Wil

I asked if they had an Elixer 5 string set once in SC Bristol, and was presented with 5 sets of Elixer acoustic strings...

So, what's the Stingray all about then eh? I've been gassin' all this week, for no good reason, for a black maple board Ray. A 4 string, even, and I'm a 5 string man! I think its because I've been hankering for something a bit more organic than my graphite necked Status of late, but with the same solid build and enough cut for a modern rock band. I love the looks of the 4 string ray, and hate the looks of the 5, hence the preference for the 4. It would need to be able to handle BEAD tuning, mind... Now, I love my Statii, but I tend to have more of an affinity for my old battered Series 1 with its wood neck than the S2 I had made, which is a shame. The S2 sounds a bit sterile to my ears, and although it feels great its all about the noise it makes, right? Now, the question is, should I chop in the Status for a Stingray? And of course, the Sterling hasn't even come into the equation yet...

Cass Lewis is at the top of my cool list. Stuart Zender isn't far behind.

Dibs on the black Stingray in SC Bristol if they have a closing down sale!

[quote name='jimbartlett' post='36462' date='Jul 24 2007, 04:47 PM']Wil, do you have any sound clips of that Bass? What do all the knobs and switches do? Does it have a case? Does it suffer from neck dive? What condition is it in? Sorry about all the questions! [/quote] Soundclips of the mock, as requested. Only quick recordings straight into the PC I'm afraid, I'm in a bit of a rush tonight! I forgot to mention its currently strung BEAD, and the preamp battery is dead so couldnt put a sample of that in action up. All it does is make it louder and adds a bit of natural compression, I usually leave it off anyway tbh! [url="http://media.putfile.com/Mockingbird-bridge-pickup"]Mockingbird, bridge pup[/url] [url="http://media.putfile.com/Mockingbird-both-pups"]Mockingbird, both pups[/url] [url="http://media.putfile.com/Mockingbird-neck-pup"]Mockingbird, neck pup[/url]

Of course wood choice affects tone! Different wood = different grain, resonance, and density which affects the way your bass vibrates. The way your bass vibrates affects the way your strings vibrate, so clearly it will have an effect on tone. I have a graphite neck on one of my Status basses, and a maple neck on the other. The tone difference is staggering (the necks and bodies are exactly the same profile and size btw). The maple definately adds a midrange hump that is not there with the graphite neck.

[quote name='elom' post='36609' date='Jul 24 2007, 10:42 PM']Cool avatar Wil. Sam and Max - that takes me back. It'll be Day of the Tentacle next![/quote] I love Sam and Max! Max: "It seems these evil men will never begin to understand our peaceful nature." Sam: "Hope they figure it out pretty quick. My trigger finger is blistering."

Buy buy buy! I've got gas for a Warwick Dolphin 5 at the moment I need to finance!

I could record some sound clips I expect. I moved the strap button to behind the neck plate, and there is only minimal neck dive now (when I got it the dive was obscene!). With a grippy strap it doesn't dive at all for me. Comes in a gig bag. Condition is ok for the year (was informed that its a 1986 model, built in Nagoya Japan), a few scratches and chips which I can get better pics of, nothing major though. Knobs! The 3 black knobs are volume, pre-amp volume, and passive tone. The chickenhead knob is a 6 position varitone switch, which I think is 6 different capacitors to roll off top end. The big toggle is pickup select, then the little ones are preamp on/off, phase, neck series/parallel and bridge series parallel. The neck is nice and slim, like a Jazz I suppose. The bass itself is quite light, too.

I'm a 5 string guy, and I prefer a more modern tone. This thing sounds more thumpy old school spinal tap rock.

[quote name='Bassmonster' post='6491' date='May 25 2007, 02:00 PM']i am not a fan of the "metal" type basses, but this does look pretty sweet. I am sure someone on here/bw/bt has one an original 80's model with loads of knobs on it.[/quote] That's me! I bought it off Shockwave, who bought it off Lorne. It's for sale actually, £350 anyone?

I wonder if there are any Modulus Buzzards in circulation? I know they made a few. Be interesting to find out how they compared to the Status ones.

Fingers, but some of my bands old back catalogue really need a pick. Fast punk just doesn't sound right with fingers, plus its a nightmare to keep up. I get really bad wrist ache whenever I play with a pick though. My technique must need work.

According to Buzzardbass.com, only around 100 Buzzards were produced by Warwick back in the day. Of these, 40 were painted and 60 were oil finish (natural wood finish). Apparently also "Only the first 20 had the Entwistle trademark forward master volume knob with top mounted jack.", which I guess is this config: Here's the page with the info: [url="http://www.buzzardbass.com/Warwick/Warwick.htm"]Buzzardbass Warwick page[/url] Anyway, long story short, you're looking at a lot of money if its a genuine early Warwick Buzzard. Personally though I think the Status Buzzard was the best variant, and apparently so did JE.

[quote name='ARGH' post='33901' date='Jul 18 2007, 11:11 PM']Try using your fingers. Seriously,when you see the rollcall of lines...complex lines played on P-Bass's,usually by ex-Uprightists,with skyhigh action and flats on them or total zoom about the fingerboard work of people like Entwistle or Steve Harris,I must ask are people copping out or what? The only thing a stock P cant do is be slapped,its tone is kak unless you change the P/U....dosent mean you cant play funk on one (George Porter jr). I have to question your freting hands technique. The P is the best Passive LRB available period.[/quote] I have quite large hands so find a P quite comfy, but others with smaller hands quite predictably can suffer when playing a P neck. A bass is a tool to do the job - it shouldn't be a struggle to play a bass with a neck not suited to you for the sake of tone. Mind you, I've A/Bed a P bass with a P neck with a P bass deluxe with a Jazz neck though, and couldn't tell any difference in tone myself, so why should people have to put up with discomfort and hand cramps? Ah, slap tone! I actually love the stock P slap tone. It has that Bootsy-esq mid presence that just oozes funk - the polar opposite of the "modern" tone of Marcus Miller/Mark King etc. In my experience etc etc, ymmv.

The Kingbass is designed to be worn high, a la Mark King. If you wear it low then its known to be uncomfortable, but I've seen a chap on Talkbass (HornyToad I think) has modified his Kingbass artist with a strap extender to make it more comfy. I've always had excellent service from Rob and Dawn at Status, but occassionally emails dont get through to them because of their spam filter. I'd have suggested ringing the workshop tbh, they've always been happy to go over any ideas, in my experience.

I fancy a Dano DC like the one Fat Mike from NOFX uses. Hate the longhorn shape, but the DC is nice! Never seen one for sale though, think they are mostly rare as not sure if they were reissued. The longhorn has certainly been reissued in the past, and Tanc has one in the nicest colour ever if I recall correctly...

It doesn't do sitting, mark my words!

My mockingbird. Not very comfy at the best of times, and the sound leaves a bit to be desired as well. Still, it looks cool!