Can't say I remember this, but the Darkstar pup would make sense back then.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224646077973?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dad7203e6c35a47da9a87e972b65e382b%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D284487615614%26itm%3D224646077973%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DLakland&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A388fa00a-2cfc-11ec-a3fc-aa0a1592ee04%7Cparentrq%3A7f3c56f017c0ab9667b49c1cfff324db%7Ciid%3A1 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/224646077973?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dad7203e6c35a47da9a87e972b65e382b%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D284487615614%26itm%3D224646077973%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DLakland&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A388fa00a-2cfc-11ec-a3fc-aa0a1592ee04%7Cparentrq%3A7f3c56f017c0ab9667b49c1cfff324db%7Ciid%3A1)
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Jp4AAOSwiwhhZv0c/s-l1600.jpg)
Quote from: gearHed289 on October 14, 2021, 08:38:56 AM
Can't say I remember this, but the Darkstar pup would make sense back then.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/224646077973?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dad7203e6c35a47da9a87e972b65e382b%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D284487615614%26itm%3D224646077973%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DLakland&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A388fa00a-2cfc-11ec-a3fc-aa0a1592ee04%7Cparentrq%3A7f3c56f017c0ab9667b49c1cfff324db%7Ciid%3A1 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/224646077973?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dad7203e6c35a47da9a87e972b65e382b%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D284487615614%26itm%3D224646077973%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DLakland&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A388fa00a-2cfc-11ec-a3fc-aa0a1592ee04%7Cparentrq%3A7f3c56f017c0ab9667b49c1cfff324db%7Ciid%3A1)
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Jp4AAOSwiwhhZv0c/s-l1600.jpg)
I don't remember that one either but I wish that I had a need for it.
Probably a nice bass but that tort is horrendous.
Quote from: 4stringer77 on October 14, 2021, 02:35:31 PM
Probably a nice bass but that tort is horrendous.
Don't like that particular kind of tort?
Not my favorite version, but always good with white.....
I remember planning on getting one, but for some reason I didn't. I still kick myself for selling my DPLE Jazz.
Quote from: 4stringer77 on October 14, 2021, 02:35:31 PM
Probably a nice bass but that tort is horrendous.
All tort is horrendous.
There was some problem with the delivery of these. This was at the time of Dude's troubles, and Dan Lakin had lost control of Lakland at the same time. IIRC Dude hadn't paid Lakland and the new owners were withholding delivery, while Dan Lakin had told Dude there was no problem. Or something like that.
Wow! What a blast from the past. Haven't seen one in years but remember the discussion that went on in the Pit about it. Sort of like a build by committee. So of course you get tort :) Yeah, I still regret not buying at the time.
Yeah I remember those.... and the scandals with delivery.
It got even messier when the Dargies got ordered .
Much messier. That's when everything really fell apart for him.
I'm not clear about what happened there, as I was never too interested in new basses in general and new east-Asian basses in particular, nor have I understood the hype around the Darkstar other than it being a very attractive looking pickup in a P/J-dominated bass world.
The tort they used is really horrifying. If I owned this bass I'd have a Gibsonesque 5-ply b/w/b/w/b pickguard made for it.
The old Dudepit was a unique forum back in the day .
Fo sho. I had no Idea you were there, bud.
The anti-tort sentiment reminds me of those days actually. That was like the hugest bloody perenial argument.... except there was a lot more on the pro side. Tort lovers where ya at [hesitantly raising hand and ducking behind the other Canadian here]?
There was a secret Bovinehost forum , I somehow wandered in before it became closed . I'm still in touch with quite a few of the Bovines .
So I didn't have a big presence on the Pit , or the Ernie Ball forums , although I was a member of both . But I saw the whole thing unravel .
As an old Pbass guy I was definitely in the burst/tort camp . Although these days I seem to play just about anything but Pbasses .
Quote from: Granny Gremlin on October 17, 2021, 08:20:23 AM
Fo sho. I had no Idea you were there, bud.
The anti-tort sentiment reminds me of those days actually. That was like the hugest bloody perenial argument.... except there was a lot more on the pro side. Tort lovers where ya at [hesitantly raising hand and ducking behind the other Canadian here]?
I'm very much a tort fan on compatible colors, including white and earth tones. Don't like it on blues and reds.
I also like tort on the right colors (including burst), but it has to be a good looking tort as well, like on the above (great looking) P.
So, a tort discussion? Here's my opinion: either real 60s Fender - or Spitfire tort (in the pics). And only on 3TS.
(https://spitfiretortoiseshellpickguards.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/p1030800.jpg?w=1000&h=640)(https://spitfiretortoiseshellpickguards.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/andrew-basford.jpg?w=1000&h=750)(https://spitfiretortoiseshellpickguards.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/dscn8989.jpg)
Quote from: OldManC on October 17, 2021, 03:31:11 PM
I also like tort on the right colors (including burst), but it has to be a good looking tort as well, like on the above (great looking) P.
That's my '63 P which has a '72 neck. Color is a Ford metallic brown from around 1972.
Quote from: ilan on October 17, 2021, 02:17:26 AM
I'm not clear about what happened there, as I was never too interested in new basses in general and new east-Asian basses in particular, nor have I understood the hype around the Darkstar other than it being a very attractive looking pickup in a P/J-dominated bass world.
