Chris2112

I truely believe that graphite necks are the way forward, although the Kubicki Ex Factors neck is an interesting one - 36 laminates of maple. Extremely stiff and bright and responsive as either of the Status basses I've owned. I recall someone on talkbass once mistook it for a graphite neck based on sound alone! I've got some basses with awesome wooden necks but graphite just seems cooler. I'll hopefully be getting another Status soon anyway!

[quote name='Lozz196' post='933531' date='Aug 23 2010, 12:25 PM']Dunno if this counts as terrible, or suitable: Years ago, I was in a punk band (still am, but different band tho) and whilst playing a gig, a member of the audience though he should spit at us. So I turned around and hit him full in the face with the headstock of the bass. Amusingly enough, the guitarist did the exact same thing at the same time, so said member of audience, sporting two matching black eyes, resembled a panda for the rest of the night. He did help us carry our gear out at the end of the gig tho, saying he liked our band, cos we didn`t take sh*t from anyone![/quote] I think you've done quite well to avoid being locked up for assault over that!

[quote name='stenobass' post='930042' date='Aug 19 2010, 05:00 PM']Hi, just noticed this thread so here are some pics of my 3 beloved Statii, sorry for the bad quality... From left to right: KingBass Artist; KingBass MKII; Series II #56[/quote] That Series II is beyond awesome. I absolutely love it!

They look amazing. Even without the bells and whistles, I think the bog standard Hyperbass with 4 hipshots attached is a frightening thing to imagine mastering. I expect it is an absolutely incredible instrument, if I were willing to pay that much for a new bass I'd buy one!

Drums: Neil Peart Guitar: Shawn Lane Bass: Stuart Hamm Keys and synths: Vince Clarke Ideally they'd just play instrumental fusion-y tunes with an 80's pop slant, which would be awesome.

I love machine gun 16th note slap lines.

For me, the entire package of Status is far better than Modulus and the rest of the competition. The competition is incredible, but Status just feel "right". They look amazing, the sound incredible and thanks to Mark King and Jonas Hellborg, they're incredible cool!

I think it's easy to let figures go to your head in the bass world. If you saw a Wal mk 2 for sale for for £1000 you'd think it was a bargain and would likely buy it there and then. However, thats a serious amount of cash - enough to buy a decent old sporty car and put it on the road, enough to pay for weeks and weeks of food etc etc. Despite the fact I've now got more money than ever to spend on playing bass, I accept that it's just a small hobby of mine and in the past I've let it command far too much of my money.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='929350' date='Aug 19 2010, 08:26 AM']Ah, but does that necessarily make them [i]better[/i] than Moses, Status, Gus, Vigier etc.?[/quote] I'm not sure. I love Modulus, and the flaked effect of the neck looks great (I hate the cheesy "Thousand naked ladies dancing" name or whatever it was they call it though!). However, their pricing is outrageous. I'm also of the opinion that Status do the best graphite products. Moses have always been a cheap option but I hear they've improved by massive leaps in recent years and are a viable alternative to the more expensive options. The old problems with them included excessive weight, poor casting and shoddy fretwork. They have improved great though, which is encouraging.

Is it a Dimarzio that goes in the Yamaha Attitude basses? Thats the best one, I reckon.

On one hand, its a good year to buy, as things are cheap. However, it's a vicious circle - you make nowt on the stuff you sell, and things are selling slowly. I think I rotate gear, as my collection space is finite at the minute. So if I can't sell, I can't buy - this recently stopped me buying an awesome Warwick Streamer a few days ago! There are a lot of people selling Warwick basses atm!

As for cheaper basses, I've had a few and they've been alright. A Squier Classic Vibe jazz that I sold after a week (it was lovely but I'd never have used it) punched well above its weight, and had a fretted jazz been what I was really after, would have lasted quite well in the collection. However, I prefer to have something a little better these days and that costs!

I'll admit, I do get a kick out of using exotic basses like Kubickis, Alembics and Status. I'd never settle for a jazz or a jazz copy as for me, bass design has went so much furher than that! Everything has its place though.

There might be more to it than just feel. I think it's a shame though that these guys couldn't be up front and honest - that is always how I try and do business. Don't let it get you down though, up and at 'em with a new gig!

These threads are typically a "recommend you favourite bass" affair, so I'll throw my hat in and say a nice Thumb BO. I had a 1999 BO thumb with a beautiful wenge neck, bagged here for £600. Used, they are very reasonable basses! As has been said, the Thumb for me is [i]the[/i] Warwick sound; growling and burpy mids with a great small bodied shape, making it excellent for use in cramped studios as well as on stage!

I've had a fretless Alembic Epic 5 string for a few months now, and it is absolutely incredible. It does have a hi-fi sound but it's not brittle or thin. The "grand piano" term is fairly accurate, to put it lightly the response is thunderous. It's a heavier bass but certainly not unmanagebly so and it balances very well. Certainly, the weight of it has never been an issue for me, though I prefer being sat with it in a studio listening to it through big monitors, just because it sounds so outstanding. And of course, I couldn't speak more highly of he build quality. The fit and finish are on par with the best basses I've ever played, including Alembics tagged at £5000! it has to be said that Alembic won't do anything by half and the quality of my Epic illustrates this perfectly. Although it is an "entry level" Alembic, the price is on par with many other expensive basses and it quite easily fends them off. It was beautifully set up when I received it, and is easily the best playing fretless I've ever held. The action is so low, you can play with such a light touch and yet still get wonderful ringing tones, and when playing with a harder touch and pumping along the strings never clatter or buzz; the sustain seems endless and every note is rich and vibrant. It plays so well it has effectively cut the field of fretless basses. I'd only ever consider a few select fretless basses in future with any real thought. Perhaps a Pedulla buzz, a Zon and maybe a Jaco jazz bass for old skool kicks. I got the Alembic for £600 in unblemished, almost apparently unused condition - it is a bargain of the highest order, not seen since I bagged a Kubicki for £600! I knew it would be a good one as people were PM'ing me before it had even arrived in the post asking for first dibs if I ever sold it. I know, sadly, that this is one bass I just can't let go because I'd be mugging myself at the price. It is insanely good, far too good a bass for a cackhander like me! On that note, having been blown away like I was here, I'd advise you to hunt the used market for Alembics. There were a couple of gorgeous fretted Epics for sale here a couple of months ago...

[quote name='Alec' post='903332' date='Jul 23 2010, 04:07 PM'][/quote] Phwoar! One of the nicest Status basses I've ever seen! I'm going to have to get another Status someday...listening to Level 42 is doing my GAS now good! It'll be headless next time though, either an S2, Empathy or Kingbass Mk1!

Billy kicked ass, which is more than can be said for some of the plodders on stage that night!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='926279' date='Aug 16 2010, 11:17 AM']I had a feeling this thread would degenerate into yet another "Let's all show how jealous of the virtuoso players we are and give anything we don't understand a good ignorant kicking!" Perhaps those knocking Tal Wilkenfeld, Mark King, et al, should look a little closer to home for the bad bassist first...[/quote] Mark King is the boy, I couldn't and wouldn't argue otherwise. I'm the first to defend virtuoso players, the reason why Tal pops up here is because she is [i]not[/i] a virtuoso and yet inexplicably gets gigs that are top level. I expect to see a incredible bassists alongside Chick Corea, for instance - imagine going to see Chick and expecting Garrison, Wooten, Feraud etc etc and getting Tal plodding along instead. Her playing is IMO far below par for the people she plays with and it is to the detriment of the music as a whole! It'd be like going to see the John Mclaughlin trio in the late 80's and finding Adam Clayton standing in for Kai Eckhardt!