Here’s something a little different – a 1967 Guild Starfire (serial number ending in 1300) resurrected and customized by Michael Dolan (ex-Alembic).
I can't figure out how to upload more than two pictures as attachments, and I don't have a website, so I don't know how to upload any additional images - feel free to email me at
joannajetson@yahoo.com for more pix.
When I got this, it was a boat paddle – Seymour Duncan pickups that didn't fit, a God-awful milky Varithane finish so thick it was coming off in chips the depth of a dime, fingerboard redone with a zero fret after having previously been redone with a fretless board, etc. It was so far gone that instead of trying to restore it, since it would never be original again, Michael and I turned it into a very nice custom bass with good bones.
It now has:
- the original stereo wiring and knobs, with the stereo switch is now stereo/mono/standby;
- a new ebony fingerboard with a brass nut;
- a neck that’s been stripped of the previous terrible refinish, with a new clear satin finish that's very fast;
- Dark Star pickups;
- a new brass Alembic-style bridge and tailpiece;
- new brass Grover tuners;
- a 12th-fret inlay of a British prehistoric monument, the White Horse of Uffington (just for fun);
- Michael Dolan's brass logo;
- and, most obviously, the electric sapphire-blue burst that really makes it pop out under stage lights.
Clearly, this isn’t for someone who wants a dead-stock original, but for someone who wants a one-of-a-kind custom based on a great chassis, it might be just the thing.
There’s no case, but there’s a good Tough Traveler gig bag that’s just the right size.
I’m not sure what to ask for this, so if you all think I’m nuts, please let me know. I’d love to get $2,000 for it shipped within CONUS, but as I say, I’m definitely open to offers, reasonable or not. I’d also be willing to deliver it within the greater SF Bay Area. No PayPal fee.
Here’s part of the
previous owner’s description to give an idea of how bad it was before I got it:
“I removed all of the black paint from the neck and headstock, as well as the plastic cover 'logo' that was on the front of the headstock. I also removed as much of the green stain on the body and re-finished it in walnut. The finish has gone slightly 'milky' at the heel of the neck and also a bit at the back side of the headstock... At one time I had a fretless finger board installed, but the short 30 1/2" scale proved dificult to play in tune above the octave. I went back to a fretted ebony finger board with a zero fret.”
One other paragraph from the previous owner’s description is more interesting:
“About the neck: All other Starfire basses that I have seen have a thick chunky neck. This one is thin. I met a factory rep from Guild about 1985 who told me that it is a neck from their acoustic bass guitar the B50. This was long before acoustic bass guitars became popular, like they are now. He said a very few were made this way, which makes this instrument even more unusual.”
(True? Who knows...)
Anyway, if you’re at all interested, please let me know.
Joanna
