Guild Starfire I Bass Guitar - Cherry Certified Open Box

4-string Semi-hollowbody Electric Bass with Mahogany Top, Back, and Sides, Mahogany Neck, Rosewood Fingerboard, and Split Single-coil Pickup - Cherry

Write your review

Item ID: SFIBassChd1

Building your custom Guitar Gallery

Certified Open Box Savings!

Save $75 What is Certified Open Box?

The price below reflects your savings.

Savings:

.00

New for $749.99

Condition Notes:

There are small areas of delamination throughout the body top. There may be other fine scratches on various parts of the instrument that have not been photographed; these scratches do not show well in photos, if at all. This instrument comes with an adjustment tool, picks, and informational papers in a canvas bag.

This item was thoroughly inspected by our factory-authorized service team and is backed by Sweetwater's exclusive 2-year warranty. These images are of the exact item advertised, and provide as accurate a representation of its condition as possible. If you need further information, please call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer at (800) 222-4700.

! 1 person has this Certified Open Box item in their cart. Order now before it's gone!

Add Plek Pro Setup - The Holy Grail of Guitar Setups -

$299.00

Give your new guitar perfectly leveled frets for maximum playability, sustain, and intonation.

Add to Cart

Ask An Expert

Our expertly trained Sales Engineers are ready to help!

(800) 222-4700

What is a Sales Engineer?

Guild Starfire I Bass Guitar - Cherry

In Stock!

Add to Cart

Add to list

Most Popular Accessories & Related Items

Q: What kind of sound can I expect from the Guild Starfire I Bass?

The Starfire I Bass delivers a rich, resonant tone thanks to its semi-hollow body construction. Equipped with Guild BC-1 Bi-Sonic pickups, it offers a warm, punchy sound with excellent clarity and sustain. This versatile bass is perfect for a wide range of genres, from jazz and blues to rock and funk, providing a distinct voice that stands out in any mix.

Need additional help?

Q: Who is the Guild Starfire I Bass for, and how does it feel to play?

The Starfire I Bass is ideal for players seeking a unique blend of vintage aesthetics and modern playability. Its comfortable short-scale length (30.75 inches) makes it easy to navigate for players of all skill levels, including those with smaller hands. The slim "U" shape mahogany neck profile ensures a smooth playing experience, whether you're laying down grooves or exploring melodic lines.

Need additional help?

Q: What are the main construction features of the Starfire I Bass?

This bass features a beautiful semi-hollow body with an arched maple top and mahogany back and sides, contributing to its rich resonance and classic look. It boasts a comfortable mahogany neck with an Indian rosewood fingerboard. The Guild Tune-o-matic bridge with a stopbar tailpiece ensures excellent intonation and sustain, while open-gear tuners provide reliable tuning stability.

Need additional help?

Back to navigation

This article was Written By

Our Product Research Team

Get to know them!

A Modern Take on an Iconic Short-scale Bass

The Guild Starfire I short-scale bass holds down the groove with a combination of classic '60s character and punchy modern sound. Speaking of sonics, with its semi-hollow construction and BC-1 BiCoil pickups, the Guild Starfire I bass serves up organic, resonant tones and chunky low-end grind like no other. Part vintage, part contemporary, yet completely timeless, bassists at Sweetwater have discovered a lot to love about the Guild Starfire I. Given its 30.75-inch scale length, the Starfire I is ideal for young players and equally capable of opening up new frontiers of playability for long-scale bass players. Its Thin-"U" profile mahogany neck urges you to explore its Indian Rosewood fretboard and incorporate unconventional bass techniques into your playing, such as chording, bends, and feverish runs. On top of that, the Guild Starfire I’s classy looks absolutely pop, ensuring that you'll command attention onstage.

Exceptionally playable short-scale neck

The short (30.75-inch) scale length of the Starfire I bass makes it easier to navigate the fretboard. It's perfect for beginners and players with smaller hands, but anyone can enjoy this eminently playable semi-hollow bass. The short-scale length lets you comfortably play anywhere on the smooth, beautiful rosewood fingerboard. Just plug the Starfire I bass into your bass amp, and you'll see what we mean.

Thinline semi-hollowbody for comfortable playing and rich tone

Try as you may, you just can't get the same vibrant, overtone-rich sound of a hollowbody bass with a traditional solidbody. Instead of giving you a bulky instrument, Guild gave the Starfire I a thinline body style that provides the woody thump of a hollow instrument, plus the easy-playing comfort of a traditional bass. In short, the Guild Starfire I has all the tones and playability you want in a bass.

Based on the classic '60s Starfire

Classic rock recordings have no shortage of warm and groovy bass tones served up by hollowbody instruments. Bands like The Byrds and Jefferson Airplane relied on the original Starfire bass for their rhythmic foundation. With the Guild Starfire I semi-hollowbody bass, you can get that vibe, too.

Guild Starfire I Semi-hollowbody Bass Guitar Features:

Thinline semi-hollowbody based on the '60s Guild Starfire
BC-1 BiCoil pickups with Alnico V magnets serve up a modern tone
Short-scale neck for comfortable access to all frets and chord positions
Exceptional tone and looks from laminated mahogany back, sides, and top
Mahogany with Thin-"U" neck profile for comfortable playability
Guild vintage-style tuners give you excellent tuning stability

Why Buy Your Guitar from Sweetwater?

See how Sweetwater goes to great lengths to give you the very best online guitar buying experience. From our online Guitar Gallery that allows you to see and select the exact instrument you want to our 55-point Inspection process and our in-house guitar techs, we take the guesswork out of buying your next guitar online.

