starfire and DeArmond

Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hello All,

Just joined the club. I've lusted after a Starfire for a long time and hope to get one soon.
I have a question or two.... What kind of wood are the DeArmonds made out of? Mahogany by any chance?
I'm a fan of Phil Lesh's godfather and would like to one day play around with making something like it. . I would never bastardize an original early model, so that's why I'm asking about the DeArmonds.
I would also love an original or reissue (which I would not mess with) but they don't seem to come up very often.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Keith
 

capnjuan

Gone But Not Forgotten
Gone But Not Forgotten
Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
12,952
Reaction score
4
Location
FL
Hi Keith and welcome but can't answer your questions either :( :wink: CJ
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
moonliner said:
Hello All,

Just joined the club. I've lusted after a Starfire for a long time and hope to get one soon.
I have a question or two.... What kind of wood are the DeArmonds made out of? Mahogany by any chance?
I'm a fan of Phil Lesh's godfather and would like to one day play around with making something like it. . I would never bastardize an original early model, so that's why I'm asking about the DeArmonds.
I would also love an original or reissue (which I would not mess with) but they don't seem to come up very often.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

Keith

Welcome.
I can't tell you anything about the DeArmonds or the 90's reissues because I have not played one. I think the handful of SF players here cite Jack Casady as an influence more often than Phil Lesh but you definitely want to pay attention to posts from mgod. He's a working professional bassist and has a wonderful story about being given a bass by Phil Lesh when he (mgod) was a young bassist. mgod is also a friend of Fred "Dark Star Pickups" Hammon and I have a vague recollection that one or both of them posted personal experiences with "The Godfather" on the now defunct Dude Pit.

As for availability the Starfires are out there. You probably wanted to say that ones you can afford don't come up too often :) Chicago Music Exchange has a couple with prices north of $3500. There is an early 70's SF II in green that has been on eBay for almost a year at something over $3000. I think there's a '69 there now which I expect to go for over $2000. Bottom line is that if you give me $3500 you can have your choice of vintage Starfire basses tomorrow. Give me $1000 and I'll return your money. In between, have patience and watch eBay.
 

Happy Face

Justified Ancient of MuMu
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
916
Reaction score
239
Or, you pay $500-600 for a stock D'A Starfire and install Darkstars, costing around $400. Now & then you see Darkstarred D'As for sale for around $900-1000. There may be one of each for sale on Talkbass now.

I had a D'A Starfire with Darkstars. Sold it as i found it a bit cumbersome for a small guy, but the sound was phenomenal. Don't know the wood, but is was really a solid bass. Heavier than you would think. It did not feel fragile like some older semi-hollowbodies. The D'A comes with a newer type bridge than the Guilds (the famed/notorious trapeze) which is easier to intonate in my humble opinion.
 

hieronymous

Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2007
Messages
415
Reaction score
125
Location
Northern CA
Guild Total
1
You could ask over at the Alembic club too - Phil's early basses were "Alembicized" or outright Alembics, and there's a wealth of information about Phil's gear over there. (Sorry I can't answer the question about the woods though!)
 
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Thanks for the response everyone.
I'm very familiar with the Alembic club. You're right, it has a wealth of info about Phil's bass.
I guess I was mostly checking to see if anyone has stripped a DeArmond and knew what kind of wood it was. I love the look of the stripped mahogany SF's.

thanks again.
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2009
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Get an Epi EB-0. Put 2 Darkstars in it. Get a Fender Showman with a pre-amp out or an Alembic F1-X or F2-B and a decent amplifier, like a Mac 2300, and run it all through some JBL D-140's: at least four of them. Use a Fender heavy pick and TI strings, unless you can find Pyramids. That's as close to Phil, circa 1971, as you're gonna get.
 
Joined
Jan 19, 2009
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Thanks again for all the helpful replies.

I just got back from a visit at the Alembic shop in Santa Rosa and really want to get this bass going.
So no one here has stripped a DeArmond Starfire? I need to bass to be made of mahogany.

thanks again.

keith
 

h60

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
54
Reaction score
0
Location
Mobile, AL
the DeArmonds are Maple. Then again so are the Guild sunburst Starfires (and a few other colors). I've owned both. Unfortunately I sold both. I loved them both too, and miss them, so I just bought another DeArmond Starfire bass which will get Dark Stars and possibly a few other mods.
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
1,501
Location
Orlando, FL
h60 said:
the DeArmonds are Maple. Then again so are the Guild sunburst Starfires (and a few other colors). I've owned both. Unfortunately I sold both. I loved them both too, and miss them, so I just bought another DeArmond Starfire bass which will get Dark Stars and possibly a few other mods.

your avatar barks :wink:
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
1,501
Location
Orlando, FL
h60 said:
I often have to as myself that very question. What Would Jack Do?

Yup, it's best only to apply it to music though... anywhere beyond that it'll probably lead to risky behavior :lol:
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
mellowgerman said:
Yup, it's best only to apply it to music though... anywhere beyond that it'll probably lead to risky behavior :lol:

Actually,you could do worse. Spencer Dryden died of "natural" causes and the rest of the band is still alive today. Stones? Doors? Dead? Zeppelin? Who? Allman Brothers? Hendrix? etc.

Besides wearing all black with white socks today he looks like someone's kindly grandfather with neat eyebrows.
 

h60

Junior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
54
Reaction score
0
Location
Mobile, AL
fronobulax said:
Besides wearing all black with white socks today he looks like someone's kindly grandfather with neat eyebrows.

Kindly Grandfather with a great tone and endorsement deals. :D
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
1,501
Location
Orlando, FL
fronobulax said:
Actually,you could do worse. Spencer Dryden died of "natural" causes and the rest of the band is still alive today. Stones? Doors? Dead? Zeppelin? Who? Allman Brothers? Hendrix? etc.

Besides wearing all black with white socks today he looks like someone's kindly grandfather with neat eyebrows.

well, with the exception of jim morrison (who was probably the worst role model ever, when looking beyond his music), I think casady was just luckier than all the other guys.
"but lather still finds it a nice thing to do to lie about nude in the sand, drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps...."
you do know the story behind that line, right? :lol:
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
mellowgerman said:
I think casady was just luckier than all the other guys.
"but lather still finds it a nice thing to do to lie about nude in the sand, drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps...."
you do know the story behind that line, right? :lol:

Grace wrote "Lather" while she was "with" Spencer, right?

As for Mr. C., I understand he was no saint but I believe he matured and learned from the lessons of others so luck was only a small factor. Maybe I'm using too much hindsight :wink:
 

mellowgerman

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2008
Messages
4,098
Reaction score
1,501
Location
Orlando, FL
fronobulax said:
mellowgerman said:
I think casady was just luckier than all the other guys.
"but lather still finds it a nice thing to do to lie about nude in the sand, drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps...."
you do know the story behind that line, right? :lol:

Grace wrote "Lather" while she was "with" Spencer, right?

she did, but that particular line was about an instance when jack agreed to be the guinea pig for a new drug (can't recall the name of the drug at the moment), which turned out to be something like 25x more powerful than intended. he was picked up by the police for laying naked (either at the beach or in a park; i've heard both versions) "drawing pictures of mountains that look like bumps"

i believe the entire scenario is elaborated on more in the Jefferson Airplane book "Got A Revolution." I'll get a direct quote once I get my copy back from a friend who is doing a research paper on them.
 
Top