Jack Casady Playing Custom Starfire?

[Philonius]

I got to see Hot Tuna play Tacoma WA last week, and sure did enjoy seeing those two guys going at it.

Jack was playing an interesting bass that looked every bit like a Starfire in body shape and pickup configuration. But this didn't appear to be an ordinary Guild with different top wood, knob layout, and that cool headstock inlay.

Does anyone have an idea what we're looking at here? And what do all those knobs do; he never touched them during the show. Thanks!

 

[Harpo61]

I got to see Hot Tuna play Tacoma WA last week, and sure did enjoy seeing those two guys going at it.

View attachment 7037339

Jack was playing an interesting bass that looked every bit like a Starfire in body shape and pickup configuration. But this didn't appear to be an ordinary Guild with different top wood, knob layout, and that cool headstock inlay.

View attachment 7037341

View attachment 7037343

Does anyone have an idea what we're looking at here? And what do all those knobs do; he never touched them during the show. Thanks!

Jack Casady: Guild Starfires and custom Guild V bass >> FlyGuitars

Fly Guitars Interview: Jack Casady - part 3: Jack Casady's association with Guild guitars is well known; Jack talks about his Guild Starfire and Custom Guild V basses

www.flyguitars.com

 

[PapaBearBass]

Not sure what it is, but she sure is pretty

 

[Philonius]

Jack Casady: Guild Starfires and custom Guild V bass >> FlyGuitars

Fly Guitars Interview: Jack Casady - part 3: Jack Casady's association with Guild guitars is well known; Jack talks about his Guild Starfire and Custom Guild V basses

www.flyguitars.com

Cool clips, thanks. I think this is a new version of one of those modded Starfires. Jack still does that thing where his eyebrows dance to the bass line.

 

[Deleted member 341607]

Saw the show in Mt. Vernon. What a great night. Fun to watch them smiling and interact - serious chemistry from playing together for so long. And that Casady tone!

 

[Mosthigh]

It's Jack's first 1967 Guild Starfire II that was modded by Ron Wickersham of Alembic and the inlay was designed by Owlsley 'Bear' Stanley. He played it until shortly after Woodstock, when it was stolen after a gig in Seattle.
Long story short: it was recovered in 2015, although it had been sanded down to natural and refinished at some point. After a go-over by Rik Turner (rip), it was back in Jack's possession, and, to my knowledge, this is the first time he's played it in public since 1969. Consider yourself lucky to witness Jack play an amazing piece of history, and probably the first instrument with active electronics.

 

[H K]

It's Jack's first 1967 Guild Starfire II that was modded by Ron Wickersham of Alembic and the inlay was designed by Owlsley 'Bear' Stanley. He played it until shortly after Woodstock, when it was stolen after a gig in Seattle.
Long story short: it was recovered in 2015, although it had been sanded down to natural and refinished at some point. After a go-over by Rik Turner (rip), it was back in Jack's possession, and, to my knowledge, this is the first time he's played it in public since 1969. Consider yourself lucky to witness Jack play an amazing piece of history, and probably the first instrument with active electronics.

View attachment 7037547

mmmmmmm, thanks for the history lesson, great way to start the day

Makes me think, what are some other famous stories about stolen basses? I know Mccartney must be the biggest one, and that was also returned recently.
Are tehre any other examples of famous missing ones?

 

[JohnnyBottom]

It's Jack's first 1967 Guild Starfire II that was modded by Ron Wickersham of Alembic and the inlay was designed by Owlsley 'Bear' Stanley. He played it until shortly after Woodstock, when it was stolen after a gig in Seattle.
Long story short: it was recovered in 2015, although it had been sanded down to natural and refinished at some point. After a go-over by Rik Turner (rip), it was back in Jack's possession, and, to my knowledge, this is the first time he's played it in public since 1969. Consider yourself lucky to witness Jack play an amazing piece of history, and probably the first instrument with active electronics.

View attachment 7037547

This is so cool!!! omg still cant get over this. Hope he brings it to the Wellmont in Dec. probably a long shot. ...you never know..

 

[mellowgerman]

Oh man, yes that's the original modified Casady Starfire! I saw the teaser posts that he'd be bringing it on tour again, but unfortunately here in Florida I'll have to wait. Seriously hoping he brings it down this way sometime because since I was in high school I dreamed about hearing that bass in person someday (even though at the time, I knew it was still stolen)! I used to always joke that someday I'd find it somewhere hanging in a pawn shop, but it made me so happy to hear that Jack got it back when he did! Eagerly awaiting new performance videos to surface with good audio.

On a sidenote, this bass was all-passive! I was lucky enough to get a peek inside at the guts, though limited visibility and no diagram. Wish I could tell you exactly what those passive controls are, but I don't think that's been publicly disclosed yet. Most likely implements various capacitors, resistors, and chokes like a varitone circuit does. Lots of subtleties can be unlocked that way, especially for getting unique blended tones between pickups!

