| Author | Message | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 1 Registered: 12-2008 |
I'm not sure how often something like this comes up, but my uncle gave me a beautiful transparent red mahogany Guild SF-2 bass (circa 1974-1975) that he had left in his closet for about thirty years or so. (I'll post pictures when i get the chance) It's in pretty good condition, albeit with a few dings here and there--minimal belt-buckle scratching. Anyways, my bass has a floating bridge setup with four individually adjustable bridge pieces. I'm not sure if it was string tension or environmental conditions, but one of the wooden bridge pieces split in two. I superglued it back together, but I'm afraid of what it will do to the string's resonance, and how long the glue will hold it together. Alembic seems to be the best choice in asking for replacement parts-I haven't seen anything on the Guild website. Thanks, Nick And sorry if this is repeating another thread | ||
| 57basstra
Senior Member Username: 57basstra Post Number: 799 Registered: 4-2005 |
Nick, welcome to the club. Someone who can better answer your questions will be along soon I am sure. Isn't it nice to have nice uncles? I gave my two nephews guitars this Christmas. One nephew is with the U.S. Army National Guard and he is about to deploy to Iraq in a few days. He and I just finished playing a song in church. My other nephew just finished a tour in Iraq with the U.S. Army. (I gave my nephews acoustic guitars, not vintage Guilds!) I would like to get my hands on a Guild bass myself! | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 502 Registered: 1-2005 |
I wish I could help - I've seen a few different solutions, including metal bridge pieces and Alembic-style replacement bridge/tailpieces, but they appear to be custom made rather than stuff you can easily buy. Hopefully someone here can help, but in the meantime you might want to check out Let's Talk Guild.com. The Last Bass Outpost is good as well, there's a forum there on "projects, mods & repairs" where it might useful to describe your situation. Good luck! | ||
| terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc Post Number: 661 Registered: 11-2004 |
Nick..although I cannot help here but a pic of the bridge would be useful for the people on here who might be able to help. A very generous uncle you have indeed!!! Well done on your gift | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 2 Registered: 12-2008 |
Thank you everyone. I admit they're bad. Sorry, I'll get more up soon. Oh, I got this bass last Christmas, so I've had it a while and it plays like a dream. I am a guitarist, but in my band we switch instruments, and the smaller scale and thinner neck make for a much smoother transition than the p-bass or superstrat clones everyone else seems to have. As I said, there are a few dings where it was handled roughly-straight to the wood in 3 places, there are only a few belt buckle scratches, and the only hairline checks are on the inside of the cutaways. The biggest problem is a slight misalignment on the side-the electronics didn't work when I got it so we had it repaired, so it may have warped slightly when the luthier put the top back on. | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3451 Registered: 7-2004 |
My brother died last year. When my nephew (his only child) who plays a little guitar turned 18 earlier this year I pulled a "Karate Kid" (Remember when Daniel-san turns 18, Mr. Miagi takes him to the front yard, points at all the beautifully restored old cars and says "pick one?") I lined up 5 or 6 different guitars and invited him to pick one. He chose a Les Paul Studio. It really felt good starting him off right with a quality instrument. Bill, tgo | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 3 Registered: 12-2008 |
 | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 4 Registered: 12-2008 |
 Complete with the original electric blue lined case! | ||
| byoung
Senior Member Username: byoung Post Number: 1139 Registered: 12-2004 |
That is a beautiful bass. And Bill, I'm glad to know that at least some of your collection is leaving home. At the rate you seem to buy guitars, I don't know how you have any room left over! Bradley | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 3454 Registered: 7-2004 |
Bradley: You been talking to my wife? lol Bill, tgo | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 503 Registered: 1-2005 |
Great looking bass! It's got the later Guild humbuckers, not the Hagstrom Bisonic pickups that Alembic utilized in their early work with Phil Lesh and Jack Casady, but nothing wrong with that. I'm wondering if it may have been modded? The single knob near the pickup selector and small toggle don't look stock. Do you know what they do? I really think you should post it over at the Let's Talk Guild bass forum - they would probably be interested. There are people over there that have done different bridge mods as well. | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 5 Registered: 12-2008 |
The single knob is volume control over the individual volume knobs, and the small toggle is a pickup splitter. | ||
| bassman10096
Senior Member Username: bassman10096 Post Number: 1181 Registered: 7-2003 |
