RAM

The satin lacquer is standard on these basses. When I bought my DJ5 (long since sold to a member of this board), I took it to the factory and asked them to strip the finish and put an oil finish on it like the US series. This is normally an upcharge on the Skylines.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='129599' date='Jan 28 2008, 03:38 PM']It's not an Empathy.[/quote]What makes you think it's not an Empathy?

[quote name='7string' post='129336' date='Jan 28 2008, 09:24 AM']Another cool Staus bass [/quote]Why, thankyouverymuch.

[quote name='woolleydick' post='129272' date='Jan 28 2008, 07:48 AM']" Rob Green is an absolute genius! " Yes he is, isn't he? How much is a killer price these days in Chicago[/quote] Well, considering Atlanta Bass Gallery has a nearly identical Empathy for $2,200, I thought I got a bargain for $1,350.

I've been GASsing for a Status since 1995, and being in the US, I've rarely come across one, especially when the funds were ripe for the spending. Well, today that all changed, when a local guy had a Status Empathy up for sale at a killer price, so I had to take advantage. He also had a Stealth II, but I wasn't about to walk out with both basses, though it was certainly very tempting! I'm not one to say one bass or another is the best, as I firmly believe each has its own place, but this bass is really remarkable. The e-band eq is incredibly flexible, more so than most other basses I've played, and playing with the pickup blend really makes for dramatic changes in tone. In fact, that's what this bass does: everything is so dramatic, from its attack, to its rich fundamental, to the eq, etc, that it's impossible to describe. I'm in absolute heaven with this thing! It doesn't hurt that this is quite possibly the most fun I've ever had playing on a bass! When people talk about low action, they have to try a Status. I don't know what it is, but for some reason, I can get the action so much lower on this than any other bass I've ever owned or played, and do so with no buzzing! Rob Green is an absolute genius! Since it's all a lie without pix, here are a few...(not really sure why these aren't showing as pix...can anyone fix them?) FIXED

[quote name='slystewart' post='118860' date='Jan 11 2008, 03:41 PM'][url="http://www.x2digitalwireless.com/product_xdr95_instrument.htm"]http://www.x2digitalwireless.com/product_x..._instrument.htm[/url] Any one used the X2 XDR 95 Guitar / Bass wireless system from the US looks good and seems to get some very good reviews thanks Stewart[/quote] I use the stomp box version and love it! Honestly, the cable that comes with it is pretty cheap, but might suit your needs. You can buy a special replacement cable (approx $40 or so in the US) which seems expensive, but enhances the treble response in your tone. I notice very little change in tone between the x2digital wireless and a cable, as it doesn't compress the signal. I also get decent range, having played through steel doors (just to test its range) and walked more than 50 feet away, having 1 tiny drop-out for a split second, that I couldn't replicate when I tried. The other thing I'll mention is that it looks and feels cheap, but their tech department told me while it may look and feel cheap, they have a video of someone driving over a demo with a truck (!!!), picked it up, and it worked flawlessly. Of course it had road rash, but apparently these things are tough-as-nails. Last thing is their customer service...I've talked to them twice when I had questions, once before buying and once after. They actually answered the phone and talked to me as if I was the only person in the world! Really great service!

There's a luthier I highly recommend, having played a number of his beautiful creations. Chris Stambaugh, based in the US, is build-to-order, and not only does so with top-notch quality, but also at a price that's sometimes hard to believe. I don't know what his international business is like, but a worst-case scenario, he says he can't. My bet is he could, and would probably impress you along the way!

Hi all, Thanks so much for the warm welcomes! For those coming to Chicago, please let me know...I'd love to get together and have a beer and/or see some genuine Chicago blues! And, the blues clubs here are all non-smoking now, so your clothes won't stink after a couple of beers! Thebigbeefchief: I can't wait to engage in some fun arguments! Please don't take me too seriously, as I have a tendency to be right a lot! I'll start with letting you know I'm a seafood-eating vegetarian (though some claim this isn't true vegetarianism). I'm mentioning this because of your username...sounds kinda beefy! paul, the: I may have exceptional taste, but I prefer to think of it as having no taste but lots of snob appeal! I've been around long enough to have tried and owned quite a few pieces of gear, none of which I can justify. But, in working through a very long, painful divorce, among other things, I feel I've had to go out and treat myself to some things rather than pay for my attorneys! We all make choices, no? I just happen to make the wrong ones. My next acquisition will hopefully be a Status 4-string. I've wanted one for over a decade and my wife was always nagging me about spending too much on gear: you should have heard some of the fights we had when I bought my Jerzy! The funny thing about that was, I had the money for my Jerzy in a separate account prior to meeting her, and had told her as soon as I finished grad school that I was buying one. That's what I did. Now that she can't nag me anymore about my purchases, my divorce present to myself will be a Status! Since I'm not yet divorced, I'm still kicking tires, trying to figure out which model I'll get, and occasionally I look at the classifieds in case a great deal comes up. If I find one, I might not be able to wait until my divorce is settled. Anyway, thanks to all for your warm welcomes! It's great to feel at home from day 1! RAM

Hi all, Glad to be here. A little about me: I've been playing bass since summer, 1983. My first bass hero was John Entwistle, second was Geddy Lee, and I've since branched out to many, many players, finding something interesting in almost any non-country bassist I hear on the radio. My current gear includes 2 basses: US Spector NS-4 and a Jerzy Drozd Mastery VI; amp: Avalon VT-737sp, powered by a Stewart World 2.1, into an Epifani 4-10 UL; I have 2 effects pedals (both Fulltone) BassDrive and ChoralFlange; and misc. gear includes an x2digitalwireless stomp box, a Peterson Strobostomp II, and a Shure PSM-200 IEM wireless system. My band plays only covers, mainly older stuff, ranging from The Who to Ben Harper (okay...not so old). We have fun and don't expect to make a living at this; we call it our "poker night". It's actually a nice position to be in, in that we can dictate what we play, how we play it, and don't have to worry about "creative differences", which has broken up more than a couple of bands I've previously been in. Hopefully I'll make a couple of friends around here, learn a few things, and maybe have something to say that someone will learn from; I sometimes have a bad habit of digging my heels in and arguing, but I do it only in good fun. I don't take myself too seriously. Anyway, as I began this post, glad to be here! Cheers! RAM