kumimajava

Really looking forward to how this turns out And if you ever get into 5- or 6- string headless projects, wow, am I going to be in trouble Really liking the body design & "flow" on this one!

FWIW - if you're looking for a piezo-buffer, the East piezo pre is fantastic, and quite compact.

Looks fantastic - for maximum buckeye visibility, perhaps piezo might be an option for the future

I have a bass with the 6-string equivalent of the TW pickups. Twin & single-coil sound is very different, and in this case i prefer the extra punch of the single-coil variant. Wired into a 3-band EQ in my case, so no "tone" control per se. What i'd really like to do is put in a series/parallel switch that puts the two coil-tapped TW's in series with each other... but this being EMG, it's more hassle than necessary. Edit: Also had a look at the EMG eq/tone preamps, and i can't see a reason why the TW pickups would have any issues working with them? One way of doing a 4-pot config would be to do VV with push-pull pots for coil tapping, then either a master-tone (ABC) + a 2-band stacked EQ (e.g. BTC). Or use a 3-band-2-pot EQ instead (BQC). Admittedly, none of these give you VVTT wiring, but maybe the EQ may make up for that? (I don't think i've ever seen a bass with VVTT controls before - curious how that works ). If you're set on VVTT with EMG's - i hope someone else will chime in

I happen to currently have a 6-string Series 2 "Fatboy" which I got in a trade, since I was curious to try one, and even here they're rare (based in Tokyo, so not the UK). This is the model Henrik Linder used before getting his single-cut signature model (I think the tracks "Baby" and "Hit Me" were recorded on this variant - or at least so the videos would suggest). Standard straight frets, not true-temperament. Impressions: neck feels a little chunky (e.g. a Roscoe 6-string is thinner/flatter, or say a Greg Curbow 6), but it's subtly asymmetric. The "FatBoy" body is rather thick, and the finish is a bit rougher than most other boutique instruments in the same price range (e.g. Fodera / Freedom CGR). Yet - the action is super low, no buzz, and bass plays effortlessly - the asymmetric neck is very comfy and fast. So - when taken out of the case it first feels a little bit like a tractor - when played, it feels like a an F1 racing shell. A little confusing, but in the best possible way. Given the large body and prominent headstock, it doesn't look like shorter-than-usual scale, but I've found the 33" scale very comfy. Any other questions - feel free to ask or DM me (and sadly, no, I don't have the stones to provide public playing samples, on a bass where the only other comparison is Henrik Linder - sorry guys... )

Nice one on the HH-Ray May be a bit late - but in case one crosses your path, I think something that you may like would be a Modulus "Sonic hammer" - it's the model that predates the Modulus Flea/Funk-Unlimited, with the main difference being that the Sonic Hammer has a more precision-shaped neck (and the Flea has a narrower Jazz shape neck). May be an urban legend, but from what I heard, Flea played the Sonic Hammer, loved the tone, but wanted a narrower neck - so they switched the neck profile, and made the body a bit rounder - and so the Modulus Flea came about. For some reason, the Sonic Hammers are much less loved than the Flea/FU basses, so you may bump into one for a sensible price - if it does, do give it a try.

Yamaha's serial number chart is here: https://www.yamaha.com/yamahaguitars/ElectricandBassGuitarSerialNumberSystems.pdf looks like it was January 1998. not an expert on the electronics, but it looks like a pretty standard barrel jack (to my untrained eye). Nice bass, by the way!

Depending on your budget, and second-hand availability: some of the smaller Phil Jones amps sound surprisingly good for the size. On the larger end, the Bass Briefcase certainly works at low levels also. At the tiny end of the spectrum - the Double Four gives surprisingly deep sound, given the size. (Personally, am not a fan of the Bass Cub - the DoubleFour seems to have a tighter/clearer sound)

With exception of the Strandberg (which isn't out yet?) I've played all the basses you've mentioned. All great instruments, thought I didn't get the feeling that the Status electronics would be the best fit for downtuned metal. From the Vigiers - as much as I love the passion, and I would want it to be my "favourite" Vigier, every time I try an Excess it seems to feel better. Despite the part-wooden neck, you can get a good amount of grunge and growl. From the passions/arpeges, I much prefer Series II (followed by Series III), and was surprised I didn't actually like the "current" Series IV nearly as much. Not sure which version of the Passion you tried, but in case you're set on buying one "new" that it was the current series. To my feel, they vary a lot. If you're looking at carbon necks - do also consider Zon (and/or Modulus), second hand. The later models have relief-adjustment/truss rods, and are rock solid too. They tend to turn up in the Classifieds from time to time... I know you said you'd prefer to buy new (these won't fit your budget new) - but give these a go if you can find one.

I think a "nice thick padded strap" has already been suggested - but how about trying a "harness" style strap, which distributes the weight across two shoulders? For example, the Gruvgear "Damian Erskine" might be one option Edit: Saw you've sold the Wal - what a beautiful specimen... from my birthyear too. I'm sad to see it's already sold (though my wallet may be happy about that...) Do let us know what you end up deciding to replace it with!

