Guild Starfire I Review

Guild Starfire I Bass Guitar

I purchased this bass guitar 6 months ago from Sweetwater. It caught my eye in the design of the pickups being that it is a split coil style pickup. I have several Fender P-Bass guitars and they have this type of pickup, and they are my favorite sounding pickup. This is a very good sounding bass in it has the semi-hollow sound. It has a big full sound with some growl to it. It is… read more a terrific feeling and playing guitar. The fit and finish is very good, and it is very well made. I am very happy with this bass guitar and enjoy playing it very much.

---

Cancel Comment

Simply Amazing

If you're looking for a semi-hollow body, do yourself a favor and check this one out. This instrument is simply top notch. The construction quality is unbelievable at this price point. I have played American made instruments that are not up to this level. Just as an example the fret ends are so smooth, you would think this came from a custom shop. Not one rough edge from first… read more to last. The range of tones you can get from this single pickup is unbelievable. From soft and deep to edgy and high. I got this as a compliment to my solid body active double pickup to have something with a completely different sound, but after living with it for a few days I'm thinking I don't even need anything else. This is now definitely my number 1. I purchased this as a demo, and honestly, I could not find any of the flaws that were listed in the description. Believe me I looked. Big shout out to Nate DeRusha my Sales Engineer. Super helpful, knowledgeable and most importantly, responsive. Thanks Nate! If you are worried about having a high end instrument shipped, worry no more. The bass was carefully packed in it's original box and then boxed again with plenty of extra protection. Thank you Sweetwater for a great experience end to end.

---

Cancel Comment

Join the Band without going Broke

The Starfire I Bass has exceeded my expectations for this price point … Great piece of equipment having a classic vintage vibe and tone, with playability. I researched bass guitars for months in various price ranges from hundreds to thousands… For me there isn't any reason at this point to spend more money … and I do play live music venues locally. This bass has warm, full… read more tones that hold the back beat nicely. It's light weight reduces fatigue, and the short scale makes it fun and easier to play. Working great with my home recordings using a Zoom R-16. I play folky or classic rock style music and I'm very pleased with the tones it's achieving. If you're not too heavy handed, it remains well mannered. For me, the Starfire I turned out to be just what I was looking for.

---

Cancel Comment

The harp tailpiece is a really classy touch, but...

I really love this bass! It is quite light, looks beautiful, is well made, and fitted with the LaBella flatwounds (long scale!) it sounds truly awesome - way more malleable than expected with the single pup. However, getting those strings on was a MASSIVE headache! The beautiful harp tailpiece that originally attracted me to this model (and the price!) is kinda like the Rickenbacker… read more "R" tailpiece on their 6 and 12-string guitars - beautiful but difficult to work with! But this was worse! It was tough getting the original roundwounds out even though they were thinner than spec'ed - should have tipped me off! Turns out the only way to secure a string in the tailpiece is if the ball-end is EXACTLY horizontal and slides into a shelf with essentially no wiggle room. Of course the string wants to make a slight angle exiting the tailpiece so unless you put just the right upward bend (1-2mm) on the flat side of the ball end (kinda like stringing a Bigsby) it will not catch in the tailpiece. Ultimately I had to remove the tailpiece altogether (3 screws and the strap button) to figure this out and pre-place the strings before re-attaching. Even that was difficult! Kind of a long way to go to change strings. Thankfully, I only change bass strings (especially flats) about once every 20-30 years - whether they need it or not! ;) Played with a pick, this bass makes very satisfying tones. Now that I have the bass re-strung and re-constructed I am a very happy camper!

---

Cancel Comment

The Best Hollowbody Bass I have bought

I have owned about 5 different hollow body basses over the years and the Guild Starfire I is the best by far, mainly due to the pickup type and placement. Most hollow body basses are overly honky and muddy sounding, but the single coil p style pickup is super clear and defined. It is also very light weight and a great price. If this bass was lost or stolen I would immediately buy… read more it again.

---

Cancel Comment

Awesome short-scale bass for this price point

I was dazzled by the physical beauty of this bass when it arrived and completely fell in love with it upon playing it. It looks, plays and sounds like a much more expensive instrument. And its weight is so light. One caveat is to make sure you get strings that are long enough if you replace the out-of-box strings. I was going to use some flatwounds that came off another short-scale… read more bass but they were too short to accomodate the extra length from the tailpiece to the tuning peg. I found Thomastik-Infield strings to be perfect because they're a couple inches longer to begin with. But for other brands you may need medium-scale length strings.

---

Cancel Comment