Loving my Starfire...

lungimsam

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Since sanding the pup ring and cutting the nut, I have been loving my NS Starfire again.

My Pbass has been in the shop and have been playing the Starfire for the past month and makes me want to not buy any longscale basses again.

Also, the neck thru body neck makes it such a breeze to play above the 15th fret that I can't see buying any more basses with bolt-ons.

Maybe a Mustang, as I do like Fenders, but not the long scale length.

The short scale is definitely better for my small hands. I like the closer string spacing, too.

Hope they put out a sunburst one day soon. That's my favorite finish I have seen in Starfires.

Have your Guild shortscales spoiled you, too?
 

bassman10096

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I like shorties too and am very comfortable with Starfire and JS necks. But don't assume all short scales are equal. The Guilds tend to be very slim from side to side. In my experience, Mustangs - less so. On the other hand, 32s and 34s are comfortable provide they are slim. Make sure to try things out.
 

mellowgerman

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I once did a Guild inspired Mustang project. One of the basses I probably miss the most, alongside my 66 Starfire, and one of my modified Jazz basses. Short scale of course and played like a dream...
I am one of those odd-balls though that prefers a long scale 50's precision bass baseball bat neck. I don't dislike shorties per se, I've just always felt more at home on supersized necks. Current #1 is a Precision with semi-wacky electronics.

 

lungimsam

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@ bassman: It is the leaps from the 3rd to the 5th and back in arpeggios that is killing me on the longscales. I have played my beloved blue flower Pbass for 12 years, but lately my left hand is revolting. The shorties are so comfortable though, and the reach is easy. Hand likes it better. I am a small guy. I think I read that the guy that helped design the Pbass was 6'5" or something, and maybe that is why the Pbass feels so large to me (I am 5'8"). I love them but sometimes I feel like I have a diving board hanging from my neck.

Fisheye Fender Blue Flower bass by lungimsam, on Flickr

@mellow: Well that mod should cure any neck dive issues!! Ha ha! I seem to remember you posting some pretty outrageous and creative electronics mod pics in the past. The photos are great!
 

mavuser

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Hope they put out a sunburst one day soon. That's my favorite finish I have seen in Starfires.

There is a sunburst Newark Street SF bass available from Guild right now, it is the Chris Hillman/Byrds signature model
 

fronobulax

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I played a roommate's 70's Precision (in the 70's) enough that I concluded I could not manage a long scale bass - left hand cramped. Fast forward a few decades and someone put a Pilot in my hands. No problems. After a little experimentation I realized it was not the scale length but the baseball bat neck that I was having problems with.
 

lungimsam

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Thanks mavuser,

I don't like signature editions. I couldn't remove the Byrds inlay on the 12th fret. But it may come to that if , for instance, Guild ends the bass line and I know there will be absolutely no chance of a sunburst anymore. Of course, they only made 70 of them, so that might make it tough to get one.

I asked Ren on the Guild blog. So we will see what they say if they do another installment of the AskRen thing. I also mentioned elongating the low E slot for better intonation.
 

mellowgerman

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@ bassman: It is the leaps from the 3rd to the 5th and back in arpeggios that is killing me on the longscales. I have played my beloved blue flower Pbass for 12 years, but lately my left hand is revolting. The shorties are so comfortable though, and the reach is easy. Hand likes it better. I am a small guy. I think I read that the guy that helped design the Pbass was 6'5" or something, and maybe that is why the Pbass feels so large to me (I am 5'8"). I love them but sometimes I feel like I have a diving board hanging from my neck.

Fisheye Fender Blue Flower bass by lungimsam, on Flickr

@mellow: Well that mod should cure any neck dive issues!! Ha ha! I seem to remember you posting some pretty outrageous and creative electronics mod pics in the past. The photos are great!

Sweet flower P! Is that a special Made In Japan model? I thought they only made those with the 50s single coil. Either way, I've always wanted one of those pink paisley precision's.
As for my frankenstein projects, I am still doing them. I'd post a photo of my current precision but I don't want to veer the thread even more than I already have. Plus it doesn't really have anything guild related about it
 

lungimsam

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It is the ~2004 reissue '54 Blue Flower Pbass Crafted in japan.

