Bisonic reissue video

mavuser

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great video shared by Curtis Novak.

Newark street vs. Novak reissues.

great video, they both sound real nice. another reminder biggest factor is the player.

 

fronobulax

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Interesting. I played it on my laptop's speakers and I had trouble hearing the differences I am used to which I think are mostly in the midrange. I need to study this some more. Thanks.
 

wisconsindead

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Awesome, thanks for sharing. I wish he had an original BiSonic to work with as well. Though the output varies so much he would've probably need a couple variations. I will say that my order of preference was BiSonic > BS1 > Dark Star. The low midrange/slight scoop of the BiSonic is the best and the Dark Star trebley and hollow :(
 

fronobulax

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My preference is Vintage->CN-BS->CN-DS->BS. That said, I might swap the order of the Novak variations if I posted tomorrow. I go back and forth about which one I prefer and a lot depends upon what I am playing. There something audible present in a hollow (or semi-solid) body that is lacking in the solid body and someday I might look at effects and see if I can capture some of that.

On the video, an original Bisonic would have been nice but volume control and right hand position make a big difference in tone on my installation. My tone knobs are not all numbered but there is clarity that comes from rolling all my bisonics back to 7 or so. That is not the same clear tone I get from moving the right hand towards the bridge and leaving the PU on full. So many basses, so many experiments, so little time.
 

mellowgerman

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Finally got to check this one out. Cool video and cool bass! Wish the recording had been done with flatwounds, but that's just my preference.
That said and after listening with headphones, the Guild reissue pickup sounds good, though the Novak Bisonic takes the cake for sure! I wouldn't use the Dark Star mode on a single pickup bass. For a 2-pickup bass I could see the coil tap function yielding useful variations when blending pickups
 

fronobulax

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Finally got to check this one out. Cool video and cool bass! Wish the recording had been done with flatwounds, but that's just my preference.
That said and after listening with headphones, the Guild reissue pickup sounds good, though the Novak Bisonic takes the cake for sure! I wouldn't use the Dark Star mode on a single pickup bass. For a 2-pickup bass I could see the coil tap function yielding useful variations when blending pickups

I have the coil toggle on a one pickup bass and there is enough difference that I routinely use both positions. I have not dissected the wiring to figure out which is which but one position with the volume rolled back a bit gives me a crisp and focused tone. I use it when attempting to play Bach. Rapid, chromatic sequences sound muddy otherwise. The other volume and toggle positions give me a fatter, fuller tone, approaching (but not getting anywhere near) mud in one case. Switching between them is a preference but they don't make my Bach sound any better.
 

Minnesota Flats

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"The other volume and toggle positions give me a fatter, fuller tone, approaching (but not getting anywhere near) mud in one case."

Please never construct a sentence which includes both the words "Starfire" and "mud" unless it is to adamantly disassociate the two. ;-)
 

fronobulax

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"The other volume and toggle positions give me a fatter, fuller tone, approaching (but not getting anywhere near) mud in one case."

Please never construct a sentence which includes both the words "Starfire" and "mud" unless it is to adamantly disassociate the two. ;-)

To be fair, the Novak PU is in my Betts bass, not one of my Starfires ;-) As mentioned elsewhere I spent time yesterday with my JS so the concept of mud may have been on my mind. And I certainly look for better language to describe what I hear.

:)
 

Mungi

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Cool! Novak's BS sound best to my ears. Really fat sound with the top end still there.
 
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