Very pretty bass. Looks to be in a good deal better than average shape for a 30+ year old semihollow. I think a lot of Starfires have crazy glued bridge pieces like yours. If the break was clean (the rosewood saddles dry out pretty evenly, often shearing neatly along the grain with no other damage), the repair may hold forever (rosewood likes superglue) and the sound may be indistinguishable from the original. The best thing about your bass (apart from its nice condition) is that it's intact. I believe the knob and small toggle hieronymous mentioned do look stock (unless there's something about them I'm missing). The knob should be master volume and it's intended to be a totally different knob style from the other, Guild logo knobs. I've been searching the world over for that specific knob for an M-85 without luck. The small toggle is the infamous "bass boost/tone suck" switch, which moves between the two foregoing settlings. A lot of Guild basses have the switch. Many people find it less than useful because, although each setting produces a different and interesting tone, moving between them tends (in my limited experience) to require a fair amount of EQ'ing to get each to produce a good tone (Specifically, the "tone suck" side requires extra bass, so when you switch to bass boost, the boom is disturbing). As to the pickups, they are the (somewhat) less distinguished Guild humbuckers that followed when Guild stopped using the fabled, Hagstrom bisonic single coils. If you would prefer the earlier sound, Fred Hammon has faithfully reproduced the bisonics, calling them Dark Stars. They are a drop-in, totally reversable mod for Starfires with your style humbuckers. The Let's Talk Guild forum is currently the best Guild forum around and is where the real experts hang out. They can help you with more info if you post your Starfire over there. Nice bass, and welcome to Alembic-land. | ||
| nick1552
New Username: nick1552 Post Number: 6 Registered: 12-2008 |
Thanks hieronymous and bassman. That's disappointing... I haven't really looked into the hardware. Even without the Hagstrom bisonics it sounds beautiful. The bass boost/ tone suck feature, on the other hand is something I've never even heard of. It sounded akin to the tone my carvin semihollow guitar gets with its pickup splitters (Which, by the way was a steal, used for $400 with a market value of around $2000). I have only been playing guitar for 4 years, so I'm not the best at distinguishing tones As for the Darkstar... Unfortunately I don't have 200 dollars at my disposal because I'm a 17 year old busboy who earns minimum wage. My birthday is coming up though... Is there a website somewhere that sells it cheaper? No current offers on Ebay, but that's understandable. | ||
| dadabass2001
Senior Member Username: dadabass2001 Post Number: 976 Registered: 6-2002 |
I factory ordered an SF-2 in 1972 (delivered in '73). The Guild mini-toggle switch was a "normal / bass cut" tone switch, similar to what Gibson had on early EB-0 basses as a push button. I never liked that sound on my Guild and always played her in the "normal" position. The master volume knob looks identical to mine. Mike | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 504 Registered: 1-2005 |
I apologize for the misinformation - I'm not as familiar with the '70s Guilds. The Bisonics have become somewhat mythical, but there's nothing wrong with the Guild humbuckers that your bass has. The Darkstars are really popular too - it's a small business though, so you won't see big discounts and it doesn't seem that people who buy them are getting rid of them! | ||
| edwin
Advanced Member Username: edwin Post Number: 382 Registered: 5-2002 |
I have to disagree about the Guild humbuckers. I found them to be really unexciting pickups. The low end is indistinct and the highs are grainy and not very transparent. The darkstars are stellar pickups and take EQ very well. I also have a pair of Bartolini triple coil pickups that do series/parallel and either single coil with dummy coil, kind of like having series pickups in each pickup. Very versatile and interesting pickups and they drop right in. I'm not using them and might be persuaded to part with them. They are a huge upgrade to the Guilds. Edwin | ||
| benson_murrensun
Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 82 Registered: 5-2007 |
Has anybody installed a Dark Star pickup in an Epiphone Jack Casady bass? I sent an email to Hammon to get more info. | ||
| benson_murrensun
Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 83 Registered: 5-2007 |
If anybody's interested, here's what I got back from Fred Hammon, re: Dark Star pickup in Epi JC Bass: "It's been done. You will have to dispense with the veri-ohm switch circuit as it will be irrelevant. That only works with low impedance pickups. One of these bass (shown) owner replaced his switch with a "producers knob" - a knob which does nothing but gives the operator a sense of involvement - a placebo control knob. You may also to elect to install a "veri-tone" pot under the control to get actual tonal changes but I suggest keeping it simple. In an instrument like this, less is more. Rely more on right hand placement and dynamics. The Dark Star will still allow the bass to speak with it's own signature voice but with a broader, more "open" sound. A bit less accent on the mids - more of everything - just bigger." Photo links: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/Hammon/Dark%20Star%20Basses/EpiJackCassidyUpgrade_11a_NewInstal.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v371/Hammon/Dark%20Star%20Basses/JackDS01.jpg Fred |
