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mellowgerman

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putting Novak Bisonics in basses!!!

mkgPBKm.jpg
 

mellowgerman

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Junior Jet Star?

Why not?

Yes! Always wanted to try one of these little basses. It came up locally for a great price so I scooped it up and I'm very impressed!
It's surprisingly heavy (probably around 9 lbs)... some sources say basswood, some say agathis, but it feels too heavy to be either of those. The neck is crazy comfortable, fretwork is flawless, and there are no dead-spots or wolf-notes. I'm pretty sure the previous owner either had a luthier do fretwork and a setup on it, or he himself did it. Either way, the wonderful playability convinced me to drop a Novak in it. Makes a nice counterpart to my Starfire.
It's actually a really attractive transparent grey/green burst. Hard to describe and almost impossible to capture in regular room lighting. Will try to get some good photos of it in the sunlight.
 

bassman10096

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Yes! Always wanted to try one of these little basses. It came up locally for a great price so I scooped it up and I'm very impressed!
It's surprisingly heavy (probably around 9 lbs)... some sources say basswood, some say agathis, but it feels too heavy to be either of those. The neck is crazy comfortable, fretwork is flawless, and there are no dead-spots or wolf-notes. I'm pretty sure the previous owner either had a luthier do fretwork and a setup on it, or he himself did it. Either way, the wonderful playability convinced me to drop a Novak in it. Makes a nice counterpart to my Starfire.
It's actually a really attractive transparent grey/green burst. Hard to describe and almost impossible to capture in regular room lighting. Will try to get some good photos of it in the sunlight.
You described a perfect platform for this pu.
 

Minnesota Flats

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Routing required, or just a drop in with new mounting screw holes?
 

mellowgerman

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Routing required, or just a drop in with new mounting screw holes?

small amount of routing was required --cavity had to be extended toward bridge about 1"
TV Jones designed stock pickup was roughly the size of a Hofner staple pickup
also made two little black plastic cover tabs to cover old rout and screw holes which were peaking out on either side
 

Minnesota Flats

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So stock Gretsch PUPs are just slightly wider than Bi-Sonics?

Pole pieces seem to align with strings perfectly.

A tempting project, but I'm so used to Starfire bodies that I have trouble feeling comfortable playing little solid bodies anymore, especially if I'm sitting rather than standing. Have a Mustang that used to be all I played til I got a Starfire. Now it feels weird to me.
 

mellowgerman

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So stock Gretsch PUPs are just slightly wider than Bi-Sonics?

Pole pieces seem to align with strings perfectly.

A tempting project, but I'm so used to Starfire bodies that I have trouble feeling comfortable playing little solid bodies anymore, especially if I'm sitting rather than standing. Have a Mustang that used to be all I played til I got a Starfire. Now it feels weird to me.

The stock pickup had height adjustment screws on either side, which were the parts of the pickup that required a wider cavity. The body of the pickup itself was not wider than the Bisonic.

Also, the poles do line up perfectly, but this Novak is one with wider spacing than the standard 15.6mm like Guilds take... 17.4mm if I remember correctly. The bass would require a bridge with narrower spacing to accommodate the standard spacing.

I agree that it's a different feel for sure, but for a long time I switched back and forth between basses ranging from tiny short scale violin basses to long scales like the Gibson Thunderbird and the Epi Casady signature to my old upright, so my hands just need a couple of warm up scales to get comfy with varying scale lengths and body shapes/sizes.

I would say if you have a shot at one of these little basses I wouldn't hesitate to try it out. If it plays as well as mine I think they're a killer deal! I will say though, I know there were several different versions over the years, including ones made in Korea and ones like mine that are made in China, so I wouldn't count on them all to be the same. I've seen negative reviews of the Chinese ones in particular but I'm pretty picky when it comes to basses and I think this one is fantastic. Even the tuners are solid, smooth, and hold tune just fine
 
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