DarkStars in a 4004?

rumbush · Post by **rumbush** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 9:54 am

Wow, pretty cool. Got this from the Fred Hammon's forum on the DudePit. I was thinking about picking up a set of these for my 74 M-85II. Has anyone played with them??

hmmm...rounded horns...

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:01 am

the 4004 HB pickups are pretty cool ... I tried many different combinations to improve the sound and came up short every time ... finally I put the hb1s back in ... and I rewired mine vol, vol, tone with 1000k ohm pots for a wide open sound ...

crazypink · Post by **crazypink** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 10:30 am

I did try and find the Fred Hammons Forum on DudePit without any luck, and Im a member there! Does anyone know what make pickups they are? They are really funky and look great on a black 4004, as always the question is do they sound good on a Rick!

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 12:33 pm

I believe that Fred makes them himself...and, I think that they are modeled after the original Guild M-85 and Starfire pups....http://www.vintagebass.com/thedudepit/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=30&f=11
here's the link to Fred's darkstar forum at the Dudepit and I think Fred has a darkstar site as well.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:48 pm

Fred's site is http://www.hammoneng.com/ . David is right, these are made by Fred himself. They are re-engineered versions of the Hagstrom-made Bi-Sonics used on 60s Guilds.

But I haven't heard them, other than Fred's sound samples. They get rave reviews but I sure wouldn't put them in an expensive bass other than one of the Guilds they're made to fit without modification.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 3:00 pm

I agree.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 6:27 pm

Dunno about me. I would consider putting those into a Rick. A 4004 though, no pickguard trouble for me please. Rick shape and humbuckers (wide humbuckers with the poles showing, like the ones above or Wal humbuckers) just get to me.

I checked that site. I love the look of those things in that Lakland J bass!

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 6:56 am

They aren't humbuckers.. they are single coils. What appears to be smaller pole pieces are actually screws to adjust the hight of the poles.

nattiep · Post by **nattiep** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 11:45 am

Easy mistake to make heh. Kind of a waste of space for single coils then.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Tue Aug 02, 2005 1:48 pm

I AGREE.