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Can anyone recommend strings for Guild Starfire II bass?
- Thread starter Admiral Akbar
- Start date
I have solid body bass with a Bisonic and been researching strings that play well with them.
Nothing really,but lots of talk how
tapewounds work well
with hollowbodies
Nothing really,but lots of talk how
tapewounds work well
with hollowbodies
I love love love my Starfire ii. Enjoying La Bella 760FL-M flats for a while now. Enjoy!
I recently purchased a new Starfire II and immediately removed the rounds and replaced them with TI Jazz Flats. I'm very happy with TI flats on this bass and recommend them highly. I'd used them once before on a Fender bass and wasn't blown away, given how much some praise they get on TB, but on the Guild, I think the praise is appropriate. They're quite bright, with warm mids and pair well with the semi-hollow body, especially now that they're mostly broken-in. I'm really enjoying the Bisonic pickups and this bass a lot.
I used to play TI flats when I had one. They are bright enough that you’ll be able to enjoy the Guild unplugged when you’re on the couch yelling at your team.
The tension difference may require some adjustment to your setup. Or maybe not.
The tension difference may require some adjustment to your setup. Or maybe not.
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I love my Starfire. Such a great bass. Mine wears a well broke in set of Chromes and sounds great. I tried TI’s on it because I love them on my 34” scales basses, but I personally didn’t care for the tension of them on a short scale. Ive considered trying a set of Dunlop’s (they’re great on my Mustang), but the Chromes will probably stay. I’m pretty satisfied with them.
Gotta say... I cannot believe how wonderful the Thomastiks (JF324 Set) feel & sound. That 106 on the bottom is perfect.
LOVE them.
LOVE them.
D
Personally I can't stand that massive E-string. The jump in tension between the E and A-D-G is insane! The short scale TI flats sound amazing but the tension is so unbalanced that I find them almost unplayable. They just took the long scale set (which i LOVE) kept the exact same gauges for A-D-G (which means they're even floppier with short scale) and added a MUCH stiffer, higher gauge E.
I've never understood why they would do this? But then again, people seem to love them so it's probably just me.
D
Strings for a Starfire II is an easy choice for me.
Guild Starfire II = The San Fransisco Sound of the 60s. Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) played (heavily modded) Starfires and both of them used Pyramid Gold flatwounds.
Pyramid Golds = THE sound of a Guild Starfire II IMO. I've got them on mine and it sounds absolutely amazing!
Of course there are lots of other strings that would sound great on a Starfire too but for that CLASSIC Starfire sound of it's two most high profile players it really needs to be Pyramid Golds. Great strings with a very unique tone/feel.
Guild Starfire II = The San Fransisco Sound of the 60s. Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead) and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) played (heavily modded) Starfires and both of them used Pyramid Gold flatwounds.
Pyramid Golds = THE sound of a Guild Starfire II IMO. I've got them on mine and it sounds absolutely amazing!
Of course there are lots of other strings that would sound great on a Starfire too but for that CLASSIC Starfire sound of it's two most high profile players it really needs to be Pyramid Golds. Great strings with a very unique tone/feel.
I was just blathering about this on another thread.
I’ll second the Pyramids. LaBella LTF are really great too for a warmer, woody sound. I had some trouble intonating the flats, D and G, on mine, probably the bridge is too far forward but it’s fixable by grinding away a little on the corners of the wood saddles so you can get them back without bumping into the post thing.
Here:
Flat wound Strings for a Guild Starfire
I’ll second the Pyramids. LaBella LTF are really great too for a warmer, woody sound. I had some trouble intonating the flats, D and G, on mine, probably the bridge is too far forward but it’s fixable by grinding away a little on the corners of the wood saddles so you can get them back without bumping into the post thing.
Here:
Flat wound Strings for a Guild Starfire
I use TI flats on my 66’ Starfire but it’s the long scale set which has a thinner guage E string. They fit just fine and the E sounds better than the short scale gauges, more consistent with the other strings.
If your gonna try some flats, TI's are a great choice. Chromes have some top end and/or it can be rolled off. Pyramids will give the tradition 60s sounds of the Guild. LaBella 760FL's are nice also. IMHO.
How's the winding length for the Pyramid Golds on the Starfire? Particularly for the E and G strings? Do you have a picture of the headstock that you can post? I'm very curious about this. Thanks.
Jack Cassady used Pyramid flats. There is an interview out there in cyberspace somewhere relating that he asked the company to reposition the silk 1/2 inch up farther so the silk would clear the nut. Pyramid did.
So the short scale length fits the Starfire just fine? Very interesting: 640 = 33.5" ball to silk.
My basic question is : Do these Starfire II basses take short or medium scale strings?
Generally medium, as the bridge is far away. But, as mentioned, it appears that some brands have short scale lenghts that work for the Starfire due to factory-shaved silks. Personally, I use La Bella 760FL-M, which are medium scale.
The short scale TI flats are actually medium scale and fit perfectly. I like a slightly heavier gauge E string on a short(er) scale bass and hadn't noticed a tension imbalance across the strings, but then I use Chromes and Roto 77 flats on my long scale basses and actually prefer higher tension strings. The Starfire strung with TIs rewards a lighter touch, something I'm trying to further develop after many years of playing a P bass with a heavy right hand.
A better question is "what winding length (ball end to silk/taper) does this bass need?"
Different manufacturers define "scale length" differently when it comes to the winding length of their strings. For example, TI's "short scale" is 35.5", which is actually longer than most other companies' "medium scale". DR's "short scale" is 33.75", while D'Addario's "short scale" is 32" in winding length. And so on...
