Late 60s Hagstron Concord pickups compared to Bisonics?

fronobulax

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Good question, for which I have nothing but opinion.

We know that some of the early Starfires had a non-Bisonic pickup. I don't know that it was the same as the one under discussion but Guild was definitely using Hagstrom as a supplier and the time frame makes it possible. So experience with an early Starfire might hold a clue.

There was a later ('70') Hagstrom, also used by Guild, primarily as the bridge pickup on two pickup basses with a Bisonic at the neck, and I have heard those. No comparison.
 

mavuser

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Good question, for which I have nothing but opinion.

We know that some of the early Starfires had a non-Bisonic pickup. I don't know that it was the same as the one under discussion but Guild was definitely using Hagstrom as a supplier and the time frame makes it possible. So experience with an early Starfire might hold a clue.

There was a later ('70') Hagstrom, also used by Guild, primarily as the bridge pickup on two pickup basses with a Bisonic at the neck, and I have heard those. No comparison.

The single coil (non Bisonic) under discussion was also used by Guild very breifly on the Starfire bass around 1966. like this:

UM58Q7.png


the "later (70) Hagstrom also used by Guild" was/is a bridge pickup indeed, but it is a (mini) humbucker, and is also found on Hagstrom basses.
 
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mavuser

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In the late 60s Hagström made a Starfire-like base called both the Viking and the Concord.
They used a single-coil pickup in these, but not a bisonic.
Has anyone ever compared these to a bisonic? Any comments?

Pics here:
http://www.vintageguitarandbass.com/hagstrom/bass/1967_Concord.php

i listened to the sound clips in this link, and in my opinion this Hagstrom single-coil bass pick up sounds similar to a Bisonic, to my ears. I have seen the pick up before, as I posted in post #3, but never heard one until now. great thread, thank you!
 

wisconsindead

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i listened to the sound clips in this link, and in my opinion this Hagstrom single-coil bass pick up sounds similar to a Bisonic, to my ears. I have seen the pick up before, as I posted in post #3, but never heard one until now. great thread, thank you!

Agreed.
 

Minnesota Flats

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ASIDE: (I know we're talking primarily about the pups here) the Hagstrom Concord (from what I've read) appears to have had a significant design flaw: inadequate top bracing. Tops sinking from downward string pressure on the bridge seems to be a common ailment on these.
 

Yggdrasil

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Well, I went and checked out a 1968 Concord Deluxe,strung with d'Addario flats,played through an early 60s B15.

It was a good looking & sounding bass but didn't have that thick edgy bisonic tone. My 67 Starfire is strung with TI Jazz Flats, but I have d'Addarios on my Lakland HB30 and on my budget Eastwood Classic 4. All 3 of my current basses were dramatically more pleasing to my (admittedly Casady-conditioned) ears. So the Hagström failed the Yggdrasil test, but some might prefer it.

And thanks Minnesota Flats - I inspected the bridge region and there was a definite sunken area surrounding the bridge. That alone would have been a dealbreaker.

Oh well, curiosity satisfied - but the Hagström and the Starfire, despite their obvious sibling characteristics, are 2 totally different basses.(which is why I seldom give weight to sound samples on a computer! :) ).

I did once have a Hagström solid-body Coronado IV with bisonics - that was more in my direction, but didn't quite approach the tone of a 60s Starfire, IMO.

It's curious that at the time Hagström was selling bisonics to Guild, that they were no longer using them on their own basses.
 

Minnesota Flats

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Guitar sidebar:

I seem to recall that during the late '60s Gibson used up a bunch of Epiphone mini-humbuckers (which they had acquired when they purchased that company in 1957 or so) in their Les Paul guitars. They had a bunch of LP bodies already routed for P-90s, but everybody wanted humbuckers at that time, so Gibson modified the P-90 covers and used them as surrounds for the mini humbuckers and didn't have to change the LP P-90 pup routes. At least, that's the story I heard. To this day, P-90s are pretty much a direct swap into an LP Deluxe (no routing required). That much I know for a fact, because I've done it.

Maybe the Hagstrom decision to use a different kind of bass pup was a per-unit cost-cutting measure so they sold off their remaining inventory of Bi-Sonics. Were they struggling financially at that time?

Waste not, want not...
 

fronobulax

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I did once have a Hagström solid-body Coronado IV with bisonics - that was more in my direction, but didn't quite approach the tone of a 60s Starfire, IMO.

I have convinced myself that some of the differences in tone between my Starfires and my solid body Betts Bass with a Novack BSDS is the difference between semi-hollow and solid bodies so I concur with your opinion/experience :)
 
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