Hey guys.

I'm going to be starting a bass project fairly soon, looking for some pointers on a couple of things. Ill put down the intended specs, feel free to let me know of any unwise decisions or combinations (I've only owned 4 basses, whereas by the looks of things you lot are a bit more hardcore :P)

Body:
Buckeye Burl (f supplier can provide this without breaking the bank)
Failing that, Mahogany body with buckeye burl facing

Neck:
Headless Status if they'll sell me an S2 neck, or a moses headless.
Plain fretless, 24 "fret"
Probably 5 string, I cant see that getting in the way to much if i dont slap on it.

Electronics:
Mute switch!
2 Status soapbar's into a blend pot (not the main one)
Fishman piezo in bridge
Status Board 301 (Vol, Blend for piezo & output of MagPup blend, Treble, Bass, Variable Mid, 3 way Mid switch, gain trim pot)

Plus a few possible onboard FX (home made - they work well out of a bass, so its just a case of scaling down PCB design a bit.) Presets with just on/off : a light chorus, light reverb, light distortion (rather than overdriving my preamp as is sometimes needed for 'heavier' jazz)

Bridge:
Probably Status headless tuners.



So thats the outline, main concerns are whether you all think that'll work well together, feasibility, etc.

By virtue of fretless, there's little or no concerns with tuning issues (as long as the side dots are in pretty much the right place, I'll be happy.

Cheers
Steve

I've gone down the road with projects like this and they tend to turn into..PROJECTS!! Time-consuming, headachey, endeavors that usually make you question why you didn't just have a company build one for you in the first place, rather than troubleshooting and frankensteining with a bunch of parts from various vendors/luthiers. ;)

I suggest trying out one of the Status Electro-3 4 or 5 string fretless models, and maybe having Rob put a burl top on it, if possible. This sounds like the bass that you are essentially specing out. ;)

Hmm, possibly... A headless fretless electro does sound nice, but if I was going to be paying Status money I'd probably go for a Steinberger upright bass rather than getting another b/guitar :(

Do those electro's fit in the Hiscox hard cases, given the bodies are considerably thicker than the rest of the range?

I've got to imagine that Rob has Hiscox or another hard-shell case for those great basses. ;) SAVE THAT MONEY NOW!! ;)

Ooo, basgallery london has one of the NS uprights for a shade over £2000 :O
Wonder if they would keep it over for... a year

hi Steve, check this out on ebay,

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Status-4000-fre...dZViewItem

could be the start of your project.

Thanks for the link, but lined fretless :P Bit of a snob about that sort of thing, hehe.

Could be the start of a project for me then! :o

Lol - If its a bidwar It'll be between you and status.
Either way, I dont have *Any* money after gettng an avalon acoustic :D

well if it need a new body, just get them to sent the neck & hardware. cut back on the shipping.

That's what i was thinking. May still be too much for me as a new body would cost plenty to have built.

Feel free to bid away without interference from me. I have my eye on something else at the moment, :D funds permitting of course!

That Series 4000 fretless has now been relisted without a reserve and the listing is here.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...7411991140

Can't get it to work as an active link but if you cut and paste it into the address bar it does come up.

OK thanks, I'll have a look when I get home (Some what Nazi-esque internet restrictions in school)

Ah yes, that one.
I'd go to £200 or so if it was a plain fretless neck, but to buy this and get Rob to put a new fingerboard on would cost more than a new headless/plain fretless neck straight from status (Or so i believe?)

Haha.
Sorry, but I just have to mention this.

A project from a long time ago.

Sounded quite nice actually, P-bass style 4 string fretless I made, with a rather sh*t body finish. Shed woodstain and bees-wax. Fingerboard is rosewood painted black and coated with poly-urathane laquer.
Ancient hardware (spot the rust)