• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

New 2013 Guild Starfire Bass Reissue

#343
moonliner said:
First, let me start off by saying I waited to do this build until I found a Starfire that was already messed up. The one I found had the finished stripped, the pickup and electronics replaced, the headstock veneer removed, and the fingerboard replaced with a very bad fretless board. I didn't want to mess up a nice, vintage instrument. K, with that disclaimer stated:
I'm trying to recreate Phil Lesh's Alembicized Guild Starfire as close as possible, within reason :-)
I'm having Alembic put on an ebony fingerboard with gold tinted mother of pearl oval inlays, red LED side markers and an Alembic crown headstock. They'll put in the regular Alembic bridge with sustain block underneath. The pickups will probably be the bisonics by Curtis Novak. I had a friend build the wooden control cover for the bottom half of the body and I'm going to try and put rack mount Alembic Superfilter inside the bass (like Phil's).
I've long had a fascination with that early, embryonic stage of the Alembic company, and Phil's modded Starfire.... so, building this bass is a project I've had on my mind for a long time and I felt it was finally time to pull the trigger! Hopefully it will turn out ok!
Click to expand...


Sounds awesome! I didn't know Alembic did customs. May I ask what the overall cost of that project is? Also what exactly is a super filter; what does it do?Inspired by Phil Lesh as well, I recently just put a down payment on a sweet modded Guild Starfire from a fellow TB user. Also, surpringly I couldn't find much info online; what's so special about Bi-Sonic and Dark Star pickups?
 
#344
Ferniff said:
Sounds awesome! I didn't know Alembic did customs. May I ask what the overall cost of that project is? Also what exactly is a super filter; what does it do?Inspired by Phil Lesh as well, I recently just put a down payment on a sweet modded Guild Starfire from a fellow TB user. Also, surpringly I couldn't find much info online; what's so special about Bi-Sonic and Dark Star pickups?
Click to expand...

Hey Ferniff,

Alembic is pretty much the father of custom instruments! Before they made their own instruments they modded existing instruments... most famously the Guild Starfire for the likes of Jack and Phil. I'm sure you already knew all that though. Alembic hadn't done a Starfire mod in a very VERY long time (as far as I know) and it took a few years of pestering them before they agreed to work on my Starfire. I'm not sure what it will end up costing... something in the neighborhood of a new bass though :-)
You should read up on the Alembic SF2 (superfilter) because I really can't explain what the thing does. I'll try ... it's a 2 channel variable filtering system, high, band, and low pass filter. You can dial in some incredible tones, and earth shaking lows. The thing was a mystery to me too and I asked everyone I could about it, but the best thing I did was buy a used one and mess around with it. I'm putting it in my Starfire because that's what Phil had in his bass. Ultimately I don't think he used much of it, but I'm going for it anyway!
Again, I'm not much of a gear person so I can't tell you what's so special about bi-sonics. One thing I do know is that when Alembic started tweaking instruments, the found that the best pickups, with the widest frequency range was the bi-sonics, so they began their experiments with them. I could be wrong on all of this. There are more qualified people out there who could tell you more accurately what the story is.
Your bass looks like it's going to be a nice one to play... congratulations!
 
#345
I'll repeat, Sounds freakin awesome man! The super filters are like active electronics right? I think Phil mentioned in his book that his bass was the first ever to have active electronics, though I read elsewhere it was actually Cassidy. Any idea when it'll be completed, I totally want to see a video of that in action. Where is Phil's Big Brown now?And thanks for the info!
 
#346
Ferniff said:
The super filters are like active electronics right? !
Click to expand...
Alembic Superfilters are active variable Q high/band/low pass filters with the ability to mix them and the dry signal.
It is a super flexible EQ.

Ferniff said:
I think Phil mentioned in his book that his bass was the first ever to have active electronics, though I read elsewhere it was actually Cassidy. !
Click to expand...

Casady's "Yggdrasil" bass was first. Then Lesh's modded EB3 (they replaced the pickups with bi-sonics and added buffers). It was used on American Beauty. Big Brown (aka the Godfather) came later. It was "Big Red" until the mods which included re shaping the headstock, fretboard replacement and inlays, refinish, Alembic made pickups, buffers and what turned out to become an early version of the Superfilter circuit.

Ferniff said:
Where is Phil's Big Brown now?And thanks for the info!
Click to expand...

He still owns and plays it.
 
#348
scars said:
Alembic Superfilters are active variable Q high/band/low pass filters with the ability to mix them and the dry signal.
It is a super flexible EQ.
Click to expand...

This is what we're talking about, I take it ?

25092.jpg
 
#352
Hi guys, just sharing my experience.
I recently got one in, also had the misfortune of getting one with a crack starting from the nut up until the first fret.

That was quickly arranged as i got one from another store.

I really love this bass, it was set up perfectly and i"m still using the stock roundwound strings. As mentioned before, the tone knob is very effective and very musical!

I love the sound coming from this pickup, i was sceptical at first given the position, but this thing can pump out tons of bass!

Very smooth and narrow neck, pretty thin, but not flimsy. It doesn't really dive with the strap i have on it, nice balance when resting it on my knee as well!

I did a little first review with pictures and sound samples in this thread :

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/nbd-guild-starfire-reissue-1045652/

Direct link to soundclips:

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12646378

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12646438

http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12646452

Just ask if you have any questions. I'll be posting soundsamples where i mess around with the tone knob soon.
 
#357
Yo not to derail but I just got an email about a new guild M-85 semi hollowbody bass from the guild Newark st. Collection, this year. Looks like it will be a hundred more than the star fire reissue. Black with 1 bi-sonic in the bridge position
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#358
sbassface said:
Yo not to derail but I just got an email about a new guild M-85 semi hollowbody bass from the guild Newark st. Collection, this year. Looks like it will be a hundred more than the star fire reissue. Black with 1 bi-sonic in the bridge position
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

3791100806_frt_wmd_001.png


I want one !

What's with this one-pickup version though ? The cynic in me suspects they'll run it like that for a year or two and all of a sudden there's a 2 pickup version and we all sell up our 1-pickup basses to buy that.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back