For sale is a fantastic 1966 Guild Starfire I semi-hollowbody bass guitar. The bass contains the manufacturing tag on the inside of the bass body with signature and serial number. The serial number is also stamped on the back of the head stock.
This Starfire I bass is fitted with the original and iconic Hagstrom Bisonic pickup in the bridge (rear) position. All electronics are original and function excellently, providing an aggressive tone which sounds fantastic both in live playing and recording studios. The controls are one Volume and one Tone knob.
Dark Star pickups from Hammon Engineering are/were the closest thing to the original Hagstrom Bisonics. I've attached a link below for information on the Dark Stars in order to provide more details on the sonic qualities of the original pickup for this bass.
Hammon Engineering - Recreating the Hagstrom Single Coil Bass Pickup
The bass was recently overhauled by master luthier and guitar tech Ed Reynolds in Austin, Texas in Fall 2010. This Starfire's frets were meticulously replaced, the nut upgraded, the input jack was replaced (with the surrounding wood structurally reinforced) and strings replaced with intonation set-up. I also had the original antiquated strap buttons upgraded to Dunlops.
Truss rod works perfectly and the neck on the bass is thin and super fast.
Tuners are original but are a little loose from age. They stay in tune just fine.
The bridge saddles are black nylon/plastic. I have purchased replacement saddles made of rosewood and will include them with the purchase. I like the sound of the bass with the black saddles and the rosewood saddles are unused.
http://www.guildbassparts.com/Home.html
The bass is currently strung with Thomastik-Infeld JF324 Flatwound Short Scale 4-String Jazz Bass Strings. Click on the link below for a review of these strings:
Buy Thomastik JF324 Flatwound Short Scale 4-String Jazz Bass Strings | Other Gauges | Musician's Friend
This bass has been played for its 45+ years. Cosmetically it is in fine shape but has worn spots and scuffs from years of use. The finish is also fading and shedding from use. I think it looks great and most would call it something like, "vintage mojo." Please note that THE BASS HAS NO STRUCTURAL ISSUES.
The bass comes with what is either the original case or a period correct case, which is aged and slightly beaten up but still works fine.
Here is a profile of the Guild Starfire bass product line. This is NOT the Guild bass for sale here.
Guild Starfire Bass Guitar
Please note that the attached pictures do show some glare from the camera.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
$1750 plus shipping. I will calculate shipping once I have the address of a potential buyer and will only ask to be reimbursed for exact shipping charges.
