Chris2112

Of all the incredibly talented bassists to be playing the park that day, amazing it was Victor Wooten! Would have loved to have seen the show.

My favourite bass advert was the one with Mark King playing the headless Status bass, it was an advert for some strings but I can't remember the brand. I'm sure I got it as a paper insert with my Live at Wembley DVD!

I think you could do a lot better for your money if you shop around. The same budget could see you getting fantastic used kit through places like Basschat.

[quote name='Wil' post='1211726' date='Apr 26 2011, 03:11 PM']All the things you mention though are rather subjective. I'd rather an S2 sound warm than crisp, for instance. I do prefer the looks of the early ones, but it's all a matter of taste really.[/quote] And therein lies the rub - I've never thought of Status as being a particularly warm or organic sounding basses. Both my Stealth and Matrix basses were crisp and clear. The Stealth was particularly stunning. I love bright tones, but on the other hand I also love burpy, organic sounds. ACG and Wal do that for me. So in my current dilemma, I wonder; do I chase a headless slap machine (of which it would share a role with my Kubicki as my Kubicki is fantastic at this sort of thing) or do I go for a fretless ACG bass? Or even a fretless Wal? Hmm...

[quote name='BassBus' post='1211635' date='Apr 26 2011, 01:13 PM']When you refer to this as "frisk" I think you're being a little unfair here. Rob's basses have evolved through the years as they should. Life cannot stand still. Your feelings seem to be in the minority judging by the increase in the waiting time over the last few years. Status basses are custom instruments and as such are available with almost any custom option Rob can provide. The anniversary bass is being produced to celibrate the 30th anniversary of the company. If you want a bass in this form they do come up for sale from time to time. Indeed there was a very nice example that sold very recently.[/quote] Yes, the basses have evolved through the years. A Stealth bass would have been unimaginable years ago. The Kingbass mk1 is the best design Rob has done IMO. But I don't believe the S2 has 'evolved' and gotten better. Sure, a modern S2 is a great bass but the old ones are so much better. I preferred the look the of the full graphite paddle with the wooden wings attached. They sounded better too, far crisper and more aggressive. The two piece bridge was a better item than the monorails. The old square neck profile was unique and I really enjoyed it. The basses might have been a bit heavier but the pros outweighed the cons. You say Status are a custom builder and this is of course true, but for a faithful recreation of the old S2 here we are seeing a massive price tag and I doubt it'll be offered as a standard model. The new S2 sales would take a hit, I am sure of it. But I reckon if Rob retired the 'new' S2 and brought back this classic model S2 sales would increase. And it's not a step back, because the older model was better. Sure, it might have been a bit heavier and more expensive to produce but the old S2's are some of my favourite basses of all time, the new S2's are just really good. As for the Wal thing, I'd probably want an 80's/early 90's model. I'm looking into that as an option for consolidating my collection.

Greetings from another Geordie forum user here!

Yes, I cannot stress how much I love the old S2 basses. They are great. I would be on the phone to Rob today ordering a new one if they were made like this. I love the touches like the GMT pickups, the two piece bridge etc etc. The new ones are great basses but they aren't a patch on the old ones. I could do without the slightly tacky looking script above the neck pickup and I'd prefer plastic controls too. If only Rob would bring these back properly.

