Status Kingbass mk 1 - tonal differences

[dmz]

I know there are a lot of Kingbass owners out there on this forum and some seem to have several and some have visited Colchester to try things out - so could you all give me an impression of tonal differences between the various models available.

Thinking of going for a fretless 5 or 6 string - the standard appeals as the bolt on neck construction should perhaps result in more mid range punch - which should be desirable in a fretless instrument.

However - I am intrigued as to what an alder bodied black beauty or graphite capped alder (graphite) might sound like - does the alder body make much difference over more typical walnut ?

I suppose the artist is tonally more even than the standard and with most modern amps, midrange punch could be dialled in - but you'd have the advantage of having more highs available if you wanted them.

That's the way I see it but I'd like some thoughts too please !

A photo or two would be nice as well....

Cheers

[fender73]

Morning! I had a Kingbass Artist MK1, and was able to pretty much dial in most sounds, including a very middy punchy tone which cut through with no issues. Mine (as most had/have) had a very high output which could clip any amp at 30 paces! so i have it modded to cool it down a bit.

Great bass in terms of construction/tone etc, but cannot comapre it to any other KB's as i've never tried others. Needless to say, i didn't get on with the size and shape of the bass so sold it on, but they have many fans and are truly great bits of kit.

[attachment=59311:Kingbass_Artist.jpg]

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='fender73' date='Sep 21 2010, 08:12 AM' post='962941'
Great bass in terms of construction/tone etc.... I didn't get on with the size and shape of the bass so sold it on, but they have many fans and are truly great bits of kit.
[/quote]

That's it in a nutshell. I visited Colchester, and tried S2s, Kingbasses and a Streamline.
The S2 and Streamline suited me fine, but the Kingbass didn't. I bought a Streamline.
I think it's due to the Alembic/JayDee/Mark King influences on the shape. Maybe I wear it too low...

[Fat Rich]

[quote name='dmz' post='962797' date='Sep 20 2010, 10:07 PM']..........

However - I am intrigued as to what an alder bodied black beauty or graphite capped alder (graphite) might sound like - does the alder body make much difference over more typical walnut ?

.........[/quote]

I'm not familiar with the Kingbass, I prefer S2 Classics but I have an Alder / Graphite shell S2 Classic on order and I've been told by Rob that it'll have a little more top end bite than the standard mahogany + facing bodied S2s.

There are Status players who seem to prefer walnut tone blocks on their basses, I assume they've tried different configurations back to back and come to that conclusion. I think Rob's view generally seems to be that the graphite neck and the electronics are responsible for most of the tone, with the toneblock + body secondary, but I'd say drop him an email and he'll probably answer any questions you've got when he gets time.