New 2013 Guild Starfire Bass Reissue

[Patski]

Ok, I've amended the text of the petition to give people an option of what they prefer. I added the picture below, i think it sells the idea

I'm keen to get the petition off the ground, in whatever shape that may be. I'm sure that it would come down to what JMJ and the Guild/Fender guys could agree on anyway.

[fjadams]

Some of what I've been reading here borders on the ridiculous, probably including my posts. But a couple things. First, concluding that since FMIC owns Guild nothing they make is really a Guild. Does this go for my Gretsch too? It says Gretsch on the headstock and the label inside, but since their parent company is Fender and it was made in Korea does that mean I really have a no name guitar with a fancy headstock? Also have a Hofner that wasn't made in Germany, so would that make it not a real one? Not to mention a couple of Epiphones, neither of which was made in the U.S. and belong to a parent company with a name that is not Epiphone.

Should we hold Guild to a higher standard? In some place in my heart I would say yes, since I liked my 67 Starfire more than any other bass I've ever owned. But in the real world they are just another company that makes musical instruments. Not for my benefit or any single musician, but for the people that own the company.

Would I love to see an American made Starfire, hell yeah. But how would they ever do it quality and quantity wise at a price point that I (and I imagine many other people) could afford? Truthfully I don't think it would be possible. The GSR that was released last year looks like a nice bass, but at $3,500 my local music store is not going to have one hanging on their wall for some little Flea wannabe to beat up popping and slapping and declaring its crap. And being retired it is way out of my price range. $3,500 reissue bass, nope can't buy. $2,000 to $2,500 for one of the first issues, still out of my budget. $1,000 for a Korean made reissue, that is in my budget, albeit at about the topmost end of it. At this price point do I expect it to be perfect, no, but damn close. Is it a perfect copy of the original, doesn't sound like it. But I'm thinking they are issuing it for the general public who expect different things from a bass than players did fifty plus years ago. And not for the twenty or thirty of us on here who are purists and would love to see a perfect copy for Squier money. With a little luck and adequate sales maybe there will be a Squier version that we can rip apart, refinish, rehardware, and have something unique with the spirit of the original.

Sorry for my rambling blather, but I think that instead of bemoaning a reissue that isn't exact, we should be happy that a company listened to their customers and maybe gonna be customers, and is now making a bass that most of us never thought we'd ever see.

[jmjbassplayer]

Heya. Sorry to crash the party. I have a '66, a '67, a '98 and a '99 reissue. I play my '99 reissue on probably more records than any of them. It's a good bass.

So I'll just offer that a bass like this, made in the US with great pickups, will be pretty awesome. I'd love people to have it.

This is really nice, thanks Mr. Patski:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/g...bass/signature

Honestly, all vanity aside, this would be pretty cool for everyone in the Guild family. If done really well, which I would do my best to insure.

Good discussion.

Justin

[JoeWPgh]

I had a 66 that was recently stolen. I first bought it used 40 years ago. It had the same pickup setup as this reissue. It was the greatest 3 string bass ever. The E string became dubious at the third fret. The other three strings? The greatest sounding bass I have ever owned. It sat very well in a live mix without ever being aggressive sounding. A truly unique instrument.

[Flashback Bass]

Originally Posted by swamp2

Are there any Guild employees anymore? Is there really a Guild company? Where is the company headquartered? Can I take a factory tour?

I honestly am not sure, but I don't believe so.

Wow, a lot of miss information going on in this thread. As a long standing member of the "Let's Talk Guild" forum and an owner of a few Guild guitars and basses: http://www.guildsofgrot.com/home.html let me assure you that there is a Guild factory and it's not just a FMIC brand.

I have personally toured the factory three times. The Let's Talk Guild forum members are invited annually by FMIC/Guild. Here is a youtube from the first year: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jNKbCV7lak After the factory tour there is a Q & A session, and then an open mic/jam session at a venue nearby.

The Guild factory in New Hartford Connecticut was originally the Ovation and Hamer factory. After FMIC purchased Kaman Music (Owners of Ovation and Hamer) they moved the Guild brand there from Tacoma. They have since moved Ovation to offshore manufacturing and terminated the Hamer brand. All American made Guilds come from New Hartford as well as the new line of Fender acoustics. The new American Patriarch series will be made to order in the newly organized Guild Custom Shop.

The new Newark Street and American Patriarch series of electrics and Orpheum line of acoustics, has shown that FMIC is serious about the Guild brand going forward. I can't wait until "Let's Meet Guild IV"!

[swamp2]

Ok, my humble apologies for propagating mis-information. I should have checked around a little more first. Good to see there still is such a thing as a US made Guild.