What is Certified Open Box Gear?

At Sweetwater, we're so picky that what we call "Certified Open Box" is actually better than what most music retailers sell as "new" gear! Our gear hasn't endured hundreds of people a week plunking away at all the keyboards, fumbling through Stairway to Heaven on every guitar or playing with every fader and knob on a mixer or control surface.

Certified Open Box (also known as a demo) means we’ve had it out of the box for our YouTube channel, displayed at events, tested in our studio, or maybe it was in a customer’s hands for a few days and isn’t ‘factory fresh’ as a result. Every Certified Open Box item we sell has Sweetwater’s 2-year Total Confidence Coverage™ warranty and has been tested and verified up to ‘new’ specs by our factory-authorized technicians to make sure it’s in perfect working order before we ship it to you.

When you buy a Certified Open Box item at Sweetwater, you get:

2-year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty™!
Products inspected and tested by our factory-authorized techs, guaranteed to function like new (or better)!
FREE shipping on most items
Equipment that will MEET or EXCEED your expectations!

Click HERE to browse our current inventory of Certified Open Box equipment. Purchasing Certified Open Box gear from Sweetwater is a smart and safe way to save!

Resources

Bass Guitar Buying Guide

Warranty Info

Sweetwater's FREE 2-Year Total Confidence Coverage Warranty

Extra peace of mind at no extra cost.

Save money with FREE parts and labor
Get back to making music with the industry's fastest turnaround time
Fix it the first time with our award-winning, factory-certified Service Department

Learn More about Total Confidence Coverage

Back to navigation

Tech Specs

Number of Strings: 4
Left-/Right-handed: Right-handed
Body Shape: Starfire I
Body Material: Arched Mahogany Top, Mahogany Back/Sides
Color: Cherry
Body Finish: Gloss
Neck Material: Mahogany
Neck Shape: Modern Thin U
Radius: 12.5"
Fingerboard Material: Indian Rosewood
Fingerboard Inlay: Pearloid Dots
Number of Frets: 21, Narrow Tall
Scale Length: 30.75"
Nut Width: 1.5"
Nut Material: Composite
Bridge/Tailpiece: Guild Bass Tune-O-Matic Bridge with Harp Tailpiece
Tuners: Guile Vintage-style
Middle Pickup: Guild BC-1 Split Single-coil
Controls: 1 x master volume, 1 x tone (push/pull vintage switch)
Strings: D'Addario, .045-.105
Case/Gig Bag: Sold Separately
Manufacturer Part Number: 99-741-0020

What Makes Our Sales Engineers Great?

Sweetwater Sales Engineers are a world-class team of experts dedicated to you. Hand selected from across the globe, each brings a wealth of experience and expertise in the world of music gear to provide you with unparalleled service completely free of charge. Friendly relationships, real trust, and the right gear are only a call or a click away!

(800) 222-4700

Contact Your Sales Engineer

Back to navigation

I played out last night with my new Guild Starfire and received many complements on how it looked and sounded. The shorter scale makes it easy to play and the hollow body gives it a classic sound. I am very pleased with it.

I love short scales, as I find them easier to play, especially when singing due to less finger travel. This bass is lightweight which is a huge plus for my bad back and I find this bass is well balanced, no headstock diving. I really enjoy playing this bass out, it sounds and looks great on stage, I've got lots of compliments about it. At the time I bought mine, Sweetwater had 5 in-stock and I choose the lowest weight one, which also was the lighter shade of red, I've seen some that were so dark red, they looked almost black. The 5 string white black Jackson was also bought at Sweetwater.

I wanted a semi-hollow to expand my tonal options without breaking the bank. This is a beautiful instrument, well crafted and love, love the tone! Had SW set-up with LaBella flats and couldn't be happier. Thanks as always to Luke and the team at SW!

Guild Starfire I Bass Guitar fully delivers a vintage experience at a great price. It's a beautiful and extremely well constructed bass guitar with a killer old school tone. If you're looking for all of that, don't think twice and buy it now – you won't regret!

Aside from being a beautiful and well/constructed guitar, the warm and resonant sound from the semi-hollow body is very appealing. The short scale is also more enjoyable to play vs my full scale solid body Fender.

When customers come to Sweetwater looking for great, affordable acoustic guitars, we're always quick to tell them about Guild. At the same time, Guild has brought us some real beauties over the years, ranging from top-end acoustic guitars to timeless jazz boxes, and we're happy to say our most seasoned players agree that these instruments are second to none. As one of the prime Guild dealers, we know that when we sell one of these instruments, whoever gets it is going to love it and play it a lot, especially after we put it through our 55-point Evaluation to ensure it leaves our climate-controlled warehouse in perfect condition. Whether you're looking for your first acoustic guitar or your next archtop, ask your Sales Engineer about Guild.

See also: 4 String Bass Guitars, Guild, Guild 4-string Bass Guitars

Questions about this product?

Sweetwater's Sales Engineers have the experience to help!

Call (800) 222-4700 or email us below

Your question

Full Name

Phone (optional)

Zip

Thank You!

Thank you for your request. We value your feedback and want to know more about your musical interests.

Interested in earning a $50 Sweetwater gift card? Become a usability tester!

Learn More and Sign UpLog in / Sign up

Feel free to call us toll free at (800) 222-4700, Mon-Thu 9-9, Fri 9-8, and Sat 9-7 Eastern.

Guild Starfire I Bass Guitar - Cherry Certified Open Box

Condition Notes:

Frequently Asked Questions