Guild Starfire Bass Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1967)
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Guild Starfire Bass Model Semi-Hollow Body Electric Bass Guitar (1967), made in Hoboken, NJ, serial # BA-1147, ebony grain laquer finish, laminated mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, black tolex hard shell case.
The 1960s Guild Starfire bass has in more recent times re-gained attention as one of the decade's most distinctive bass guitars. Despite a 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.
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 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 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 mid-1967 and has transitional features specific to that period. The triple bound body and long thin neck are finished in what Guild called "Ebony Grain" a dark semi-transparent lacquer which allows the wood grain to show through. This was one of a number of optional colors Guild offered beyond the standard cherry and sunburst, but it’s a fairly uncommon find on a bass. This would have been a custom ordered finish at the time.
A major difference from earlier SF models is the pickup position. This bass has the large Bi-Sonic unit mounted just below the fingerboard; the earliest Starfire basses feature the single P.U. closer to the bridge. This bass is not equipped with the "baritone" tone switch which was added later in the year, not long after the pickup placement was revised. The tuners are typical American-made Klusons, while the bridge is also a Hagstrom-made piece with four adjustable wooden saddles.
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. This "Ebony" bass has some light signs of wear from use but remains 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 and in excellent playing condition with just some light fairly wear. The color in the dark transparent lacquer finish is still strong with some typical minor checking. The finish is nicely preserved overall with just some very small chips and dings, most notably a small spot of finish worn away just above the upper finger rest and later touched up. The back of the neck is partially worn through the finish to the wood with a few small dinks. The body binding has shrunk up somewhat in the cutaways and the seam joins at the base of the body but is not cracking or crumbling.
The top layer of the headstock veneer has shrunk up at the edges as is typical with Guilds of this period. Most of the plating is very clean, only the tuners and strap button on the neck heel show any notable corrosion. The original frets show some light wear. Overall this a very fine example of the original 1960s Starfire bass; the lovely straight neck has a very good angle, and the bass plats excellent with the typical punchy sound. It comes in a modern Guild-marked HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.
The 1960s Guild Starfire bass has in more recent times re-gained attention as one of the decade's most distinctive bass guitars. Despite a 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.
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 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 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 mid-1967 and has transitional features specific to that period. The triple bound body and long thin neck are finished in what Guild called "Ebony Grain" a dark semi-transparent lacquer which allows the wood grain to show through. This was one of a number of optional colors Guild offered beyond the standard cherry and sunburst, but it’s a fairly uncommon find on a bass. This would have been a custom ordered finish at the time.
A major difference from earlier SF models is the pickup position. This bass has the large Bi-Sonic unit mounted just below the fingerboard; the earliest Starfire basses feature the single P.U. closer to the bridge. This bass is not equipped with the "baritone" tone switch which was added later in the year, not long after the pickup placement was revised. The tuners are typical American-made Klusons, while the bridge is also a Hagstrom-made piece with four adjustable wooden saddles.
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. This "Ebony" bass has some light signs of wear from use but remains 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 and in excellent playing condition with just some light fairly wear. The color in the dark transparent lacquer finish is still strong with some typical minor checking. The finish is nicely preserved overall with just some very small chips and dings, most notably a small spot of finish worn away just above the upper finger rest and later touched up. The back of the neck is partially worn through the finish to the wood with a few small dinks. The body binding has shrunk up somewhat in the cutaways and the seam joins at the base of the body but is not cracking or crumbling.
The top layer of the headstock veneer has shrunk up at the edges as is typical with Guilds of this period. Most of the plating is very clean, only the tuners and strap button on the neck heel show any notable corrosion. The original frets show some light wear. Overall this a very fine example of the original 1960s Starfire bass; the lovely straight neck has a very good angle, and the bass plats excellent with the typical punchy sound. It comes in a modern Guild-marked HSC. Overall Excellent - Condition.