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NBD - Guild

Jeff K

Jeff K

Supporting Member
Jul 9, 2005
8,459
11,574
Memphis, TN
#1
Got this Guild Starfire II delivered yesterday. Still feeling my way around it looking for the tones I like best. Lots of possibilities with Volume/Volume/Tone/Tone/Master Volume and 3-way switch.

I'm gonna' slap a set of D'Addario Black Nylon Tapewounds on it when I get a chance. The stock rounds sound pretty good on it, but I'm more of a flats guy.
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#5
starjag said:
Sweet. Congrats. Please report back once the tapes are on. My Starfire II is currently enjoying a set of La Bella 760FL flats.
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I love the LaBella Flats. That's the set I debated between with the Tapewounds. Probably couldn't go wrong with either of them, but I'll let you know what I think of them on THIS bass. I've used them on several other basses and loved them.
Barton Lee said:
Congratulations on your new bass! I've got one exactly like it and love the thing. Mine is strung with TI Jazz flats which have finally broken in after four months of playing.
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I have an unopened set of the TI Jazz Flats, but they're Long Scale. Believe it or not, I've never used the TI's. I've always been wary of them because I tend to dig in sometimes, and figured the TI's might not be for me. One of these days I'll give them a try on one of my Jazzes.

Curious about something though: Do you Starfire owners have a "favorite" setting? I only played mine for about an hour yesterday, and kept switching the knobs and selector switch to try and find my favorite. But it seemed to vary from song to song.
 
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#6
My favorite flats are LaBella Low Tension Flexible Flats. I have them on my Guild M-85. (And on my 1970 Precision and my Gretsch 2202.) IMO, they sound like flats should without putting tons of tension on an old neck.

OP's bass looks great, and it reminds me that I still need to try out BiSonic pickups.
 
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#7
I generally use both pickups with one of them rolled off a little, just like I do with my Fender Jazzes. With the neck pickup turned down slightly and played back by the bridge pickup, I get a punchy mid-heavy sound. Slightly favoring the neck pickup and played close(r) to the neck, there's more low end and a full, warm tone. The neck pickup soloed also works well for some things. I don't often use the bridge pickup by itself. That's my basic approach with lots of room for slight tweaking of the knobs in search of the desired tone.
 
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#8
Barton Lee said:
I generally use both pickups with one of them rolled off a little, just like I do with my Fender Jazzes. With the neck pickup turned down slightly and played back by the bridge pickup, I get a punchy mid-heavy sound. Slightly favoring the neck pickup and played close(r) to the neck, there's more low end and a full, warm tone. The neck pickup soloed also works well for some things. I don't often use the bridge pickup by itself. That's my basic approach with lots of room for slight tweaking of the knobs in search of the desired tone.
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That sounds pretty much like my personal preferences on a Jazz Bass. I HAVE noticed that I like the tone better when I pluck closer to the neck pickup...
 
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#9
starjag said:
Sweet. Congrats. Please report back once the tapes are on. My Starfire II is currently enjoying a set of La Bella 760FL flats.
Click to expand...


I've been using La Bellas on pretty much everything for a while now, I've tried almost all of them in the last 10 or 15 years and think they are by far the best playing and sounding flats. I started out on flats when I was a kid and always felt something was missing with rounds even though I used them for years.
 
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#10
Jeff K said:
Got this Guild Starfire II delivered yesterday. Still feeling my way around it looking for the tones I like best. Lots of possibilities with Volume/Volume/Tone/Tone/Master Volume and 3-way switch.

I'm gonna' slap a set of D'Addario Black Nylon Tapewounds on it when I get a chance. The stock rounds sound pretty good on it, but I'm more of a flats guy.
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Nice bass, I've toyed with getting one of those for a few years now, problem is I already have too many basses.......well you know how that goes though.
 
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#11
Jeff K said:
I love the LaBella Flats. That's the set I debated between with the Tapewounds. Probably couldn't go wrong with either of them, but I'll let you know what I think of them on THIS bass. I've used them on several other basses and loved them.

I have an unopened set of the TI Jazz Flats, but they're Long Scale. Believe it or not, I've never used the TI's. I've always been wary of them because I tend to dig in sometimes, and figured the TI's might not be for me. One of these days I'll give them a try on one of my Jazzes.

Curious about something though: Do you Starfire owners have a "favorite" setting? I only played mine for about an hour yesterday, and kept switching the knobs and selector switch to try and find my favorite. But it seemed to vary from song to song.
Click to expand...


I tried TI's twice, found the sound kind of dull but the worst part was that they felt like cooked spaghetti to me while playing and it's not the gauge, it's the construction, I have .096 La Bellas on my TF fretless and they play nice and sound good and they're lighter than the TI's.
 
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#13
Jeff K said:
.. Curious about something though: Do you Starfire owners have a "favorite" setting? I only played mine for about an hour yesterday, and kept switching the knobs and selector switch to try and find my favorite. But it seemed to vary from song to song.
Click to expand...

yes, this. 'tune' the bass to the song. that is part of what makes it a great bass! :)
 
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#16
Jeff K said:
Got this Guild Starfire II delivered yesterday. Still feeling my way around it looking for the tones I like best. Lots of possibilities with Volume/Volume/Tone/Tone/Master Volume and 3-way switch.

I'm gonna' slap a set of D'Addario Black Nylon Tapewounds on it when I get a chance. The stock rounds sound pretty good on it, but I'm more of a flats guy.
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Beautiful bass!
 
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#18
Barton Lee said:
TI Jazz flats which have finally broken in after four months of playing.
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That's not a break in period. That's a wear out period LoL. Not a criticism though.. read on.

Granted, they probably DO sound way better after being worn out like that. I think that's the trick with some flats... they don't sound good until they've been worn out.... like when rounds typically die.... and then after being worn out they last forever and sound the same, which is pretty magical if you have that sorta patience.
 
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#19
Congratulations & Compliments. :thumbsup:

A Guild Starfire bass is an epic classic. Good call on scrapping the factory rounds too. I have T-I Jazz Flats on mine, but Pyramid Gold Flats are a natural fit for these if you want that 60's whump. Those Bisonic reissues are pretty faithful. I've A/B'd my 2017 Newark St. against my 1967 Hoboken, and there's a difference between them and the old Hagstroms, but I'll never complain.

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