Guild Starfire I - The BEST Semihollow Bang for the Buck? Let's find out! - LowEndLobster Review 

@LowEndLobster, I received mine last week (thanks for the video!) I MANAGED TO GET RID OF THE HUM! I found that the noise issue on mine was due to the fact, that the installed P pickup was both the same polarity (checked with a compass), and phase wired - essentially 2 single coils wired in either series or parallel will hum if one of them is not reverse wound. Reverse polarity on magnets is normally used to keep the reverse wiring in phase between 2 pickups / pickup sections. Maybe a QC issue, that the guy installing the pickups took the 2 parts from the same bucket, and this didn't turn out at final checking. For an easy fix, I removed the part responsible for the D-G strings, cut the blue and black wires long enough to have wires left on both sides, soldered them in reverse (blue to black, black to blue), insulated it, installed the pickup in its place, and the HUM IS GONE! This in theory puts the D-G string out of phase compared to the E-A pair, but there's no other pickup installed to have problems with phase, the sound and usability remained the same at the end. If you have a noisy instrument, check the pickups first with a compass (you should see south for one and north for the other ideally), and if you also got the issue I had with 2 identical parts, and one of them not wired in reverse , do (or ask someone to do) the above fix! By the way Guild managed to ground the magnets of the pickups without using the 2 wires of the pickup, so touching the magnets is not heard even in series mode, where the negative of one pickup goes in the middle of sound - nice touch!

Very nice but Jack with the longer neck , I like more and the Price is the price .. Thanks very good .

Sometimes all you need are the meat and potatoes. Excellent bass for the money. That Vintage mode off with the tone knob all the way down is my favorite sound!

I actually like the vintage mode tone, and definitely prefer the Guild over the Epihone, thanks for that comparison!

@lowendlobster I bought one of these Guilds because of your praise for them Lobster, and you know what? It makes me "buzz" everytime I play it! It's my favourite bass and sounds amazing with the band. Thanks for the signpost my friend 👊

Compared to the Epi JC, that Guild sounds way better to my ear but I'm sure it's all personal preference. LowEndFuzzter was a nice touch there lol Well done.

Ah.......... I love starting my Sunday morning with a Lobster review as my first liter of coffee kicks in. Really nice bass, but with that pickup size I think it would be hard to find an exact replacement - like an EMG - to clean up that bothersome noise issue. By the way, I love those 60's bass lines you played on the demo! All you needed was some smoke, a strobe light or two, and a few go-go dancers. Perhaps you could train one of your cats?? Cheers Lobster!

"Medium" scale strings should work, if you can find them in your desired gauge and winding type. Also, I found the Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Bass strings (JF324), which are labelled "Short Scale" but are actually long enough to accomodate 32 inches, and that's what I have on my Starfire. I got mine from "Strings By Mail".

I actually bought one of these when they came out in April. Love this bass! It is now my go-to instrument. I play in a 60's band and have two Hofners, a Dano Longhorn and an Ibanez. This bass outdoes them all and fits my music and the 60's look perfectly. I play with a pick 90% of the time and just tweak the tone on my amp a bit to not give such definition with picking. I did make the same mistake with the strings. I bought a set of medium scale and those didn't work either so I went with D'Addario long scale flats. I use flats on all my basses. I only wish that Guild would tell you ahead of time that short scale strings don't fit. Great video!

I love the guild bass headstock. Back in the late 70s, a friend had a guild B302-A. A real beauty.

Whenever a bass has hum, the cat is no where to be found. I'm waiting for you to play 'Livin In The Past' by Tull

Cool review. I personally love the Guild. I have the now discontinued Korean made Starfire bass with the Guild BS-1 BiSonic, and of all the hollow body basses I’ve played through the years (Gretsches, Gibsons, Epiphones, Hofners, Hagstrom and more), none can compare to the Guild. I haven’t tried these new cheaper models, but I expect brilliant build quality. I string mine with La Bella flats for medium scale, those are perfect and I don’t get too much winding on the pegs. Thanx for this review, I’ll order up a few of these basses to the store 🙂

In this demo, I greatly preferred the Guild to the JC, it sounded much more defined. I know the strings made a difference, but I can't imagine that was the only factor.

