Club Dark Star

[sharkwagon]

New to the club. Been wanting something with a DarkStar after trying out a DS equipped Lakland several years ago. Just picked up this Michael Dolan built Warmoth 51 P-bass built around a pair of Hammond DS. Very articulate, massive range, very responsive to to right hand technique (both a positive and not-so-much if you are sloppy )

 

[Eilif]

That's gorgeous! Normally I'm really not a fan of 2+2 headstocks on Fender designs, but that one works for some reason.

 

[sharkwagon]

That's gorgeous! Normally I'm really not a fan of 2+2 headstocks on Fender designs, but that one works for some reason.

Yeah its a very "late 70's Ibanez Roadstar" kind of a vibe

 

[JIO]

Recent Guild DS/BS mod to this one pu (fretless) Teisco Del Rey NB-1 short scale

 

[Eilif]

I had forgotten about this club so I'll post up this fairly recent addition.

Full NBD and lots more pics here.
NBD: Lowdown Dual Darkstar Telebass!
Tim Seisser "Lowdown Bass" built this for me. It houses the Darkstars that were formely in my
T-40/Wal/Decade-Inspired Frankenbass

It's a few pounds lighter, 35" scale and has a neck influenced by my Carlo and my 90's MIM P-bass. Just a great playing and great sounding instrument that combines my loves of simple natural wood, Darkstars and mudbucker telebasses with my personal set of neck preferences. Really a dream-fulfillment instrument.

This and my Lowdown Jazz bass earn their keep onstage about once a week with my country group.

 

[Eilif]

Yeah its a very "late 70's Ibanez Roadstar" kind of a vibe

That's what it is! I've always liked the roadstar look.

 

[spiritbass]

I had forgotten about this club so I'll post up this fairly recent addition.
View attachment 3942165
View attachment 3942166
View attachment 3942167
Full NBD and lots more pics here.
NBD: Lowdown Dual Darkstar Telebass!
Tim Seisser "Lowdown Bass" built this for me. It houses the Darkstars that were formely in my
T-40/Wal/Decade-Inspired Frankenbass

It's a few pounds lighter, 35" scale and has a neck influenced by my Carlo and my 90's MIM P-bass. Just a great playing and great sounding instrument that combines my loves of simple natural wood, Darkstars and mudbucker telebasses with my personal set of neck preferences. Really a dream-fulfillment instrument.

This and my Lowdown Jazz bass earn their keep onstage about once a week with my country group.

Such a cool looking bass (I know it sounds good )! The wood pick guard really puts it 'over the top'.

 

[JIO]

That’s interesting. I have mine the other way (hoping to beef up the higher strings) but never flipped it. Maybe a rainy day project...

An old post - but if anyone wants to flip their DS/BS pu to try the different pole location, you need a rout large enough to do that. If the route is only as big as needed for one position, you won't be able to flip it.

 

[Eilif]

Such a cool looking bass (I know it sounds good )! The wood pick guard really puts it 'over the top'.

Thanks!
Tim threw in a maple veneer pickguard when he redid my Jazz bass and I liked it so much that I knew it would be my choice for the telebass. I like it when the headstock is similar to the pickguard.

Maple contrasts have become kind of a thing for me now (my carlo has birdseye blocks) and now I'm thinking about getting a maple pickguard for my P-bass...

An old post - but if anyone wants to flip their DS/BS pu to try the different pole location, you need a rout large enough to do that. If the route is only as big as needed for one position, you won't be able to flip it.

Very good point. I've always had routes done big enough to flip (never flipped though) but I wonder if folks who buy basses with DS's know if they're getting big enough routes to flip.

 

[Jakeman]

Didn't know this club existed! Here's my Gibson Midtown with Novak pickups. The neck is basically a custom version of the EB/BSx, and the bridge is a EB-Bridge. The Novak's made this bass rocket from a curiosity to one of my main players.

