I've never heard one "in the real" but only from
YouTube and [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I do really like the sound of this pup (sexy!), but to me the real cherry on the sundae is the looks. The only truly good looking bass pickups out there in my book. I mean, just look at this babe:
Looks great, sounds great, what's not to like?
Hey Fuzz...
Full disclosure - I am thrilled that you are thrilled and I can't wait to see your new red beauty. I know you have been planning it for a long time and it must be driving you crazy that the neck and body have not arrived at your doorstep as of yet! Patience my friend, goes a long way and it should be more than worth it in the end! Good luck with it and I must say the cream or ivory on those pickups is very striking. I am not sure I have ever seen any quite like that. I am looking forward to seeing that puppy strung up and working. RedHotFuzz indeed!
However, as you may have guessed - I do have ulterior motives....
First of all, if you look at my builds and my basses, I have always believed and always will - that pickups should be heard but not necessarily seen. That is why a significant portion of my basses have piezos only. I like the clean look of no pickups when I can get away with it - and like some of the G&L and MusicMan pickups - the Darkstars are really way too big for me. What looks great to me is no pickups - not an oversize one. It's of course, totally subjective, not trying to hurt anyone's feelings here at all - but if you want me to speak my truth, and I am hoping that you do - well, there it is. They are beautiful to you and even amazing on some level - but just not for me.
Having said that, I am also a tradition guy. When I do my "copycat" builds in medium scale, I generally try and keep to the tradition of the original pickups, at least in the "looks" category. On some builds - it would be silly to go piezo only - but what I stuff under the pickup covers is my own business.
Unfortunately, on a couple of counts - I was never enamored by the sound of the original Darkstars. My guitar player had a Starfire, and I logged a good amount of time playing it at rehearsals. He also had a Hagstrom bass with a Darkstar that I banged around on a little. I liked a lot about the Guild, but I never cared for the sound of either of them amplified. When I moved to my EB-0, the only way I could deal with the mudbuckers, which to me at the time I felt were VERY similar to the Darkstars - was to replace the capacitor with one that was much brighter in the mids. I would also lock down a wah-wah pedal in the full buns treble position. Admittedly, it was a little noisy but suddenly barking with only a pinch of EQ - but really?
So fast forward - I have another vintage Gibson build in the early stages of planning that will have an EB-0 pickup cover. Just trying to decide what to put under it. I kind of hate the fact that the thing is huge - so I could put almost anything under there. So I have this moral dilemma. Do I want it so sound like a GIBSON with a full buns awful mudbucker, and go out and buy a wah-wah pedal and doctor up the capacitor? Do I want to get a Novak bisonic that he designed to sit under that EB-O cover and have a bass that sounds good, but in truth sounds nothing like an EB-O? It's a tough decision. TB wears me out when folks get their new Fender and the first thing they do is swap the pickups out so it no longer sounds like a Fender. "Wow, my Fender is really KILLER now that the Fender pickups are gone." Really? I don't know, it's just a little weird to me, but I suppose it is just as weird to put in the capacitor and pump in the wah-wah pedal. After all mods are mods and once you start does it really matter? The original instrument is suddenly no where to be found.
So, I am trying to learn and trying to get past my youthful prejudices with respect to the Darkstar and the Starfire - and trying to figure out what is right for me. What works for you Fuzz, is a P Bass with an ivory Darkstar, and I salute you and wish you nothing but the best with the build and the hope that it gives you many long hours of joy and satisfaction!
So, yes, I will be keeping my eye on this thread with fascination, and hopefully the Darkstar folks and the Novak folks will be able articulate the ins and outs and maybe some of the history of both - so I can learn more about the similarities and differences and how they have both gotten better and better in the modern versions. Hoping there might even be some new sound clips!
