Zon basses

[marcus bell]

They seem quite rare, or more like not a lot of people on here seem to have them , or are you just hiding them

[White Cloud]

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1395517055' post='2403342']
They seem quite rare, or more like not a lot of people on here seem to have them , or are you just hiding them
[/quote]
Zon's are absolutely peerless and sit comfortably at the very top of the bass guitar food chain.

[Dingus]

I used to play Zon basses back in the 1990s/early 2000's , Marcus. Is there something specific you want to know?

If you think about it, it's not surprising that you don't see them in the U.K very often, considering that the USA -manufactured graphite necked ones are made by hand by a small team in very small numbers in California and they cost [u][i]a lot[/i][/u] of money, especially the Legacy Elites. There is always a long waiting time for new orders, too.

If you like that modern, hifi, hi-tech sound they are one of the very best basses on the market, in my opinion, not least of all because Joe Zon's basses manage to sound less clinical than most other graphite instruments.

[ambient]

I missed out on a beautiful 6 string fretless legacy at Christmas, I was outbid at the last minute on ebay .

Modulus are nice too, but I'm guessing are gonna stay with their owners after the demise of the company.

Edited March 22, 2014 by ambient

[ikay]

We like to keep them to ourselves - here's my rather lovely 90s Legacy Elite fretless 5 (ex J. Giblin)

[attachment=158352:IMG_0276.jpg]

Edited March 22, 2014 by ikay

[whynot]

I have a lefty Sonus 4. The neck feels like a Jazz, pretty fast, great action.
Went off Bartolini's for a while but the ones on this sound great. Built to Zons own specs I guess.
Lightweight and sit well against the body.
Only downside I can think of is that if your not a tidy player then harmonics may be an issue. a very lively bass.

[Dingus]

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1395523739' post='2403432']
We like to keep them to ourselves - here's my rather lovely 90s Legacy Elite fretless 5 (ex J. Giblin)

[attachment=158352:IMG_0276.jpg]
[/quote]

Beautiful bass, Ian.

Looks like a Koa top. Joe picks out the Koa tops himself when he goes on his regular vacation to Hawaii, apparently. Must have been a one-off for John Giblin with the single pickup in the sweet spot like that. Perfect placement for fretless playing , I expect.

Edited March 22, 2014 by Dingus

[ikay]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1395524735' post='2403446']
Beautiful bass, Ian.
[/quote]
Yes, koa top and built for JG. Has a Stingray 3-band preamp as JG prefers the voicing over the Zon pre. Used on many sessions and albums - Kate Bush, John Martyn and others. Bit of a special one

[ambient]

Here's a nice example of how they sound [url="http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/03/17/zander-zon-nine-inch-nails-hurt-for-solo-bass/"]http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2014/03/17/zander-zon-nine-inch-nails-hurt-for-solo-bass/[/url]

Just look on youtube for Michael Manring for further examples.

[marcus bell]

I love the tone , would quite like to try one as I love graphite necks

[RhysP]

I used to have two Legacy Elite four strings, a fretted & a fretless.
Best basses I've ever owned, absolutely superb.

[ambient]

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1395531835' post='2403518']
I love the tone , would quite like to try one as I love graphite necks
[/quote]

Me too, hence my wanted list below .

[warwickhunt]

I've owned 3 Sonus (USA) and I'd happily buy any of them back tomorrow!

[bubinga5]

am i the only one who doesn't like graphite necked basses. are Zons any different.? i had a Modulus Jazz, it was the best feeling bass i have ever played, but tone wise, it was not to my taste. no character in the tone at all.

Edited March 23, 2014 by bubinga5

[warwickhunt]

The Zons that I owned were far more 'organic' sounding than any other graphite neck bass I've ever played... not to say you still wouldn't like them though.

[gafbass02]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1395536843' post='2403549']
am i the only one who doesn't like graphite necked basses. are Zons any different.? i had a Modulus Jazz, it was the best feeling bass i have ever played, but tone wise, it was not to my taste. no character in the tone at all.
[/quote]

I went off them too mate, similar reasons

[winterfire666]

i played a sonus 5 a few years ago, it was wonderfull and i was offered it at a stupid knock down price too, if it was a 4 i would have snapped it up but im not really a 5 string kind of guy and wasnt keen on the finish.
Amazing sound though, warm and organic not like other graphite basses i have played.

[Lee-Man]

I have an awesome Zon 6 with Barts and an East U-Retro and 16.6 mm spacing. I can bring it to the East Mids Bass Bash if you want to try it?

Not a great pic, but…..
[url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Lee-Man/media/IMG_0026.jpg.html"][/url]

Edited March 23, 2014 by Lee-Man

[RhysP]

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1395537064' post='2403550']
The Zons that I owned were far more 'organic' sounding than any other graphite neck bass I've ever played... not to say you still wouldn't like them though.
[/quote]

My Zons were very warm & "woody" sounding. I never liked the sound of Status or Modulus basses but the Zons were perfect - I think the Polyfusion preamps they use are the best active circuits I've ever heard.

[Mark Dyer]

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1395536843' post='2403549']
am i the only one who doesn't like graphite necked basses. are Zons any different.? i had a Modulus Jazz, it was the best feeling bass i have ever played, but tone wise, it was not to my taste. no character in the tone at all.
[/quote]

Fascinating, there will always be a north/south divide on graphite vs traditional necks, but I have to disagree with you, my Status has loads of character in the tone it's called, the tonal characteristics of a Status with a graphite neck

[Graham]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1395524735' post='2403446']


Beautiful bass, Ian.

Looks like a Koa top. Joe picks out the Koa tops himself when he goes on his regular vacation to Hawaii, apparently. Must have been a one-off for John Giblin with the single pickup in the sweet spot like that. Perfect placement for fretless playing , I expect.
[/quote]

The original Machine Head bassist Adam Duce had a MM style Zon with just a, I assume, volume pot.

[Img]https://fbcdn-photos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/t1.0-0/1521513_10153921653875548_294535263_n.jpg" class="ipsImage" />

[ambient]

I think maybe the Zon's are slightly 'woodier' in their tone, I guess this could be due to the fretboards being made from a wood composite called Phenowood. Layers of birch wood impregnated with phenolic.

Status basses and most Modulus are just phenolic resin. Though Modulus were sometimes built with chechen fretboards, Steve Lawson's are I believe.

[paulconnolly]

John Wetton and Dick Nolan (It Bites first time around) both use/d Zons. Good enough for me. Can't afford one though . Whatever happened to Dick Nolan?

[molan]

I've owned a Zon and used it as my main gigging bass for ages. It never sounded like any other graphite neck bass I've played and definitely more organic sounding than my old Status and the pair of Modulus basses I ownd at the same time.

I like both the US and the Far Eastern ones but build times can be quite long for each and the US custom builds have become quite high priced now if you add flashy tops.

Great instruments though

[Dingus]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1395577966' post='2403827']
The original Machine Head bassist Adam Duce had a MM style Zon with just a, I assume, volume pot.


[/quote]

That bass is actually quite different to Ikay's/ JG's custom Legacy.

Adam Duce is playing a standard model there , the Sonus 4+1 ( albeit with custom wiring so it only has a volume control , so it is custom probably passive version specially for Adam.) That bass has a single Seymour Duncan Custom Shop humbucker in exactly the Stingray position, whereas if you look at that fretless Legacy, the pickup is slightly further towards the neck than that.