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Interested in Semi Hollows

PizzaBall

PizzaBall

Jun 10, 2024
160
453
#1
Hi all,

after years of googling and always clicking talkbass for the answer , I decided to make an account.

I've been really curious about semi hollow basses lately. And the two I'm most interested in are the Reverend Basshouser Fatfish32, or the Guild Starfield ii flamed maple.

I currently own a Reverend Decision P and it's my daily bass, and my favorite bass I've ever played. I love the quality of it, which is why I'm leaning towards the Fatfish 32… however the Guild Starfire 2 has recently caught my eye. I love the look, and after watching some videos, I love the sound.

I just have no idea which one to get (if I could I'd buy both tbh) and was wondering if anyone here on TB has played both…

I did spend some time googling this but never found these 2 head to head on a thread.

thanks for your help, TB folks.
 
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#2
I've never played the fatfish, but I LOVE my Starfire ii. It's got so much character. It doesn't have a ton of range with regard to tonal options, but it's got two very distinct pickups. I'll almost always rock both, but sometimes for accent I'll put it on just the bridge. Or if I want a more rich tone I'll put it on the neck pup. It's not the most versatile, but it does what I want and expect perfectly. Sorry I can't be of more help.
 
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#3
Pacifus said:
I've never played the fatfish, but I LOVE my Starfire ii. It's got so much character. It doesn't have a ton of range with regard to tonal options, but it's got two very distinct pickups. I'll almost always rock both, but sometimes for accent I'll put it on just the bridge. Or if I want a more rich tone I'll put it on the neck pup. It's not the most versatile, but it does what I want and expect perfectly. Sorry I can't be of more help.
Click to expand...

I appreciate the response! It did help. Because I have read a lot of good things about the SF ii , and your response reinforces what I've read. Really the only thing keeping me in on the Fatfish 32 is that I've been so pleased with Reverend and I love their QC process.

I've just never played a guild before , which is really what's holding me back from buying one. I wish there was a shop near me that had one, it'd make this way easier!


PS - very sad I missed the big sale Sweetwater had on the SF II. They even had one for $799… ugh!!
 
#4
Reverend makes excellent basses.
Wanted one of these, but I already have a Thundergun.
Picsart_24-06-10_10-17-14-907.jpg
 
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#8
PizzaBall said:
Hi all,

after years of googling and always clicking talkbass for the answer , I decided to make an account.

I've been really curious about semi hollow basses lately. And the two I'm most interested in are the Reverend Basshouser Fatfish32, or the Guild Starfield ii flamed maple.

I currently own a Reverend Decision P and it's my daily bass, and my favorite bass I've ever played. I love the quality of it, which is why I'm leaning towards the Fatfish 32… however the Guild Starfire 2 has recently caught my eye. I love the look, and after watching some videos, I love the sound.

I just have no idea which one to get (if I could I'd buy both tbh) and was wondering if anyone here on TB has played both…

I did spend some time googling this but never found these 2 head to head on a thread.

thanks for your help, TB folks.
Click to expand...
Might get more responses here:
Hollowbody Bass Club!
includes semi-hollow and chambered Basses as well as Hollow body basses.
 
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#15
DK vs. SF-II:


•Reverend Dub King is more "modern"-sounding, whatever that means

•Guild SF-II neck feels thicker but narrower (1-1/2" wide at the nut) with tighter string spacing at the bridge saddles (17-18mm). I say "feels" thicker because the SF measures approx. 15/16" thick at the nut and the DK about 7/8". Both measure about 1" thick at the 12th. I suspect that the difference I'm feeling has more to do with cross-section profile than maximum thickness.

•DK neck feels thinner but wider (1-5/8" wide at the nut) with your more "standard" string spacing at the bridge saddles (19mm)

•DK controls: volume, tone, + selection pan pot

•SF-II controls: separate vol & tone for each pup + master vol

•DK can be strung either top-load (short-scale sets) or string-through (medium-scale sets)

•SF-II generally requires medium-scale sets due to distance between string saddles and ball-end, bridge, anchor holes (short-scale sets may wind up with silk in the nut slots). This is also true of string-through Mustangs, BTW.

•SF-II bridge saddles can go flying if you have very aggressive right-hand technique, dig hard with a flat pick or slap aggressively. I use high volume settings and a very light right hand and neither slap nor play with a pick so have never experienced that myself, but have heard others mention it.

I like 'em both, but my arthritic thumbs find the Guild neck much more comfortable to play. Both of mine are strung with D'Addario ECB81M Chrome flats (45-65-80-100)

DK:


SF bridge pup:


Sf neck pup:


Strange: @ about 0:19, the E string looks like a flat-wound, clearly (finger noise) all the others are rounds.
 
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#18
PizzaBall said:
I appreciate the response! It did help. Because I have read a lot of good things about the SF ii , and your response reinforces what I've read. Really the only thing keeping me in on the Fatfish 32 is that I've been so pleased with Reverend and I love their QC process.

I've just never played a guild before , which is really what's holding me back from buying one. I wish there was a shop near me that had one, it'd make this way easier!


PS - very sad I missed the big sale Sweetwater had on the SF II. They even had one for $799… ugh!!
Click to expand...
I have a 1967 Starfire Bass with one pickup in the neck position. It sounds great! Woody tone kind of like a Hofner, but it thumps down deep and can rock, and it sounds great doing classic sh*t kicker country. Definitely not a modern sound, but that's a plus in my book.
 
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