Is 'Headless' about to come back into fashion?

[BassMunkee]

Actually - and I never thought I would say this...
the ones that are like Steinbergers or that Hohner(?) with the smaller bodis look ok, more balanced.
That one in the photo on the previous page is a bag of w*nk though.

[MB1]

[quote name='ARGH' post='323655' date='Nov 6 2008, 06:42 PM']Yeah,That ran through my head too? Has Hans AGAIN stolen an idea/design?[/quote]

MB1.
Hans Peter Pilfer a good friend of Stuart Specter!

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='323785' date='Nov 6 2008, 10:17 PM']OK, I'm interested to know why they didn't press ahead with legal action. Maybe they didn't register the body shape as a trademark outside the US perhaps. Still, a lot of it goes on. [/quote]


TBH I think the Gibson -v- Paul Reed Smith case has killed instrument copyright cases.

The issue at the US courts was about potential buyer confusion at the point of sale.

Gibsons's own Counsel agreed that only an idiot would confuse them at point of sale and so PRS ultimately won. Gibson's argument that a person at the LA Arena might not be able to tell the difference between a Les Paul and a PRS Single Cut from the back row carried no weight at all.


I'm sure someone else will have another go at some point though - but lets remember Spector is still a relatively small company - Fender / Gibson have the money to try it on.

Yamaha have been making 'copies / tributes' of the SG for years and their Pacifica's are closer to Strats than the PRS was to the Les Paul... but of course as a company Yamaha is HUGE - much much bigger than Gibson or Fender and could pay for litigation with the Xmas party fund.


Spector employees may well think that Warwick is not acting honourably... but my view is... test it in court or shut up.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Prosebass' post='323621' date='Nov 6 2008, 05:59 PM']ouch.....hard words for a Warwick....you will reap the wrath of someone saying things like that.
It is hideous and I have just spent all afternoon designing around just that problem . I am using a combined tuner / bridge ala Steinberger and if I extend the body past the tuners it looks wrong. If I shorten the body the tuners stick out and you cannot stand it up without risking damage.
A problem indeed...[/quote]
I'm not keen on the Warwick Nobby either. I've rather gone off cricket bats in general, in fact.

The standard approach to what you're trying to do it to have the body a little extended so it's about flush with the ends of the tuners, then put a strap button each side on the wings so the bass will stand up on them.

Due to its tuners sticking out of the bottom, the Warwick Nobby has a special stand which, as far as I can make out, goes right up its bottom.

On a more general note, I'd love headlessessesses to be more fashionable, then there would be more of a choice as regards neck profiles and body shapes. I'd really like a brace of 5-string headlesses, fretted and fretless, with neck profiles like my main gigging bass, rather than the thick neck of the 5-string Jack. Must try out a 5-string Status sometime to see if that's nearer the mark.

[bremen]

[quote name='fretmeister' post='324203' date='Nov 7 2008, 02:04 PM']TBH I think the Gibson -v- Paul Reed Smith case has killed instrument copyright cases.

The issue at the US courts was about potential buyer confusion at the point of sale.

Gibsons's own Counsel agreed that only an idiot would confuse them at point of sale and so PRS ultimately won. Gibson's argument that a person at the LA Arena might not be able to tell the difference between a Les Paul and a PRS Single Cut from the back row carried no weight at all.


I'm sure someone else will have another go at some point though - but lets remember Spector is still a relatively small company - Fender / Gibson have the money to try it on.

Yamaha have been making 'copies / tributes' of the SG for years and their Pacifica's are closer to Strats than the PRS was to the Les Paul... but of course as a company Yamaha is HUGE - much much bigger than Gibson or Fender and could pay for litigation with the Xmas party fund.


Spector employees may well think that Warwick is not acting honourably... but my view is... test it in court or shut up.[/quote]

Where does that leave the Fender headstock design - last I heard certain manufacturers (Mighty Mite among them) were 'licensed by Fender' and others had to slightly change the design?

[fretmeister]

Headstock design is the bit that might well be litigated.

The h/s is as much part of the 'logo' as the logo itself. Shape could cause confusion at the point of sale - especially as there are Squires by Fender type of things.

