What's the deal with Dark Star pickups????

[derelicte]

Personally, i think they look absofriggin-ridiculously-fugly. i cannot, for the life of me, see the appeal in these. from what i've read it has a "Vintage" sound.. but so do a lot of other more well-regarded pickups like nordstrand or barts.

plus, they're so big n has those nasty chrome edges.. i find it so tacky n cannot find a single reason to ever get them. i understand that it's only a matter of preference and at the risk of sounding even more immature n narrow-minded, i'll just admit that i'm not very knowledgeable about pickups. please help me to understand.

[envika]

ever heard one?
www.basspickup.com

[Beej]

They have an extremely wide frequency response, they are silent, matched and give rise to a huge tonal variation. In short, they sound awesome. Sure they are ugly, but that's just a matter of taste...

[Thump Jr.]

People like their looks and sound. They're good pickups. I think soapbars are ugly and plain, but I just go on and am happy for people who like them and the basses that come with them, rather than start a thread about "OMG i don't like (something) how could you?", which is honestly how you're coming across (at least, from my perspective).

In short, people like their looks or their sounds or what have you. I like how different they are, and their retro looks. I like the chrome edges. You use whatever you want, and I'll be happy for you when you do. One of these days, I'd like to have a bass with Dark Stars. That's why Hammon, Bartolini, and Nordstrand are all in business, much like chocolate and vanilla ice cream.

It's just personal preference. What's your beef?

[main_sale]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's for certain. I think they look fine. For me, playing bass has always been about tone. Appearance has nothing to do with tone. This one came with the Dark Star from Lakland.

[envika]

Originally Posted by main_sale

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's for certain. I think they look fine. For me, playing bass has always been about tone. Appearance has nothing to do with tone.

NICE! Is it worth the $200?

[troyus]

Originally Posted by derelicte

Personally, i think they look absofriggin-ridiculously-fugly. i cannot, for the life of me, see the appeal in these. from what i've read it has a "Vintage" sound.. but so do a lot of other more well-regarded pickups like nordstrand or barts.

plus, they're so big n has those nasty chrome edges.. i find it so tacky n cannot find a single reason to ever get them. i understand that it's only a matter of preference and at the risk of sounding even more immature n narrow-minded, i'll just admit that i'm not very knowledgeable about pickups. please help me to understand.

Hehehe, you buy your pickups based on what they look like? That's kind of like choosing a pickguard based on what it sounds like.

[Sparkdog]

Personally, Darkstars give me a woody!

(I'm talking tone of course

Does anyone know if you can get one in a Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub, or is that a US only option?

[derelicte]

Originally Posted by troyus

Hehehe, you buy your pickups based on what they look like? That's kind of like choosing a pickguard based on what it sounds like.

yes and no. i prefer to have a pickup that sounds great n looks great too. and your analogy is completely off the mark; it's more like picking a guitar strap.. some prefer comfort straps, some cloth, and some leather. if it makes the bass feel light as air would u still wear it if was PINK and had Hello Kitty faces everywhere???

[4Mal]

a work in progress - but it already sounds sweeet! far as looks go - I'm lookin for tone ... and as I have the J, P, and MM sounds pretty well in hand - other flavors are more interesting now ...

[GeneralElectric]

I don't mind the way they look too much, but I think the retaining bar would look better in black.

[Nikoubis]

Originally Posted by envika

ever heard one?
www.basspickup.com

What, you purchase your gear based on how it sounds?

[jsingles]

not questioning how good these sound, but i agree they are ugly, wether or not thats an important thing to the buyer or not.

[Jazz Ad]

They sound fantastic is the deal !
I enjoy the looks too and the height adjustement is great.

[troyus]

Originally Posted by derelicte

yes and no. i prefer to have a pickup that sounds great n looks great too. and your analogy is completely off the mark; it's more like picking a guitar strap.. some prefer comfort straps, some cloth, and some leather. if it makes the bass feel light as air would u still wear it if was PINK and had Hello Kitty faces everywhere???

They look really nice in the right kind of bass. I have a set of DeArmond's which is a little cousin to the Darkstar and the tone you get from them is way more balanced than anything else I've used.... Works awesome for chording on a bass.

[UncleBalsamic]

The deal is that they sound great. You don't like the looks, that's cool, but a whole load of people do. I wouldn't dismiss a pickup on the appearance alone.

Edit: Are darkstars not well regarded pickups now? They are very highly regarded around here, maybe you meant more well known or typical (Nordstrand and barts)? I'm sorry to pick apart your wording.

[derelicte]

Originally Posted by UncleBalsamic

The deal is that they sound great. You don't like the looks, that's cool, but a whole load of people do. I wouldn't dismiss a pickup on the appearance alone.

Edit: Are darkstars not well regarded pickups now? They are very highly regarded around here, maybe you meant more well known or typical (Nordstrand and barts)? I'm sorry to pick apart your wording.

my mistake.. that's what i meant. i was careless with my word selection

[prattguy]

I will help you understand.

Most of us musicians (not posers) give more importance to what we hear, instead of being too picky about looks, i mean that if some instrument has something very good going on sonically, one can then be worried about the appearance, not the other way around. IMHO i would dump the good looks of my Spector and Fender Jazzes if somehow adding ugliness to them they would sound proportionally better. Heck...i´d play a solid turd with strings if it had THE tone i was looking for.

That is assuming that Darkstars looked ugly, personally i think that they look Hot Rod, and have that vintage vibe that says "Plug me into an SVT and unleash hell...", not everyone is in the market only for a super slick Fodera-type instrument (i love those too) , some of us also like that BadAss vibe that a P-Bass or J-Bass with DS pups has, they even make me think of a perfectly tuned Camaro or Mustang.

Even a fine manufacturer like Lakland offers them as factory options on their instruments, and also they have a bass that is built around the Darkstar concept, The Decade.

Hope this helps.

[poomwah]

Originally Posted by derelicte

yes and no. i prefer to have a pickup that sounds great n looks great too. and your analogy is completely off the mark; it's more like picking a guitar strap.. some prefer comfort straps, some cloth, and some leather. if it makes the bass feel light as air would u still wear it if was PINK and had Hello Kitty faces everywhere???

YES I would. and I'd laugh at the insecure metal head with the sore back and sore shoulder, but the ultracool heavy ass metal studded bass and matching strap :]

[poomwah]

Originally Posted by 4Mal

a work in progress - but it already sounds sweeet! far as looks go - I'm lookin for tone ... and as I have the J, P, and MM sounds pretty well in hand - other flavors are more interesting now ...

what model samick is that, that is NICE, how does it sound? what style of music do you use it for?