Dudepit Lakland Special Order

[OldManC]

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.

[ilan]

So, a tort discussion? Here's my opinion: either real 60s Fender - or Spitfire tort (in the pics). And only on 3TS.

[Pilgrim]

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.

[Dave W]

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.

[Stjofön Big]

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?

[Granny Gremlin]

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.

[morrow]

Guild sell a version today for about a hundred bucks .
https://shop.guildguitars.com/product/guild-bs-1-bisonic-bass-pickup/?v=e71bc9c013d9

[ilan]

Remember this one? Darkstarred 4004L

[Alanko]

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.

[OldManC]

...

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...

That made me laugh because I totally remember that.

[BTL]

Remember this one? Darkstarred 4004L

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.

[Dave W]

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.

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.

[Stjofön Big]

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!

[ilan]

Remember this one? Fender Custom Shop Abuelo Bass from winter NAMM 2019?

Sounds very good imho: https://fb.watch/8PxzZpu8g5/

[Dave W]

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.