But with that said it makes it even a little more frustrating that they can't do stuff like this Starfire here since the basic infratructure exists. I do have respect for Gibson for doing a little more with basses these days, and still managing to make them here. If they can do the Midtown for a reasonable price, seems like FMIC/Guild could as well.

And for those who don't care about where your instrument is made, that's fine. But you're not spending my money...

[D.M.N.]

I'd gladly put out $2000 for a US made Starfire II with the Bi-Sonics. I think that would be a pretty great move for FMIC/Guild actually, having a budget minded line with the SF I and then a more "deluxe", US made SFII. Get more into the market, broaden Guild's presence, and satisfy both the people who are cool with the Import, more affordable version, and the people who are more keen on a US version. And it'd be great to have Mr. Justin Meldal-Johnsen working with them to really get it right. However, and this is no slight to you, Mr. Johnsen, I personally would rather not see it be a signature model. Maybe that's just me, but I don't really get the whole signature equipment thing, and at least at first, would like to see just the base, standalone model before a Signature model was introduced. Again, please don't take that the wrong way, I'd just like to see a straight up Starfire II hit the market. Just my thoughts on it. Either way, still excited for the momentum that's growing behind this reemergence of Guild.

[jmjbassplayer]

Yeah, it doesn't have to be a signature model. That's just my vanity talking, coupled with the fact that it might be slightly easier for FMIC/Guild to market. All I ultimately care about is that it's really, really good. And that's something I can help with.

[KeithKlaxwell]

i'm interested in any quality Starfire, all this talk makes me love my '97 in cherry even more!

i will be rallying for a mother of pearl JMJ fro inlay on a signature model, probably a given though.

[One Drop]

I'd be interested in any decently playing one that had the exact sounding PUPs in them, unless it was constructed so differently that it ended up not sounding the same. They were uniquely great sounding basses.

[Patski]

Some people have a weird hangup about having someone else's signature on the headstock. I've seen several conversations about this on the web; it may sound funny, but a lot of these people were more open to the idea if the signature was on the back of the headstock.

I think there's also the perception that you are paying a premium to get nothing more than a fancy signature on the headstock, and that the artist probably didn't spend a lot of time/effort in designing it.
While I'm sure that's true in some cases, there's examples out there of guys spending years road testing prototypes before they are happy to put their name on the product. The example that springs to mind for me is the Johnny Marr Jaguar guitar that came out last year, here's a long video where he talks about his design ideas in detail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPoUB9qBdg4

It may seem like a bit of an apples and oranges comparison, as the Jag had a lot of things that needed fixing whereas the Starfire we want to see is pretty much the vintage spec one. But i think it gives an idea of the attention to detail that someone like Justin can bring to the table.

[TexasTodd]

My first bass was a '67 SF II. Great sound but somewhat limiting when it was my only bass. Sold it about 10 years ago for $850, right after someone at a guitar store in San Antonio told me it was only worth $150!

[Avezzano]

938 euro from Thomann.de

...and Keymusic



at today they say it's not yet in stock; but eventually, hopefully they will have it...

[fjadams]

What my local music store told me was that the Guild rep said the first ones sometime in April, and to authorized Guild dealers first. They don't expect to be able to supply non authorized stores til mid summer.

So if you don't have an authorized dealer nearby you might have a goodly wait for one.

[D.M.N.]

I talked to Sweetwater about it, and they said that they're in the process of securing some of the newark models, probably by late summer, and that they'd look into getting the Starfire Bass in (my technician said he'd keep me updated with regards to their availability).

[Avezzano]

Thomann.de answered me and said it will be available end of may, here in Europe...

[Patski]

I've heard that there's only 40 dealers, with the first ones shipping in April. But i've also heard someone say they won't be able to get one until August...

I'm also wondering if I should start a separate thread for the JMJ Starfire II petition? How have people done this sort of thing in the past?

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/g...starfire-bass/

[Mr. Ray]

Hi something you may not know is that Peerless guitars in Korea http://www.peerlessguitars.com/ are one of the largest manufacturers of hollowbody electrics in the world. They build for Fender, Gretsch (the Electromatic line), Gibson. Epiphone, Washburn, Alvarez etc. If the Guilds are built there, there should be no problems with quality control.
I own an Wasburn AB 90 semi hollowbody bass from that factory and the build quality is as good or better than most US production models. It has excellent finish, bindings. inlays etc.
The old school US Fender, Gretsch, Guild factories are long, long gone. If you want an affordable reproduction instrument the only place to manufacture is overseas.
Take a look at the Peerless website they know what they are doing.

[Avezzano]

most of us know it; thanks. Did you take a look at the (hollow) Smoked Bass, by Peerless (standard and deluxe)???

[johnp352]

too bad it's a 34" scale.