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JMJ update 1/24/13

J

jmjbassplayer

Justin Meldal-Johnsen
Gold Supporting Member
Mar 25, 2005
4,014
3,599
#1
Hi,

Lots going on with no break in sight, in spite of my need for one:

- Currently in the studio with Crystal Fighters

- New Tegan & Sara album is now streaming, one week before worldwide album release date of 1/29:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...olution-on-heartthrob-album-premiere-20130124

- New Paramore single is available on iTunes: "Now". Worldwide album release on 4/9/13
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/paramore/id593146366

- Anthony from M83 and I are going to the Grammies! We were nominated for Best Alternative Album.

- Beck and I are contemplating more shows this year. In other words, yes I still play bass and sure wish for more of that for 2013. :)

- Other irons in the fire for this year including some cool co-writing gigs and interesting production work.

- Interview I did just came out in the new TapeOp.
http://tapeop.com/interviews/93/justin-meldal-johnsen/

- My Digital Noise Academy project is finally about to get the album wrapped up: Link Removed

- I'll be hitting the NAMM show with my daughter Zelly in tow on Sunday...if you see me, please say hi!

Thanks,
JMJ
 
#9
If you get a chance to try out the new Guild Starfire reissue at Namm i'd love to hear what you think. I've been on the lookout for a vintage one without much luck, on paper these are looking like the next best thing.
 
#14
Played it. Enjoyed it, seems pretty well made, sounds good. My time was brief, and the surrounding noise prevented a deep scrutiny. Neck size is a bit smaller in than the originals, with a shallower profile and a flatter radius.

It is a Korean instrument. So, while this helps price point, there's a certain feeling in its build quality that just doesn't compare to one of my USA reissues from '98. First thing I noticed in this regard was the thickness of the finish, for instance. WAY too thick. The next thing I noticed was the thing that seems endemic to quite literally every single Korean instrument I've ever held, which is the slightly marginalized quality of the fret work. All that said, it felt very solid (certainly as good as an Epiphone Jack Cassidy, for instance).

I'm a little miffed that Fender didn't consult with me on it, only because they have promised such things to me over the years in several attempts to get the Starfire project off the ground. Each time it was brought up as a possibility, I had made it abundantly clear that this project needed a lot of TLC and careful management and expert artist consultation from myself and others, and that I would of course had helped out happily with no compensation required. Alas, it was not to be. However, when I saw the instrument today, my immediate thought was that I was glad that they didn't completely f*&k it up. I would just have far preferred a different pickup position as well as a more true-to-form neck profile, more thoughtful finishing, and USA manufacturing.

That's my report from the field. Otherwise an extremely uneventful and boring NAMM show, with the only exception being the very excellent sonics demonstrated by the Prophet 12 and Moog Sub Phatty, both of which I'll own in short order. My daughter came with me and was very patient, and we had a good time together. But jeez: do I really need to go to every NAMM show? Unless I REALLY need to, I just don't think I need to.

Back to an insane work week.

Best,
JMJ
 
#16
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the new Starfire. I own a '69 that has aftermarket pickups, so what I've been most excited about is that Fender/Guild may sell the Guild bisonics they've created for these reissues individually. That's what the guys on the Guild forum are saying anyway. I'd love to get my hands on a set of them for my bass if they do in fact sound similar to the original bisonics.
 
#18
BassManPatsFan said:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the new Starfire. I own a '69 that has aftermarket pickups, so what I've been most excited about is that Fender/Guild may sell the Guild bisonics they've created for these reissues individually. That's what the guys on the Guild forum are saying anyway. I'd love to get my hands on a set of them for my bass if they do in fact sound similar to the original bisonics.
Click to expand...

You need to search around on eBay for those Guild pickups. I got NOS ones for my reissue for reasonably little money and basically zero effort on my part tracking them down.
 
#19
Dan Bozek said:
You need to search around on eBay for those Guild pickups. I got NOS ones for my reissue for reasonably little money and basically zero effort on my part tracking them down.
Click to expand...

Do you mean the Guild humbuckers? I'm talking about the single coil Bi-sonic pickups, which were originally made by Hagstrom in the 60's and are now being made by Guild apparently for these Newark street basses.

The original bi-sonics rarely show up in the second hand market and when they do usually go for upwards of $400 per pickup. Same with Dark Stars now unfortunately.
 

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