New Status Basses

[Kev]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using CNC, gear snobbery beyond any kind of sense.  What if a luthier used a drill to screw parts in and instead of using a screwdriver?  Time for a boycott?

 

I think people do get this mixed up with mass produced production line, which of course use CNC but its not the CNC bit that cheapens or otherwise reduces quality of the final product.

 

 

 

 

[Boodang]

7 hours ago, Kev said:

What if a luthier used a drill to screw parts in and instead of using a screwdriver?  Time for a boycott?

Yeah, pretty much! These are tools the luthier used to make my jazz. I even got upset he used a belt sander!

[Hellzero]

This is a CNC machined bass and it's an amazing instrument!

 

 

[Kev]

3 hours ago, Hellzero said:

This is a CNC machined bass and it's an amazing instrument!

 

 

At least they added the handbuilt feel with the neck bolt arrangement...

[prowla]

3 hours ago, Hellzero said:

This is a CNC machined bass and it's an amazing instrument!

 

 

They need to adapt their CNC to do a headless. 

[Russ]

1 hour ago, prowla said:

They need to adapt their CNC to do a headless. 

They already have done.

[crazycloud]

2 hours ago, Russ said:

They already have done.

Looks awesome. Then I downloaded the pricelist...

[Kev]

I can't believe they charge that much for CNC.

 

Sickening.

[TimR]

23 hours ago, Russ said:

CNC machines are a) extremely good for consistency, b) quicker than doing it by hand, but also c) very expensive.

 

They're not that expensive anymore. 

[Count Bassy]

Serious CNC machines are actually still quite expensive. Hobby machines are getting cheaper however.

 

Personally I would probably prefer a CNC machine over hand built, simply for the repeatability and accuracy. Even hand finishing should be reduced to a minimum by using the right machine and the right tooling. "Hand Built" no longer automatically means higher quality.

[TimR]

33 minutes ago, Count Bassy said:

Serious CNC machines are actually still quite expensive.

 

According to the guys on the latest SBL podcast who are making custom bases they're now down to around £20k. You can't even buy a new van for that. 

[Kev]

Yeah in fairness, that's only 6 basses worth in many cases now.  Not a huge investment if you're building enough, which one assumes you would be if you're considering CNC.

[Russ]

1 hour ago, Count Bassy said:

Serious CNC machines are actually still quite expensive. Hobby machines are getting cheaper however.

 

Personally I would probably prefer a CNC machine over hand built, simply for the repeatability and accuracy. Even hand finishing should be reduced to a minimum by using the right machine and the right tooling. "Hand Built" no longer automatically means higher quality.

"Hand Built" used to mean using a hand saw, hammer and chisel.

 

Even luthiers who don't use CNC machines still use various other machines and tools for the various steps of building an instrument, including preparing/planing wood, cutting the wood (bandsaw), sanding, drilling, routing, etc. A CNC machine is just one more machine. And many of those who do use CNCs only use them to cut out bodies. They still prefer to do neck shaping, etc by hand using planes, rasps, etc. 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Russ

[Wolverinebass]

Maybe another thought is that has anyone noticed the prices on the Series 23's are all the same? Some don't have LEDs. Or composite fretboards either. So, what is the upcharge for them? In fact, those ones don't have the colour change finishes either. So why are they the same price as the ones which have all the bells and whistles? Curious.

[Kev]

1 hour ago, Wolverinebass said:

Maybe another thought is that has anyone noticed the prices on the Series 23's are all the same? Some don't have LEDs. Or composite fretboards either. So, what is the upcharge for them? In fact, those ones don't have the colour change finishes either. So why are they the same price as the ones which have all the bells and whistles? Curious.

When I looked at it I just figured it was a launch day offer for ones he's already built, and custom orders wouldn't work that way?

[Musicman666]

6 hours ago, Wolverinebass said:

Maybe another thought is that has anyone noticed the prices on the Series 23's are all the same? Some don't have LEDs. Or composite fretboards either. So, what is the upcharge for them? In fact, those ones don't have the colour change finishes either. So why are they the same price as the ones which have all the bells and whistles? Curious.

the old adage "whatever the market will bear" comes to mind. 

[The Raven]

I have never posted before but felt I had to chip in. I am a proud owner of the Series-23 # 37, picked it up last week from Status. Although I never played a Status with a graphite neck I have to say my bass looks, sounds and plays fantastic. I am over the moon with it. I had a nice chat with Dawn while I was there, she is a lovely lady, and I was so pleased to hear that Rob is doing well. BTW I did see a couple of headless models while I was there.

[EMG456]

4 hours ago, The Raven said:

I have never posted before but felt I had to chip in. I am a proud owner of the Series-23 # 37, picked it up last week from Status. Although I never played a Status with a graphite neck I have to say my bass looks, sounds and plays fantastic. I am over the moon with it. I had a nice chat with Dawn while I was there, she is a lovely lady, and I was so pleased to hear that Rob is doing well. BTW I did see a couple of headless models while I was there.

Nice one - I'm sure it is a great bass - enjoy!

[Wombat]

It’s great to see Rob in a better place.

Strange that #2 is still available. I’d have thought the investors would have spotted that…