Status shuts their doors

[VTypeV4]

Respect to Rob and all those at Status that made these very special basses. It will be a great loss to the bass playing fraternity but hopefully (as suggested elsewhere), the company will be continued in some form - even if it will be different than the one we've come to love over the years. I foolishly sold my first one back in '06 but having recently picked up another, it's even more so a keeper now. 😃

 

 

 

❤️❤️

[three]

On 26/07/2022 at 05:08, Musicman666 said:

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

 

 

Inspired by Musicman666's beautiful Image and stunning bass above, I went and dragged my old Status out of storage last week.  I hadn't seen it for around a year, though still in tune of course.  Not exactly bookends, but an example from what now sadly appears to be the closing days of full-scale production, and one from the early days (well, around 1986).  Some important evolution/innovation, of course, but clear consistency in the lineage.  Whilst I'm a massive fan of pretty much everything Status (and I've had a good number of Status basses over the years), it's the SII that I think of when the brand is mentioned - sort of quintessential for me. 

[Old Horse Murphy]

On 26/07/2022 at 05:08, Musicman666 said:

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

 

 

I think ours must've come from near enough the same batch. Mine's a November 2021. 
 

 

[three]

7 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I think ours must've come from near enough the same batch. Mine's a November 2021. 
 

 

Wow, absolutely stunning!  Is that a flamed Walnut top?  The green wrap-around LEDs look fantastic too against the phenolic.  Obviously, fretboard LED's weren't an option when I spec'd my SII!

[Old Horse Murphy]

1 hour ago, three said:

Wow, absolutely stunning!  Is that a flamed Walnut top?  The green wrap-around LEDs look fantastic too against the phenolic.  Obviously, fretboard LED's weren't an option when I spec'd my SII!

Thanks  it's figured walnut apparently. I must admit though, I prefer the grain on your one. 

[martthebass]

36 minutes ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks  it's figured walnut apparently. I must admit though, I prefer the grain on your one. 

 

Some of the earlier one's had a very 3D chocolaty brown figured walnut, I think OutToPlayJazz had a couple like this.  

[Captain Bassman]

3 hours ago, three said:

Inspired by Musicman666's beautiful Image and stunning bass above, I went and dragged my old Status out of storage last week.  I hadn't seen it for around a year, though still in tune of course.  Not exactly bookends, but an example from what now sadly appears to be the closing days of full-scale production, and one from the early days (well, around 1986).  Some important evolution/innovation, of course, but clear consistency in the lineage.  Whilst I'm a massive fan of pretty much everything Status (and I've had a good number of Status basses over the years), it's the SII that I think of when the brand is mentioned - sort of quintessential for me. 

Gorgeous.

 

My 30th Anniversary re-boot for comparison.

[three]

33 minutes ago, Captain Bassman said:

Gorgeous.

 

My 30th Anniversary re-boot for comparison.

Wow!  I really, really, really wanted one of these at the time of release, then was offered the chance to buy one a year or two later.  It didn't work out and I've sort of kicked myself sometimes since.  Such a lovely combination of features from across the arc of production, plus the most premium timbers!    

[three]

1 hour ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Thanks  it's figured walnut apparently. I must admit though, I prefer the grain on your one. 

That's incredibly kind but I'm rather smitten by yours - mine was one of the early Padauk facings rather than walnut - it's quite a deep purple red tone and has aged very nicely - it's probably become a little darker with time

[fleabag]

 

 

Shame i missed out on new standard JB CF neck, but i have had the pleasure of owning a vintage Status.

Unique axes and British too.

 

Glad Rob Green is ok, and wish himself and Dawn all the best vibes

[Kiwi]

On 07/08/2022 at 08:12, VTypeV4 said:

Respect to Rob and all those at Status that made these very special basses. It will be a great loss to the bass playing fraternity but hopefully (as suggested elsewhere), the company will be continued in some form - even if it will be different than the one we've come to love over the years. I foolishly sold my first one back in '06 but having recently picked up another, it's even more so a keeper now. 😃

 

 

 

❤️❤️

Someone else we all know shares your taste...no logo though.  I wonder if that was intentional?

 

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 follow Martyn on FB because I own a trio of MSG guitars which he designed for Yamaha. He keeps talking about the latest build being his last but never seems to quite walk away. 😁 Fabulous looking guitars though.

[tauzero]

On 06/10/2024 at 11:23, Kiwi said:

Someone else we all know shares your taste...no logo though.  I wonder if that was intentional?

 

When you say "we all know", is there some club that I'm not a member of? I'll take a wild stab at Richard Hammond though, even if he does seem half a metre too tall.

[prowla]

On 06/10/2024 at 11:23, Kiwi said:

Someone else we all know shares your taste...no logo though.  I wonder if that was intentional?

 

I follow Martyn on FB because I own a trio of MSG guitars which he designed for Yamaha. He keeps talking about the latest build being his last but never seems to quite walk away. 😁 Fabulous looking guitars though.

One of mine's headstock...

 

[Beedster]

Given how well regarded Status necks are - there must have been thousands built and they only very rarely come up for sale meaning that those who have them hold on to them (plus there are always one or two people looking for them) - I wonder whether any other manufacturer will pick up the reins and either buy that part of the business from Status or start from scratch? 

