New NS Starfire 1 owner...with questions.

Joined
Dec 29, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Greetings all. I've got a NS Starfire 1 inbound. Picked it up used for a good deal. Ideally I wanted a Starfire 2, but part of me also likes the idea of adding a pickup of my choice in the neck position. BUT, which pick up to add? From sound clips and reviews, the Starfire 1 seems to lack low end? I've used a Dimarzio Model One in a Gibson SG bass with good results. Any thoughts on adding a Model One? Also was wondering if the Guild Starfire guitar harness is the same used in the bass? Looks like it is?

I've been using a Rickenbacker and Hofner Club bass for my current 60's band, but just want one short scale bass that can do it all now that we're moving away from primarily Beatles material.

Thanks for any ideas! (trying to post photos....do I really need to post a URL in this day and age!)
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Greetings all. I've got a NS Starfire 1 inbound. Picked it up used for a good deal. Ideally I wanted a Starfire 2, but part of me also likes the idea of adding a pickup of my choice in the neck position. BUT, which pick up to add? From sound clips and reviews, the Starfire 1 seems to lack low end? I've used a Dimarzio Model One in a Gibson SG bass with good results. Any thoughts on adding a Model One? Also was wondering if the Guild Starfire guitar harness is the same used in the bass? Looks like it is?

I've been using a Rickenbacker and Hofner Club bass for my current 60's band, but just want one short scale bass that can do it all now that we're moving away from primarily Beatles material.

Thanks for any ideas! (trying to post photos....do I really need to post a URL in this day and age!)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/kq27l17hc9si5p5/Screenshot 2019-12-30 at 2.15.10 PM.png?dl=0
 
Last edited by a moderator:

chazmo

Super Moderator
Joined
Nov 7, 2007
Messages
25,472
Reaction score
7,131
Location
Central Massachusetts
I can see your pictures, but I had to remove the IMG tags. I don't know if dropbox has an option to create proper image links for a web board or not.
 

The Guilds of Grot

Enlightened Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2006
Messages
9,547
Reaction score
4,716
Location
New Jersey Shore
Guild Total
117
p.png


p.png
 
Last edited:

lungimsam

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
2,570
Reaction score
1,624
Guild Total
2
Rickenbacker HB1 humbucker.
Thats what I put in mine after shielding up the harness. Sounds way better.
My Bisonic had plenty o’ low end but was noisy so I replaced with the RIcky HB1.
See a pic here.
http://www.rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=416207
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 29, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Lungimsam. Thanks for the reply. I've enjoyed seeing your progress with the bass on this site. Missed the fact you replaced your pick up. Looks great in the old Bisonic frame!

I'll give the bass a try with the one bisonic and see how it goes in band rehearsal. We're gearing up for a run of theatres and I need to nail my rig down by March. I have a Jack Casady on standby and I know it works well, but I really like playing short scale instruments. Hopefully the Guild works out because it looks like a lovely instrument.

On another note, I also see the brass saddles are keepers? Did I read you were having issues with string clarity?
 

Minnesota Flats

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
1,284
Reaction score
1,164
Before you give up on the BiSonic and start carving up your pup cavity, I'd give a preamp a shot. I picked up one of these used for cheap and find that it has expanded the tonal palettes of all my basses greatly:



There are many others on the market if this one doesn't suit your taste.
 

lungimsam

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
2,570
Reaction score
1,624
Guild Total
2
StudioGC:

Thanks. I replaced the wood bridges with the brass because my wood bridge piece cracked.

The 2014 NS Starfire bass I have is fantastic and I loved it at first play.
But as time went by I started noticing electronics problems I could not ignore anymore.

The stock bisonic had these uneven melted plasticy frame edges that hung the pup from the cavity hole edges. Though Guild told me that was normal, the edges were super thin and brittle and looked hand melted.

Also the pickup and harness were noisy and the pots gave more of an on/off function than sweeps.

So I replaced the whole harness with my own volume pot and a Tonestyler, and then shielded the whole thing up and put in the HB1 humbucker. So it is a noiseless Starfire that sounds even better now.

I went to these measures because I loved the short scale playability and everything else about the bass so much, but most of my playing/recording is direct box to board (studio and live mega-church auditorium that is controlled by the techs) so I wanted a noiseless bass that I could just plug in and give good straight sound without having to resort to signal processing.

Many others here seemed to have had no problems with their basses. Maybe mine just had the faulty electronics. Also, mine was made before the switchover to the new owners of Guild. And they have told me the new Starfires are spec'd differently (at least the bodies are).

So I would just play your Guild as is and tweak it as you find necessary. The short scale and the string spacing make playing them a breeze. Everything about them is just so nice.
 

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
Welcome.

Dropbox does not make it easy to link to pictures and have this board display them inline. While there were very good reasons not to allow direct uploads of pictures to LTG in the past, the ability to do so in the future is planned.

You will have a better sense when you have it in hand but I would not describe my SF I as "lacking in low end". I am not one of the people who modify things so it is predictable that my suggestion would be to play it as is for a bit and see whether you can do what you want with it.
 

lungimsam

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 1, 2011
Messages
2,570
Reaction score
1,624
Guild Total
2
Yes, the SF doesn't lack in low end. It has a good balanced sound.
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,100
Reaction score
1,507
Location
Orlando, FL
A lot of great choices out there, but the Dimarzio Model One has always been a favorite of mine. They're very versatile pickups since they have the 4-lead setup and you can wire up some switches for single-coil/humbucker and series/parallel. Most notably, I had a Fender Mustang bass some years ago that I modified with a Hammon DarkStar in the middle position and a Model One in the neck position. In single-coil mode it was actually hum-cancelling with the DarkStar and the tone was incredible... likely a bass I will try to recreate in the future. Sold it and it's long gone, but I have missed it ever since.
*should note that though the Hammon DarkStar looks just like the Newark St Bisonic, they sound noticeably different, so no guarantee that they will work equally as well when paired with a Model One

BW43Bkr.jpg
 
Last edited:
Top