than the pickups.

That said, at least one person I know bought a green Newark Street Starfire II and pulled a pair of Darkstars out of another bass and dropped them in the green one.

But I'm not sure what to say that might be helpful. Save $3000 and buy vintage?
 

lungimsam

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I think if you want one, get one.
They are rare, and if you want a 1.5" nut short scale bass, you cannot beat it for looks, sound, and playability.
Guild ain't gonna make them forever. Seems like a niche market so far, even though they seem to be doing well.
So, to me, under 1300$US is worth it for SFII. $1000 tops for SFI. Just my opinion.
Cannot wait til a non-signiture maple sunburst comes out.

Just for comparison, I would say the quality of physical craftsmanship finishing approaches that of American Fenders. The fingerboards are really nice (even with the color edging problem like mine has). It doesn't bother me much. The thing is so much fun to play.
 

fronobulax

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You forgot the few New Hartford made GSR SF and GSR SF 2 basses from 2012.
Ralf

You are correct, although with the difference in body shape and a few other things you could argue that they are Starfire basses in name only :)
 

mellowgerman

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Yes, if you are thinking Fender American bass prices, the Guilds might come close, but there is a heck of a lot more work that goes into building an arch top semi-hollow with a set neck and 6 controls, than there is in a bolt-on, passive Fender Precision bass. This is why a Gibson ES-335 guitar is well over $2000 new. There are actually plenty of Korean-made basses of great quality, just like the current Guild line, that cost the same or more (see Lakland Skyline series for starters). If the price is still too high for you though, another thing to consider is that you can often find a Korean Starfire II bass used for around $700 if you're patient.
I wouldn't let the made in Korea label turn me away from a bass. Plenty of proud, skilled workers over there.
 
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