I would really like you to review the epiphone Allen Woody rumblecat. Thanks

+50 bonus points for the Cheech and Chong shirt. 🙏🏼😎🤘🏼

A great sounding bass! The "standard" mode is much better than the "vintage" one with the tone control all the way up but with tone rolled down that "vintage" setting does get some of that early 60s sound so it does have some sense. But the standard mode with tone at 100% is where it's at - really punchy! I like it a lot. And yes, flatwounds really fit here.

Hey, Lobster. That's a great video and a beautiful bass. What I liked best was your beautifully articulate playing. Reminds me of the opening sound track of that old show "Barney Miller." You could play that riff in your sleep. Where would I go to hear music with bass riffs like this?

One of my favorite channels. I trust your judgement and enjoy your presentation. Take care my man.

Oh my god. You had me at ‘Salutations, Crustaceans.’ Best sign-on ever. Instant subscribe.

That fuzz was extra fun. Thanks to whoever had the idea. You are having a bunch of fun doing these vids and it shows. Until we message again.

In "Vintage"/parallel mode, I feel like I can detect a sort of scooped/out-of-phase thing happening. I really dig that.

I have a Jack Casady, same as yours Lobster. I don't understand the hate for the 3-pt bridge. Jack uses them himself, and publishes his settings on the web, so it is not difficult to learn how to set them up correctly. There are NO drop-in replacement bridges other than other 3-pts. Both the Hipshot Supertone and the Babicz full contact have to be kludged to fit because they were made for flat top basses, and the JCS is rounded. Once you spend a few minutes and learn how to set them up properly the 3-pt bridges work just fine for the purpose intended. I don't get why someone would pay $100 or so just to make it a bit easier to change strings or set intonation. I mean, how often do you do either of those things? Jack could afford any bridge he wants, but uses his Signature basses right off the production line. Well, to each their own I suppose

I really like Jack Casady but I can only play short scale. I've been looking at the Harley Benton HB-60 for a while now and at 249 euros and my birthday approaching I think I should do it already haha. Have you ever tried it?

I hear you about ergonomic nitpicking, I have three 30 inch short scale basses, five 34 inch scale and a Rickenbacker 4001 33.25 inch scale. They each have their strong and weak points. I use 32 inch medium scale GHS Precision flats on one of my Mustangs, a good choice for the string through body. I use Labella Deep Talkin 760F-MUS for my other Mustang, they have the extra length to accommodate the string through and would be perfect for the Starfire. I'll take those short scale Labella's off your hands if you want to unload them for some cash. Thanks for the great review Lobster 🦞

Hey Lobster! I watched your review on the Corsair and now this Guild. I'm curious if you've done a review on the Hagstrom viking? I really dig the looks, but would like to know how it compares?? Great videos!

Maybe they call it vintage because it's supposed to sound like the "really vintage" P? Like the '51 with a single coil?

I’d like to see you review the Epiphone rumblecat.

Ever think about a pup upgrade? What would you suggest?

Really digging this! Good point about the difference in scale length between this and the Cassady. Kinda GASing for a semi-hollow and/or shortscale. Also very interested in a Höfner Ignition Club bass, would be great to see a demo of that at some point!

Parallel, tone down, pick. Interesting. Still a little bitey.

I was gonna pick the Jack over the Star, but due to the difference in strings, I can't make my mind up. I love semi hollow basses, but the Starfire seems to be lacking treble. I know you lose some treble with flat wounds, but I've also seen semi hollow and solid basses keep a pretty good amount of treble with flats on. I don't know, the Jack sounds nice, but I wish it had the same strings as the Starfire. The Starfire (although not as boomy as the Jack with it's old flats on) seems a bit too boomy for me, would be nice to have a bit more treble whether that may be the strings or maybe adding more treble in the EQ. Over all really good review. Looking forward to a Chowney semi hollow vs Jack vs Star (I forgot it Chowney's semi hollow is low end/low price)

Looks like a great bass but I'll stick with my Warwick Starbass!

Hello which is the best SemiHollow Bass you reviewed - long scale?

Almost purchased one, very fun bass to play. Ended up with the G&L Fallout.

Just found out they make these in lefty. Really happy about that.

