Status shuts their doors

[Guest]

Many, many years ago I has an S2 5?string fretless (number 5) in blue. The only time I tuned that bass was when changing strings and the sustain went on forever. I think I sold it for a Jaydee Calibas 6! Terrible replacement, I grew to hate that bass because of its pointy bottom horn, crap low B and near 6Kg weight. I’d love one of the last few stock models but the S2 Classic 5s look close to £4K. Very reasonable but not in the current financial climate unfortunately. I wish them all well and especially Rob in his semi-retirement.

[Linus27]

2 hours ago, 40hz said:

As other people are alluding, when you actually stop to ponder it, considering the work that went into them and the materials used, Status were/are amazing value, especially compared to other UK bass brands that shall remain nameless.

 

I'm really glad that I got to meet Rob and Dawn when picking up my first Graphite neck for my Stingray and look around the workshop. Real UK bass history, right there. As I left, Dawn remarked to me that I should "come back soon and order one of the proper ones". I'm sad I'll never get to do that as it was on my list!

 

That make me really sad then I never actually ordered a fretless neck for my Stingray let alone an entire bass.

[LeftyJ]

I wholeheartedly agree Status offers incredible value, especially used. I have two fairly plain S2 Classics (both bolt-on, solid finish, no exotic woods) and I was able to get them for very fair prices. I traded a Stingray 5 for the 5-string, and bought the 4-string for €1300. I still need to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that they're real and that I really own such amazing instruments. The 5-string is my main axe, and only gets less playtime at the moment because I'm having so much fun with my recently acquired shortscale. I wish Rob all the best, and really look forward to what the "semi" part in "semi-retirement" will bring. I'm also really curious if that new interpretation of the Barracuda is still going to see the light of day! 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by LeftyJ

[Kiwi]

17 hours ago, Misdee said:

My reference point for graphite bass tone will always be the Steinberger L2. That's my ideal.  Status basses don't sound like a Steinberger, but it's very definitely a graphite kind of tone. In contrast, I had a custom Zon Legacy Elite as my main bass back in the 1990s and it was distinctly and deliberately un-graphite like in its tone. 

Steinberger, Status and Gus all use completely different fabrication techniques. 

 

Steinberger use an injection mould based system with graphite fibre impregnated resin.  A bit like fibreglass reinforced bitumen or concrete.  I like these necks, they're warm sounding and fairly consistent.  Everything that a graphite neck should be.

 

Status (and Modulus) use monocoque construction which is the same technique used for making Formula 1 parts.  That involves lining a mould with up to three layers of resin impregnated, woven composite sheets in the same way as fibreglass.  It also gives the manufacturer control over directional stiffness through orientating the sheets in different directions as they're laid down.  However it can produce issues if the design relies on a phenolic fingerboard for strength.   Modulus had issues with their necks for both Alembic and Musicman due to the phenolic (aka Bakelite) fingerboards not being stiff enough in the early-mid 80's and then Modulus again around 1994.   I've played necks by Vigier and my own Alembic which are superb but arguably over designed.  The 80's Status Series 2000 basses also have fabulous necks when properly dressed.

 

Gus, as has been mentioned, use pre-impregnated carbon fibre sheets wrapped around a wooden core.  I think Status have used this technique on bodies as well.  It's practical, relatively easy to set up and some forms don't even require a kiln to set the resin.  There's a nice dampening effect from the wood core but still a feeling of evenness and consistency across the whole fingerboard.   Rob played around with dampening in the Stealth 2 basses, injecting epoxy foam into the hollow shell, and it resulted in instruments that were still characteristically bright sounding in that Status way but with a pronounced upper midrange purr.

 

16 hours ago, Musicman666 said:

I believe the bogarts are all composite 

Graphite composite neck, resin body.  Status did something similar with it's Series 4000/5000 basses.  A bass with a graphite neck needs some form of dampening for it to accentuate the warmer sounding frequencies.   Traditional choices of ash or alder are too bright, mahogany is nice (and I used it on my self build) and maybe there are some softer, cheaper woods like paulownia or tulipwood which might work as well.  Steinberger used maple in it's M series instruments which produced some pleasant sounding instruments but perhaps that wasn't just down to the wood.

 

19 hours ago, Russ said:

I wonder if Jon offers them on anything other than the JJB range, or for necks with more than 4 strings? 

 

Last time I reached out to him about getting a quote he never got back to me.

He actually messaged me last night and revealed that he's almost overwhelmed by emails these days.  Last night alone he had thirty to respond to so yes, it seems like there's always a chance he might miss one or two.  A call seems to be the most reliable way to get in touch, as I suggested before.

