dmz Posted September 20, 2010 Share Posted September 20, 2010 I know there are a lot of Kingbass owners out there on this forum and some seem to have several and some have visited Colchester to try things out - so could you all give me an impression of tonal differences between the various models available. Thinking of going for a fretless 5 or 6 string - the standard appeals as the bolt on neck construction should perhaps result in more mid range punch - which should be desirable in a fretless instrument. However - I am intrigued as to what an alder bodied black beauty or graphite capped alder (graphite) might sound like - does the alder body make much difference over more typical walnut ? I suppose the artist is tonally more even than the standard and with most modern amps, midrange punch could be dialled in - but you'd have the advantage of having more highs available if you wanted them. That's the way I see it but I'd like some thoughts too please ! A photo or two would be nice as well.... Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fender73 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 Morning! I had a Kingbass Artist MK1, and was able to pretty much dial in most sounds, including a very middy punchy tone which cut through with no issues. Mine (as most had/have) had a very high output which could clip any amp at 30 paces! so i have it modded to cool it down a bit. Great bass in terms of construction/tone etc, but cannot comapre it to any other KB's as i've never tried others. Needless to say, i didn't get on with the size and shape of the bass so sold it on, but they have many fans and are truly great bits of kit. [attachment=59311:Kingbass_Artist.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 [quote name='fender73' date='Sep 21 2010, 08:12 AM' post='962941' Great bass in terms of construction/tone etc.... I didn't get on with the size and shape of the bass so sold it on, but they have many fans and are truly great bits of kit. [/quote] That's it in a nutshell. I visited Colchester, and tried S2s, Kingbasses and a Streamline. The S2 and Streamline suited me fine, but the Kingbass didn't. I bought a Streamline. I think it's due to the Alembic/JayDee/Mark King influences on the shape. Maybe I wear it too low... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted September 21, 2010 Share Posted September 21, 2010 [quote name='dmz' post='962797' date='Sep 20 2010, 10:07 PM'].......... However - I am intrigued as to what an alder bodied black beauty or graphite capped alder (graphite) might sound like - does the alder body make much difference over more typical walnut ? .........[/quote] I'm not familiar with the Kingbass, I prefer S2 Classics but I have an Alder / Graphite shell S2 Classic on order and I've been told by Rob that it'll have a little more top end bite than the standard mahogany + facing bodied S2s. There are Status players who seem to prefer walnut tone blocks on their basses, I assume they've tried different configurations back to back and come to that conclusion. I think Rob's view generally seems to be that the graphite neck and the electronics are responsible for most of the tone, with the toneblock + body secondary, but I'd say drop him an email and he'll probably answer any questions you've got when he gets time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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