SKC Bogart Headless Graphite bass

[Larmer]

Hello,

I recently won this off ebay.de. Price was 500€ including shipping.
Otherwise working perfectly, but the volume knob doesn't work. Seems like it's stuck at full volume, so I gotta get that fixed.

Would it be more of a monster if I were to add in some Status J PU's and a John East pre?
I'll definitely consider that, if I'm not satisfied with the current tone in the longer run.




[url="http://www.bogart-bass.de/"]http://www.bogart-bass.de/[/url]

[EBS_freak]

Whats in it currently? Looks like Bartolinis?

[Larmer]

Bartolinis, yes. The pre-amp is 2-band.

[4000]

The Bogarts I've played have been great, easily a match for any Status I've tried.

[whynot]

What a bargain for an excellent bass. The SKC necks are a pleasure to play.
I would leave the Barts in, as the blackstone body is not something I would want to play with bearing in mind the foam core.
The control plate doesn't look original but not an issue at that price.

[Chris2112]

I've always loved Bogart basses and with something as cool and collectible as this I wouldn't mess with it. Much like the graphite necked Schack basses, these are as good as German basses get!

[Spoombung]

There's one of these (a green one) in the bass Gallery. It's been there ages. I did try it out - it had a very nice neck but a bit of a bland sound.

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Spoombung' post='1013529' date='Nov 5 2010, 05:37 PM']There's one of these (a green one) in the bass Gallery. It's been there ages. I did try it out - it had a very nice neck but a bit of a bland sound.[/quote]

is it still there? I remember it (it looked cool!) but it doesn't seem to be there now.

[Larmer]

[quote name='whynot' post='1012676' date='Nov 4 2010, 11:29 PM']The control plate doesn't look original but not an issue at that price.[/quote]

Are you sure? There's one at ebay with an identical plate. Take a peek:
[url="http://cgi.ebay.de/Bogart-Blackstone-Headless-5-bass-SKC-graphite-carbon-/170554439040"]http://cgi.ebay.de/Bogart-Blackstone-Headl...n-/170554439040[/url]

Anyways, I'm seriously considering swapping the pre-amp. What would you people recommend for me?
I'm looking for Vol/Pan, Bass/Treble, Low Mid/High Mid. Should I just contact John East, or any other manufacturers anyone might recommend?

If anyone is familiar with the material of the body the bass has, I would like to know if it's possible to drill a hole to the side of the bass for the jack?
This way I could have a J-Retro 01 Deluxe fitted, which has four knobs; Tone, Mid/Mid, Bass/Treble, Vol/Blend. This is exactly what I'm looking for spec-wise.

[Larmer]

Got also a quick question. Is there anyway how I could identify exactly what kind of Bartolini pick-ups these are?

I took a few pic's to help out:

- bridge pick-up


- neck pick-up

Here's also a photobucket folder dedicated for the bass only, I've mainly taken pictures of the electronics,
as I really want to find out what they are exactly, and about possibly upgrading/replacing them.

[url="http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b283/epitaph123/Bogart%20Blackstone/"]http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b283/epi...t%20Blackstone/[/url]

[Chris2112]

[quote name='Spoombung' post='1013529' date='Nov 5 2010, 05:37 PM']There's one of these (a green one) in the bass Gallery. It's been there ages. I did try it out - it had a very nice neck but a bit of a bland sound.[/quote]

They do look awesome but they don't sound as good as Schack basses do (or did)...

[whynot]

I stand corrected on the plate. All the Bogarts i've seen never had one like that... now there are two.
As they are back in production I would email the company for details on pickups etc.

[green]

i wouldn't change anything on it either.
i got one of those bogart JJ myself, and it's a real monster !

just play it a bit, and see if you like the tone.
it can have lots of zing, but also growl like a mad dog.

what's the pickup height on your bass ?
talking about pickup to string distance, try 3mm on the bridge pickup and 4mm on the neck pickup. that setup sounds very good.
and what strings are you using ?
i recommend stainless steel .40
but it also sounds very good and zingy even with fender black nylons.

if you have questions about the pickups, why don't you ask the guys from SKC ? thats the company that built them.
they were selling bartolini electronics and pickups too, so they must know what's in there.

by the way, as far as i know, the schack and slapper beelzebub basses had SKC graphite necks too, right ?

Edited November 22, 2010 by green

[whynot]

[quote name='green' post='1032532' date='Nov 22 2010, 01:11 PM']by the way, as far as i know, the schack and slapper beelzebub basses had SKC graphite necks too, right ?[/quote]
I think your right.
The Clover 5 and Schack 5 were both 36" scale as standard and my Clover 5 is definately an SKC neck, although you could request a shorter scale to order.