TBH though there is only a small variety of options for heads - if it reaches the point that there is no other way / no shapes left - other than using a bit of wood the size of War & Peace then even headsock challenges will fail.

This is basically what happened in the great Philips -v- Remington razor wars. The 3 headed Philishave is no longer protected because it is engineering that causes the 3 heads to be positioned that way, not any supposed sales technique.


At that point I expect the names themselves to be more ruthlessly enforced.

The comedy chaps that make the Bender Collision might be in trouble then.

[Peter Train]

I love em but I only wish i could afford one!!

[geilerbass]

Headless makes a lot of sense. An original design Sei has long been my dream instrument, but recently I've been seriously Gassing for a Status S2 5er. At £1349 for the bolt-on version, it's almost affordable...

Anyone got a second hand S2 that they want to off-load to me?

[OutToPlayJazz]

I've got the most stunning S2 5-string bolt-on, but no, I don't want to offload it at all... My preccciousss, all miiiine... *Cackles*!

Seriously, they are a bargain. I always thought the bolt-ons would be low rent compared to the glossed neck-thru models I'd always had, but I love my 5-stringer.

[BigBeatNut]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='324559' date='Nov 7 2008, 10:34 PM']I've got the most stunning S2 5-string bolt-on, but no, I don't want to offload it at all... My preccciousss, all miiiine... *Cackles*!

Seriously, they are a bargain. I always thought the bolt-ons would be low rent compared to the glossed neck-thru models I'd always had, but I love my 5-stringer.[/quote]
You beat me to it. I'll endorse the [s]S2[/s] S1 bolt-ons too. Does Rob still make them ? The [s]S2[/s] S1 option disappeared from the status site maybe a year ago.

Andy

Edited November 7, 2008 by BigBeatNut

[OutToPlayJazz]

Yes they're still in production, Andy. The original & best Status

Rich.

[BigBeatNut]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='324576' date='Nov 7 2008, 11:03 PM']Yes they're still in production, Andy. The original & best Status

Rich.[/quote]
Duh. Excuse me. Let me correct myself. I'll endorse the S1 Classic (bolt-on, the only option). But they appear to be not in production. Big shame.

[OutToPlayJazz]

Ah, S1! I see! There is something similar on the stock pages at the moment. A "2008" Energy, but I think that's just made of leftover SmartBass components. Lovely looking thing, though. Have a look on the website.

[Prosebass]

[quote name='tauzero' post='324210' date='Nov 7 2008, 02:16 PM']I'm not keen on the Warwick Nobby either. I've rather gone off cricket bats in general, in fact.

The standard approach to what you're trying to do it to have the body a little extended so it's about flush with the ends of the tuners, then put a strap button each side on the wings so the bass will stand up on them.

Due to its tuners sticking out of the bottom, the Warwick Nobby has a special stand which, as far as I can make out, goes right up its bottom.

On a more general note, I'd love headlessessesses to be more fashionable, then there would be more of a choice as regards neck profiles and body shapes. I'd really like a brace of 5-string headlesses, fretted and fretless, with neck profiles like my main gigging bass, rather than the thick neck of the 5-string Jack. Must try out a 5-string Status sometime to see if that's nearer the mark.[/quote]

I have thought of several designs to overcome this including a "bull bar" around the tuners that is removable and even a golf bag type pop out tripod so the bass just stands up all on its own.
The dedicated stand is the sensible way as it means the bass is simpler to build and less expensive. My design just looks so much better balanced with the body ending flush with the bridge end .

[CyberBass]

Another one to ad to the mix is the Kubicki Ex Factor Bass. I must admit you either love them or hate them. Personally I love them. Built like a tank as well as being light, balance is perfect and sound amazing. It kinda has a headstock but is headless.

