Who makes em, and which is the best? Do they sound as good as a high end all wood bass? lemme know your thoughts... would they work in a heavy rock type genre?
1) Status, Moses, Modulus, Zon... 2) Status! Maybe Zon as well, haven't been able to try one yet. 3) Yes 4) Yes You may find a search helps for more detailed answers. There's a recent thread about Moses necks that has some useful info relevant to this.
Steinberger also did graphite necks. Alembic also had some when Modulus was still part of Alembic And there were some more little companies, and customs... Most people say they sound different: they are brighter. And yes, they would most probably work in heavy rock, but it also depends on the body woods, pups, technique, etc...
How could I forget Steinbergers? They were the first, I think... with the square bodied bass. Only played one once, about 1986/7 I think, sounded great but the small body did mean there was some neck dive. And it felt weird to play it sitting down.
I have never played one before, but I heard that they sound "digital". Not sure how you want to translate that, but... I've heard Zons, and I absolutely love their sound. Take a listen to anything Michael Manring does; amazing tone! Joe
These are all good choices. Keep in mind that each neck sounds a little different from one another and each have different profiles/dimensions. You can also add Parker to this list as well. These are the top 6 companies that you want to explore and focus on: Status, Zon, Parker, Modulus, Steinberger, and Moses. Stick to these 6 solid companies and you'll surely find something to your liking! If you find a company that you might want to work with, make sure that you demo their gear, talk to their endorsers, get a sense of the financial stability of the company, and do as much web research as possible. From there, you will have a wealth of information to assist your buying decision.
Each manufacturer has his own design and manufaction process, so they don't sound the same. A SKC Graphite neck (on almost all older German basses a la Schack, Clover and Bogart) differs a lot from Status, for example, as do Steinberg, Modulus or Zon.
[Homer voice] D'oh! [/voice] I knew i was forgetting something. I've even seen a used Schack in a shop some time ago
Also, you can get a warmoth body and buy a status replacement neck (or other brand), if you want to go a more custom route. Personally, I would love to have a status S-2-Classic Headless as a practice bass when I travel because the neck never warps. But I wouldn't want one as a studio bass because they have a very bright sound. I prefer a wenge or maple neck to get the job done. Happy Shopping!
