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Get your STATUS-GRAPHITE basses out!


OutToPlayJazz

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[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='302550' date='Oct 8 2008, 09:29 PM']Looks verrrrry nice :)

Headstock under the bendwell looks scarily thin, but I'm sure Rob knows what he's doing.

Can't spot the ramp in the pictures ... maybe I'm expecting the wrong thing. Are they referring to that extra bit of fingerboard with no frets ?

Andy[/quote]

The `ramp' refers to the sloping away of the end of the fingerboard, not as per the `Willis' ramp that sits twixt the p/ups! Mark's old Jaydee's featured such rampage!

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Rob's reply (from Statti) to everyone's comments on the KB-II...

'Morning all,
I had a great drive up to Liverpool on Wednesday with a couple of new basses for Mark. These are the final "keepers" but fundamentally the same as the last two... One is quilt maple over alder with blue LED's, the other is cocobolo over walnut with white LED's. There were a couple of very minor tweaks on these two but nothing that makes the bass sound any different. Opened the cases at the sound-check and away they went.
Stayed for most of the gig and thought it sounded great. I know Clem (long time sound guy) had a few problems with the in-house PA at the sound-check but got it sorted. They added their own subs to beef the sound a bit. Nice to hear a couple of 'new / old' tunes and Mark was enjoying it.... even gave me a name-check!

Regarding the new Mk-II KingBasses, the story goes like this : I sat around with Mark, kicking ideas again and we decided it was time to do more than a 'face-lift' of the original model and we have had a few people ask about a headed version. Fitting a headstock to the original bass is not ideal because of the small body size and the way the balance is upset... so... we pumped up the body shape and slimmed it down a little.... Mark had the image of a Hofner Verithin somewhere in the back of his mind.

The J style pickups are a way of opening the sound and adding a broader frequency response. The 4-string pickups are horizontally split so are hum-cancelling, but they still retain the true single-coil tone. They are not thinner and twangy but gives a wider, more open tone.... sounds good and Mark loves it. I dabbled with the idea of coil-tap soap-bar pickups for a while and it works great but the skinny J covers also give the bass a different look.
A Board 302 circuit remains the same as the original KingBass.

The neck has a regular 34" scale with a lay-back headstock plus the custom option of a moulded "BendWell" and ball-bearing top-nut.

4 and 5 strings are available with 16.5mm (Mark's) or regular 19mm string spacing on the 4-string. The 5-string is 18mm as standard. Mono-rail bridge units are fitted and the hardware can be black, gold or chrome. I already had enquiries about a headless version ( ! ) and do not see any problems. The current wood and LED options are, of course, available.

I will be adding some stock basses and up-dating the info on our web-site next week.

Comments and enquiries to the usual place.
Pip-pip, Rob.

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Well, played my bolt-on 5-stringer in anger last night for a two hour non stop party set. It was magic! Punched right through everything. First 5-stringer I'm not tempted to sell! *Was that an offer of £2000 I just heard??* As soon as I get my 1990 model back I'll do some proper pictures with the digital SLR of the whole fleet!


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[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='305046' date='Oct 12 2008, 09:36 PM']Nice `flange' of Statii there James!

Purple drapes - good colour choice, very calming! Was I dreaming this or do you use Markbass now?[/quote]

i'm EBS all the way!! i was asked to demo Markbass for a local music shop recently, but just did'nt like it.

james.

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[quote name='durandassi' post='305052' date='Oct 12 2008, 09:43 PM']i'm EBS all the way!! i was asked to demo Markbass for a local music shop recently, but just did'nt like it.

james.[/quote]

I was an EBS die-hard, then I found MB and it was love - if they (EBS) had introduced the neo stuff two years earlier I'd probably still be using EBS... superb equipment!

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Went down to do some tuition at The Bass Merchant yesterday (Hi Darren!) and took a flying visit to see the new Kingbasses! Very very tasty - the pics don't really do them justice - very comfortable to play and of course, the classic Status feel and tone! The body is very wide but very slim in depth! Rob and Dawn were working at home so Jerry was most kind to let me in to have a gander!

Cheers!

Nick

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[quote name='marcus bell' post='306640' date='Oct 14 2008, 08:55 PM']seen them in action at oxford last saturday, the best bass sound since jaydee end of, theres no two ways about it, punchy clear...everything i like,

glad im going to be hearing it again in bristol this sunday yay!!!


a very happy marcus[/quote]

Nice one m8! I'm off to see them next week in Cambridge! The new bass seems to be `bigger' sounds-wise, due perhaps to the size of the instrument; its the widest Status yet! Rob and the guys are having to have some new cases made to fit the wider body!

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[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='307267' date='Oct 15 2008, 05:42 PM']As the good Doctor says, all the Status graphite necks have had a dual-way truss rod since the late 80's.

Rich.[/quote]
I don't think so. unless I'm mistaken somewhere.

My mid/late 90's Eclipse Ltd is trussrodless. Though maybe the Eclipse ltd was the only one in the range like that.

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[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='307523' date='Oct 16 2008, 01:31 AM']I don't think so. unless I'm mistaken somewhere.

My mid/late 90's Eclipse Ltd is trussrodless. Though maybe the Eclipse ltd was the only one in the range like that.[/quote]
my status knowledge is limited, but that seems very strange to me

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[quote name='BassManKev' post='307546' date='Oct 16 2008, 03:07 AM']my status knowledge is limited, but that seems very strange to me[/quote]

Just taken a look at the 'old site' [url="http://status-graphite.com/oldsite/basspage.htm"]LINK[/url].

Looks to me like all the graphite thru-necks share a similar neck to mine. No proof I know.

If mine DOES have a truss rod adjustment it's very well hidden ... like in a pickup cavity perhaps, or under the bridge. I've never looked.

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Hey Andy, my mistake - It's from the late 90's, not the 80's! Here's an excerpt from the Status FAQ page...

Do all Status basses have truss-rods ? :

No. Early graphite neck models, until about 1998, did not have truss-rods. These necks were moulded to be extremely ridged and had the fingerboard shaped accordingly. All maple neck basses had a dual action truss-rod which was accessed from just behind the top-nut.
From around 1998 onward graphite necks had a dual action truss-rod which was accessed from the body end of the fingerboard.

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im not really a big fan of status headless basses, i dont really get on with the asthetics of headless basses...

my favourites are the kingbass mk2

and i like the bass up on the right on this pic...




has anyone got any idea of what it is, and has anyone got any pic of similar ones...

much appreciated

a happy marcus bell, counting down until sunday (level 42 bristol),

x

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Hi Marcus, if you mean the one directly to the left of the Alembic hanging on the wall, it looks like a headed Status S2/Empathy with graphite neck & custom P&J pickups unless my eyes are deceiving me... With that pickup set it's a very rare beast indeed! Never seen an S2 of any description with anything other than a pair of soapbars or J's in the case of the cheaper models or the John Edwards Charger model.

That picture... It's on the Gallery or Bass Cellar site, isn't it?

Rich.

Edited by OutToPlayJazz
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