Alembic Starfire

fronobulax

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Seen that bass advertised before, but I can't recall the price. $7,500 maybe? In any event too rich for my blood.

Given the discussion elsewhere on what makes a guitar a real Guild, I'd have to question whether this is a Guild; or an Alembic; or none of the above, given the neck. :)
 

GuildFS4612CE

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The only things I'd question, if I were a bass player, which I'm not, and had the money, which I don't, is: How does it play? and: How does it sound?
 

fronobulax

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GuildFS4612CE said:
The only things I'd question, if I were a bass player, which I'm not, and had the money, which I don't, is: How does it play? and: How does it sound?

If it walks like a duck...

Oh wait. That's another thread 8)

At this point an instrument with that kind of pedigree would be wasted on me. If I had $5000 to drop on a bass, I'd be much better off spending the money to have my current basses tweaked by a professional, buying an amp that better suits me (something I'm willing to carry that sounds good and will fit in my car) and spending the rest on lessons.

Nice to see a guitarist reading the bass thread. There's hope for this family.
 

hieronymous

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fronobulax said:
At this point an instrument with that kind of pedigree would be wasted on me. If I had $5000 to drop on a bass, I'd be much better off spending the money to have my current basses tweaked by a professional, buying an amp that better suits me (something I'm willing to carry that sounds good and will fit in my car) and spending the rest on lessons.
That sounds like a good antidote for GAS in general!

Looks like a cool bass (not sure about the Barts...) but I agree, the money could be better spent elsewhere, unless one is an avid collector of Dead memorabilia...
 

fronobulax

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hieronymous said:
That sounds like a good antidote for GAS in general!
I am probably pre-disposed to have GAS although I have not gotten to the point of deciding to learn guitar so I can justify my GAS by playing my potential new toy. The idea of having a matching set of a SF bass, 6 and 12 string has some appeal but so far... There is definitely some of the collector in my DNA. What will get my attention and my money will be the right M-85 bass but so far that has remained elusive.

BTW - how is your Starfire doing?
 

hieronymous

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fronobulax said:
BTW - how is your Starfire doing?
To tell the truth, I haven't been playing it too much. I put new strings on it, was really happy and amazed to get the action set really nice, only to discover that the strings are too close to the pickup! The E string keeps hitting the pole-piece, making a horrible noise. When I tried to lower the screw, it shorted out! So I raised the bridge back up, but it's still not perfect. Trying to decide what to do. Maybe it's my playing style? I tend to play pretty hard, and close to the neck. Maybe I should play over the neck! :p Playing with a pick is better.

But there's another issue - I can't do any vibrato, or the signal strength goes in and out! I tend to play with blues vibrato, so when I play with this bass I have to make an adjustment to my playing. Not that big a deal - I do the same when I play fretless.

But maybe this bass and I just don't get along? (I don't mean to take this tread off-topic... :oops: )
 

GuildFS4612CE

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fronobulax said:
Nice to see a guitarist reading the bass thread. There's hope for this family.

There's much to be learned meandering down the side trails on this forum. :D


hieronymous said:
fronobulax said:
BTW - how is your Starfire doing?


To tell the truth, I haven't been playing it too much. I put new strings on it, was really happy and amazed to get the action set really nice, only to discover that the strings are too close to the pickup! The E string keeps hitting the pole-piece, making a horrible noise. When I tried to lower the screw, it shorted out! So I raised the bridge back up, but it's still not perfect. Trying to decide what to do. Maybe it's my playing style? I tend to play pretty hard, and close to the neck. Maybe I should play over the neck! :p Playing with a pick is better.

But there's another issue - I can't do any vibrato, or the signal strength goes in and out! I tend to play with blues vibrato, so when I play with this bass I have to make an adjustment to my playing. Not that big a deal - I do the same when I play fretless.

But maybe this bass and I just don't get along? (I don't mean to take this tread off-topic... :oops: )

Don't give up yet. Sounds alot like a legitimate techie electronic set-up thingy problem....maybe ask the question over at the tech thread and you'll get a good response from some of our resident brains. :mrgreen:
 

gilded

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I'm taking it off-topic. hieronymous, old chum, I'm sorry, I thought all this got handled over at the Dude Pit.

If you can, in 64ths, please tell me:

A) What is the measurement of your action at the 12th fret, measuring from the bottom of the E and G strings to the top of the fret?

B) What is the measurement between the bottom of your E string and the top of the magnet on the low E sting
with:
1) the string in the unfretted position?
2) the string fretted at the last fret on the body?

C) What is the height measurement of your pickup spacer, at the point where it is parallel to the E string mag?

When I got my Starfire, my luthier put the action really low. I sent a lot of emails out in cyberspace and eventually I learned that Starfire actions like to be up high. I moved it higher and also shaved my pickup spacer down a bit. Now, everything sounds just right........

If you want to, let's figure this out and get you up and running on your Big Red Starfire Machine!!
 

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Thanks for the concern guys! I'm away from home until tomorrow night, but I will try and measure and take some pictures.
 
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