Jack's sunburst Starfire with the metal channel strips mounted in it (that he had the soon-to-be-Alembic team assemble in a hurry after this one was stolen) was the first one of his to get active electronics.

Here is a cool video of that original modified Starfire being played in the Tuna context before it was stolen. This one was also the bass on their New Orleans House live album.

 

[Philonius]

Makes me think, what are some other famous stories about stolen basses? I know Mccartney must be the biggest one, and that was also returned recently.
Are tehre any other examples of famous missing ones?

There is Jaco’s Bass Of Doom.

 

[markjazzbassist]

that's awesome that he got the original back!! and the refinish job looks solid!

 

[godofthunder59]

mmmmmmm, thanks for the history lesson, great way to start the day

Makes me think, what are some other famous stories about stolen basses? I know Mccartney must be the biggest one, and that was also returned recently.
Are tehre any other examples of famous missing ones?

Jim Lea's Gibson EB3 (of Slade) stolen from John Birch's shop in 1974, never to be seen again.

 

[tdvt]

Makes me think, what are some other famous stories about stolen basses? I know Mccartney must be the biggest one, and that was also returned recently.
Are there any other examples of famous missing ones?

From what I understand, James Jamerson's "Funk Machine" is still out there somewhere..

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/james-jamerons-funk-machine-wrong-year.1185714/

 

[HaphAsSard]

probably the first instrument with active electronics

That distinction belongs to the 1963 Burns of London TR-2 guitar and bass models:

The History of Active Electronics

Basses with active electronics have been around for years, but which manufacturer got there first? Alembic? Music Man? Tim Fletcher delves into the history of active electronics and discovers it was a small British company… Leo Fender’s Precision Bass had first debuted in 1951, and the company’s...

bassmusicianmagazine.com

Burns TR2 Guitar & Bass Reference Page

Welcome to Black Guitars of Melbourne Australia. Expert Guitar Repairs in Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges South-Eastern Suburbs close to Beaconsfield Belgrave Berwick Cranbourne Pakenham Narre Warren Ferntree Gully in Vic Victoria. We mend fix restore repair setup broken musical instruments

blackguitars.com

https://reverb.com/item/1659958-burns-tr2-bass-1963-4-sunburst

Burns TR2 bass 62/3**SOLD - Amp Guitars, Macclesfield

Stunning Burns TR2 bass, rare early model. Battery powered volume as standard. Over all condition is superb for the age. Small ding on the back of the neck and very light ageing but quite remarkable for age. Comes in period case but am unsure whether its original burns. Lovely player, low...

ampguitars.com

1963 BURNS TR-2 Redburst - BLACK GUITARS

Welcome to Black Guitars of Melbourne Australia. Specialist Guitar Repairs in Emerald in the Dandenong Ranges South-Eastern Suburbs close to Beaconsfield Belgrave Berwick Cranbourne Croydon Pakenham Gembrook Narre Warren Ferntree Gully in Vic Victoria. We mend fix restore repair setup broken...

blackguitars.com

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Totally badass, to see Jack playing that Alemified Starfire again.

 

[Lo-E]

Are tehre any other examples of famous missing ones?

Mike Watt’s favorite Gibson was lifted when a tour trailer was broken into many years ago. I don’t think it was recovered.

I think I also remember reading about Jimmy Johnson’s 5-string Alembic being stolen years ago. I’m not sure if he got it back.

 

[Philonius]

And here is another one:

The Return of Pete Sear's Dragon Guitar | Recollections from a Luthier

I still remember that day, back in June 1978, when the Dragon disappeared. Pete was devastated by its loss, as was I.

www.lieberguitars.com

 

[Johnny Znuff]

My wife is a big Hot Tuna fan, and we’ve gone a few times to see them over the years, including last night on Long Island. As soon as they came out, I was wondering what kind of bass it was that Jack was playing. I knew he was associated with Guild and Epiphone, but this had quite a fancy headstock. ‘Glad I found this thread. Wow, I’m surprised he still tours with such an historic instrument! But it did look and sound great, coming out of his Aguilar rig…. Oh, by the way, to add to the conversation about stolen basses… Not actually stolen, but of course there’s Jaco’s Bass of Doom, which I think he left on a park bench and it disappeared for decades, only to turn up and be resurrected in recent years. I believe Robert Trujillo is the current owner…

 

[JohnnyBottom]

 

[JohnnyBottom]

JM: On that album your bass is credited as “Yggdrasil bass”. What does that mean?
JC: [laughs] I haven’t the slightest idea of what it means. We had a lot of friends at the time who were clever with words, and so I had a friend, Owsley Stanley, who would join the sessions from time to time, and I think he came up with that phrase as some sort of a description of the growling nature of what I was doing. So that sort of stuck.
A lot of things back in those days didn’t necessarily make sense. They were often done to not make sense.