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Gene Simmons New Cort Axe Bass???

#286
#287
Had a chance to buy a Kramer axe bass and guitar for the total sum of $800.00 back when they first came out. Still kicking myself in the ass!!!! I use to like them when they were a band not a gimmick or money hungry corporation.
 
#289
Rumble 2112 said:
Had a chance to buy a Kramer axe bass and guitar for the total sum of $800.00 back when they first came out. Still kicking myself in the ass!!!! I use to like them when they were a band not a gimmick or money hungry corporation.
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Looks like I should have stolen the autographed copy of Genes book from the library! Gene freely admits to being money hungry from as far back as he can remember. He has refered to Kiss as Disneyland with no overhead.
 
#290
I've recently bought the cheaper model Axe... and it sounds a whole lot better than my 76 P bass or my Epiphone Ripper. It's a heavy bass with some serious neck dive though, and you can't play it sitting down! It does however attract some attention. I always thought that Corts were a POS bass but have changed my opinion on them since this purchase!
 

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#291
I saw one of these at a local store and was very impressed with the build quality, far better than I ever would have imagined. The neck profile is great, beefy without being ungainly. The fret work for this price point is excellent, even the Mighty Mite pickups sound pretty hot. I was so impressed I bought one ( for dealer cost :) )
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#295
Well I took a chance and actually gigged with this bass having never even rehearsed with it. The gig we played on 10/23/10 was Buffalo's Biggest Halloween Bash in front of 4,000 plus. We did two Kiss songs that night, R&R All Night and Detroit Rock City. The bass didn't let me down, sounded massive through my Hiwatts. The bass is very bright and has good output, I only use the P pickup and roll off a little top end on the tone control.Of course I gave the bass a good set up prior to taking it out but to be honest it didn't need all that much tweaking. It is very neck heavy (you'd have to be a dope not to expect it to be). This bass is all about the look not ergonomics, lots of fun for very little dough. WAY more than I would have expected at this price point. Video to come.
 
#296
godofthunder59 said:
Well I took a chance and actually gigged with this bass having never even rehearsed with it. The gig we played on 10/23/10 was Buffalo's Biggest Halloween Bash in front of 4,000 plus. We did two Kiss songs that night, R&R All Night and Detroit Rock City. The bass didn't let me down, sounded massive through my Hiwatts. The bass is very bright and has good output, I only use the P pickup and roll off a little top end on the tone control.
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I agree that the stock electronics sound really nice, but based on my own experience I can tell that the EMG PJ set is a terrific improvement if you want your Axe to really cut-through in a rock band setting.
 
#297
Being the huge Kiss fan that I am, I of course love the look of this bass, I haven't got around to trying one yet, and I doubt I'd buy one as it will most likely just sit around not getting played, and I already have too many basses doing that as it is. I am interested to know how good it plays and sounds, as I own a cort bass, albeit a fretless but that thing really delivers and was only a couple of hundred more than the axe bass, I'm glad to hear good things on here, but it can't compete with a simmons punisher can it?
 
#298
I have never played a Punisher so I can't compair. Remember this isn't the 5k Axe but the budget bolt on model. I bought this for fun, paid $375.00. I would never reccomend this as someones only bass. I will most likely use it once a year for a couple of tunes on a Halloween gig, The rest of the year it will be hanging on the wall in my bass room. For me it is a bonus that it plays and sounds good. At some point I'll put a Dimarzio P pup in there but I'm in no big hurry.
 
#299
I bought one of the $500 Cort ones. The Axe 2. Well worth the money.

Yeah, it's extremely neck heavy. Yeah, one of the strap buttons pokes me in the side because of it's weird placement and because I put strap locks on it.

But the sound? Awesome.

But I wouldn't call it my main bass, it's rough to play because it's balance is out of whack due to the placement of the strap buttons but after some spending some time with it I realized that there really was no better place to put them due to the shape of the body. BUT! If you spread your legs and squat down a little into a more rock and roll stance, it's not as unwieldy and you'll feel way more metal.

And as for Gene's apparent greed. KISS is kind of his job. Do you do your job for free?
 
#300
Well i'm thinking about buying the Axe bass as a show bass when needed, I play/have the Punisher and I met Gene Simmons and if it wasn't for Gene I wouldn't be the bass player i am today with that being said, yea I admit $5000 is a little pricey but i spent $2000 on my Spector Euro and $1500 via the Punisher which to me both play better than ALL Fender basses and any other bass for that matter.

As for wood quality mahogany wood is mahogany wood wherever you are in the world. but the wood grain does matter in resonance and to Gene those types of wood is/what he looks for in his tone and sells/markets it. It's not like its Gene Simmons Axe made my Harmony lol

So Sure rip on Gene but put you next to Gene Simmons, people are going to talk to him more and care a less on what you have to say about bass quality and woods and sure Gene may watch you play and say good job but that doesn't mean a damn thing.
 

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