Guild Starfire Bass Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # BA-1566, sunburst lacquer finish, laminated maple body, laminated mahogany neck with rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
This is a fine playing example of a 1960s Guild Starfire bass, one of the decade's most distinctive bass guitars. Despite its general resemblance to the Gibson EB-2 and Epiphone Rivoli, the Starfire is a completely different animal sonically, putting out a very clear and powerful sound with a wide frequency range and an almost piano-like growl unusual in a hollow-body bass.
Starfire basses became a prominent part of the San Francisco sound in the late '60s with both Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead and Jack Casady of the Jefferson Airplane choosing the model for their psychedelic explorations of the low end. With a very slim and fast-playing neck, the Starfire is the perfect bass to "take off" on and remains as unique as when first designed.
Guild did not enter the electric bass arena until 1965, when the semi-hollow double-cutaway Starfire line and the solid body line both had a single-pickup bass added. While the solidbody Jetstar soon crashed and burned the Starfire became one of the company's most popular items. The neck is very slim and comfortable to play, especially compared to most other American basses of the 1960s. The body is not fully hollow, there is a solid block running through the center in the manner of a Gibson ES-335 giving a tighter response and more resistance to feedback than a true hollowbody bass.
The real secret to the early Guild basses' unique sound is the large Hagstrom-made Bi-Sonic pickup, which looks like a double-coil unit but is in fact more akin to a giant single-coil DeArmond. With large magnet slugs for polepieces, this pickup has a very powerful attack and a broad harmonic range quite unlike either the more familiar giant Gibson bass humbucker or the Guild humbucking pickup which replaced it in 1970.
This particular Starfire Bass dates to late 1967 and has features specific to that period. The major difference from earlier models is the pickup position, with the large Bi-Sonic mounted just below the fingerboard: the earliest Starfire basses feature a single P.U. closer to the bridge. This bass would be one of the first equipped with the baritone tone switch which was added later in 1967, not too long after the pickup placement was revised. The tuners are typical American-made Klusons, the bridge is also a Hagstrom-made piece with four adjustable wooden saddles. The triple bound body is finished in a deep 3-color sunburst finish. This bass has some light signs of wear and clean repairs but remains nearly all original and a fine example of this 1960s classic.
Overall length is 46 in. (116.8 cm.), 16 1/4 in. (41.3 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 1/2 in. (775 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).
This bass is nicely original overall and in excellent playing condition. The neck shows and old repair to a fingerboard separation down from the nut, with some light overspray to the back of the neck only. The neck center seam shows some resealing with just some light fairly wear. There are no cracks or breaks to the neck, just re-sealed seams; it is perfectly straight and quite solid.
The rest of the finish is in excellent shape; the color in the sunburst lacquer finish is still strong with some typical minor checking, nicely preserved overall with just some very small chips and dings. The most notable is a small spot of finish worn away just above the upper finger rest.
The top layer of the headstock veneer has shrunk up a bi9t as is typical with Guilds of this period but is not peeling up as some are. There are some marks on the face from someone gluing it back down. Most of the plating is relatively clean with some minor disturbance, only the nickel plated tuners show any notable corrosion. The elevating screws on the bridge are old replacements.
The original frets show just minimal wear. Overall this a very fine player's example of the original 1960s Starfire bass; the lovely straight neck has no ill effects from the old repairs and a very good angle, and the bass plays excellent with the typical punchy sound. It comes in the original Guild-marked HSC, worn but solid. Overall Excellent - Condition.