[quote name='guyl' post='1211294' date='Apr 25 2011, 10:54 PM']Bill Conklin is a pleasure to speak with. I had the impression he really cares. I wonder why he has problems with his "value" range. Overwater seem to be making the effort to control the quality of theirs....[/quote] I don't think it's a lack of effort on Bill Conklin's part. Remember that the Groove Tools operation was far, far bigger than Overwater's venture into a buget range. At their peak, Groove Tools basses were selling very well in America and were being carried by major stores like Guitar Centre. So many Groove Tools basses were sold that Overwater couldn't even dream of matching those figures. At the same time, Bill Conklin was cresting a wave as Talkbass seemed caught in an ERB frenzy a few years ago. A Conklin was the bass to have, and with Bill being the main man in the US for building a bass like that, as well as doing guitars and his EUB thing they were extremely busy. Surely, more busy than Overwater's shop has ever been (no disrespect). So, you're one of the most sought after luthiers in the country (and not forgetting how massive America is...), in a period of particular interest and your name is also appearing on large numbers of basses produced in Asia to be sold as 'buget' instruments. Surely something has to give somewhere! In fact though, it appears that quality control was never a massive issue for Conklin. I recall Bill saying he was very pleased with the Groove Tools project when it initially closed. Groove Tools basses have always been well spoken of, as an accessible means to a 7 string bass or just as a well made 4 or 5 string bass. I think the biggest problem Bill had was managing relations with the builder/supplier and eventually it went south or the contract ended and was not renewed. This was the era when GT basses were referred to as discontinued, although Bill spoke tenatively at the time of bringing back a buget range of instruments. Since they came back to the market there seems to have been some quality control issues, but again this would be a difficult thing for Bill to tackle directly. He'd have to go to Westheimer with his concerns and hope they can fix it. However, he is running his shop day to day so I expect these issues are just a fly in the ointment right now as his main concern is no doubt knocking out top quality handmade instruments.

Now, this is what is known as a 'frisk'... I present to you one of the most stunning looking basses Status have made in ages. Now, the big shame here is that this is how Status basses should be made. Rob would sell thousands of these things if this was how he made them. Proper paddle through neck, old skool looks, old skool vibe. If he was knocking these out as a standard item I'd place an order for a new one right now. But I'm not about to pay over the odds for 'special editions'. I've been thinking of buying a Wal bass if I can't find a Status Kingbass, or ordering a fretless ACG - so we are talking about basses of serious quality here. I'd love if it Status would make their S2 basses like this again but as it stands I don't really love the new S2 basses like I love other Status items.

I think my 1989 Kubicki basses are as close as I'll get!

[quote name='janmaat' post='1211280' date='Apr 25 2011, 10:35 PM']close contender [/quote] Yeah, why engineer some of the best cars in the world when you could be looking at pictures of sturdy women holding Esh basses?

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1210514' date='Apr 24 2011, 11:38 PM']ACG are closer...[/quote] No distance is too far for an ACG. They are the best, and so worth whatever effort it takes to get your hands on one.

[quote name='steverickwood' post='1204198' date='Apr 18 2011, 09:55 PM']I think Peter Collins (Rush producer, amongst others) introduced Geddy Lee to the Wal, and thus began a new phase of tone for said bass player. Dire straits bassist also used one (if he hasn't been mentioned) and Rob Burns (TV sessions etc and tutor at basstech) used them extensively. they are fab![/quote] This is correct. Peter favoured them as he had come straight from the English pop scene where they were the bass of choice for the studio. He let Geddy use his which IIRC was used to record the Power Windows demo, Geddy bought a couple of his own and took delivery of them prior to recording Power Windows properly. Best tone he had ever had!

The last great Ibanez Prestige bass was the SR3006.

I've only seen a couple of Groove Tools 4 strings for sale in the UK. Bill Dickens played one in the DVD he made, it sounded good for what he does bu8t I can't imagine a lot of people getting on with that sound. His 7 string basses sounded very different. It's interesting to remember that Bill initially went to Conklin to get a 7 string bass because Peavey wouldn't make him one!

Kai Eckhardt is the man.

Realistically, I don't think there is a big enough market for these basses in the UK. 6 string basses are hard enough to find, add to that an unreliable vendor and you've got a pretty lame business proposition sadly. I don't think I'd ever buy one, just because I know you can probably find better 7 strings elsewhere!

The toughest stuff for me was probably working on some lines from "tears in Heaven" by Jeff Berlin. Rock hard!

There is nothing like a Sei bass to add a touch of class to a collection, there are some lovely basses on show in this thread!

Its a right load of cack these days. Gone are the days when you could switch it on and see something interesting. I wouldn't waste my time on it.