[Chris2112]

On 22/07/2022 at 17:56, Musicman666 said:

I believe the bogarts are all composite, no wood is involved apart from a veneer which for me was too radical, I prefer a wood body with a graphite neck. 

 

It depends. You can have a wooden bodied Bogart if you prefer and the basses now come as standard with a rosewood fretboard, though you can still have it in the classic style with a composite fretboard if you prefer. The 'Blackstone' model refers to a composite foam coated in a resin shell. It was designed to be an analogue to alder wood, but unlike wood the bodies should be completely consistent. You know how you could occasionally get two basses of the same type made with the same wood and yet one would sound markedly different to the next because the wood was more 'tuneful' or where one bass might seem to suck up frequencies or simply weigh an absolute tonne more than another of it's kind (70's ash-bodied Fenders, I'm looking at you...). The Blackstone composite was made to get around that, to provide a base for the instrument that was absolutely consistent in terms of weight and tonal character, allowing for the electronics to make the real difference in the tone. It also allowed for some amazing colours and patterns because the builder, Stefan Hess, could layer colours directly into the resin. 

 

In truth, I don't know if the Blackstone idea was any better than just selecting good wood to make the basses out of but it was certainly unique and came from that period in the 80's where many bass builders were looking to innovate with materials and construction. I've had my own Bogart Blackstone for a good few years now. In a way it reminds me more of a 34" scale Modulus Quantum than it does the Status, Zoot or Zon graphite necked basses I've owned. It has Bartolini pickups but it is quite bright with an excellent balance across strings and all over the neck. If consistency was the goal when the bass was designed then I think it absolutely achieves that. It sounds absolutely great through a modern amp with a mild scoop on the mids, but it is not anywhere near as bright or aggressive as my Spector NS-5CR. So for anyone who labours under the old misapprehension that graphite/composite instruments sound sterile, I'd invite them to play this and see what they think. 

 

This is possibly the most fascinating era of bass design, for me. Kubicki, Status, Vigier, Bogart, Modulus etc were all trying new things. Stefan Hess was a bit like the Rob Green of Germany at the time as his graphite products were sold to a variety of other manufacturers in Germany to go into their own basses (I understand that his necks featured in both Clover and Schack basses at the time).

 

Even a few days later I remain very sad that Status as we know it are done. I really hope they will continue to make new instruments in some form rather than just becoming a parts and spares shop. However, I would not like to see them going down the Wal route of scalping with ballooning prices and a slow, trickling output of builds to keep the bubble inflated. 

 

 

[Musicman666]

40 minutes ago, Chris2112 said:

 

It depends. You can have a wooden bodied Bogart if you prefer and the basses now come as standard with a rosewood fretboard, though you can still have it in the classic style with a composite fretboard if you prefer. The 'Blackstone' model refers to a composite foam coated in a resin shell. It was designed to be an analogue to alder wood, but unlike wood the bodies should be completely consistent. You know how you could occasionally get two basses of the same type made with the same wood and yet one would sound markedly different to the next because the wood was more 'tuneful' or where one bass might seem to suck up frequencies or simply weigh an absolute tonne more than another of it's kind (70's ash-bodied Fenders, I'm looking at you...). The Blackstone composite was made to get around that, to provide a base for the instrument that was absolutely consistent in terms of weight and tonal character, allowing for the electronics to make the real difference in the tone. It also allowed for some amazing colours and patterns because the builder, Stefan Hess, could layer colours directly into the resin. 

 

In truth, I don't know if the Blackstone idea was any better than just selecting good wood to make the basses out of but it was certainly unique and came from that period in the 80's where many bass builders were looking to innovate with materials and construction. I've had my own Bogart Blackstone for a good few years now. In a way it reminds me more of a 34" scale Modulus Quantum than it does the Status, Zoot or Zon graphite necked basses I've owned. It has Bartolini pickups but it is quite bright with an excellent balance across strings and all over the neck. If consistency was the goal when the bass was designed then I think it absolutely achieves that. It sounds absolutely great through a modern amp with a mild scoop on the mids, but it is not anywhere near as bright or aggressive as my Spector NS-5CR. So for anyone who labours under the old misapprehension that graphite/composite instruments sound sterile, I'd invite them to play this and see what they think. 

 

This is possibly the most fascinating era of bass design, for me. Kubicki, Status, Vigier, Bogart, Modulus etc were all trying new things. Stefan Hess was a bit like the Rob Green of Germany at the time as his graphite products were sold to a variety of other manufacturers in Germany to go into their own basses (I understand that his necks featured in both Clover and Schack basses at the time).

