Thoughts on the new Guild Starfire I Bass...would you get it?

Would you buy it?

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    113
jazzman64

jazzman64

Commercial User
Apr 16, 2021
372
806
1,936
North Jersey
#1
I recently caught wind of the new Guild Starfire I bass with their own split coil pickup. It comes a nice price and comes with a beautiful Cherry Red or Vintage Walnut color scheme. I am thinking of getting for that early Phil Lesh tone and for 60's music in general. I would put some flats on it! What are your thoughts on it? Would you buy it?
 
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#4
jazzman64 said:
Yes it did! I watched it on YouTube the minute it came out! Love your content by the way! I just wanted to get a general opinion of what the folks on the TalkBass community would think about it! I'm Emilio by the way...I commented on a few of your videos! :)
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Awesome! Thank you :). I'd say go for it, they're well built and sound great. The only issue that I had was with the pickup picking up interference from my clip on mic, but I've since moved to another mic setup and I don't think it's common for folks to be wearing clip on mics while playing bass hahaha. I didn't get any environmental interference and the tone was great.
 
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#5
LowEndLobster said:
Awesome! Thank you :). I'd say go for it, they're well built and sound great. The only issue that I had was with the pickup picking up interference from my clip on mic, but I've since moved to another mic setup and I don't think it's common for folks to be wearing clip on mics while playing bass hahaha. I didn't get any environmental interference and the tone was great.
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Sounds good! Do you think that overtime the Guild will have a woody tone when the flatwounds reach their break-in period? I want to get that early Phil Lesh/Grateful Dead bass tone and this Starfire seems perfect for that! Do you think it will get that tone when the flats mellow out?
 
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#6
jazzman64 said:
Sounds good! Do you think that overtime the Guild will have a woody tone when the flatwounds reach their break-in period? I want to get that early Phil Lesh/Grateful Dead bass tone and this Starfire seems perfect for that! Do you think it will get that tone when the flats mellow out?
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Depends on the flats, but yeah I think the bass can get in the ballpark of the Dead tone. I found the bass with the Deep Talkin Flats has that style of treble/upper mid presence that my JC with the Low Tensions doesn't have.
 
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#8
jazzman64 said:
Sounds good! Do you think that overtime the Guild will have a woody tone when the flatwounds reach their break-in period? I want to get that early Phil Lesh/Grateful Dead bass tone and this Starfire seems perfect for that! Do you think it will get that tone when the flats mellow out?
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Much of the tone you seek came thanks to the Bisonic pickups. I think the reissue Starfires built before these would come closer, though the purists say that even those reissue pickups don't get you all the way there.
 
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#10
jazzman64 said:
Sounds good! Do you think that overtime the Guild will have a woody tone when the flatwounds reach their break-in period? I want to get that early Phil Lesh/Grateful Dead bass tone and this Starfire seems perfect for that! Do you think it will get that tone when the flats mellow out?
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As I'm sure you know, Phil's Guild had 2 pickups, with the stock pickups (as previously mentioned) before massive mods turned it into the Godfather with 3 and all kinds of craziness. He played with a pick on Pyramid Gold flats. Also as others said, you will likely get closer to the sound with the Starfire II.
 
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#12
I bought one. It was delivered with a faulty push pull pot for the vintage switch. When you pulled for vintage it cut the sound from the g and d string. The tone was great tho but the neck is a toothpick. I couldn't get over that so I returned it bc of the issue but mostly cause the neck was so thin
 
#13
drewphishes said:
I bought one. It was delivered with a faulty push pull pot for the vintage switch. When you pulled for vintage it cut the sound from the g and d string. The tone was great tho but the neck is a toothpick. I couldn't get over that so I returned it bc of the issue but mostly cause the neck was so thin
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That’s a shame…but I kind of like a thin neck. Was it like a jazz bass neck? That type of thin?
 
#15
LowEndLobster said:
Awesome! Thank you :). I'd say go for it, they're well built and sound great. The only issue that I had was with the pickup picking up interference from my clip on mic, but I've since moved to another mic setup and I don't think it's common for folks to be wearing clip on mics while playing bass hahaha. I didn't get any environmental interference and the tone was great.
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I bet that thing will buzz like a ####### though if it gets near any neon lights, or stage lights. It did sound really good.
 
#19
bobyoung53 said:
I bet that thing will buzz like a ####### though if it gets near any neon lights, or stage lights. It did sound really good.
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Though not stage lighting, I do have two giant lights and two high powered computers within 3 or 4 feet of me when I do all my recordings. It was only the lanyard mic behind the bass that created noise here, nothing from anywhere else in the environment - I tested thoroughly after discovering this little quirk.
 
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#20
LowEndLobster said:
Though not stage lighting, I do have two giant lights and two high powered computers within 3 or 4 feet of me when I do all my recordings. It was only the lanyard mic behind the bass that created noise here, nothing from anywhere else in the environment - I tested thoroughly after discovering this little quirk.
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Weird but that's good then, that bass does sound great. I think the split pickup looks a little strange on it though but it sounds so good who cares?.
 
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