NGBD!

[edwinhurwitz]

That's New Gig Bag Day.

My Cronkhite leather case arrived for my Guild Starfire yesterday. Previously I had been hauling it around in a huge purple Calton case, which is awesome for the road, but for around town gigs is a complete PITA. This case is wonderful. It's extremely sturdy and protects the bass very well. I've used tons of other gig bags and none of them have offered this level of protection.

Downside: a little pricey, but if you consider that it will easily last the rest of my life (I'm 51), then it's not bad at all. It will probably last for most of my son's life (he's 7 months).

[edwinhurwitz]

And the an interior shot:

[wvbass]

What are those funky, orange pickups? (super-cool bass and bag, btw)

[edwinhurwitz]

The pickups (and interior electronics) are very early (ca. 1973) Alembic. They are pretty cool in that they are actually the trapezoidal pickups inside rectangular shells. There are actually three pickups, the dummy humcanceller is in the body of the bass. It has the Series II electronics with filters, which is why there's a 5 pin XLR.

[christopherogut]

looks like you've got an Alembic bridge and tailpiece on there, too, eh? pretty wild bass!

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by christopherogut

looks like you've got an Alembic bridge and tailpiece on there, too, eh? pretty wild bass!

It's actually a recreation by someone who was doing experiments in bridge construction. Functionally, it's pretty much the same, although the adjustments are a little bit trickier.

[LiamCohl]

I'm going to have nightmares about not being able to own that bass. Thanks for turning me onto this case too, I have an unmodded 69 Ive just been using an ABG gig bag with that really doesn't seem too sturdy, will definitely be looking into getting one of these.

[Anthony Barrett]

Cool case.

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by LiamCohl

I'm going to have nightmares about not being able to own that bass. Thanks for turning me onto this case too, I have an unmodded 69 Ive just been using an ABG gig bag with that really doesn't seem too sturdy, will definitely be looking into getting one of these.

Well, if you ever come to the Boulder/Denver area, swing by and play it!

In the meantime, if you go to the Factory to Customer part of the Alembic forum, there's a guy getting his Starfire overhauled Alembic-style. Gotta say, I'm a little jealous. Mine has been through so many different experiments. There are holes in it everywhere.

[edwinhurwitz]

Here's the link: http://alembic.com/club/messages/631...tml?1358610720

[edwinhurwitz]

Oh, yes, link to the case maker: http://www.glenncronkhite.com

[LiamCohl]

Wow, had no idea they still did these mods! haven't had GAS like this since hunting down the starfire in the first place. Toronto is a little bit out of the way from Colorado, but I will definitely shoot you a message if Im ever in the area. Still, the good thing about already having it modded is less fear of doing more, I would feel guilty doing anything to the original hagstroms and wiring, sounds very late 60's Phil as is. Now it looks like Im going to have to try to sell some stuff, find another one and send it on over to Alembic! Thanks for all the info and link to the case maker, will be emailing him very soon. Liam

[edwinhurwitz]

Actually, they didn't do the mods, I did. I found a set of pickups and electronics on the web and did the installs myself, at least the electronic part, Matt from Woodsong's Lutherie here in Boulder did the pickup surrounds and bridge install. Even though he's a native of the Bay Area, he pretty much missed the whole Grateful Dead thing, so when he saw what I wanted to do, he got really interested in the history behind it and then discovered archive.org and has really immersed himself in the music and the tech behind the gear. Mike Stephens also worked on it and did a stellar job in creating a door on the back to access the electronics.

The electronics package I got was not really complete. It was originally a Series I setup, but I redid all the passive components into a Series II configuration. It was pretty easy to do, so I'd recommend it for those who might feel adventurous.

Prior to the Alembic setup I had a pair of Darkstars in there with an ACG double filter preamp. That sounded very nice and before that I had a Bartolini setup with triple coil pickups and an early version of the 3 band 18 volt preamp. That sounded really nice and with roundwounds had an excellent slap tone.

Part of me wants to install a full Superfilter into it, but that would be quite a ways off.

Here's a picture of the back with the door.

[mellowgerman]

Arrrgggghhhh I could look at pictures of that bass all day. And nice case, sir!

[elgecko]

Beautiful gig bag...what did that sucker set you back?

[spiritbass]

Thanks for the new acronym..

[edwinhurwitz]

Originally Posted by elgecko

Beautiful gig bag...what did that sucker set you back?

All told it was about $450. It ended up taking a long time because I ordered it right as the Christmas season hit.

Now I want one for my Modulus!