 

Even a few days later I remain very sad that Status as we know it are done. I really hope they will continue to make new instruments in some form rather than just becoming a parts and spares shop. However, I would not like to see them going down the Wal route of scalping with ballooning prices and a slow, trickling output of builds to keep the bubble inflated. 

 

 

I think status prices were not that far behind wal if you went for the high end models with all the bells and whistles…

 

but I’m curious as to which bogart model has a wood body and composite neck? …I find their website a bit unclear on this….probably me. 

[Chris2112]

15 minutes ago, Musicman666 said:

I think status prices were not that far behind wal if you went for the high end models with all the bells and whistles…

 

but I’m curious as to which bogart model has a wood body and composite neck? …I find their website a bit unclear on this….probably me. 

 

They may not list them directly on their website but you can definitely get them, probably for a price comparable to a Blackstone body. There are a number out there, this one with a zebrano body being my favourite:

 

[Musicman666]

7 hours ago, Chris2112 said:

 

They may not list them directly on their website but you can definitely get them, probably for a price comparable to a Blackstone body. There are a number out there, this one with a zebrano body being my favourite:

 

I can see that body is only a facing in zebrano …but what is the body itself made of?

[Chris2112]

Pardon me, it is an ash body. 

[Cosmicrain]

On 22/07/2022 at 12:44, Russ said:

As others have mentioned, Modulus are still around, but they're not making many instruments these days are they are severely backordered, much like Zon. Their prices have also skyrocketed.

 

Bogart are still producing basses in Germany, and they're great, even if they are, a bit like Gus, an acquired taste in the looks department. 

 

I wonder if Mike from Zoot is still geared up for making them? His early basses (back when he used the Iceni name) all had the option of a graphite neck.

 

Moses in the US stopped making replacement graphite necks a couple of years ago, and only make carbon fibre speaker enclosures and violin fingerboards now. They would have made you a graphite replacement neck for almost anything. 

 

There's loads of carbon fibre acoustic instruments around at the moment (mostly coming from China) so there's obviously some demand for it. I'd just rather not buy a replacement graphite neck from AliExpress! 

Yes I'm still here in Essex with a full order book for Zoot's, Funkmeisters and Zoot Boudica "Wal-a-likes".  I still have a vac' oven and all the stuff to start making Carbon Graphite necks again, I just don't have the time with my current work load.    regards, Mike.  

Edited July 25, 2022 by Cosmicrain

[dub_junkie]

I've been intrigued by these Klos basses over the last year or so.  Info and demos are more readily available now but the price has gone up a bit too

 

 

https://klosguitars.com/collections/apollo-basses/products/electric-bass

[Russ]

2 hours ago, dub_junkie said:

I've been intrigued by these Klos basses over the last year or so.  Info and demos are more readily available now but the price has gone up a bit too

 

 

https://klosguitars.com/collections/apollo-basses/products/electric-bass

I saw the Kickstarter for those when they were first announced. They kinda lost me when they said they wouldn't be doing extended-range versions.

 

I'd have thought many of the people who would be interested in something so decidedly non-Fender would be extended-range players, so I'd have thought they'd have done at least a 5-string. 

[Russ]

3 hours ago, Cosmicrain said:

Yes I'm still here in Essex with a full order book for Zoot's, Funkmeisters and Zoot Boudica "Wal-a-likes".  I still have a vac' oven and all the stuff to start making Carbon Graphite necks again, I just don't have the time with my current work load.    regards, Mike.  

Thanks for chipping in, Mike.  Good to see you're still tooled up for graphite. I'll drop you a line on FB as I have something in mind, and there's no hurry! 

I remember a review of one of your Iceni basses with a graphite neck back in Bassist sometime in the 90s. I seem to recall an interesting neck/body join on that instrument too. 

[legalbass]

Had I known in May of 2020 when I ordered my B-2 that Status was even remotely close to the end, I would have ordered three of them. Ugh.

 

Playing Status Graphite gear has been a pretty important element of my experience being a bass guitarist. Wish I never sold my Fender Precision which I had fitted with a Status neck.

Edited July 25, 2022 by legalbass

[Cosmicrain]

1 hour ago, Russ said:

Thanks for chipping in, Mike.  Good to see you're still tooled up for graphite. I'll drop you a line on FB as I have something in mind, and there's no hurry! 

I remember a review of one of your Iceni basses with a graphite neck back in Bassist sometime in the 90s. I seem to recall an interesting neck/body join on that instrument too. 

No worries Russ, Yes I remember the review in Bassist mag all those years ago.   If I decide to get back into making Carbon Graphite necks again, they will be newly designed with brand new moulds, and be either bolt on or through neck, (No fancy neck joints).......

[Musicman666]

my walnut S2...one of the final batch.

