Roger2611 Posted August 30, 2015 Posted August 30, 2015 Hi, Anyone out there own and play a Dearmond Starfire bass? I like the look of a semi acoustic bass, I tried an Eastwood Classic 4 but was not impressed with the build quality. I also tried the Gretsch Electromatic and was very disappointed with the one I played. I own a beautiful Dearmond MT77 guitar which is as well built as any Gibson or Fender I have ever played so I am hoping the Starfire will have the same kind of build quality and hopefully sound decent as well? Cheers Rog Quote
EssentialTension Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 I had a Dearmond Starfire with Hammon Dark Star pickups which both played and sounded excellent. Guild have recently reissued the Starfire. Quote
EssentialTension Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='gareth' timestamp='1441032587' post='2855491'] Short scale = bad sound [/quote] Not in my experience. 1 Quote
Mykesbass Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1440944611' post='2854878'] Hi, Anyone out there own and play a Dearmond Starfire bass? I like the look of a semi acoustic bass, I tried an Eastwood Classic 4 but was not impressed with the build quality. I also tried the Gretsch Electromatic and was very disappointed with the one I played. I own a beautiful Dearmond MT77 guitar which is as well built as any Gibson or Fender I have ever played so I am hoping the Starfire will have the same kind of build quality and hopefully sound decent as well? Cheers Rog [/quote] A lot of love for the Guild reissue here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/248927-nbd-guild-starfire/page__st__30__p__2811583__hl__guild%20starfire__fromsearch__1#entry2811583"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/248927-nbd-guild-starfire/page__st__30__p__2811583__hl__guild%20starfire__fromsearch__1#entry2811583[/url] Quote
Mykesbass Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='gareth' timestamp='1441032587' post='2855491'] Short scale = bad sound [/quote] Well that's one opinion...the wrong one of course Quote
Paul S Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='gareth' timestamp='1441032587' post='2855491'] Short scale = bad sound [/quote] Even this one? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264839-fender-mustang-bass-1967/page__p__2849944__hl__mustang__fromsearch__1#entry2849944"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264839-fender-mustang-bass-1967/page__p__2849944__hl__mustang__fromsearch__1#entry2849944[/url] Quote
EssentialTension Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1440944611' post='2854878'] ... Dearmond Starfire bass .. [/quote] Just to clarify ... the 1990s Dearmond Starfire, like the 1990s reissued Guild Starfire, was fitted with the 1970s style Guild humbuckers (these where sometimes known as Dearmond Gold Tone humbuckers). Many people replaced the Dearmond/Guild humbuckers with Hammon Dark Stars which were a re-engineering of the original 1960s Guild/Hagstrom Bisonic pickups. Both the Dark Stars and the Bisonics are single coils, not humbuckers. The recent Guild reissues have a (different) re-engineered single-coil Bisonic. The point of course is that not all Starfire basses are the same. It's probably the case that most, although not all Starfire users, preferred the Bisonics/Dark Stars to the humbuckers. Quote
EssentialTension Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 More interest here ... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/197600-guild-starfire-bass-announced-at-namm"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/197600-guild-starfire-bass-announced-at-namm[/url] Quote
Mykesbass Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1441056930' post='2855797'] Just to clarify ... the 1990s Dearmond Starfire, like the 1990s reissued Guild Starfire, was fitted with the 1970s style Guild humbuckers (these where sometimes known as Dearmond Gold Tone humbuckers). Many people replaced the Dearmond/Guild humbuckers with Hammon Dark Stars which were a re-engineering of the original 1960s Guild/Hagstrom Bisonic pickups. Both the Dark Stars and the Bisonics are single coils, not humbuckers. The recent Guild reissues have a (different) re-engineered single-coil Bisonic. The point of course is that not all Starfire basses are the same. It's probably the case that most, although not all Starfire users, preferred the Bisonics/Dark Stars to the humbuckers. [/quote] Ah, I stand corrected - there is a lot of flexibility in the use of the two brand names out there by various dealers, with some using both names for the one bass. Quote
EssentialTension Posted August 31, 2015 Posted August 31, 2015 I wasn't meaning to correct you, merely to clarify. The Dearmonds were/are sometimes refered to as Dearmond By Guild too. Quote
Mykesbass Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1441059342' post='2855821'] I wasn't meaning to correct you, merely to clarify. The Dearmonds were/are sometimes refered to as Dearmond By Guild too. [/quote] Without this turning in to a thread of apologies and counter apologies, I hadn't taken umbrage Quote
EssentialTension Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 .. and furthermore Dearmond is really De Armond. Quote
EssentialTension Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 [quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1441133278' post='2856363'] Dear Mond, I'm sorry I ever set foot in this thread. Some eagle eyed bassists have noticed that the Dearmond Starfires have a different body shape to the original Guild versions. To counter some perceived gospel, some commentators from [i]back in the day [/i]don't have a nice thing to say about the original Bisonic pickups, including the bassist of minor league US prog legends Happy The Man. In their defense, Fred Hammon covered his website with pictures of Phil Lesh and Jack Casady, yet both modified their Starfires well beyond stock, and Hammon changed some of the key specs. Perhaps the biggest issue with Bisonic pickups is the odd design of the pickup adjusters. There is a French builder that makes accurate Bisonic pickups, minus the weird adjuster mechanism, that look a bit like P90 pickups with four poles instead of six. People would rather have the cumbersome black square pickup like the originals, even if it means paying a heftier price tag purely to offset the development costs of some fairly idiosyncratic and pointless flatwork. [/quote] ... also a factor in the development of the Lakland Chisonic pickup. Quote
AndyTravis Posted September 1, 2015 Posted September 1, 2015 I had one for about a week. Really well put together, nice bass, just not for me. The DeArmond Starfire Special guitar I had though, I miss that... Quote
gareth Posted September 5, 2015 Posted September 5, 2015 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1441042880' post='2855605'] Even this one? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264839-fender-mustang-bass-1967/page__p__2849944__hl__mustang__fromsearch__1#entry2849944"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264839-fender-mustang-bass-1967/page__p__2849944__hl__mustang__fromsearch__1#entry2849944[/url] [/quote]now sold Quote
Paul S Posted September 6, 2015 Posted September 6, 2015 I am not surprised - it was lovely. I hope the bullet wound in your instep heals quickly Quote
gareth Posted September 6, 2015 Posted September 6, 2015 [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1441535419' post='2859519'] I am not surprised - it was lovely. I hope the bullet wound in your instep heals quickly [/quote] and I too hope the bullet wound in your instep heals quickly Quote
Paul S Posted September 6, 2015 Posted September 6, 2015 Not sure I understand that but nevermind Quote
.jpg.518c69c2d9e1581799f3c11301dc2da5.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.