bytr6 said:
I know all of that, but what about the sound?
I'm confused by your question, but my confusion has never stopped me.
I had the only bass amp at LMG III and played the GSR Starfire I through my little Line 6. My recollection is that it sounded more like my '71 JS II with (original) Guild humbuckers than like my '67 Starfire with the Bisonic. It was a very nice and well crafted bass. Sonically, it was different from what I already have, but not different enough to justify $3500. Neither was it enough like the '67 that I could imagine replacing the '67 with the GSR bass. If I had my heart set on the Bisonic sound and that kind of money then I would definitively go vintage.
Fast forward a few months and we have the Newark Street bass in the mix. Guild claims that the Newark Street line has a Guild Bisonic that is a reverse engineered copy of a vintage Hagstrom Bisonic. In theory it should capture that vintage tone, but no one has played one much and the demo video doesn't really answer the question for me.
There are broad hints that the PU will be available as a separate item and the Newark Street line may include a Starfire II in the future although no one knows when the future will get here. Fred Hammon has been talking to people about taking over Dark Star production although no announcements have been made and the idea may have been abandoned. There are at least two other folks who are trying to make a Bisonic/Dark Star clone (and one of them posts at LTG).
So it comes down to what you want and what is your budget?
If you have to have a Starfire II then your best bet is probably to buy vintage. If the bass doesn't have original Bisonics then you cross your fingers and hope that one of the modern replacements actually get the right sound, buy two of them and swap them in.
If you want the sound and understand that a Starfire I comes pretty close then you either go vintage now or wait to see what the Newark Street really sounds like (which won't be until March 2013 according to the shipping estimates I have heard).
My suggestion also depends upon your budget. If you have $3500 in hand now then go vintage. If you are trying to scrape together $1000 then wait for Newark Street since it will probably take you a few months to find a playable vintage Starfire without issues at that price, if indeed you can find one at all. If Newark Street gets it right then buying one for an expected $1000 plus change is a no brainer compared to vintage.