Jack Casady Interview

Dave W · February 01, 2011, 08:50:21 AM

Quote from: Barklessdog on February 01, 2011, 05:49:53 AM
Thats really too bad, he was really dedicated to them. I guess when Lakland stopped using them it was not good for business?

I don't want to hijack this thread with speculation about Fred, but it's more likely that Lakland couldn't get product from him. He's left some small builders in the lurch.

Dave W · February 01, 2011, 08:55:02 AM

Quote from: EvilLordJuju on February 01, 2011, 08:12:02 AM
uh oh.... what did I miss?

copacetic is referring to your spelling of JT Wribbleoff in part 5. It's Riboloff.

Also, it's Heathkit, not Heatkit (amps, part 6).

Two small misspellings of proper names, no big deal.

uwe · February 01, 2011, 09:03:08 AM

Shouldn't this thread be connected with the Gwyneth one?

Just proposin' ...

copacetic · February 01, 2011, 09:39:32 AM

Yes, when the Guild Starfire came out it was like a breath of fresh air what with all the other mudbuckers about.
Droombulus, yes but Morrison only did that crazy dance during the Airplane's 'Plastic Fantastic' set then collapsed. The Doors went on as a threesome.
Jules, yes I have one of the prototypes with a jazz profile neck, smaal headstock and a few other features. I'll get a pic up. I noticed Jack mentioned something to the effect of the 'larger P bass necks...Well I would not exactly call the JC Sig a small neck at all. Fred and a few others had a running joke some years back that we would go to Jack's bass camp with our JC Sigs all modified. Jack was the all time king of modified basses. He was even messing with the Jazz from the get go.

Droombolus · February 01, 2011, 11:11:29 AM

I think the Spoonful had a deal with Guild....... Zally played a Guild Thunderbird, about the only guitarist I ever saw pics of playing that monster .........

Pilgrim · February 01, 2011, 11:16:45 AM

Take a look at this clip of White Rabbit (linked from the Fly Guitars interview). It opens with Jack on his J-bass with the P pickup at the neck, and there's a most interesting mute draped across the strings.

The look also epitomizes the 60's!!!

uwe · February 01, 2011, 11:56:40 AM

There were better singers than Grace, but she sure had presence.

gweimer · February 01, 2011, 12:51:01 PM

Quote from: Dave W on February 01, 2011, 08:50:21 AM
I don't want to hijack this thread with speculation about Fred, but it's more likely that Lakland couldn't get product from him. He's left some small builders in the lurch.

I also seem to recall that Lakland moved to the Chisonic pickups for that reason. They couldn't get product to meet their demand.

eb2 · February 01, 2011, 02:39:41 PM

Starfires - like all Guilds - played really nice, and the Hagstrom pickup gave a much more even tone than a Gibson mudbucker. They couldn't do a mudbucker, but they came a lot closer than a Fender to pumping out that fluffy bottom end. Guild were feeding them to the Lovin Spoonful. I don't know about the guy in the Byrds. So, with classic comfortable EB-2 looks, and more flexible sound, and I am pretty sure they were cheaper, they moved.

As far as the Thunderbird, they were on TV with Zal Yanovsky, and in the middle of Electric Mud. Buddy Guy played Starfire guitars almost exclusively for years.

Dave W · February 01, 2011, 02:50:52 PM

Guild's sales never came close to Gibson or Gretsch in the electric market or to Martin and Gibson in the acoustic market. In my generation, they were seen as a poor man's substitute -- not that they were cheap, but they were a bit less expensive.

Say what you will about the mudbucker, you'll find many more EB-2s around than Starfires from the periods they were both produced.

godofthunder · February 01, 2011, 03:10:50 PM

I meet Jack around '86 at the House of Guitars while working there. real nice guy, got a pic of me and him somewhere, we moved two years ago and I can't find a dam thing

I bought a JC when they first came out, gets a big thumbs up from me.