Starfire Modifications

RVBASS said:
I mustered up the nerve, got out the dremel, and cut the hole. Came out all right 😊 A little rough right now, but I will clean it up. I should be able to salvage the original wood cover and add some edging to have it fit right.
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Looks good! Mine looked like that before the edging was put on.
 
Thanks! sorry I missed you on the Cape, this summer turned into a busy work travel season. We will connect 😊
 
Today I installed a 3/4” deep brass sustain block (a little sloppy on the right edge), brass bridge, and brass tailpiece. I have a brass nut, but might wait on installing that. Now I just have to install the pickups and electronics 😊
 

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RVBASS said:
Today I installed a 3/4” deep brass sustain block (a little sloppy on the right edge), brass bridge, and brass tailpiece. I have a brass nut, but might wait on installing that. Now I just have to install the pickups and electronics 😊
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Neat-looking tailpiece, RV! Good work, so far!
 
Ran into a little hurdle with the JTEX filters. They don’t quite fit right through the body. I’ll have to work on finding some sort of spacer.
 
RVBASS said:
Ran into a little hurdle with the JTEX filters. They don’t quite fit right through the body. I’ll have to work on finding some sort of spacer.
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What's the problem?
 
The threads don’t fit through the body, so they provide a threaded insert but the insert is too long creating a gap. I’ll look into a thin nut for the filter post threads to see if I can pull it back into the cavity and reduce the gap. Either that or a thick rubber washer on the surface. Those are my thoughts for remedies at the moment.
 
RVBASS said:
The threads don’t fit through the body, so they provide a threaded insert but the insert is too long creating a gap. I’ll look into a thin nut for the filter post threads to see if I can pull it back into the cavity and reduce the gap. Either that or a thick rubber washer on the surface. Those are my thoughts for remedies at the moment.
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I see. That's too bad. What about countersinking from the rear? Phil's Big Brown had that, although the maple piece was carved, not laminated so it's pretty thick in some areas.

Good luck!
 
Oh man, I'm thinking about doing this too, this thread has been really helpful! Much as I love Bisonics, I'm thinking of going a Series I route. What can you tell me about that aftermarket Series I kit?
 
All I can say right now is that I bought it on line a few years ago, haven’t tried it yet. I did test the preamp card in a Series bass and it worked fine, but I have not yet tested the entire system.
 
I installed Rick Turner Model 1 pickups, preamps, and EQ. I still have to solder the pickup wires to the preamp card and install a pickup pan control. Then I can see what it sounds like. I’m going to make larger pickup rings as well to cover the larger Bisonic holes. Getting there 😊
 

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RVBASS said:
I installed Rick Turner Model 1 pickups, preamps, and EQ. I still have to solder the pickup wires to the preamp card and install a pickup pan control. Then I can see what it sounds like. I’m going to make larger pickup rings as well to cover the larger Bisonic holes. Getting there 😊
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Hardware looks great! May I ask where you got all the parts from?
 
Almost finished, it sounds fantastic! I still have to install the pickup pan switch and I will make wider pickup rings that will cover the wider bisonic holes. I love it!! It sounds incredible as is, but sending this bass with the Turner pickups and filters through an SF-2 is pure sonic bliss! 😎🎶🎶
 

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You have a few options with the pickup rings, that would be some custom fabrication for sure. If this were my bass with way you built it thus far, I would probably have a custom rectangle black pickguard made, covering that entire center area (and camouflages the pickups a bit). maybe i'd use a tort but probably just black. like this:

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would be in the spirit of Phil Lesh and Big Brown, if you did so. I'm sure whatever you decide will be great.

nice job on the hot rods!
 
Thanks for the suggestion and complement!

I thought about a rectangular plate to accommodate both pickups, but since the center space is unaltered I’m first going to try to make two pickup rings the same size as the Bisonic rings, but with smaller openings for the smaller pickups. That way it will maintain the same footprint. I will either 3D print them or make them out of a dark wood.
 
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