How many of us have a mic cable clipped to our shirts? If that's the only source of noise, I'm in. A bit off subject, but I have some other semi-hollow basses that did not respond to the anemic OEM tone control circuits There are folks on the Internet that will build custom varitone 6 position switches that have by-pass and 5 varied value caps to dial in the tone you like best. I've not been disappointed. Good vid, great information. Subscribed.

Beautiful instrument. In a surprise turn of events I like the sound of a P pickup on this bass, especially with the fuzz. A set of D'Addario XL half rounds would sound great.

Thanks for the review. Just picked one of these up. Do the full scale La Bella's fit without having to wind the body of the string around the post?

Has a really nice old school slap tone. Full of little surprise quirks like a cool, cheap bass ought to be. 😊

New here. I´ve been enjoying your straight forward reviews. nice perspective of the instrument and good balance between pragmatism and compromise with "sponsors". i would get read of that cringy lobster thing. not really necessary and not even funny. just saying. for the rest, thank you. you might just convinced me to buy a sire p5

are thr pickups adjustable in height?

I don’t know but that brilliance of the Starfire fits more my taste and musical ideas. Thank you very much for the review, and the useful advice of buying full-scale strings...

is there much difference with the Starfire II?

How is the neck dive on this beauty?

Phil Lesh played a camera/mic with his bass pick ups catching the interference signal (Winterland 74)

It does sound good, especially for the price. But then, what bass doesn't sound good in your hands...

Which color is the one you tested?

Really like the Starfire, has a better tone then the JC. The Guild was brite and had more treble, agreed more hum but I would choose it. I've lost a lot of highs in my hearing due to bass playing years but please tell me. Others have stated that the JC has more treble, I don't hear that. Am I deaf, thanks Lob

Those flatwounds are a perfect match for that bass. They sound KILLER.

Seems quite capable with one tone that works. Any chance that shielding can help with that interference? Wonder what Guild-corp has to say about it. Also, you didnt comment but from the looks, should we assume you cannot swap a standard P pickup?

I'll end up getting both honestly but how does this compare to the Corsair? Also curious how the Starfire ii compares to Corsair.

It sounds wonderful. I'd say those 2 basses are for different roles.

The hell with the bass I want that shirt!

That series / parallel switch confirmed my thoughts on a future mod....

I was looking for a semi-hollow and this Guild was on the top list. However, after learning about this noise issue (and due to the fact that it is, essentially, a P-pickup), I gave up on it and went towards a Hagstrom Viking or a Rumblekat (settling for the Rumblekat). This is one of the most important factors I consider in a bass, but rarely people speak about it. Thank you so much for the review, it was quite helpful.

Great demo! Nice playing too 😎

Love your reviews. Very happy to hear the distorted tone on reviews, maybe a pick in there too would be amazing. 👍

I owned a JC and could never get a tone I liked out of it. This seems way more up my alley. Does it have a center block? Apologies if I missed you mentioning that in the video!

Does anyone have any insight or comparison between the tonal differences of the Starfire 1 vs the Starfire 2? I mean this: the SF2 is more expensive…. Is it worth it?

The Guild is the winner in this comparison. It just sounds more punchy and upfront. I own the Starfire II. I was going to consider the Starfire I but I didn't buy it because it didn't have the bi- Sonic pickup in it. The necks on the guild basses are extremely comfortable to play. I find the neck on the Jack Cassidy to be somewhat of a log.

That split coil is so wrong, yet so right. 👍🏼🤟🏼✌🏼

I will buy this one, definitely!

Nice! Def want to get something like this for a Steve Swallow vibe!

Do you think the bass will become more “woody” with flat wounds over time?

Wait ,so you get feedback from a mic ?, Hmmmm, that's not very good. Sounds pretty phat to me though, this is close to the tone I might be looking for. The slap tone isn't really working though, such a conundrum.

@LowEndLobster How's the head dive with a strap on the Guild? I got rid of my JC because it was drastic...

what is going on

The Epiphone is louder, which is great. So, playing the Guild its just a matter of the volume knob of the amp to get even with the Epiphone ? However, according to sounds and not loudness, I think I fell in love with the Guild ❤

To my ears the tone of this bass blossoms once you start dialing back the tone knob but nice in all settings and it sounded killer played with a pick.

Love that bass

I was not prepared for it to sound like that at all. Great thump!

