Do you like the Novak Bisonic for your Starfire bass?

My FMIC NS Bridge Bisonic is 7.35kohms.
RWRP CMG Neck Bisonic is ~6.5, iirc
The neck Bisonic is way louder than the bridge even though the bridge pup is closer to the strings than the neck pickup is by a 32nd. Odd.

Oooo man am I late to this party! I'm a big fan of the Novaks and they are very close to a 2-magnet Bisonic from the 60's (if not spot-on). He truly does a fantastic job with these pickups.
That said, doing a whole lot of testing and experimenting, I've found that (at least in my red 1970 SFB) I do slightly prefer the early Hammon DarkStar in the neck position (reads around 8.6k), paired with a vintage-spec Novak in the bridge position. I had a matching set of Novaks in it for a while and though it did sound great, I like the extra bit of clarity and articulation that the DarkStar offers in the neck position. Keep in mind, this is also paired with an ACG EQ-01 filter preamp, so there's plenty of boost on tap and all sorts of very a-typical blending going on.
Aside from the Novak in the bridge position of my red Starfire, I also have a set of custom guitar-humbucker-sized Novak BSX (bisonic humbuckers) in my sunburst 1967 Starfire, as well as having just dropped a custom guitar-humbucker-sized Novak Bisonic in the bridge position of my recently acquired 1962 Gibson EB-0. I also enjoyed my brief ownership of a Serek Midwestern bass with a Novak Bisonic (with the DarkStar coil tap) in the middle position and from that experience can't say enough nice things about that coil-tap option. Whenever the day comes that I order my next Novak Bisonic for some future project, I will be sure to opt for that upgrade. The extra versatility is well worth the money.
In any case, I also experimented with the current import Guild Bisonic. They're not bad pickups, but they can't hold a candle to a vintage Bisonic, a Novak, or a DarkStar. I would consider them the farthest outlier in terms of "THE SOUND". They look great, but honestly sound more like a Fender 51-style precision bass pickup to me than a Bisonic. Again, not bad, just not hitting the mark if they were really aiming for a Bisonic or DarkStar sound.
Ultimately, if I happened upon a nice old Guild husk or something of the sort, that needed two pickups, I would most likely go for 2 Novak Bisonics and wire it up with two separate coil taps for switchable DarkStar tones (but maybe request the tap to be at 8.6k because that's a real sweet-spot from my experience). I think that would cover all the bases, check all the boxes, and be well worth the investment.
Hope that's helpful (or at least worth reading)!

Does the Dark Star produce more high frequencies than a Bisonic?

thornev said:

Does the Dark Star produce more high frequencies than a Bisonic?

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Yes, a DarkStar is a bit brighter than a vintage spec Bisonic, but also quieter and less on the low end.

Novak says their BSDS will make my NS Starfire more responsive and powerful.

lungimsam said:

Novak says their BSDS will make my NS Starfire more responsive and powerful.

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It might.

Not a Guild, but a cool shootout of:

2:21 Guild BS-1 Bisonic reissue found in NS basses.
2:45 Novak Bisonic coil
3:03 Novak Bisonic tapped to Dark Star coil

Wierd. I am liking the BS-1 better. The Dark Star coil sounds a little like the BS-1. I'd say the Novak Bisonic coil sounds darker.

lungimsam said:

2:21 NS BS-1
2:45 Novak Bisonic
3:03 Tapped to Dark Star

Wierd. I am liking the BS-1 better.

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Solid body. @mellowgerman had and sold a Serek.

Ramble on !

His neck is bound but on the Guild website their pic of the maple II is not. I guess they started binding the fboards now. Or perhaps, all the stock bound necks of the Pbass style pup Starfire I are being produced bound and now used on all Sfire models, not just the I?

Maybe one of you guys can write Guild and ask about the bound fboards and the 3mm gap on some bass's?

mgod said:

A Hammon Dark Star is hotter than a Bisonic (we have no idea who actually made them).

As they age, Bisonics all age differently. Much like "vintage" microphones.

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i got mgod'd! thanks for chiming in. I thought I remembered something from Novak or a Novak demo that said the Bisonic is the "hotter full wind" and the DS is the "partial wind" but of course I cannot find that now. I did find something that says the Bisonic is fatter sounding, and the DS is clearer and "more present". I really have no idea. I tried Fronos bass w the Novak, swiched the coil tap and they definitely sound a little different, one was louder/stronger out put than the other, but i'm not sure which was which. the mellow German informed me to tweak the amp when switching from Bisonic to DS, and i'd be a real happy camper with both tones. anyway i'm not sure what the definition of "hot" realy means, is that a measuremnent on a pickup reader? number of winds? or more of a volume contest? perhaps a combonation of those things. whatever the case, rest assured there have been plenty of positive feedback on both Bisonics and DS, and Novaks of course which have both. even the 70's Guild bass humbucker and recent Newark Street "Bisonic" reissue can be made to sound good/great in a Guild bass, even if not like a real Bisonic or Hagstrom, Novak, etc...they can still sound pretty good. just my opinion. The real deal ones of course sound the best, especially in a Starfire bass

lungimsam said:

Not a Guild, but a cool shootout of:

2:21 Guild BS-1 Bisonic reissue found in NS basses.
2:45 Novak Bisonic coil
3:03 Novak Bisonic tapped to Dark Star coil

Wierd. I am liking the BS-1 better. The Dark Star coil sounds a little like the BS-1. I'd say the Novak Bisonic coil sounds darker.

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this is the guy that says the Bisonic is hotter than the Dark Star on the Novak pickup. but maybe he has them mixed up? Mgod would know for sure, about the original Dark Star. i think it was supposed to sound like an Alembic, so would imagine Hammon was going for strong output, on the og dark stars.

mavuser said:

this is the guy that says the Bisonic is hotter than the Dark Star on the Novak pickup. but maybe he has them mixed up? Mgod would know for sure, about the original Dark Star. i think it was supposed to sound like an Alembic, so would imagine Hammon was going for strong output, on the og dark stars.

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I believe that our Monkey God was referring to the original Bisonics, not the Guild reissues.

Happy Face said:

I believe that our Monkey God was referring to the original Bisonics, not the Guild reissues.

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You are correct, sir. Heyo.

mavuser said:

this is the guy that says the Bisonic is hotter than the Dark Star on the Novak pickup. but maybe he has them mixed up? Mgod would know for sure, about the original Dark Star. i think it was supposed to sound like an Alembic, so would imagine Hammon was going for strong output, on the og dark stars.

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It wasn't supposed to sound like an Alembic, it was supposed to be a slightly hotter version of an old Hagstrom.