Guild Starfire Bass Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1967)
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Item #6662
Guild Starfire Bass Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, cherry lacquer finish, laminated mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, original black hard shell case.
The 1960's Guild Starfire bass has in recent years been gaining attention as 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 hollowbody bass. Starfire basses became a prominent part of the San Francisco sound in the late 60's 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 even enter the electric bass arena until 1965, when the semi-hollow double-cutaway Starfire line and the solidbody line both had a single-pickup bass added. While the solid body 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 1960's. 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 is from mid-1967 and has features specific to that period. The major difference from the earlier models is the pickup position, mounted just under the fingerboard: the earliest Starfire basses feature the single P.U. closer to the bridge. This bass pre-dates the introduction of the baritone tone switch added in late 1967.The tuners are also the typical American-made Klusons where the first models had European Van Ghents. The triple bound body is finished in a deep cherry red finish. This bass has some obvious signs of wear but remains a fine gigging example of this 1960's 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 in excellent structural and playing condition with some play wear. The finish overall is fairly well preserved with small chips and dings, but there is one large scrape to the top through the finish into the wood just below the bridge, several spots of damage on the edge of the top where the player's arm rests and some larger dings near the treble side F-hole. The neck finish is in surprizingly good shape, and this bass is all original with the exception of an added metal jack plate to the rim. The serial number on the headstock has a factory double stamp of two sequential numbers, an odd but not unknown factory error for Guild. Overall a fine gigging Starfire bass, excellent straight neck with good angle, very fine except for its one prominent cosmetic scar to the face. Includes a nice OHSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
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The 1960's Guild Starfire bass has in recent years been gaining attention as 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 hollowbody bass. Starfire basses became a prominent part of the San Francisco sound in the late 60's 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 even enter the electric bass arena until 1965, when the semi-hollow double-cutaway Starfire line and the solidbody line both had a single-pickup bass added. While the solid body 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 1960's. 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 is from mid-1967 and has features specific to that period. The major difference from the earlier models is the pickup position, mounted just under the fingerboard: the earliest Starfire basses feature the single P.U. closer to the bridge. This bass pre-dates the introduction of the baritone tone switch added in late 1967.The tuners are also the typical American-made Klusons where the first models had European Van Ghents. The triple bound body is finished in a deep cherry red finish. This bass has some obvious signs of wear but remains a fine gigging example of this 1960's 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 in excellent structural and playing condition with some play wear. The finish overall is fairly well preserved with small chips and dings, but there is one large scrape to the top through the finish into the wood just below the bridge, several spots of damage on the edge of the top where the player's arm rests and some larger dings near the treble side F-hole. The neck finish is in surprizingly good shape, and this bass is all original with the exception of an added metal jack plate to the rim. The serial number on the headstock has a factory double stamp of two sequential numbers, an odd but not unknown factory error for Guild. Overall a fine gigging Starfire bass, excellent straight neck with good angle, very fine except for its one prominent cosmetic scar to the face. Includes a nice OHSC. Overall Very Good + Condition.