Are you going to tell me what amp do you use please? Thank you.

Like. Surprised.

Pretty sweet! For semihollow I went with an Ibanez AGB200 and love it! 🦞

Very attractive bass!😘 I kinda liked the sound w/"vintage tone on & tone down. Warm, but articulate!👌🏿 Hmmm, how would this compare to the Harley Benton Semi-hollow body?🤔 (They look very similar!🎸🎸)

@LowEndLobster Hello! Got interested about this bass as soon as I heard the amazing raspiness of it. I don't believe I've ever even held a shor scale bass much less a semi-acoustinc one so I'm wondering how "playable" is it in the sense of ergonomy; as you mentioned, your left could get cramped after a while.. Any other issues of the sort? Suppose in short what I'm askin is, is it suitable for long practice sessions? :D Glad if you can answer this and if not, well, just gotta try and find one to test out before actually buying one! Coole videos btw! Definitely worth subbing! Keep 'em comin' mister!

I'm 65 and still working on the pick also.

After watching several times your review on it and the 3 best and worst basses of 2021 video, I décidée to get one. Thank you so much lobster, it's such an awesome bass, I owned nearly 40 basses, fender us, ibanez, status(great), sandberg, human base(also great bass) and this one is one of the best I ever had. I didn't have the noise problem you had. As you said the neck feels so great . Very light, well balanced, beautyfull, easy to play, nice sounding vintage bass. Thanks for your advices 😉👍👏

Eh. It does sound good, but it does disappoint me that Guild would take away the main thing that draws me to their basses. I could care less about it being semi hollow, but I don't see a reason to "P" the Starfire pickup. re: the comparison, I have definitely heard demos where it sounds much closer to the Guild. I also haven't heard many demos of the new mini-bucker, which I think doesn't quite sound as good as the original pickups you see in those basses.

Bass starfire ?

Hello, what model is the brown body in the upper left corner of this review? Thanks,

The full scale La Bellas worked? Would the medium or short length be a better fit?

Hey Lobster, is one able to swap the pickup for another p? Using the Build cover rather than a regular black plastic one.

I have a 335 style guitar, and I think the issue with noise is that the wires run through the open chamber to the knobs. Normally you'd shield the cavity, but on a semi hollow it's the whole chamber. So the wires themselves need to be sheilded instaed of the standard pick up wire. I''ve consider wrapping in foil. or only remoing half the paper backing off foil tape and wrapping in that.

Perfect timing! I got the email about this one and was wondering how it sounded

beautiful review Lobster! I was not decided but I will go for a Guild Starfire I Bass LH Cherry Red. Your review convinced me! Do you know what type of strings come with the bass? I loved it since I saw Simon Gallup using Guild :D

Have had the Epiphone JC for a good long while, and just yesterday picked up a Starfire I, could say I now have all my semi-hollow “basses” covered so to speak 😂 Both fantastic bits of kit 👍

I have an Epiphone Rumblekat Allen Woody semi hollow bass that is also great bang for the buck. (I also have a JC). It sounds great and is easy to play (short scale)

Any neck dive? I think wearing the bass on a strap and evaluating for neck knife should be part of every review.

gotta pretty punchy sound, not what i'd usually expect from a semihollow. i like it a lot tho!

Thank you for the magnificent review. Now, a big big question: why the hell Epiphone cannot reissue the mythical RIVOLI?

Can you send a discord link or invite? Thanks

Somebody call the fuzz police, this man is wild 👍🎸🤘 . Nice fuzz touch.

Vintage mode all the way... This is a great semi hollow for the money 🤑. Put that through an SVT or Baseman 300... I think Cheryl Crow would like that Bass, doesn't she use Guild?

Perhaps the wires themselves aren't shielded, which is why your mic cable causes interference in that hollowbody.

Is this bass neck heavy? Had to get rid of my Epi JC because of that.

Thx for the info in your review, Lobsterman! I'm considering bying one, the walnut version. I read this one has a maple top instead of mahogany on the reviewed one. Would this make a huge difference in sound?

Update: Epiphone Jack Casady Bass has dropped in price to $599 now.

I'm not entirely sure who asked for a hollow body p bass but I want it. It's a cool ass sound NGL I wanna play vintage shit on it

Lobster can't play.