Adethefade

Thanks for all the input guys. I'm sure an S2 is now on the cards. The only question is 4 or 5-string. If there was a drop D option on a 4-string there's be no contest, but then headless bridges are pretty quick to de-tune. I'll try to get 10 minutes on a 5-string and see how it feels. In the mean time I'm saving. They seem to command a price in the used market so a new one may be the best option.

Thanks fellas, I really appreciate your input. I thought the airing cupboard would cause a panic - but it's OK, we got a combi boiler years ago so it's just a cupboard really. I'll PM v8Bass since we're both down the dusty end of the country. If I try one though, it'll probably be a no-brainer.

Only you folks are going to understand - I've tried talking to my wife but she glazes over after the first syllable. Owning all the Jazzes, Ps, Stingrays, Ricks & Steinbergers I can fit in the airing cupboard; should the next classic bass that I buy be a Status S2? For... They sound amazing They look amazing Headless is a joy when you're tight for space on stage. Possibly against... I played 5-string only for years, but I now love 4-string spacing so I use Hipshots for dropped D. Not possible with an S2 headless. Not sure I'd want to go back to 5-string to solve the problem above After a pint, I might play songs a tone too sharp by accident. I am besotted with Stingrays right now - anything else will have to feel & sound pretty special I've never played an S2 All input from my bass-playing chums welcome... Ade

My necks will move without notice a couple of times a year. It's usually a tiny bit more relief to the neck. Always worth having a couple of tools in your gig bag.

A couple of observations; when you adjust a saddle screw, if the string is under tension sometimes the saddle won't actually move. You need to lift the string from the saddle seating to free its movement up. Also, I have, on a couple of occasions, found that the pickup being set too high can mess with intonation; probably because of the magnet 'pull'. When you fret the note at the 12th, it's important to apply the sort of pressure you'd realistically use when playing the instrument. If you press too hard, the note will be 'bent' out of tune. I [i]always[/i] set intonation with the instrument in the playing position, not on the bench, because the readings will be different. As has been said, it's important to get your head around the direction of adjustment - moving the saddle away from the neck will flatten the noise, and towards the neck will sharpen it...and remember that any adjustment is applied to the [i]whole string[/i]; you have to retune the open note after every movement, before checking the fretted note.

Humans can't perceive stereo at low frequencies because our ears would have to be about 16 feet apart (and even where I come from that's rare) so the only stereo component of a bass guitar signal would be the effects that are used. On a concert PA, the low frequency components are best run in mono because of this, and also because it eliminates any phasing issues and makes for a 'tighter' low end. It's also worth considering that creating a great stereo image for a live band's mix is best done by placing mono signals at different places within that image. If you start introducing a stereo guitar setup, a stereo piano, and stereo bass guitar signal then the engineer loses almost all control over the stereo image that he wants to create for the listeners. In a stripped-down pub setup, this is achieve naturally because the listener 'positions' the various band components according to their physical placement in the room. I can't think of one musical instrument that was ever created to be 'stereo' in itself. Yes I'm a FOH engineer, but a bass player first - I promise! Ade