Starfire 1.5 (Starfire 1 Mod Project)

[Matt R.]

Yup! The shield braid is most likely soldered to the chrome shell of the pickup, so that is grounded. It technically doesn't have to be joined with your ground wire immediately but eventually they should go back to the same ground point. Wasn't sure what the word is... "unity" or "master" ground... you know the big blob of solder on the volume pot that all the grounds go back and join to.

I gotcha, thanks man. Sorry for the dumb questions, I’m more used to installing the Fender type stuff. Really appreciate all you folks helping me out.

 

[mellowgerman]

I gotcha, thanks man. Sorry for the dumb questions, I’m more used to installing the Fender type stuff. Really appreciate all you folks helping me out.

Happy to help! Not stupid questions in my opinion. When it comes to cars, plumbing, etc. I've gotten tons of help from experienced friends, so I'm happy to pay it forward and keep the positive juju rollin along

 

[Matt R.]

Happy to help! Not stupid questions in my opinion. When it comes to cars, plumbing, etc. I've gotten tons of help from experienced friends, so I'm happy to pay it forward and keep the positive juju rollin along

That’s the spirit! I try to do the same.

 

[Matt R.]

Good god. FINALLY, WD is shipping out the surround for my pickup. Hopefully I’ll get this thing together in the coming week or so.
Wish me luck !

 

[Matt R.]

Laying it out. It looks better than I expected. Still have to get it all wired up and installed.

 

[Matt R.]

It’s together now. Hoping to complete things this evening and wire it up. Pretty optimistic that this will be a cool axe!

 

[mellowgerman]

Looking forward to hearing the finished product!

 

[Matt R.]

Yep.

 

[krysh]

very nice, but I would have turned the bisonic 180 degrees. why is is like this?

 

[Matt R.]

very nice, but I would have turned the bisonic 180 degrees. why is is like this?

That’s the position I usually see them in, so I just went with it. Sounds killer

 

[krysh]

well, in fact no bisonic starfire ever had a pickup in that position. the 2 pickup starfires have the neck pickup close to the neck, and the 1 pickup have the pickup closer to the bridge than you do have. but anyway, if it sounds great....

 

[Matt R.]

well, in fact no bisonic starfire ever had a pickup in that position. the 2 pickup starfires have the neck pickup close to the neck, and the 1 pickup have the pickup closer to the bridge than you do have. but anyway, if it sounds great....

Well, in fact the bass had a pickup to begin with, so my choice of positions was quite limited. I’m pretty happy with it.

 

[Matt R.]

The old pickup was in that spot, so they do make Starfires with pickups in that position. The newer single pickup starfires with the Bisonics are in a similar position as well. Mine looks further from the bridge because it’s a different type of bridge to begin with.

 

[mellowgerman]

Once you've gotten to play it for a while, it might be fun to try rotating the pickup 180 degrees like Krysh suggested. Since the pole pieces of the pickup aren't centered on the face of the pickup by design, that moves them a few centimeters closer to the bridge and can make for a surprising difference in tone. Not necessarily better -- that would be down to preference. Typically if a bass only has one pickup, I tend to prefer the poles toward the neck-side, since I usually prefer neck position pickups over bridge position pickups. That said, on the Serek Midwestern bass I recently sold (with a single Novak BS/DS in about the same position as your bass) I was surprised to find I actually preferred the poles flipped around toward the bridge-side. I think it just had to do with the resonance of the wood and construction of that particular bass, the notes just seemed to ring out more naturally with the poles flipped toward the bridge. Might be worth giving a try, but for now, enjoy that handsome beast as is! Would love to hear some recordings if you have the means and find the time

 

[Matt R.]

Once you've gotten to play it for a while, it might be fun to try rotating the pickup 180 degrees like Krysh suggested. Since the pole pieces of the pickup aren't centered on the face of the pickup by design, that moves them a few centimeters closer to the bridge and can make for a surprising difference in tone. Not necessarily better -- that would be down to preference. Typically if a bass only has one pickup, I tend to prefer the poles toward the neck-side, since I usually prefer neck position pickups over bridge position pickups. That said, on the Serek Midwestern bass I recently sold (with a single Novak BS/DS in about the same position as your bass) I was surprised to find I actually preferred the poles flipped around toward the bridge-side. I think it just had to do with the resonance of the wood and construction of that particular bass, the notes just seemed to ring out more naturally with the poles flipped toward the bridge. Might be worth giving a try, but for now, enjoy that handsome beast as is! Would love to hear some recordings if you have the means and find the time

Agree. I plan to try that at some point, and yes I’ll do a short video clip as soon as possible! Thanks for your info, man. You’ve been such a great help in this thread.

 

[mellowgerman]

Agree. I plan to try that at some point, and yes I’ll do a short video clip as soon as possible! Thanks for your info, man. You’ve been such a great help in this thread.

Happy to help and always excited to hear a new Starfire variation in action!

 

[fronobulax]

Just to clarify...

The pickup on this bass is where it is because the Bisonic is replacing the original pickup.

The comparison between this bass and a vintage sweet spot Starfire I is difficult to do "by eye" because of the difference in bridges. That said, most of the images I have of sweet spot Starfires (Bisonic and others) show the neck side edge of the pickup mount even with the top of the f holes, so I could say that the PU on this bass is closer to the neck than a vintage sweet spot Bisonic would be.

Similarly almost all of the sweet spot Bisonic Starfire I's I have images of have the pole pieces on the neck side, not the bridge.

BA-426 shows the location and orientation well.



If the goal is to approximate a vintage Bisonic in the sweet spot as defined by where the pole pieces are relative to the speaking length of the string, I would expect flipping the PU would get closer.

 

[SFIV1967]

BA-426 shows the location and orientation well.

BA 270 as well to compare:



Ralf

 

[Minnesota Flats]

Nice job, Matt!

Glad you're happy with the results, sound-wise, as well as appearance-wise.

 

[Matt R.]

Nice job, Matt!

Glad you're happy with the results, sound-wise, as well as appearance-wise.

Thanks! I’ll be more certain (I hope) that it kicks ass this weekend when I play it live.