Another Guild reissue

[Highlander]

The shine on your Guild, Bill, is so good you can almost see the whiskers on your kitty...!

[ilan]

Thanks for the detailed review.

I am beginning to suspect that f-holes, while often cosmetically appealing and lending basses a different tonality, might actually bleed off some of the omph of the pup and some lower bass frequencies

F-holes in the violin family instruments are there to make the area of the top around the bridge more flexible and consequently the sound has more high frequencies. But with a center block, I'm not sure if it matters that much. And the Guild obviously has a block.

IME, f-hole Höfner basses (like my Senator and 500/3) don't sound less fat and bassy compared to closed hollowbodies like the Beatle bass or 500/2 (the German-made ones without center blocks). If anything, they have more lows.

[copacetic]

Thanks for your in depth review and pictures Bill. I totally agree with your points on the older versions of the M-85. ( I had both the original wider Body 1968 version and the solid '74 version and they both had a nasal tone. i even DS'd the '74 and voila..nasal!). So I am intrigued by your review here and might have to try one on for size. On of the issues for me with my original '68 was the wide body and having to bend over to see what I Was doing. now older and my back might be slightly bent over anyhow so let's 'see'. Also agreed about the SF reissue last year. sound was not quite there and in the case of that one the pickup placement might have been better. Ya gotta like those thin necks however no matter what versions you get. No ham hands.

[drbassman]

Thanks for the in-depth review. I'm pleased to hear that the pickup placement seems to make sense. Maybe there is a "sweet spot." 

That bridge placement error has to be damn annoying. The reviews of the MIK Starfires on LTG suggest that there is inconsistent quality from that factory. Things like uncentered skunk stripes and unaligned tuners. But only on the occasional bass. 

Speaking of the bridge: does the E string intonate properly? Specifically, can you slide the saddle up enough so the string is short enough? I've had to extend the slots on both of my Guilds.

Looking forward to reading how it sounds through the Mesa!!

Amazingly, all 4 stings are intonated properly right out of the case.  I'm shocked!  Even with the off kilter bridge.

[drbassman]

I had to re-read your post and look at the largest bridge photo to see that the strings are just slightly different on each half of the bridge. Due to the design of that bridge, I'm confident that no one will ever be able to see that it's 2MM out of level.  If it intonates properly you might just want to decide that it doesn't matter.

But for any bass in the $1000 range, I think you're entitled to have it right.

Hey Al, good news.  They have another.  So, I'll check it out tomorrow and see if it has the same flaw.

[drbassman]

The shine on your Guild, Bill, is so good you can almost see the whiskers on your kitty...!

Good catch Kenny.  That's Harley (named after Willie G.'s company), a cat we rescued from the streets of Rochester in December in single digit temps.  He's a pill, about a year old and full of piss and vinegar.  But he's my bud, so I let him live.   

[drbassman]

Thanks for the detailed review.
F-holes in the violin family instruments are there to make the area of the top around the bridge more flexible and consequently the sound has more high frequencies. But with a center block, I'm not sure if it matters that much. And the Guild obviously has a block.

IME, f-hole Höfner basses (like my Senator and 500/3) don't sound less fat and bassy compared to closed hollowbodies like the Beatle bass or 500/2 (the German-made ones without center blocks). If anything, they have more lows.

I agree to a point Ilan.  I think a lot has to do with the variables of wood resonance, pickup quality and freq response, block or not, etc.  I had the Senator RI and it was just plain dull, no life to it really.  I didn't keep it.  My Gibson EB 650 has a block, f-holes, maple body/neck, and TB pups.  It sounds like a rip roaring solid body T-Bird.  The variables are right in that case.

Interestingly, I can't find the right setting for my Hofner Club bass and the Mesa rig.  It's all boom and mush.  I'm still  working on it, but it so far doesn't work well with the all tube Mesa.

[drbassman]

Thanks for your in depth review and pictures Bill. I totally agree with your points on the older versions of the M-85. ( I had both the original wider Body 1968 version and the solid '74 version and they both had a nasal tone. i even DS'd the '74 and voila..nasal!). So I am intrigued by your review here and might have to try one on for size. On of the issues for me with my original '68 was the wide body and having to bend over to see what I Was doing. now older and my back might be slightly bent over anyhow so let's 'see'. Also agreed about the SF reissue last year. sound was not quite there and in the case of that one the pickup placement might have been better. Ya gotta like those thin necks however no matter what versions you get. No ham hands.

The first priority for me in a bass design is a thinner neck, preferably 30" scale, too.

[Happy Face]

Thanks for your in depth review and pictures Bill. I totally agree with your points on the older versions of the M-85. ( I had both the original wider Body 1968 version and the solid '74 version and they both had a nasal tone. i even DS'd the '74 and voila..nasal!).

Must say I am surprised by that "nasal" comment. I'm curious what kind of strings and amp you were using. Some kind of rounds?

On Saturday our drummer came over after the sound check and said "Dude, I love how that bass sounds. It rattles my innards!" And that was with my amp a good 10 feet away and off of the riser. I have TI Jazz Flats on it and run it through a gooey/tubey Orange head. Dunno, maybe it's the amp?

[Pilgrim]

The shine on your Guild, Bill, is so good you can almost see the whiskers on your kitty...!

I was admiring the moccasins.  They look comfy.

[drbassman]

I was admiring the moccasins.  They look comfy.

Quite!   

[drbassman]

Must say I am surprised by that "nasal" comment. I'm curious what kind of strings and amp you were using. Some kind of rounds?

On Saturday our drummer came over after the sound check and said "Dude, I love how that bass sounds. It rattles my innards!" And that was with my amp a good 10 feet away and off of the riser. I have TI Jazz Flats on it and run it through a gooey/tubey Orange head. Dunno, maybe it's the amp?

My comments were referring to a vintage Starfire I and the new Starfire RI, not an M-85 of any sort.  I would still have the vintage bass if it had sounded better.

[gearHed289]

Speaking of the bridge: does the E string intonate properly? Specifically, can you slide the saddle up enough so the string is short enough? I've had to extend the slots on both of my Guilds.

I had that problem on my old 73 JS II. I had to take the saddle off the bent piece of metal and stick it in front of it to get the E to intonate. It stayed put fine. I was never real aggressive with that bass anyway.

[drbassman]

Checked out the other M-85 this morning.  The bridge is a little better (but not perfect).  I decided to take the new one and try it out.  Nice thing is I can always take it back.   They are a great shop!  The owner suggested I write Guild a note and let them know about the flaw.  I'm gonna do just that.

[godofthunder]

  Honestly they did such a nice job on it how could you screw up something so basic?