Oh shoot, I dunno: that was long ago.
Fred told me to measure the pole pieces, I did, and he sent me the pup.
If the old pickup is in the DS box, maybe that says...I can check, if I remember
is there any way you could do a quick measurement?
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is there any way you could do a quick measurement?
Sure.
Bug me if I don't get to it sometime soon.
I won't be home for a while yet, and I get forgetful sometimes.
Bug me if I don't get to it sometime soon.
I won't be home for a while yet, and I get forgetful sometimes.
henry norton
Guest
No, they're single coils but in a humbucker cover.
On that subject, there must have been a reason Hagstrom designed the pickups with seperate adjusters for the pole pieces. It near enough doubled the number of parts compared to single coils with threaded poles.
"musta been a reason"
Maybe so, maybe not.
Saab. Volvo.
This is not a criticism of those cars, just that sometimes people do things differently "just because"
Different means to a similar end.
Maybe so, maybe not.
Saab. Volvo.
This is not a criticism of those cars, just that sometimes people do things differently "just because"
Different means to a similar end.
Well, it might just be the reason was a desire to deliver good quality to bass players who wanted all strings to have an equal output. Might be part of the reason why Guild, as well as Jack and Phil and Alembic, chose bisonics. You don't go through the trouble of making adjustable poles "just because". Just like SAAB was not first to introduce seat belts as standard in 1958 "just because". That was a means to a specific end - they wanted their customers to go through a car crash alive and well. Hagström wanted their customers to have their notes go through on all strings alive and well, so to speak. Anyways, Gibson already did adjustable poles in those days. What they did not do was a wide frequency pickup. If there were ever any need for adjustable poles, it would be on wide frequency pickups. I know I need to adjust the poles on both my DS and my bisonics.
Seriously, neither Saab, Volvo nor H&M, Ikea, Ingmar Bergman, ABBA nor the Nobel Prize got anything to do with Hagström bisonics. Just like neither GM, McDonald's nor Haliburton have anything to do with Darkstar pickups. And that is not a criticism of DarkStar pickups
the new pickups are single! just like were the original , where do you see them humbuckers?
"humbucker"
Some uninformed folks might look at the DS and not realize that what looks like a second set of poles are in reality the adjusters...
Some uninformed folks might look at the DS and not realize that what looks like a second set of poles are in reality the adjusters...
That's certainly true. I have seen plenty of knowledgeable people who have thought DS are humbuckers. But humbuckers would never have the wide range that DS and bisonics have, and that's really what makes them so special (and good). As you might know, the chi-sonics come both as single coils and humbuckers. They sound different enough to earn different names.
henry norton
Guest
Je ne sais pas monsieur!
The only picture of a bass pickup in your gallerie looks like a single coil set in a chrome humbucker casing. Can you post some more details?
henry norton
Guest
Well the reason I'm curious is because the BiSonic was a production pickup and generally production means keeping the price down. Threaded steel poles would have meant less parts and less time in assembly - if it didn't make any difference to the sound then why go the extra expense? Either it was done to set the BiSonics aside from the equivalent Fender and Gibson pickups or it was done because the un-threaded iron pole pieces added something to the sound compared to threaded steel.
Henry (owned one Volvo but never driven a Saab)
The bigger mystery is why the bridge bisonic has a higher chrome frame than the neck bisonic. Two different chrome frames certainly meant higher costs for several obvious reasons, but at least I cannot understand what it would add soundwise or in terms of quality.
Btw, Volvo is an American company (owned by Ford since 1999) and the Dutch owner of Saab filed for bankruptcy last week.
Went for $349 on a BIN.
I love my DS bass and have been considering snagging another pickup as a foundation for reconstruction should tragedy ever strike.
Lately, for not too much more one can be had that has a bass attached to it......
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yeah... I was going to pull the trigger on it yesterday, but... it wasn't going to work for me I need the smaller pole spacing for my Tele bass project
Here is what I don't understand... There is a huge demand for these pickups, I don't why Fred just doesn't sell the rights and plans to somebody who wants to produce them
Here is what I don't understand... There is a huge demand for these pickups, I don't why Fred just doesn't sell the rights and plans to somebody who want's to produce them
I would be surprised if he would have any rights to sell. Any rights to these pickups would be Hagström's, wouldn't it? But I don't think they have any legal rights either. It is basically just a big p90.
The reason why nobody has made them (yet) apart from Fred is probably because it is very costly to make the chrome frame and the bobbin. Perhaps Fred has run out of those and is reluctant to order a new stock from his producers. They probably needs to be ordered ny the thousands. And/or perhaps he is reluctant to buy a new stock because he is redesigning the bobbin to make a dummie coil for hum cancellation, or for 5-strings, or something else.
henry norton
Guest
Because basses like the Starfire had an angle to their set neck, meaning the strings are closer to the body (and the pickup) at the neck than they are at the bridge. It's the same reason Les Pauls with carved tops have a higher bridge pickup surround. Maybe Hagstrom got a good deal on having two stamping tools made, a kind of Buy One Get One Free
