DarkStar advice...

[jazzboi]

Hi guys!

I really like the DarkStar pickups,and I think I've got the money to buy a set of them for my Jazz Bass. I'm only a little worried about them,because I need to cut new routes for them in the body.
So please write some opinions Pro and Con the DarkStar set,hopefully you can help me.

And which magnet distance should I choose to accomodate the Jazz Bass PU placement?

Thanks a lot folks!

 

[DarkStar90]

check out my videos, they will give you an idea of what they sound like in a jazz bass, but i do have an aguilar preamp.

pros- quietest single coils ive ever heard, even in passive mode. great high end (marcus miller-ish, though the maple neck may play a role.). the bridge pickup quite aggressive, but does not lose out on its low end like regular jazz pickups, you can hold the same bottom. (think day of the baphomets intro by the mars volta, with the treble turned down, great jaco tone.). the neck pickup sounds thick and close to a pbass with slightly more balls. think john wetton while he was with king crimson.

cons- if your routing a jazz body with pre-existing jazz routes, be aware that they are longer than the dark stars, and you will see the holes if you leave them uncovered.

they are probably the best pickups ive ever heard. my band recorded an album last year, and right before mastering i finished this bass. i loved the sound so much that i re-recorded all the material that wasn't improvised, which was previously recorded with my stingray. i still prefer my stingray, but in terms of a jazz bass sound, definitely the best ive heard. i have more videos of that bass, if your interested.

 

[jazzboi]

Well the sound in your videos are superb I really like it! That would be perfect in our band I think. Could you specify which DarkStars do you have? I think it's been made in three different pole spacing?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Kenny Allyn]

Maybe my favorite bass pickup ...

This one is a 1976 Jazz I had converted to Dark Stars about two years ago now, and one of my main work horse basses.

You can see the bridge pickup trim ring clearly in the photo.

Pictured below are Fred Hammon (Dark Star pickups), Bud LeCompte (LeCompte basses) and me at the Summer NAMM show. I'm holding my latest DS equipped bass a LeCompte P4T.

... BTW, I like the You Tube vids ... had been wondering who owned that black Jazz