The tort they used is really horrifying. If I owned this bass I'd have a Gibsonesque 5-ply b/w/b/w/b pickguard made for it.
The Darkstar was hugely overhyped. "It's a wide range pickup." Big deal, so are EMGs. I want a pickup that sounds good to me, regardless of how its range looks on paper. I liked the original Guild Bisonics well enough, but the Darkstar was a much modified version that Casady and Lesh used in the late 60s - early 70s... and then abandoned. They moved on quickly. If it was such a fantastic pickup, why?
It got so bad at the Dudepit for awhile that every old cheap husk on eBay was posted as "Darkstar candidate?" Ridiculous! Those basses did retain some value for awhile, but only because the same group of people were buying them from each other.
Still, if you like the tone, fine with me. But my clear impression was that a lot of guys liked it because they were told to, swallowed the hype and jumped on the bandwagon.
Anyone knows if the Guild Bisonic was a swedish Hagstrom in the beginning? Or was it the other way around? You, who's in the know, should let the light shine on all of us?
Quote from: Dave W on October 18, 2021, 09:57:56 PM
The Darkstar was hugely overhyped. "It's a wide range pickup." Big deal, so are EMGs. I want a pickup that sounds good to me, regardless of how its range looks on paper. I liked the original Guild Bisonics well enough, but the Darkstar was a much modified version that Casady and Lesh used in the late 60s - early 70s... and then abandoned. They moved on quickly. If it was such a fantastic pickup, why?
It got so bad at the Dudepit for awhile that every old cheap husk on eBay was posted as "Darkstar candidate?" Ridiculous! Those basses did retain some value for awhile, but only because the same group of people were buying them from each other.
Still, if you like the tone, fine with me. But my clear impression was that a lot of guys liked it because they were told to, swallowed the hype and jumped on the bandwagon.
Exactly the sort of level counter argument I have come to expect from you Dave
Personally I never had the pleasure - at what, US$350 a pop I couldn't justify the cost, but some of the sound samples I heard were appealing. Granted, with my mudbucker obsession at the time, it could have been a simple matter of bandwidth in my case.
Guild sell a version today for about a hundred bucks .
https://shop.guildguitars.com/product/guild-bs-1-bisonic-bass-pickup/?v=e71bc9c013d9
Remember this one? Darkstarred 4004L
(http://archives.rickresource.com/oldattachments/57890.jpg)
I've written my thoughts on Bisonics here before. Basically a surprisingly high fidelity pickup for the era. Quite detailed, almost unforgiving. At one point rate, unobtainable and massively overhyped. A single coil pickup with a squat fat coil like a P90, big magnet(s) and a ridiculously convoluted pole height adjustment system copied from those '50s Dynasonic guitar pickups. The cynic in me wonders if Hagstrom tried to pass the adjusters off as a second row of poles, hence the 'bi' in Bisonic... what else is there two of? Glue all that shite into an oversized Art Deco surround and you're away!
I recall that period where everything was getting Darkstars installed?, albeit on Talkbass.
Quote from: Dave W on October 18, 2021, 09:57:56 PM
...
It got so bad at the Dudepit for awhile that every old cheap husk on eBay was posted as "Darkstar candidate?" Ridiculous! Those basses did retain some value for awhile, but only because the same group of people were buying them from each other...
:mrgreen: That made me laugh because I totally remember that.
Quote from: ilan on October 19, 2021, 10:05:28 AM
Remember this one? Darkstarred 4004L
(http://archives.rickresource.com/oldattachments/57890.jpg)
That specific instrument is one that got my juices flowing on becoming a builder. FWIW, I love the new Guild BS-1, as do folks who own a few of my builds with them installed.
Quote from: Stjofön Big on October 19, 2021, 02:51:13 AM
Anyone knows if the Guild Bisonic was a swedish Hagstrom in the beginning? Or was it the other way around? You, who's in the know, should let the light shine on all of us?
I thought the Bisonic was always made by Guild but first appeared in a Hagstrom bass.
Quote from: morrow on October 19, 2021, 08:10:58 AM
Guild sell a version today for about a hundred bucks .
https://shop.guildguitars.com/product/guild-bs-1-bisonic-bass-pickup/?v=e71bc9c013d9
That one sounds good in the Guild Newark Street (MIK) Starfire reissue. Despite the text description, It's a reissue of the original Bisonic, not a souped up Darkstar.
Talked the Guitar Museum, here in Umea, Sweden. They have the same history concerning the Bisonic, as you Dave - Guild pups sold to Hagstrom, Sweden. Thanks for fast answer!
Remember this one? Fender Custom Shop Abuelo Bass from winter NAMM 2019?
Sounds very good imho: https://fb.watch/8PxzZpu8g5/
(https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/n-jpg-_nc_ht-scontent-dfw5-1-cdninstagram-com-se-8-ig_cache_key-mtk2nza1nzuwmjc0odgznjc1oa-3d-3d-jpg.3311236/)(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/04/da/21/04da2101ad40dc29890070f607e71765.jpg)
Quote from: ilan on October 23, 2021, 02:50:04 AM
Remember this one? Fender Custom Shop Abuelo Bass from winter NAMM 2019?
Sounds very good imho: https://fb.watch/8PxzZpu8g5/
...
Sounds good, but not $7K good. Novak Bisonic.