Oakley Starfire Bass

[mavuser]

this one is for all u facebook haters out there!
and the ladies, of course.

 

[twocorgis]

Maple natural SFII?

 

[fronobulax]

I didn't remember maple.

has some images. I can't easily extract them or link directly.

There is a B&W that looks like the same bass. There is a color image that looks like a natural maple bass. But there is also a B&W image of Phil Lesh with an unmodified (or lightly modded) Starfire. It looks almost as light at Oakley's but I'm pretty sure that Lesh's bass was red.

I decided it was maple and that it was worth capturing for the next time this comes up. The image below is a screen shot of the color image from the pintrest page.

 

[lungimsam]

I always thought that vintage headstocks look different than NS headstocks.
But I think I have figured it out.
It ain't the headstocks that look different.
It is the shafts of the vintage tuners that are alot smaller diameter than the NS Starfire stock tuners. that make it look different. I like the looks of the smaller diameter tuners.
The big tuner shafts on my NS make the A string almost touch the E string as it passes on it's way to the nut.

 

[fronobulax]

I always thought that vintage headstocks look different than NS headstocks.

The size of the headstock changed in 1970. But, without checking, I expect the NS to match the pre-'70 so if you are seeing a difference it probably is based on the tuners.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

 

[Minnesota Flats]

 

[mavuser]

Maple natural SFII?

yes, "blonde."

wondering if the neck was 3-piece mahogany (no maple stripe), that is my guess. looks like a late 67/68

 

[mellowgerman]

The size of the headstock changed in 1970. But, without checking, I expect the NS to match the pre-'70 so if you are seeing a difference it probably is based on the tuners.

I can confirm that my 1970 Starfire's headstock is larger (more dramatically accentuated edges/corners/arches) compared to my 1967 Starfire's. Also worth noting, the '67 has a volute whereas the '70 does not.
The NS series does indeed more closely resemble the PRE-1970 headstock design. Aside from the thick shafts of the NS tuners, the paddles also stick out much farther than on vintage specimens, which was the first different-looking thing I noticed about the NS basses.

 

[lungimsam]

I am glad there is no volute on the NS Starfires.
My thumb rests on the back o the headstock sometimes when I play in first position.
Nice to have a smooth slide transition there and not get jammed against a volute.
One of these days I would like to get a blonde maple Starfire, or sunburst.

 

[Happy Face]

For our new members, a volute is "a deep-water marine mollusk with a thick spiral shell that is colorful and prized by collectors."

You're welcome.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Careful: if you leave your Starfire in the case too long, barnacles will grow back there as well...

 

[gilded]

No No, Face. 'Tis You who are Worthy of Thanks!

 

[jte]

And DIckey with an ES-345!
Up north we didn't tuck our jeans into the tops of the Frye boots. Must be a Southern thang Duane did...

I think Berry was highly influenced by The Dead and Lesh. The original ABB owed as much to Coltrane, the Dead, etc. Those long exploratory jams that gave everyone a voice.

 

[fronobulax]

Up north we didn't tuck our jeans into the tops of the Frye boots.

Must have been a north-central thing since we did in New York and parts of New England. Of course they weren't always Fryes. It may have been a habit developed as toddlers since snow pants were always tucked into snow boots.