| Author | Message | ||
| moonliner
Junior Username: moonliner Post Number: 14 Registered: 12-2004 |
Hello Good People, I'm wondering if anyone here knows what kind of wood the DeArmond Starfire is made of. I am looking for a mahogany body starfire, either Guild or DeArmond. thanks for your time | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7526 Registered: 5-2002 |
The reviews at Harmony Central suggest that it's a Maple body, Maple neck, and Rosewood fingerboard. | ||
| davehouck
Moderator Username: davehouck Post Number: 7527 Registered: 5-2002 |
The link above is for the guitar, the bass reviews are here and suggest the same, Maple with Rosewood fingerboard. | ||
| moonliner
Junior Username: moonliner Post Number: 15 Registered: 12-2004 |
thanks for the info. I guess I'll be waiting for the real deal :-) | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 403 Registered: 5-2002 |
Just so you know, for the most part, the Guild Starfire woods ran along color scheme lines. The red ones (and most other solid colors) were mahogany. The sunburst were maple. Like you, I prefer the mahogany, but the maples are pretty nice, too. Edwin | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 1009 Registered: 6-2002 |
Here's my 73 Guild Starfire, factory ordered with natural finish (mahogany) and stereo wiring  Mike | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 407 Registered: 5-2002 |
I had a natural mahogany for a while and like yours, mine was a Westerly RI model with humbuckers. Nice bass, but I like the ones from Hoboken a little better. With the Westerly ones, I like upgrading the pickups to either Dark Stars or the Bartolini Guild pickups. Edwin | ||
| moonliner
Junior Username: moonliner Post Number: 16 Registered: 12-2004 |
Thanks for the posts. I pretty much thought the painted ones were mahogany, but I'm happy to hear it from another source. Thanks! PS: nice looking bass by the way! | ||
| jazzyvee
Senior Member Username: jazzyvee Post Number: 1426 Registered: 6-2002 |
Here is an alembicised bass i stumbled across today. Surprisingly the site says it has series I electronics which is a bit of a surprise to see that setup on a non Alembic bass.  Here is a link to the page. http://www.janolofstrandberg.com/tools.htm It's the eighth bass down from the top. Jazzyvee | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 2185 Registered: 10-2002 |
Jazzy. I've played that instrument. Jan-olof brought it to the first manchester Bass day and let me try it out (unplugged) while we were chatting and drinking. When he was playing it onstage, it had that unmistakeable Alembic tone. He promised that if he was ever asked back he'd bring one of his Alembics next time. graeme | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2008 |
Interesting. Casady had a maple (sunburst) Starfire and it sounded quite nice to me. My understanding is his first "Yggsdrasil" was Mahogany. Alembicized none the less. I have a DeArmond Starfire that I purchased with the intention of making a Tribute to The prior mentioned basses. I put Dark Stars in it and I liked the tone so much I've started second guessing the electronics. I have a D-Tar dual discreet buffer/ Mixer board I want to put in, but I haven't completly decided on the EQ Yet. I have an idea, but if anyone else has input please let me know  | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 1145 Registered: 6-2002 |
It looks pretty nice, Ben. I don't know about onboard preamps, so no help there. I've got a 73 Guild Starfire II with a Mahogany body and rosewood board (see above). Is it possible to reverse the bridge pickup to place the pole pieces closer to the bridge? You might get even more tonal variation that way. Mike (Message edited by dadabass2001 on May 28, 2009) | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2008 |
"Is it possible to reverse the bridge pickup to place the pole pieces closer to the bridge? You might get even more tonal variation that way. " I havent tried it, but I've seen it done. I had a '76 Guild Starfire a few years back. I don't think I could bring myself to cut into a vintage Guild though so I went with the DeArmond for the project. (Message edited by Battlescars on May 28, 2009) | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 3 Registered: 11-2008 |
Well, Here it Goes... While it doesn't have the total rang of the Alembic system, I found out that bestbassgear.com had some Bartolini EZQ's special ordered recently. They just got them in and I ordered one for each pickup. In a perfect world I can get my Buffer/Mixer board to run both of these. if not I may skip the Buffer/Mixer board and run Volume to a dpdt (passive/active) to either the EZQ or a passive tone then to a pickup select and a master Volume. Since the EZQ, as any other active preamp, has a buffer on the front end, I get some buffering benifits still. | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 6 Registered: 11-2008 |
I'm waiting on a few knobs and a noll mixpot, but here is my layout plan as of now (Message edited by battlescars on July 09, 2009) | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 7 Registered: 11-2008 |
 I cleaned up the pic a bit. Still waiting on the last few parts... | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 8 Registered: 11-2008 |
I completed the project Saturday. Included in the bass is one Bartolini EZQ per pickup wired into a DTAR Eclipse that Mr. Turner harnessed and modified for me. Along with the Freq and Variable "Q" it has a passive tone for each pickup, a master Vol, and a pickup blend knob. I played it out Sunday and got a lot of compliments on the tone. I'm very happy with the results.  | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 1209 Registered: 6-2002 |
Hi Ben, Did everything fit through the f-holes, or do you have an access cutout on the back? Show us the whole job, my man.  What strings are you running on her? Mike | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 9 Registered: 11-2008 |
Mike, I cut a hole in the back for a double 9v batterly box, and fished everything thru there. it was a bit tricky, but doable. there are a few snap shots of the process here: http://s51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/h60tweet/DAGHDHA/ I'm thinking about geting some copper mesh (painted black) to complete the shielding. It's not noisy so far (thanks Edwin) but it's a thought... For strings, I've gone with nothing but TI Jazz flats on Starfires since i first played a set on them. I'm not saying I won't try anything else (the new DR Flats are making me ccurious) but I really like the feel and sounds these TI's produce. (Message edited by battlescars on July 14, 2009) | ||
| edwin
Senior Member Username: edwin Post Number: 443 Registered: 5-2002 |
I love the DR flats (I'm an endorser, in the interest of disclosure), but the E string doesn't feel quite right in a short scale context. It's too bad as they strike a great balance between the TIs and other flats like the Chromes. Great looking bass! I bet it sounds wonderful. I'd love to hear more about the D-TAR mixing board. I use their Solstice as an A/B box to go between basses and it's just a superb piece of engineering. Edwin | ||
| battlescars
New Username: battlescars Post Number: 10 Registered: 11-2008 |
Hi Edwin. The D-TAR eclipse is a pretty interesting little Buffer/Mixer Preamp. I purchased it direct from D-Tar. During my "research" for this project I emailed Rick Turner to ask about the circuits in those famouse Alembic modded Guilds. He said a bipolar buffer operating at +\-9 volts would be the modern equivilent to what was attached to the pickups back then. Then he suggested the Eclipse. While it is mainly used in acoustic electric guitars and basses to mix peizo and magnetic signals, the imedance load place on each pickup can be adjusted by adding a resistor to each channel solder pads. I decided to use 5 Mega ohm trim pots so I could vary the load to find the pickups sweetspot. Right around 1mega ohm as it turns out. The cicuit has beakouts for passive tone controls for each channel and switched power for an eq or effect. It also has gain trim pots for each channel. When I hooked it up initially, I was shocked at how loud the bass became. The dark stars are pretty high out put as is but wow. And alone it is beautifully transparent. If there is a down side it is that since it is a bipolar system and the ezq is not 1 battery will run low faster then the other. I hooked it all up externally and when I heard it, I decided I could live with that. It sounds awesome. |
