The Great - which case fits which Starfire bass - Thread

Size wise, I think I am safe in saying there are four distinct sizes:

• "vintage" Starfire basses through the initial end of production circa 1977
• the 90's reissue basses
• the GSR basses
• the Newark Street Starfire bass

The history of cases seems less clear cut.

The discussion started here.

I have a '67 Starfire, a Guild case purchased circa 1977 that fits it just fine and a Newark Street bass.

The headstock on the Newark Street bass is too wide for the '77 case.
The '67 will fit in the NS case but I need to revist just how snug or loose things are. Stay tuned.
I have a TLK part number for the NS case that I need to post.

fronobulax said:

Size wise, I think I am safe in saying there are four distinct sizes:

• "vintage" Starfire basses through the initial end of production circa 1977
• the 90's reissue basses
• the GSR basses
• the Newark Street Starfire bass

The history of cases seems less clear cut.

The discussion started here.

Click to expand...

when did the headstock change (get bigger)? I thought it was early 70s but not positive.

not sure if that would affect how it fits in a case from the same era. but the 67 in my house barely fits in its own OHSC case in the tuner/headstock area. any wider at all (the headstock), and it would be too big (the instrument) for that 67 case. As it is I have to turn it and set in in there just right, turn the tuners a certain way, and set in there perfectly. If the case hadn't kept the bass in such pristine condition for 46 years, I would not be much of a fan of this OHSC. With that said, It would need some luv and minor refurbishing to be functional for regular use today (it doesnt even stay open, u almost need 3 hands), and for several reasons I am leaning towards just finding something new for the bass, and preserving the vintage case as is.

Also I have seen a Cassidy Epiphone case used for a 67 Guild SF1 Bass, but I cannot say for sure if it actually fit properly or not, I just know they have been used together, for at least a very temporary use (local gig), or possibly more. I can try to find out for sure if that is a good fit, and report back.

I am equally curious as to any size difference of the instruments themselves at this point, and will start a thread about that.

I thought the headstock size changed between the vintage and the '90's, but I can't recall the basis for that belief. If I am wrong then my next guess would be the change occurred circa 1970 along with the switch to humbuckers.

I have to do nothing to make my '67 slip in easily. Maybe we are going to need some measurements to verify that everything we think is the same, really is.

twocorgis has been gigging with his Jack Casady Signature because his green Starfore II is a bit too precious. But if the JC has a case, I'm sure he could tell us whether it fits "Greenie" or not. I wouldn't expect the other way since there is the difference in scale length.

fronobulax said:

I have to do nothing to make my '67 slip in easily. Maybe we are going to need some measurements to verify that everything we think is the same, really is.

Click to expand...

you had indicated your case for your 67 bass was purchased new in 1977. That is one of the very last years for the SF Bass, and the SF 1 Bass had already been discontinued.

the case for the 67 bass in my house is the OHSC from 1967.

I thought I remembered the headstock got a little bigger when it changed from Bisonic to Humbucker in 1970, or right around that time. Looks like that is indeed the case:


Frono, If the case you bought in 1977 was "used" at the time, and also happens to be a Guild case, we can investigate further how similar, or identical, it may be the 67 case in my house, or any other case anyone else may care to compare it to.

It is of course also possible that Guild used more than one case for the same model instrument back in the 60's/70s/90s (actually seems that way doesnt it); and also possible that some cases that may have come "new" with the instrument back then, were not necessarily a Guild case at all.

frono',

What about the DeArmond Starfire Basses?? Should they count? How do they fit in? More to the point, what do they fit in (ahem) ??

HH

fronobulax said:

Size wise, I think I am safe in saying there are four distinct sizes:

• "vintage" Starfire basses through the initial end of production circa 1977
• the 90's reissue basses
• the GSR basses
• the Newark Street Starfire bass

The history of cases seems less clear cut.

The discussion started here.

Click to expand...

I own(ed) 2 Starfire basses, both with the original cases. The 1997 was sold to me as a 1974, but was identified correctly here on LTG as a 1997. The 1997 case was by far the classiest guitar case of any type I have ever seen, with 7 heavy duty latches on it. Aside from the fact that it has the supposedly detestable humbucker pickups, it was a marvelous bass and case.

My 1966 bass is slightly loose in the case, meaning I must let it bottom out in the case before carrying it any distance.

The reason the 1990's basses will not fit is that the tuning keys are larger and from forged steel, not assembled from thin plate and smaller cylinders that are on the earlier basses. You could notice the difference if you ever tuned both basses at nearly the same time. The 1990's bass was way classier and the tuning was more precise with a higher gear ratio, which required less back and forth to get the exact pitch.

The newer Guild basses come with the thinner tuning keys, which are cheaper to produce.

In my opinion the 1990's basses were a work of beauty in all respects, especially the hardware and finish detail. I regret selling mine, but I can't possibly have and keep them all!

Craig

My '77 case was sold to me as new. I think we are accumulating evidence that circa 1970 when the Starfire got humbuckers, it also got a fatter headstock.

I don't know about D'Armonds but they should probably be in the discussion. I got a bunch of measurements I need to make.

