Phil's first Starfire

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,100
Reaction score
1,507
Location
Orlando, FL
Today I spotted something interesting on the Grateful Dead History page on facebook. They shared photos from 8/4/68, Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa, CA (Newport Pop Festival '68). Phil is playing his (presumably) first Starfire bass, that I had seen before in photos but always assumed it was unmodified. However, there's one photo where he looks to be coaxing some feedback out of his amp and I noticed that Starfire has a back-door! Also, looking from the front, the master volume control has been removed. So that made me wonder, what's going on inside that bass? Anybody have info on this?
Cutting a back-door into a semi-hollow would be a pretty drastic step to take if the tech was only removing a master volume control or replacing some pots or capacitors. Seems to suggest some extensive mods were done. Another thing I'd heard about this bass was that it potentially was THE Starfire that became the Godfather/BigBrown bass? Maybe these were early stages of experimentation?

117096164_1351383751734684_3924521716147619415_n.jpg

Screenshot 2020-08-04 at 11.35.09.png
 

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
From a concert at Columbia University, May 3, 1968

3459d789b10edda5674540c1c3ab954f.jpg


We've discussed the two sliver dots (treble horn and between the PUs) but had no conclusion as to purpose.

Presumably the same instrument. There is video from the concert but I have not studied it to see whether the backdoor was present or not.

Cutting a backdoor might not have been the extreme step then that it seems now. I can easily imagine a tech cutting one now just in case they ever had to get back in and not really thinking about it on a commodity instrument. Even though, why did they need to get in and what made them think they would be back?
 

bassman10096

Junior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2008
Messages
86
Reaction score
26
Today I spotted something interesting on the Grateful Dead History page on facebook. They shared photos from 8/4/68, Orange County Fairgrounds, Costa Mesa, CA (Newport Pop Festival '68). Phil is playing his (presumably) first Starfire bass, that I had seen before in photos but always assumed it was unmodified. However, there's one photo where he looks to be coaxing some feedback out of his amp and I noticed that Starfire has a back-door! Also, looking from the front, the master volume control has been removed. So that made me wonder, what's going on inside that bass? Anybody have info on this?
Cutting a back-door into a semi-hollow would be a pretty drastic step to take if the tech was only removing a master volume control or replacing some pots or capacitors. Seems to suggest some extensive mods were done. Another thing I'd heard about this bass was that it potentially was THE Starfire that became the Godfather/BigBrown bass? Maybe these were early stages of experimentation?

117096164_1351383751734684_3924521716147619415_n.jpg

Screenshot 2020-08-04 at 11.35.09.png
I believe I’ve read that the big brown Alembic mod bass started life as a red Starfire. Maybe that one?
 

mavuser

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
8,128
Reaction score
2,637
Location
New York
There has definitely been some confusion about whether Phil's original red SF-II bass is the one that got modded into big brown, or if that was a second bass...Mgod on this forum set me straight- it's all the same red/brown bass, he only had one (still has it)
 

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
The sources I can find quickly and am willing to consider credible put the conversion to Big Brown in the 1971 time frame. What makes this interesting is that some kind of experimentation was going on maybe three years earlier or it took them a long time to finish :)
 

mavuser

Enlightened Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
8,128
Reaction score
2,637
Location
New York
The sources I can find quickly and am willing to consider credible put the conversion to Big Brown in the 1971 time frame. What makes this interesting is that some kind of experimentation was going on maybe three years earlier or it took them a long time to finish :)

i think it was completed in 71 and from then on he played it all the time. i believe he was playing a Gibson solid body EB bass w Bisonic looking pickups in between the early red SF-II days and big brown
 

hieronymous

Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
415
Reaction score
125
Location
Northern CA
Guild Total
1
I was going to weigh in but got confused with Jack Casady - duh! It's been a long day...
 

Happy Face

Justified Ancient of MuMu
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
916
Reaction score
239
What a great thread! I am happy that the old guy has not showed up to shush us all up.

Like about calling that Gibson an EB-3.
 

Happy Face

Justified Ancient of MuMu
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
916
Reaction score
239
But it's great to see you back, Senor Curmudgeon.

Honto.
 

Rebosbro

Member
Joined
Jul 7, 2020
Messages
838
Reaction score
805
Location
Moseley Va
Guild Total
3
Good stuff guys. Still miss Jerry. Only saw them once without him and Warren Hayes was touring with them. Had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with Warren on several occasions. What a guy. He played with both opening bands, 2 sets with Government Mule and hung out for 2 hours after the show with us. Just a normal dude.
 
Top