[mikebass456]

Just to show my appreciation of the style and sound of these superb instruments. Although mine is 'only' an Energy 5 string, it remains the best sounding bass I own.....🤘

[BassApprentice]

The necks are an interesting one - it is obviously a very well regarded product made to consistently high standards.

 

But every brand who has made them (Modulus, Moses and Status) have stopped doing so. Is either too expensive or too much hassle for them to do it. Or were they too popular and they just couldn't keep up with demand whilst making full basses?

 

Considering you can get cheap carbon bike products from China now, I'm surprised there isn't necks from them. Not that I would expect them to be the same as a Status.

[Russ]

1 hour ago, Beedster said:

Given how well regarded Status necks are - there must have been thousands built and they only very rarely come up for sale meaning that those who have them hold on to them (plus there are always one or two people looking for them) - I wonder whether any other manufacturer will pick up the reins and either buy that part of the business from Status or start from scratch? 

I know Mike Walsh from Zoot has been tooling up to start making graphite necks again. He did them back when he first started out, when they were still called Iceni. I'm not sure if they're just going to be for his own basses, or if he'll be doing aftermarket ones too. 

 

Klos are also selling graphite replacement necks = they're not cheap though. 

https://klosguitars.com/collections/bass-necks

[mikebass456]

52 minutes ago, Russ said:

Klos are also selling graphite replacement necks = they're not cheap though. 

Will probably be even more expensive once the mango Muppet puts tariffs on them........

[Kiwi]

6 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

Considering you can get cheap carbon bike products from China now, I'm surprised there isn't necks from them. Not that I would expect them to be the same as a Status.

I've found there are Steinberger replacements being made by a one man operation in Guangzhou but they are available domestically only in low numbers and for over 600 quid a pop.

But it has to be said there's a huge difference between a simple structure and something that has to be stiff but not too stiff.  Early necks from Modulus, Status and Vigier were over designed (which I like).  Later in the nineties there were issues with stiffness and many still didn't have truss rods.

[crazycloud]

4 hours ago, mikebass456 said:

Will probably be even more expensive once the mango Muppet puts tariffs on them........

I've never never KS referred to as that before.

[Beedster]

16 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

But every brand who has made them (Modulus, Moses and Status) have stopped doing so. Is either too expensive or too much hassle for them to do it. Or were they too popular and they just couldn't keep up with demand whilst making full basses?

 

That's a really interesting point, perhaps the market isn't really there after all, or at least thos who need them have largely got them, and needs have moved on? 

 

15 hours ago, Russ said:

I know Mike Walsh from Zoot has been tooling up to start making graphite necks again. He did them back when he first started out, when they were still called Iceni. I'm not sure if they're just going to be for his own basses, or if he'll be doing aftermarket ones too. 

 

Klos are also selling graphite replacement necks = they're not cheap though. 

https://klosguitars.com/collections/bass-necks

 

It'll be interesting to see if they do.

 

And those Klos necks look lovely

 

9 hours ago, Kiwi said:

But it has to be said there's a huge difference between a simple structure and something that has to be stiff but not too stiff.  Early necks from Modulus, Status and Vigier were over designed (which I like).  Later in the nineties there were issues with stiffness and many still didn't have truss rods.

 

I remember seeing some really badly warped graphite necks, IIRC at least one of them was on an MM Cutlass. 

 

Interested in two points, firstly why do they have to be 'not too stiff', and in what way were the neck over-designed? 

[Grassie]

19 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

The necks are an interesting one - it is obviously a very well regarded product made to consistently high standards.

 

But every brand who has made them (Modulus, Moses and Status) have stopped doing so. Is either too expensive or too much hassle for them to do it. Or were they too popular and they just couldn't keep up with demand whilst making full basses?

 

Considering you can get cheap carbon bike products from China now, I'm surprised there isn't necks from them. Not that I would expect them to be the same as a Status.

The expense probably comes from the disposal of waste from the manufacturing processes. I’m assuming the necks are made using resin infusion, so there will be leftover resin and hardeners to dispose of - these products are harmful to the environment and as such require specialist disposal. There is usually a fair amount of plastic waste (vacuum bags, peel ply etc) which would also be classed as hazardous waste due to contamination. The charges for disposal of these materials can be astronomical so they have to be offset against the retail price of the finished items.

If these manufacturers are using autoclaves to cure products then that in itself will be expensive. It removes the need to dispose of resins and hardeners but the cost of running them (gas, electric and water) will also be high.

Edited March 15 by Grassie

[Sean]

I've had a few headless Status basses, including a couple of Streamliners that I sold on. I never really took to Status basses as lifelong instruments, just not me, as much as I tried, but I always found Dawn to be one of life's absolute gems and a total pleasure to deal with.

I really admire the decision they've made and wish them all the best. It's an Institution and it's part of British Bass History without a doubt. The flatwound strings they used to sell were the best I've ever used and I still have a set I bought on my Valenti P.

 

God bless, Status Bass and The Greens. 

 

I only just spotted this thread. 

[prowla]

My Status collection (the Frankenstein is now complete).

 

 

I would like a headless 5-string at some point...

[HeadlessBassist]

Lovely collection you have there prowla

 

Edited March 20 by HeadlessBassist