Good eye on the pickup. If you look near the neck split coil you can see where the luthier filled the rout of the original single coil with a piece of leftover wood/finish from the routing for the split coil (pic below).
Mods to this bass in the picture:
'62 version Pbass split coil installed
All electronics upgraded while we were at it.
'62 Pbass bridge put on for excellent string action and intonation ability and no need to string thru.
Removed pickguard.
Copper lining in control cavity, iirc.
LaBella Flats.
I played it for the last 12 years and has been the best bass I ever played. But my left hand is complaining on and off for the last few years.
flower bass pup i by lungimsam, on Flickr
 
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mavuser

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Thanks mavuser,

I don't like signature editions. I couldn't remove the Byrds inlay on the 12th fret. But it may come to that if , for instance, Guild ends the bass line and I know there will be absolutely no chance of a sunburst anymore. Of course, they only made 70 of them, so that might make it tough to get one.

I asked Ren on the Guild blog. So we will see what they say if they do another installment of the AskRen thing. I also mentioned elongating the low E slot for better intonation.

Well i dont see them ending the NS line of basses or guitars anytime soon, and they have already made the Hillman, so the possibility of a sunburst NS SF bass in the near future is not so off the charts. can only wonder why they havnt done it full blast yet, with them being so popular.

I am actually going to be selling one from 1967, if you are interested. of course it will be quite a bit more expensive than a NS model though.
 

lungimsam

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Thanks for the kind offer. I am sure a '67 would be way out of my price range.
But I prefer new instruments.
I think they only made 70 Hillmans.
They are maple bodies. If it wasn't for the Byrds inlay I probably would have bought one.
Maybe they will do a standard I or II burst soon.
 

Minnesota Flats

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When I first got my SF-I, I had been playing an MIJ Mustang RI and a couple of SX shorties. The SF body felt too wide and it took me awhile to get my amp EQ dialed in and the Bi-Sonic pole pieces adjusted to my liking. After that was sorted out and I'd been playing it for awhile, though, something just "clicked". Now, whenever I pick it up, it just feels like "home". It's become my "go to" bass.
 

lungimsam

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I like playing the Starfire better, too, at this point. I love my Pbass, but it feels too big for me both in weight, length, and scale length. But it is a fantastic bass.
 

lungimsam

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Update:
Well I have been playing a Jazz neck on my Precision Flower bass for the last month now. 75% better. But the long scale is still tough for me so I think I will only buy shorties from here on out if I have a choice. Still waiting for a maple sunburst Starfire (Starburst?) to come out. Ho hum. I'm hopefully going to try out the new Mustang PJ bass tomorrow.
 

fronobulax

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Update:
Well I have been playing a Jazz neck on my Precision Flower bass for the last month now. 75% better. But the long scale is still tough for me so I think I will only buy shorties from here on out if I have a choice. Still waiting for a maple sunburst Starfire (Starburst?) to come out. Ho hum. I'm hopefully going to try out the new Mustang PJ bass tomorrow.

FWIW, I too could not handle a long scale Precision neck. After avoiding long scales for decades I played a Pilot and that neck works for me. But the Pilot is still not my "go to" bass. If you feel like experimenting you might look for a Guild JS bass. Short scale, solid body and Guild. You will almost certainly want to swap pickups because the stock Guild humbuckers are nothing like the Bisonics or something in the PJ family.
 

Happy Face

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A while back I waved in a Fender Performer bass. They were made for two years in the 1980s. Ultra-thin long-scale bass. Thinner neck than on a SF or JS Guild.

Do a web search if curious.

Very comfortable to play.

I put flats on mine because it sounded way too zingy with rounds. It has a good fender sound but when I asked a recording engineer if he'd prefer the Fender or my M-85, he asked me to use the Guild, saying It gives me more to work with."
 

The Guilds of Grot

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Also, the neck thru body neck makes it such a breeze to play above the 15th fret that I can't see buying any more basses with bolt-ons.

Sorry to be nit picker, but the bass has a "set neck". For some reason it really perturbs me when people refer to a "set neck" as a "neck through".

This is a "neck through":

peter-05.jpg


It has body wings mounted to either side of the neck.

(I am on a crusade to correct the internet!)
 
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