New Guild Starfire with Split P

[Chris P.]

Earlier this year the I came out in Pelham Blue. I played it on a fair and I compared it to the normal 2-pickup Starfire. Three things are worth mentioning:

- A binded neck with dots looks cool!
- This bass has a thinner body than the normal Starfire. I'm not good in American sizes but I think it's around 5mm / the widt of one binding / three layers of Quarterpounder cheese thinner.
- It's much lighter, having to do with a thinner body, so a thinner center block and of course less pickups. This feels as a light bass, my maple II is not light

I could get one for a very sharp price and it'll arrives next week.

[Dave W]

It sounds good. OTOH I can't get past the look of a split P on that body.

[Chris P.]

It sounds good. OTOH I can't get past the look of a split P on that body.

I got used to it, and I like the new white inserts.

[Pilgrim]

I'll be interested to get a user report.  I like the look, but I do have a weakness for (1) semi-hollows in that body style, and (2) blue.

[Chris P.]

Same here with colour and body style. It should've arrived friday, then wednesday, and now the courier says today. We'll see!

I had to get used to the split P, but after seeing basses from Peter Hook and some other ones, I got used a bit. And as said, the ones with the white inserts are really different and fresh looking.

A review will follow!

[Alanko]

I'm wondering if this is meant to go toe-to-toe with the Epiphone JC basses.

I would be interested if you could put any P Bass pickup in there and ditch the chrome trim rings. They look a little fussy and make the pickups look too small, somehow, to my eyes.

I also hope they generally use a dark wood for the fretboard. I saw an Epiphone Joe Pass for sale with a Pao Ferro fretboard and it was too light for a stately hollow body instrument.

[Chris P.]

I think one of the strengths of the JCS (and the DCJr.) is that it's easy to get used to it, if you normally play a more Fender-style bass. The necks, the middle pickup. It's easier changing from P top JC than changing from P to SG Bass.

This bass is quite easy too, with a very narrow J-style neck. The JCS is more P. Also your thumb 'falls' on the split pickup immediately and you feel at home. Having said that, the JCS is hollow and long scale, while this one is semisolid and short scale, so soundwise it's very different.

The pickups are wider than P's, but I can imagine the chrome cover will fit a normal split P. You still have the rings then. So active EMG's might suck all the character out of it if you want.

This example has a beautiful dark fretboard with a fine stripe. I like the binding/dots combination.