It features the 32"/36" scale, ebony fretboard, 34-laminate maple neck with the unique drop d mechanism. Alder Body

Electrics- 18 volt - 3 Rotary stacks: Master Vol/Pan Control, Bass Boost/Treble Boost, Pickup Selector (non-stack) with 6 positions: Off; Passive Bridge and Neck; Active Bridge, B-N, and Neck.
- Kubicki Pickups (2)
- Active and Passive
The tuning bridge works very precisely and - thank God - it is NOT designed for double ball end strings (like most headless basses).
Some people find its shape quite weird, or even ugly.
This is surely a matter of taste BUT its futuristic design definitively makes sense: this is one of the most ergonomic, confortable and well balanced basses ever built in my opinion.

Sound wise, the Kubicki Ex-Factor is really a sort of chameleon.
The multi-mode active/passive switch offers very different colours, from some more traditional J-Bass or P-Bass oriented tones to some bright and punchy or "ultra-deep" without being muddy modern sounds. I play mainly rock and it's perfect for me.
On top of all this, its focus is absolutly amazing, a very defined and well contoured sound.
Of course you can hear some nice Kubicki bass sounds on early Stu Hamm recordings.
You can here the kubicki ex factor on you tube. Have a listen to Vail Johnson from Kenny G's solo, that will give you an indication of this lovely basses sound.

Service & Repair: if you call kubicki technology, you'll get to talk directly to phil. no bullshit, just straight to the point facts and helpful hints. He takes his basses very seriously and will happily advise and help on any of the basses he manufactures.

All in all having owned many basses, I love the ex factor, so wanted to put it in the headless mix.

Is there any other Kubicki fans out there?

Edited November 8, 2008 by CyberBass

[Kiwi]

we have a couple of members with Kubicki basses, I've only played one once and only briefly at that. I found the controls a little confusing without a layout diagram. BTW I believe you may have missed out one pickup selector setting, I only counted five and remember there being a 'woolly sound'.

[escholl]

[quote name='JimH' post='323647' date='Nov 6 2008, 06:36 PM']How about this then?

[/quote]

I'm not normally a fan of headless basses, but that i could definitely go for. well done to you

[Bigwan]

My Status 2000 arrived yesterday. I'm now even less concerned by the visual aspect after playing it with the band last night - it is awesome! A little too bright for me - I mean it's bright enough that with the preamp flat it would make Marcus Miller wince - but that's easily tamed with the preamp. An awesome bass.

[CyberBass]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='324714' date='Nov 8 2008, 10:47 AM']we have a couple of members with Kubicki basses, I've only played one once and only briefly at that. I found the controls a little confusing without a layout diagram. BTW I believe you may have missed out one pickup selector setting, I only counted five and remember there being a 'woolly sound'. [/quote]


Yes your right, one mute, 3 x passive and 2 x Active setting. The controls can be a bit fiddly but have a vast array of tones, so can take a bit of tweaking to get the sound you are after, but once you get that sound it's amazing. I love mine, and if it were ever stolen I would definately replace it. It compliments my warwick thumb also, the kubicki being short scale and the thumb being long. Basses are so additictive.

[Jambo63]

I've got a Hohner B2A (I think that's the type, need to check that) headless 4 string in black and white. I've used it live before, but not for a few years. It's great to have as a back up with you, and also very protable.

[Sean]

[quote name='Jambo63' post='325995' date='Nov 10 2008, 03:36 PM']I've got a Hohner B2A (I think that's the type, need to check that) headless 4 string in black and white. I've used it live before, but not for a few years. It's great to have as a back up with you, and also very protable.[/quote]

Just bitten the bullet and pushed the button on one of these for travelling abroad. Initial impressions are good, I might do a review later in the week.

[Jambo63]

[quote name='Sean' post='326136' date='Nov 10 2008, 06:21 PM']Just bitten the bullet and pushed the button on one of these for travelling abroad. Initial impressions are good, I might do a review later in the week.[/quote]

Cool, hope you like the bass, they are pretty decently made.

I have no idea how old mine is, or how you can find out the age of them. I'll see if I can post a pic of the bass.

One thing I will say is that the case that comes with the bass is remarkably good, but a little like a small gun case (maybe something to think about if you're travelling ?) Although I've never had any problems in carrying it around.

cheers
Fraser

Quick edit - the bass is a B2A

Edited November 10, 2008 by Jambo63