 

[JIO]

Thanks!
Tim threw in a maple veneer pickguard when he redid my Jazz bass and I liked it so much that I knew it would be my choice for the telebass. I like it when the headstock is similar to the pickguard.

Maple contrasts have become kind of a thing for me now (my carlo has birdseye blocks) and now I'm thinking about getting a maple pickguard for my P-bass...


Very good point. I've always had routes done big enough to flip (never flipped though) but I wonder if folks who buy basses with DS's know if they're getting big enough routes to flip.

I don't own a bass that they came on, but I can imagine the rout only being big enough for the way it is installed. (in other words, if they were routing for that position - they would have no need to make it any larger) Making the rout bigger isn't too difficult but does require a router or Forstner-bits/drill with chisels and unless one is versed in such activity it would prove daunting.

 

[Eilif]

Didn't know this club existed! Here's my Gibson Midtown with Novak pickups. The neck is basically a custom version of the EB/BSx, and the bridge is a EB-Bridge. The Novak's made this bass rocket from a curiosity to one of my main players.

View attachment 3942350

That's a great looking bass. I hadn't heard of that pickup before:
EB-BSx
Sounds like a great pup but it begs the question: Is it still a Bisonic pickup if it's a humbucker with a completely different magnet arrangement?

 

[Jakeman]

That's a great looking bass. I hadn't heard of that pickup before:
EB-BSx
Sounds like a great pup but it begs the question: Is it still a Bisonic pickup if it's a humbucker with a completely different magnet arrangement?

Good question - I have no idea. Maybe somebody will chime in...

 

[limit6]

I’m working on buying a rivoli bass at the moment, I am going to drop an EB-BSx in to the neck position if so. I’ll upload some sound clips and such.

 

[Tom P]

A little mid-winter Us Lakland Dark Star goodness.

 

[redstrand]

A little mid-winter Us Lakland Dark Star goodness.View attachment 4154925

Secksay

 

[Chef]

Nice.

 

[Nebula24]

How did I miss this thread?

Love the look of darkstars/bisonics.

Got back into bass with my epi eb0 after finding out I've shorties. Pre-purchase Google searching here knew most like to mod epi eb0 with dimarzio but i prefer the chrome of the bisonic. So after getting nerve up hacked away at my epi and put reissue guild bisonic. Want to say it sounds more full and less metallic than stock but I also changed strings among the way (dead rounds to tapes to low tension flats) and never recorded self. Love it anyway even if can't point to how it's better.

Love it with tapes and ltfs. Next few months plan on swapping out victory gold foil for a novak gold foil once see the bass ones online (just seen FB pics of one) to complete her. Victory sounds great but hoping novak being for bass can be pushed closer to bridge. And I still need to add back 3 way switch after adding a varitone (works better than my tone knob ever did).

 

[JIO]

How did I miss this thread?

Love the look of darkstars/bisonics.

Got back into bass with my epi eb0 after finding out I've shorties. Pre-purchase Google searching here knew most like to mod epi eb0 with dimarzio but i prefer the chrome of the bisonic. So after getting nerve up hacked away at my epi and put reissue guild bisonic. Want to say it sounds more full and less metallic than stock but I also changed strings among the way (dead rounds to tapes to low tension flats) and never recorded self. Love it anyway even if can't point to how it's better.

Love it with tapes and ltfs. Next few months plan on swapping out victory gold foil for a novak gold foil once see the bass ones online (just seen FB pics of one) to complete her. Victory sounds great but hoping novak being for bass can be pushed closer to bridge. And I still need to add back 3 way switch after adding a varitone (works better than my tone knob ever did).

View attachment 4154972

Nice modding! The main reason it sounds different now (other than new strings) is that a typical EB0 has a "mud-bucker" (side-winder hum-bucker) at the neck and the DS/BS is a single-coil. The clarity of the fulness comes from that pu difference. A bucker hugging the neck tends to sound dark, more bass-y and less defined. The second single-coil pu will add in more definition also.

 

[fourstringbliss]

What other pickups sound like Dark Stars?