 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Musicman666

[Misdee]

I wish I had bought a white Status Series 2 back in the late 1980's. I remember seeing one on TOTP circa 1987 and thinking how it seemed to capture the style of the time so perfectly ☹️ But then again why stop there? I wish it was the late 1980s, full stop. Nowadays it's only a cocktail of ibuprofen and medicated shampoo that's keeping me going.

 

I'm genuinely upset that Status are winding down production. At least they are very much going out on top and doing it out of choice. Regardless of the trend towards vintage gear, there is still plenty of worldwide demand for Status basses. 

[Sibob]

I don’t know if it’s been discussed in these 4 pages…but I wonder if the ‘project’ Rob mentions is an overseas franchising of the brand?!

Would need to be quality, but why not keep some money coming in by licensing out what you’ve spent so long building up.

 

Si

[E sharp]

Like many here, I’m really saddened to hear this news. 
 

I’ve been down there twice, and they’re absolutely lovely people. 
 

Had an old S11 5 string I bought cheap around 25 years ago, locally , and it was the best sounding bass I’d ever heard. Just couldn’t get used to the very narrow string spacing. It was one of the earlier ones, so could of been around 15mm. 
A battered S2000 scratched an itch I had- moved on. 
Lastly, one of the Jazz basses they used to make a while ago. Just can’t get used to the narrow neck, but it was hands down, up there with the top top jazz basses you can buy. Nothing fancy, yet the fit and finish was perfect. 
 

As Bogart has already been mentioned, I got a yellow one made for for 50th, as should’ve gone with Status- as was my original idea-  5 string Stealth. The Bogart is nowhere near the fit and finish of the Status basses I’ve had- nor my Modulus. 
 

I always thought I’d get down there again one day and order a new one, even though I was aware that Rob wasn’t getting any younger. Similar to Martyn Booth, who I now. He’s now 72 and desperate to retire, yet has a sizeable back log of builds. Hence why he can longer do repair work. 
 

It’s going to be a really sad day, if the brand stops altogether. As playing most of the top brands over the years, Rob’s work is up there with the best. 
 

Wishing him all the best with his health 

[BassApprentice]

I always thought at one point I would have a Status, and go through the whole process and it would be mine.

 

Used to have a PC wallpaper covered on different Statii, with all the LEDs and cool finishes and I am a wee bit sad that I'll never get that chance to do that. In its current format anyway.

 

Also, the 2nd hand value of these will rocket once we know what the future holds for Status production.

[Cosmicrain]

On 22/07/2022 at 13:41, BigRedX said:

 

They may well have been made for him by Simon at Gus. He was responsible for the graphite necks on the Enfield basses.

I worked at Cambridge Composites (F1 products) before starting Zoot bass, it was there I learned the art of all things Carbon fibre.  I've never had any affiliation with Rob Green or Gus guitars.  All my carbon fibre work has been done by myself in my workshop using my own Vac' oven etc.  All the moulds and tooling were also made by me using my own CNC machine.  Here's a picture of one of an early Zoot fretless  I made around 1985-ish.

[Mastodon2]

15 minutes ago, Cosmicrain said:

I worked at Cambridge Composites (F1 products) before starting Zoot bass, it was there I learned the art of all things Carbon fibre.  I've never had any affiliation with Rob Green or Gus guitars.  All my carbon fibre work has been done by myself in my workshop using my own Vac' oven etc.  All the moulds and tooling were also made by me using my own CNC machine.  Here's a picture of one of an early Zoot fretless  I made around 1985-ish.

 

I think this bass passed through the hands of @Chris2112 at one point. Nice instrument.

[crazycloud]

This sad to see, but all the best in the future for Rob and Dawn. I'm glad I didn't sell my S2000 a while back now.

[Kiwi]

On 30/07/2022 at 16:43, E sharp said:

I always thought I’d get down there again one day and order a new one, even though I was aware that Rob wasn’t getting any younger. Similar to Martyn Booth, who I now. He’s now 72 and desperate to retire, yet has a sizeable back log of builds. Hence why he can longer do repair work. 

I know Martyn has been making noises about retiring for a while and he's charging a decent whack for his creations too, not far off Wal.  I have a few of the Yamahas he designed back in the late eighties.

[three]

Very sad news, though I look forward to hearing of future plans and offer my best wishes to Rob, Dawn and all the Status team for the future - all my interactions with the company have been excellent down the years.  At least this has inspired me to go and get my Status out of storage, hopefully this afternoon (if it stops raining in the North).  The only posh bass that I've ever spec'd and bought new - what a blast that was and the day I collected the SII remains a vivid memory - back in '86 I think.