I have an opportunity to acquire a 6-string Status Graphite Stealth, but it's one which is equipped with the Bendwell option. I've also enjoyed playing shorter scale basses, so the 32-inch scale would probably work in terms of ergonomics - but i'm not sure how the low-b would behave. Sadly - this would be a remote purchase, so "try and see" is not an option at the moment. I've looked far & wide, and not found much information Status 5 and 6 strings with the bendwell. Indeed, I couldn't find a single Youtube or other sample clip. So: for anyone who has owned/played a bendwell-equipped status 5/6 string - could you please share your experience? And of course, any sample clips that I might have missed would be most welcome.

if you're adjusting string height, then the pickups usually should be adjusted to match. If you only drop the action a little bit, the pickup also moves by a tiny bit only - so probably still enough to anchor your thumb on Good thing with all these adjustments is that they're fully reversible, so have fun experimenting & if something sounds/feels worse, just take a step back

If it's been played frequently all that time & it's not had a proper check-up by a luthier, then it probably is due for a nice service and fret-dressing/check. After it's had a proper service, and with a bit of practice (and perhaps - a string-height gauge), it shouldn't be difficult to tweak the action gradually yourself. Going a little bit at a time should let you find a comfortable height Let us know how it turns out!

Dropping the action lower is also more likely to reveal other setup issues with a bass, such as uneven frets, sub-optimal amount of relief, etc. And how much clank you get will also depend on the tension in the strings (and obviously you playing style). Also - dropping the action by around a full 1mm in one go, if you've been playing with >3mm action before, is quite a lot - so not surprising that it would feel weird. Anyways - you asked for numbers, and insofar as I can tell, only @discreet mentioned any ... so here are a few more (all measured at the 24th fret / whatever is the last fret on a particular bass) I recall that Warwick's setup video specified their "standard" (= as delivered from the factory) action as 2mm on the hi-G, and 2.5mm on the low-E. I find that a useful "reference point for medium action". When the guys at Freedom CGR were doing no one of my basses, and asked what action I liked, I said "pretty low"... it came back with a bit under 1.25mm on the high-G, and around 1.75mm on low-B. Played beautifully with minimal buzz (which couldn't be heard amplified). So that would be my reference point for "rather low". Over a few weeks, I couldn't get my touch quite light enough for that action to feel natural on the high strings, so raised it a bit to 1.5mm/bit-above-1.75 on hiG/lowB - i'd still consider that "low action". Conversely, anything above 2.5mm on the high-G i'd consider "high-ish", and >3mm as "high". No idea whether these numbers for low/med/high would be shared by everyone, but it seems to match up well with what i've seen at my local bass shops (in Tokyo).

Nice bass, and cool story Wishing you many years of good health & great music with with the Ray

Some makers do voice the neck & bridge pickups differently. Usually by over-winding the bridge pickup, to give more output to compensate by less string vibration at this point. In a passive setup, this (in theory) should give you more equal output levels from both pickups. I think Nordstrand's singles, for example, do this. IIRC Bartolini make a variety of pickups in most of their shapes (including a variety of jazz-shaped ones), so there may (or may not) be a difference, depending on which flavour you've got

Saw that on Digimart the other day - might drop by to try it if I'm in Yokohama anytime soon. To be fair, they're not advertising it as a CT, but rather as a "no-brand custom bass". Finishing looks nice, though... I do wonder, however, how are they going to post it outside of Japan, with CITES around, and this being a "no-brand" bass with rosewood in it... Getting papers must be fun.

Not a luthier by any measure, but the issue of neck-stability after de/re-fretting comes often in discussion of converting fretted to fretless. The general consensus seems to be that if you fill the (old) fret-slots with something that's rigid enough (e.g. wood veneer or plastic) there should be no loss in neck stability. And then there's a bunch of people who say they've just pulled out the frets, without even filling the slots, and have no stability issues years later. So YMMV. Myself, I've recently de-fretted two (cheap) basses for fun - and "just to be safe" used a 0.5mm plastic sheet as line markers. A few weeks down the road - no problems with either. Re: changing the scale - it wouldn't be the cheapest (but probably not the most expensive) "modding project" bass that has been attempted on this forum, so if you're not too shy to try, why not? One of my basses is 36.5" inch scale (an old early 1990's Le Fay pangton), and sound-wise it's awesome - though the scale's too long for me, and hence it gets used rarely. If you do attempt the conversion, perhaps try the bass "fretless" at 36.5" scale for a few days (maybe use stickers for position markers on the side for help?) after you've removed the current frets? Then you'd know roughly how the bass sounds, and whether it's worth the extra hassle of filling old slots, putting in new ones, etc. If it still doesn't sound to your liking at the longer scale, perhaps it's then not worth the extra hassle of re-fretting. Or who knows - maybe you'll like it fretless? If you do decide to proceed - I'd for one be very curious to see how it turns out - please record some before & after clips Good luck!

I spoke to someone at the bass branch of one of the main music store chains here in Tokyo who had tried these at NAMM last year. His comment was that the way the new Quantums were being pitched, the emphasis was on the wireless/bluetooth aspect (and portability, of course). No idea about imminent (or not) release date to the public. Sound wise, the guy said that the Double-4 and Bass Cub sounded better, if you can use something that's a little bit bigger. They sell a lot of PJB stuff here, and he expected that the Quantums would do well in Japan, because a lot of people "just want the really smallest option" - but based on sound quality, he'd recommend the larger PJB's. It's of course possible that between last NAMM & when the Quantum gets released (if it does) they could tweak/improve the sound...