Starfire with odd serial #

[Mungi]

I got a Starfire with serial number BA2086 (see my avatar). In 1969 the following numbers for the SF bass was used: BA1947 to BA2043. In 1970 they ceased using separate numbers for the different models. The also stopped using the Hagström bisonic. My bass got bisonics. Originally it was a black SF I with a neck pickup. It's been stripped and another bisonic has been added for the bridge.

What's up with that? It has to be from 1969 as far as I can understand, because of the bisonic. Any thoughts on this?

 

[Default]

Not a bass guy, but perhaps it was made during the move to Westerly? There is a lot of serial number wierdness with Guild where instruments that were partial completed sat in storage until an order came in for it.

 

[jte]

A. Serial numbers were not intended to date instruments, only to identify them for sales and warranty purposes, so they Guild SN history is all over the place.
B. When we talk about what year things changed, it's really frequently a wide range. They used old parts until they ran out then switched to new ones. For example, the stack-knob Fender Jazz bass was changed the more common VVT setup in 1962. But they built them both ways through most of '62 so a real '62 could be either way and be correct.
C. The "model year" for instruments traditionally started in July, after the summer NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show. There was no winter show until the late '70s or later, and until the very late '80s the summer show was the main event where new product was introduced. The trade show in June of 1965 would show what would be the the 1966 products.

John

 

[gilded]

I got a Starfire with serial number BA2086 (see my avatar). In 1969 the following numbers for the SF bass was used: BA1947 to BA2043. In 1970 they ceased using separate numbers for the different models. The also stopped using the Hagström bisonic. My bass got bisonics. Originally it was a black SF I with a neck pickup. It's been stripped and another bisonic has been added for the bridge.

What's up with that? It has to be from 1969 as far as I can understand, because of the bisonic. Any thoughts on this?

Mungi, cool bass!

I like what LTG member jte is saying. I'd like to add a bit to it:

Welcome to the 1970 Letter Prefix Club!

It's easy to deduce that, since you can't find a record of your Letter Prefix serial number in the records that are published for '69 and there are numerical-only serial numbers for '70, that your bass is from '69. But, I'm betting that your bass is from '70, as in not-shipped-out-the-door, and/or not finally assembled until 1970.

Here is the Key to the Mystery- Guild definitely used Letter Prefix serial numbers in 1970, but those records simply were not saved!

A lot of us have had guitars and basses with the post '69 Letter Prefix serial numbers. My old Duane Eddy DE-400 guitar was like that, an off-the-charts, post '69 instrument. I do think the argument could made that all of the '70 Letter Prefix instruments must be from the beginning of the year.

Look at page 4 of the 1970 Guild catalog: http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/guild/catalogues/1970_4.php

Notice the Bisonics on the bass guitars? Somebody will be along who knows better than I do about when Bisonic pickups were phased out, but to me it is more than plausible that Guild used up all their old pickups before they switched over to hum-buckers.

Again, nice bass. And welcome to LTG!

 

[mgod]

Its a '70. I have a black SFII w/ Bisonics. They changed dring the year, not at the beginning of it. That would be logical.

 

[SFIV1967]

In 1970 they ceased using separate numbers for the different models.

That only happened at the end of 1970 as you can read in Hans' book page 47 right side column. But as mentioned before by gilded, Guild didn't keep records (or lost them) of the 1970 numbers with the two letter prefix.
Ralf

 

[fronobulax]

As noted by others...

The Bisonic to humbucker switch happened sometime in 1970. There are also JS basses from 1970 some of which have Bisonics, some have a Bisonic and a different Hagstrom and some have humbuckers.

The serial number is likely to be from 1970 because the prefixes were not dropped on Jan. 1.

Serial numbers were stamped when the headstock and neck assembly reached a certain point but there can be time elapsed between the stamping and the use of the assembly in a guitar that left the factory. There are 1964 serials on Starfire basses that are known not to have been finished until 1965. There are some guitars where the rest of the instrument makes it pretty clear that the neck sat in storage for several years and there was no attempt to use necks in any kind of chronological order.