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Curtis Novak's Darkstar bisonic pickup...

#81
mellowgerman said:
Just received my Curtis Novak pickup the other day. Below is a photo of it installed in my 1965 Guyatone EB-4. Absolutely in love with this pickup. Wired for bisonic output (in the low teens, as discussed above). The bass is now unbelievably close in tone to the 1966 Guild Starfire bass I used to own. In the past I've had several Dark Star pickups and original Hagstrom Bisonics, as well as a Hanson CS (chi-sonic). I could not be happier with this Novak pickup. To my ears, in comparison to the Dark Star pickups I've owned, this one is warmer/mellower and closer to the original Hagstrom Bisonic tone. Some people like the more aggressive DS tone, but for me, my playing style, and applications, mellower is better in this case. Certainly not to say that I didn't love my Dark Stars too though. Anyway, hoping to have some demo clips up soon.
Two thumbs way up when it comes to these pickups!

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That is cool as all get out!!! I saw this bass recently for sale in Nashville perhaps? Very cool!
 
#82
Thanks! And yup, I bought this bass from the awesome folks at Nashville Fretworks. After I felt the neck (almost upright-ish mass) I had to have it. The stock pickup was alright, but it was a bit boomy on certain notes... gave me a good excuse to get in touch with Curtis about one of these pickups :D
 
#86
jumbodbassman said:
that bass sounds great. great bisonic vibe need to order when i get a job :-(
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Thanks, Curtis really hit it out of the park with these pickups!

But if you get a job you won't have time to play on your bisonic'd bass!
:hiding:

I'd love to hear more demos with these pickups in different basses though; a long-scale, a fretless, a hollowbody, etc. If I'm ever able to get the extra scratch together, I'd love to pick up an Ibanez AFB artcore and drop a set of these into it... but I'm also not in any position to drop more dough on music gear at this point
 
#88
I'm actually moving back to New York on February 2nd to be full-time bassist for the band Honey Spine. I'm pretty sure we'll be playing at the Tin Roof in Nashville though on February 12th if I'm not mistaken.
In regard to Ibanez Artcores, they really like Bisonic-family pickups ;) Not to stoke your GAS, but here are a few photos of an Artcore I owned and modded in the past:
DSC00661.jpg

IMG_0885.jpg
 
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#93
I had the chance to try a bass with these pickups newly installed. It was a Lakland Skyline Decade originally with the Chi's but changed to the Novak pups. I also have owned a couple of basses with FH Darkstars and have a set of FH Darkstars waiting for a project. My impressions of the Novak seem to be very similar to yours, mellowgerman:

1. Novak pup: tubby, round, smooth, warm. Sounds almost like a P pickup if it was placed close to the neck of a bass. Good articulation from note to note, but smooth enough that notes sound even and with similar character...in other words, no huge changes across the spectrum.

2. FH Darkstar: what can I write about this one that hasn't been said? Round, but with some drive. Better clarity from note to note than the Novak, but not as smooth. Think "Barts vs Quarter Pounders" here. Love these pups for my purposes, can get some very aggressive tones.

3. Chi Sonic: of the three, can be the most in your face. This can be good or bad depending on what you want. Definitely the most mid forward, and kind of hard (I find) to eliminate the grind if you want to...it's just the character of the pups...middy, grindy, up-front.

I am aware it is quite difficult and totally subjective to try and describe the subtle differences in pickups over the internet, but it may help for those with GAS pains and not enough funds to indulge all of them.
 
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#95
Rumblefisher thanks for that mini review. but had the wrong effect. major GAS but i have all three already.... though my CN's are in a ripper/p90 type that curtis built just before he released the bisonics and without the coil tap though the series/parallel switch does a wonderful thing...
 
#97
wisconsindead said:
not enough to fund all of them!? how about one!

What is this ChiSonic you speak of?
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:)

http://www.hansonpickups.com/chisonics.htm


Granted, approximately $300 is a good bit of cash for most of us...but you really do get a great deal for that money. The design, attention to detail, and labor intensive nature of the DS pups drives up the cost. Heck, I've paid more for pedals, as many of us have...
The Chi's are the cheapest, no doubt due to Lakland/Hanson's ability to make them in house and pass on that ability in the form of a lower price point to the consumer.

I know it's not really the point of this thread, but Chi Singles = perfect J sound for me.

Getting back to the matter at hand...Novak pups, overall, wonderful pickup, much more available than the FHDS unobtanium, excellent build, faithful sound to the original Guild/Hag variety and well worth the price of admission.
 
#98
thanks rumblefisher.

Could one of you guys explain this coil tap? I am under the impression that it provides the ability to get either the more "Dark star" sound or the bi-sonic sound. Correct?

Also how do you work this switch? Must you unscrew the pickup to activate one setting or the other?
 
#99
Pretty sure pickups with the coil tap option have 3 tabs for leads. One is the ground, one is for half of the coil (for DS tones) and one for the entire coil (vintage bisonic tone). You could wire up a switch to go between the two
 

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