I fit my '67 SF in a new Hagstrom Viking case. My '67 did not have a case when I bought it and the Hag case seemed fitting….
Not the sturdiest of cases, but it looks cool and is a good place to store the Guild.

idealassets said:

The 1997 case was by far the classiest guitar case of any type I have ever seen, with 7 heavy duty latches on it. Aside from the fact that it has the supposedly detestable humbucker pickups, it was a marvelous bass and case.

Click to expand...

yes, opening those 7 latches takes a while, I always miss one or two .
Re pickups 4 years ago I did order a set of Darkstars from Fred to try on that bass but in the end I never put them on. I actually really like the stock humbuckers. I keep the Darkstars just in case the right bass project comes along (Hag Coronado, M85 or 60's starfire body+neck).

ukulelelab said:

Click to expand...

I'm assuming that is a 90's bass in a 90's case. Just eyeballing it it looks like the headstock is definitely bigger and the case is proportioned to fit it. If I wasn't counting latches I'd wonder if it was a Newark Street case.



It's not the best shot but the vintage case is pretty much straight from the neck rest whereas the NS case has a definite flare.

fronobulax said:

twocorgis has been gigging with his Jack Casady Signature because his green Starfore II is a bit too precious. But if the JC has a case, I'm sure he could tell us whether it fits "Greenie" or not. I wouldn't expect the other way since there is the difference in scale length.

Click to expand...

When I bought Greenie, I'm pretty sure what it came with was a case for a Casady bass, which I subsequently sold to Fixit when I sold my old '67 Starfire I. I seem to remember it being a better fit, and overall a better quality case than the OEM '60s Starfire case, which is a little on the loose side, really.

i've never actually tried putting Greenie in the Casady bass' case that I have now, and there's still a whole lot of extra room around the headstock even with the Casady bass in it (dunno why TKL made them that way, the cases are enormous). I'm away from home right now, but will give it a try when I do get home tomorrow afternoon.

The tag above was on the end of the case that came with my Newark Street bass. I presume the case was made by TKL and the model number is on the tag.

fronobulax said:

The tag above was on the end of the case that came with my Newark Street bass. I presume the case was made by TKL and the model number is on the tag.

Click to expand...

thanks!

So I did some measuring. Plenty of opportunity for error since I used a tape measure and Mark I eyeball but...

Case - At it's widest point in the headstock area the '77 case measures 7" and the NS measures 8". That inch is why the '67 fits in the NS case but not visa versa.

Headstock - the widest point was about 3 5/8" on the NS, 4" on the '67 and 4 1/2" on a '71 JS II. I am reading my notes but I don't believe them since when I tried to hold the Starfires next to each other the headstocks appeared identical. In any event I feel safe in saying that the NS and vintage headstocks are much closer in size to each other than they are to the '71 JS which seems like a good surrogate for the post '70 "big head" Starfire.

With them side by side, it is painfully obvious that the tuners are different on the NS. In particular, the shaft is bigger and more massive in appearance and the "ears" are much larger. So it is the tuners, and not the headstock, that keep a NS bass from fitting a vintage case.

The body width on both appears to be identical 1 7/8".

So to reiterate what I think I know:

The headstock on the pre-1970 and NS are effectively the same size and both are smaller than the 1970-1977 version. I don't know how the 90's reissue headstock compares.

The body on the NS has the same width as the 65-77 versions but is fatter than the 90's reissue.

The tuning pegs on the NS are seriously bigger.

The NS case should fit any Starfire although the 90's might be a little loose.

Inspected the case with Grot's 66. Definitely not the same case as the one I bought circa 1977. The space at the headstock is huge and would probably handle a Newark Street bass. It also had an earlt badge and the double hinges someone mentioned. Will post pics eventually.

Grot's 66 in what is believed to be the original case. Lots of room.

Not sure I posted this before. My "big head" '70's case has a label that says "Guild case 4516 B" in the accessory compartment.

frono,

I dug my '90's? Guild case out of the pile for you guys. I'll add the pics later tonight. It's a Black on Black Canadian case, with a Guild logo at the edge of the top. I bought it for my '66 SF I several years ago. The interior measurements were taken from 'edge of lining to edge of lining' and are close to Mavuser's specs from another thread:

Length:...........................50" (really)
Width at lower bout:.........16 1/3"
Width at upper bout:........ 12 1/4"
Depth:
bottom half of case,at the
base edge (strap button):.. 3 1/4"

Mavuser told me that my type of case is actually for a '90's B4E/B4EHG instrument. I believe him!

My '66 fits very well in the case. You can shake the case back and forth and the bass will move a little, but it doesn't flop around. Nice case. A friend of mine bought one almost exactly like it and it fit his DeArmond SF II bass really well.

Well I am probably overdue for a report on all of the cases but for now just want to mention Sweetwater has a new Guild Starfire Bass case for sale for 199 shipped and I assume this is the Newark St bass case.

have to say though at almost half the price, the Cassidy Epiphone case will fit any Starfire bass just fine.

thanks Gilded for your report and it would not surprise me if your B4E case and the new Newark st/Starfire case are actually the same thing. The Epiphone Cassidy case is also made by TKL and is very very similar too.

a 90s Guild Starfire bass case with the red interior is smaller, and only a 90s Starfire bass will fit in there (90s Starfire basses are smaller than vintage and Newark Street,body-depth wise).