OutToPlayJazz

Hey Linus, is your jazz the Japanese reissue or the new Mex 70's model? Loving the colour of your Duck Dunn, btw - Stunning!

£1350 for the 4-string & £1450 for the 5-string at current prices. Rob's last price increase was last autumn where every bass increased by a very reasonabe £50 across the entire range. Rich.

Closest I can find is a Squier Affinity 5 at Machine Head Music in Hitchin. Becoming quite a desert down there, eh? Just checked the bass centre, but you never know what stock they actually have. They are showing availabilty on the Mexican Deluxe 5 & the American Standard 5. Just looked around for Fenders, including at Reverb. Talk about a price increase! American Standards are practically knocking on entry level Status prices!

Hi Bobby, I'd go for the MarkBass every time. I can't attest to the new Peavey owned Trace equipment, but I had a lot of the older pre-buyout stuff. The Trace combos/cabs are backbeakingly heavy as you've already noted, but they are pretty well bulletproof. Rigidly mounted speakers can be prone to distort too, especially if you're pushing a powerful preamp through them. The MarkBass stuff has been a revelation to me over the past couple of years. I've been running mine exclusively for two years & wouldn't change it for anything. Each speaker is mounted in it's own little shock absorber so there's never any distortion or cabinet rattle. The power is clean and unfussed. And the weight [or lack of] is the best bit. I can pick both my 15h combo & 2x10h cab at the same time and make one trip to the car. No sweat, no fuss. Rich.

A couple of friends played that red on last week at the factory. They say it's very nice - If it's anything like my 4-string version, it'll be seriously good. Yes, the body looks odd, but when you're playing it the single cut design comes into it's own. Balances perfectly & sounds utterly fantastic! - Little bass, BIG ATTITUDE! Rich.

Looks like a pretty good price to me, Rob. I sold a much older Energy Artist 5 a year or so ago & it made a similar price, but was nowhere as nice as yours. Yours looks like a 2003 build by the serial number as well. Congrats You won't notice a lot of difference in the overall sound, just a little more string tension than your S2. Barely a thing, basically. The 2 into 1 eq control will sound a little thicker than the newer 3 band system on the S2, but that's about it. Rich.

It was mainly the Moo's basses and Todd's Retroglide. I couldn't take any as I was in the van and wasn't prepared to leave flight cases on view outside the Dome I'm sure there'll be a proper international bash at some point!

Todd, our friend from Canada who put up the stunning pics of his Retroglide KingBass on this thread (or epic) the other week came over to join us for possibly the biggest meet of Status players on record last weekend. Many met at the Moo's flat in Kensington & some of us joined them later at the O2 Arena in Grenwich. Here are a few of Todd's pics... The Moo with his lovely Alembic Series II. Darren at home with his prototype KingBass b/o & the "Stuttgart" bass, KingBass Mk-II prototype no.2 Darren playing Todd's Retroglide Andre with the Retroglide Jamming with the StarChild & early GMT-equipped SII The FPPR (bright red) S2000 which was later autographed by Mark King (curiously in b&w!) Todd & Moo at the O2 The Status crew with Rob & Dawn from Status-Graphite Some of the crew with Mark King

This does look great I've always loved SC's upright playing & he's picked a really unique sounding trio for this project. SMV isn't an aural 'bilge' really. It was the most tasteful way you can deal with three bass players at the same time. At least they all played at different registers.

I've had a couple of BB614's & the 5-string version is excellent, too. It's an oddity in the budget 5-string world, as the B-string portion of the bridge is extended. So you've got a 34" scale bass with a 35" scale B-string. No flappy B there, then! All in all, excellent value for money 5-stringer with good sound, P & J adaptability & 3-band eq. Oh and not to mention Japanese build quality. What's not to like??

Hi Al, that's a coincidence - I played my last official job with the PHD trio (15 years' worth) last night. A really good band, but I've got so much playing work in this year that I can't fit a deal in & they don't have the work of previous years, either. All good things... I'm sure something else will come up for you. Good bass players are a rare commodity.

Zeller instruments are okay, but you may need to try one or two of them first. They tend to have a "lot of wood" in them, in that the front panel is often very thick. The top of range Stentor 3/4 bass is usually better in this respect.

I won't bother entering the contest... I may end up with that wreck of a bass as a prize!

I had one for a short while & really liked it as well. Best Precision I've played (and that includes my 80 Am.Std. last year!) Only bought it for a one week job & ended up not even using it, but it was a very nice thing. Especially the gloss neck lacquer. Feels like a real quality item.

I've never owned one, but I've played quite a few, Sterlings as well. There always seems to (my ears) be something missing from the sound of the 3eq models. A very dull and unresponsive sound, but then again I am spoiled with the basses I own, so my expectations are very high. I played a brand new 2eq model about 2 years ago, fresh out of the box & that was really magnificent. Punchy, responsive & everything the 3eq models aren't. So I'm not a MusicMan hater. It's just the 3eq ones whose sound bores me silly Rich.

[quote name='crez5150' post='430658' date='Mar 10 2009, 04:18 PM']I know what you mean....... apart from the KBMK11 having one of those weird 'Head' contraptions..... quite like a 'proper' version.... maybe a 5 string... hmmm[/quote] Speaking of the weird 'head' contraption on the Mk-II, my friend Todd from Canada who showed his Retroglide KB the other week (I think it's about a page back) has a very special MK-II on order - The first headless model. Looks like it's going to be a stunner As for hypnotism, I don't need any encouragement to buy another Status. Just a bigger bank balance, as Nick will also attest to! Rich.

I know what you mean, Jay - I had a period with no S2's around & it just didn't feel right. Rob's comment about the piano-like tone is quite right, too. Nothing sounds quite like one. It is the evolution of the original Status bass as well, of course. After being at the O2 (Millenium Dome) Arena at the weekend with the Statii crew, Rob & Dawn, and meeting up with Mark King, hearing the new Mk-II bass, I have to admit to some KB MK-II GAS at the moment. Must resist... Must resist... Rich.

Looks like it has the same electronics package as the 25th Anniversary model which is a real looker... I'd really like to try one of these.

Congrats on your new purchase, Rob - And welcome to the 'club'! Yes, they always do sound better on new strings (as all basses do) - Also, for a great slap sound, try having the three way switch in the middle (mid flat position) & boost the treble and bass all the way. Ultimate slap sound! And more than anything, enjoy yourself! There's nothing quite like an S2-Classic Rich.

Being only a month old, they should replace it under warranty, or send it to Fender for an authorised repair. The stripe is the 'access cover' for the original intstallation of the trussrod, so it could just have been badly glued, but it will need checking to see if there is any damage to the trussrod or the neck. Never heard of one popping out before. Has the neck been prone to 'shape shifting' with different weather patterns? Rich.

I've been using the platinum model of these leads for the last couple of years. Excellent product & it really does make a difference. Also, it's supremely high quality. Not a fray or any wear or tear in sight & mine must have done 100+ gigs so far. I'm thinking of trying one of the similarly priced competitors soon as well.