NickT Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 I'm looking around for a new 5 string at the minute and I am thinking about graphite necks. I play quite hard and try to bring new meaning to the phrase "giving it heaps" when playing live...the bass takes quite a pounding Ah ha graphite maybe the answer...short of snapping it in half there is very little that I, or the weather, can do to the neck. (I really should stop rambling at the beginings of my posts. ) Do graphite necks sound cold and clinical? (I ain't expecting to be able to shake pictures off the walls without cranking the bottom end a little on the rig or the pre-amp a bit.) But I am going to be fighting a losing battle against a sound that is cold and clangy? Has anyone played Status basses. (My first bass playing hero was a kid who was 17 when I was about 12 or 13. He played in a band at school called The Substitutes, he was the coolest guy on the planet ever. He had a red Status Classic 2, headless...and I've wanted one ever since.) My plan is actually to find the right instrument and then think about how to finance it, within reason of course. I ain't about to spend £10,000 on a bass...but for the right instrument I am prepared to wait. (Including research and testing, it took me 2 1/2 years to buy my current main bass.) Free your mind and your ass will follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temporaryarmsglisten Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 graphite has it advantages. my experiance is that theres alot less dead spots with graphite. but the necks feel alot more stiff than wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xhawk4 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Nick, One of my first 'expensive' basses was a Peavey B-Quad 4 with a Modulus neck. It was designed by Brian Bromberg. Coupled with two EMG soapbars 18volt system.....It was awesome!! Also had piezo bridge pickups. I think it had a pau-ferro fretboard? Not sure on that one. The Modulus neck NEVER went out of tune!! And took a beating also. I used to hit hard, then I got older and calmed down a bit!! Lol! The tone was to die for! You could dial in ANY tone desired, really! Warm and fat to twangy and punchy. I wish I still had her. If I had never found my ultimate...'78 P-Bass I would've kept it. Ebay has one on there once in a while. If you try it, you won't regret it. After I solve my ultimate Amp quest, I might just go looking for her again!! Ha! Good luck bro. Hawk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xhawk4 Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 Sure it feels stiff.....Its GRAPHITE man!!! My Peavey/Modulus NEVER had not even a sign of a dead spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
temporaryarmsglisten Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 hey, i would put up with a little stiffness to have absolutly no dead spots. ive got an old jazz and believe me i apreciate the clarity you get from graphite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 As you're in London, I'd recommend going to The Gallery in Camden and trying out the various basses they've got there. When I was last in there they had about 8 Stingrays, one of which had a graphite neck and I found it very enlightening to compare it to the wood-necked ones. My conclusion was that with graphite you get a marginally quicker attack, more top and bottom, but less midrange complexity/growl. Whether you feel the extra top and bottom is worth the loss of growl is up to you - I'll be sticking with wood necks (which is a relief because I always thought that I'd want to change to graphite at some point and I already have fantastic wood-necked bass). Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 After playing my Modulus Q5 fretted, I dumped my other basses, and bought a matching Q5 fretless to go with it. I think the neck feels great. Some true wood lovers may not. The thing with the graphite is how all the notes are even all the way up and down the neck. The tone is consistant. No dead spots. I also like the stability of the neck. In this part of the country, we go from 40 below to 40 above in a day. Humidity can change from skin crackling dry to that too long in the water wrinkle in about a day, too. I have gotten nothing but compliments on my tone. I play Funk, R&B, Jazz, whatever and it all sounds good. It may not be a "classic" wood sound, but it is "my" sound and I am putting more emphasis these days on developing that instead of trying to imitate others. Play one, you may be surprised. I know I was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_Sweet Willie_ Posted March 4, 2003 Share Posted March 4, 2003 There are also some interesting options besides an all graphite neck. There are lots of companies now who put graphite stiffening bars in their necks to help keep the necks from warping (but this isn't really comparable at all to having a graphite neck!). More interesting, IMHO, are the Modulus Genesis necks -- graphite/wood hybrids different than simply having stiffening bars. You can also buy the Genesis necks to affix to another make of bass. I haven't played one, but I'm really interested in getting my hands on one. Here's the link: Modulus Genesis Basses . Might be worth investigating. Also, don't forget that graphite necks can be had with composite fingerboards or wood fingerboards. Some folks like to have the advantages of a graphite neck, but retain the feel of wood under their fingertips. Peace. spreadluv Fanboy? Why, yes! Nordstrand Pickups and Guitars. Messiaen knew how to parlay the funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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