Westerly Starfire Bass

[oscarwao]

Curious to know if the more experienced folks here have seen late 1990s-2000 Starfire reissues come up for sale? I've been on the lookout for some time and haven't seen much. Were these particular items in short supply? The one that comes up on reverb.com is just too expensive for me: https://reverb.com/item/29592278-19...owned-by-the-legendary-james-hutch-hutchinson.

 

[Guildedagain]

The price of reissues is almost as high as vintage in some cases, and here, maybe even higher.

In Starfire guitars, some prefer the 90's guitars, bigger necks.

Not sure if the basses followed suit or not.

 

[krysh]

I never held a reissue in my hand, but If it wasn't equipped with darkstars, I wouldn't be interested either. I once owned a special 1965 SF1 with second Bisonic that was cool but had to sell it. Now I own a 2014 NSt. M-85 that is also cool and plays and sounds great. I'd suggest a Newark Street Starfire Bass will do just fine if you don't hear the grass growing....

 

[fronobulax]

The price on that bass is optimistic but is based upon provenance. I confess I had never heard of "Hutch” Hutchinson until I started looking for Guild endorsers but if someone has heard, and heard of, him they might be willing to pay.

I'm not a fan of the Guild humbuckers so I have no interest unless I am going to swap PUs and doing that with a Newark Street bass would be cheaper.

The 90's reissues are slightly different. Body dimensions are different compared to the 60's and, of course, the bridge is different. There were fewer of them made, compared to the earlier years so they are relatively harder to find.

@mavuser has owned the 90's basses and speaks from hands on comparisons. He is also more charitable towards them than I am

 

[mavuser]

the neck on a 90s SF bass is the same as a vintage SF bass. the body on the 90s is 1/4 inch slimmer. the pickups on the 90s are not the same as the 70s. they look the same, but are different. the 90s pickups sound real good!

 

[mavuser]

i do not see any evidence in the reverb add that the red bass was actually owned or used by HH. just a promo photo from ebay. maybe it was from HH, but documentation needs to be provided. either way, asking price is bonkers. 1500-2500 is the range for these, depending on condition, the original case (nicest ive ever seen) and whatever else. for about the same price on a good day u can land a decent Hoboken SF-1bass (maybe closer to 2,000-2,800 there)

 

[hieronymous]

i do not see any evidence in the reverb add that the red bass was actually owned or used by HH. just a promo photo from ebay. maybe it was from HH, but documentation needs to be provided. either way, asking price is bonkers. 1500-2500 is the range for these, depending on condition, the original case (nicest ive ever seen) and whatever else. for about the same price on a good day u can land a decent Hoboken SF-1bass (maybe closer to 2,000-2,800 there)

Yeah, the wording is kind of misleading - the title states that it was owned by him, but the text seems to say that the whole line was made for him and that a signed message was included with them when they originally sold?

 

[oscarwao]

I reached out to the seller to see how flexible he may be. I obviously wouldn't need one owned by Hutch for my bedroom studio. I haven't seen one come up this past year on that site other than the examples you see.

Side rant: I love the late '90s Guild reissues in general. Generally affordable, the necks are perfect, build like tanks. I may be biased if simply because that's my era as a young man buying some gear. For instance, I know some folks feel the older Starfire guitars sound better but I personally haven't found that to be the case. I've owned some examples from the '60s and they've come and gone. I have kept by late '90s reissues though.

 

[Guildedagain]

In the 90's, they finally built guitars that rivaled the good part of the 60's.

 

[Minnesota Flats]

The original owner (or not) referenced by Reverb link (1998 ad):



I think he played in Quicksilver Messenger Service guitar player John Cipollina's 1970s band "Copperhead", for one.

 

[Guildedagain]

Amp and pedals?

 

[mgod]

Yuck!

 

[zbassman17]

Curious to know if the more experienced folks here have seen late 1990s-2000 Starfire reissues come up for sale? I've been on the lookout for some time and haven't seen much. Were these particular items in short supply? The one that comes up on reverb.com is just too expensive for me: https://reverb.com/item/29592278-19...owned-by-the-legendary-james-hutch-hutchinson.

I have a Westerly 1996 reissue that i am considering on selling. Awesome natural flame maple.

 

[oscarwao]

I have a Westerly 1996 reissue that i am considering on selling. Awesome natural flame maple.

Do you want to forward details? Pics etc.?

 

[Guzzitd63]

Yuck!

Wait ... What's "Yuck"? ... the Amp and pedals?

 

[fronobulax]

Wait ... What's "Yuck"? ... the Amp and pedals?

mgod can speak for himself, but given his career, interests, instruments, and personality as I understand it, I understood it to be a comment on the desirability of a non-Bisonic, post 1970 Starfire.

Pic is circa 2013 and includes specimens from the collection of both mgod and Fred "Dark Star" Hammon.

 

[lungimsam]

2 comments about the above pic:
1. So that’s who’s been hoggin all the sunburst Starfires!!!!
2. Is that a Gibson 3-point on a JS?

 

[fronobulax]

2 comments about the above pic:
1. So that’s who’s been hoggin all the sunburst Starfires!!!!
2. Is that a Gibson 3-point on a JS?

1) mgod and Fred are contenders.
2) possibly. if I remember the story, that JS has the first two Dark Star pickups that Fred made.

Pic or ones from the same session have been posted and discussed before, but a quick search didn't find anything directly from mgod that I have forgotten. In Ye Olden Days when pics had to be hosted elsewhere for display on LTG, he would send me pics and I would host them. It was the least I could do for someone who could send Jack Casady an email and get an answer

 

[mgod]

That picture is from the day Fred and I met. Feb, 2003, pre-Dark Star. The '73 black M-85 on the left with Humbuggers received the first pair of Dark Stars later that year. The sunburst Starfires on the floor left and the red double black pickup one on the couch are Fred's. The rest are mine, except maybe the later Jet Star on the right. I had one, which I sold after I bought the older one on the left - but this one might be before that or it might be Fred's: I actually can't remember, though as I recall he brought over 4 basses, so it's probably his.

My memory is that Fred's sunbursts are 70s basses with BiSonic transplants. I'm sure about one of them, but both might be. He's in the picture, laying out of sight holding up the Coronado IV.

There are 4 that were my session mainstays: the double pickup SF, 3rd from right on the floor; the Lesh bass, the black solid body M-85, and the black M-85 in between them.

 

[mavuser]

mgod is pre-Fender.
mgod is pre-Dark Star.
I like mgod.