neepheid Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 I know I shouldn't be doing this - pre-announcing this means it'll probably fall out of the plane and into the Atlantic, or kicked around and sat on in a Parcel Farce depot while waiting for me to pay the VAT man, but I am excited and can't wait for it to arrive! I've just ordered a Traben Chaos Attack 4 in Granite finish from the states - can't find any for love or money over here and I've been doing quite a lot of phoning around. Exchange rate has recovered to the point where after carriage and tax it'll work out about the same as getting hold of one here anyway so I sold a couple of basses and took the plunge. Enough talk, here's a suitably large stock pic: Controls are as you would expect: With 5 way switching, 3 band EQ and that style of pickup I'm expecting Musicman type sounds, but in an altogether more interesting looking package. I just love the matching burled maple body/headstock, the distinctive fingerboard inlays and that chunky bridge I promise pics when it arrives, hopefully in < 2 weeks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 (edited) think they have one of these in rikaxxe music in bristol, think its a different colour to this though and a 5 string. It played very nicely Is this the one with the huge bridge in the body? Edited September 1, 2009 by Kev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 Please no! That's just [i]too[/i] nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 [quote name='Kev' post='586373' date='Sep 1 2009, 11:20 AM']think they have one of these in rikaxxe music in bristol, think its a different colour to this though and a 5 string. It played very nicely Is this the one with the huge bridge in the body?[/quote] Yeah, I saw a Chaos 5 (the base model) in Satin Black Wash with flamed maple top in one of our local shops, but I think this is the nicest looking one of the bunch. Yes, it's the Chaos internal bridge - all the extra mass of the ones which are usually splayed on top of the body on most Trabens is concentrated in a slug of metal underneath the main bridge unit. More info here: [url="http://www.trabenbass.com/chaos_bridge.php"]http://www.trabenbass.com/chaos_bridge.php[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 And guess who'll be second to get his greasy mitts on it. :brow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 21, 2009 Author Share Posted September 21, 2009 It's here! It was a little bit delayed due to a customs oops. I'm at work just now, I'll be able to give a better idea of how it sounds and looks later on. First impressions: Reasonably lightweight. The finish is more satin, less glossy than the stock pictures would suggest. It's also got much more of a pronounced sunburst effect over the burl top, much more vivid colours used than the stock picture - not that it's a problem (in fact it looks rather spiffy). Nice hardware - that chunky bridge, Grover tuners (Gotoh GB7 size), fretwork seems good. Neck feels comfortable. Only niggly bit so far is a couple of spots on the neck which feel a little rough to the touch, but I guess they'll polish out. 18V electronics, which I wasn't expecting, I've never had an 18V bass before 2 screws to get to the batteries though - no quick changes here Control cavity looks fairly neat and tidy, soldering looks decent, wires cable tied. Preamp is a sealed unit. More info later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Man that seemed to take ages. Can't wait to hear it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted September 21, 2009 Share Posted September 21, 2009 Awesome, can't wait to see some in-the-flesh pictures Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Please excuse the iffy photography - it was late due to having to charge my camera batteries, and the light in the room isn't the best - very harsh from little halogen spots in the roof. As far as sound goes, I haven't given it a good crank up (got new neighbours to think of ) but I'll give it a good run out at band practice tonight. Good range of sounds with the 5 way, and the EQ pots are centre detented for extra win. I'm not a Jazz Bass man, but I'm sure Rich will be able to tell me how Jazzy the outer coils setting is when he gets his mitts on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agoulding Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 That is lush. What kind of music are you playing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7string Posted September 25, 2009 Share Posted September 25, 2009 That's a fine lookin' bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 I played it last night. Very comfortable bass and luxurious in the hand with all that satiny goodness. Nice neck profile not chunky not slim. Sound wise? Modern sounding and yet somewhere between a Stingray and P too. Tonnes of tight bottom end (and we all like a tight bottom end). My favourite switch positions (played through my LMII into both my MarkBass 104HF then my Schroeder 21012) was either full on neck pup or the 2 inner coils, both positions gave a phatt sound without even bothering the eqs for assistance. I should think that this bass will have no problems at all in cutting through the mix in a live situation. Can't wait to hear it in action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzzibass Posted September 26, 2009 Share Posted September 26, 2009 (edited) very nice - let's see now...... if it were a chick it would be... er .. um... dunno .. Eva Longoria? :wub: Edited September 26, 2009 by guzzibass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted September 28, 2009 Author Share Posted September 28, 2009 [quote name='agoulding' post='608263' date='Sep 24 2009, 10:51 PM']That is lush. What kind of music are you playing?[/quote] Oh no, I hate it when people ask me to describe our music I guess it's rock with some folk flavours sprinkled on top thanks to the presence of violin. Perhaps the best thing to do is check out the tracks on the myspace link in my sig and make up your own mind. I'm not playing any scary metal music, put it that way. Traben seem to be associated with that kind of thing, but I don't think this model is too much in that direction - it's easily the most traditional looking instrument they do. The headstock's a bit pointy I suppose and the fingerboard inlays are a bit "metal" I suppose, but I think they're much more interesting looking than dots. I basically was after this model because it had a pickup configuration I don't currently have, a 24 fret fingerboard which while my current protozoic playing doesn't require it, it may become useful in the future, and I just like the way it looks in general. It also has 18V electronics (which I didn't know at the time), another first for my collection. To everyone else: thanks for the comments Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I've just bought an identical looking 5-String Chaos Core with the Aguilar Pre-amp. Really nice playing bass and compared to the John Moyer Signature I've just bought its got a slightly mellower, warmer tone compared to the John Moyer which sounds like a Stingray on steroids. The Rockfield pickups really are underatted bass pickups and there's no way I'll be swapping mine any time soon. The Chaos Core is really comfortable to play but doesn't balance well when played sitting down. Lighter than the John Moyer Sig its got a slimmer body and slightly slimmer neck. Straplocks as standard on mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 I'd love one of these but its a no go if your a lefty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 [quote name='guzzibass' post='609154' date='Sep 26 2009, 12:12 PM']very nice - let's see now...... if it were a chick it would be... er .. um... dunno .. Eva Longoria? :wub: [/quote] Spot on. Do my basses now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassJase Posted November 11, 2009 Share Posted November 11, 2009 I've got a 5-string NT Chaos Obsession ( [url="http://www.trabenbass.com/chaos_obsession.php#"]http://www.trabenbass.com/chaos_obsession.php#[/url] ) in flamed maple top and it's the tits, great modern sound and really lightweight for a decent sized fiver. The only problem I find is that the bloody thing constantly slides off your knee when you play it sitting down..... Mine doesn't have the pickup selector as extensive as yours does, just pickup blend, but it does have active/passive switching which I definitely like. BUT.... it's still nowhere near as nice to play as my 5-string Torrent.... really don't know why they discontinued them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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