graphite neck

Incredible sustain and no dead spots are a couple benefits.
Stability in spades makes them very unaffeted by changes in the weather.

 

+1.

Also, very clear, ringing tone with lots of harmonics (the higher resonant frequency of graphite due to its extra stiffness contributes to this).

It's hard to put into words and may be just an impression I've got, but any bass I've played with a graphite neck always seems to feel really solid somehow. The strings just seem to ring out without any "interference" from vibrations in the neck.

I have a Status S2 and two Jazz basses with Status graphite necks (one fretted, one fretless). The fretted Jazz is my main bass, I prefer it to the Status, my Rick and Stingray (and my wood necked fretted Jazz). The graphite neck Jazz just seems to be a better all rounder, although they all get played fairly regularly.

EDIT By the way, graphite necks aren't that much different in weight to wood necks actually. Balance on my J basses seems about the same when comparing wood with graphite.

 

What's the best graphite bass on the budget?

 

Do you mean a good value bass?

Well, graphite neck basses aren't really cheap in general and Status are no exception to this rule. Mine cost about £1600 and the necks are about £380... but you do get what you pay for and the quality is good enough to make them well worth it in my view. I'm very happy with what I got for the money I spent.

 

Probably the best on a budget is going to be a used one, which would give you choices like Zon, Status, Steinberger & Modulus.

If you get an old Steinberger L2 you get a bass made completely out of graphite. They're really small and have all the benefits of graphite to the 'nth degree being as there is no wood at all. A lot of players don't like the zingy bright sound but I've heard of people changing out the EMG's for something a bit calmer sounding.

There's also a lot of makers now putting graphite spars inside the neck, the aim being to get the advantages of both materials.

Good luck making a choice!

 

I know this has prolly been done to death, but are there any makers doing a graphite-cored neck with a wood-veneered (or slightly thicker) outer ply so there's a wood-neck tactile feel, but with more bennies than just a couple graphite rods in a wood neck?

I think the Modulus genesis line does that to a certain degree, but I don't think I've seen it done in the manner I describe. Come to think, it may look ugly, but still....


Mon

 

What you're describing sounds almost exactly like a Modulus Genesis neck. The carbon fiber core does all the supporting, the wood is just for show and sound.

 

Two instruments come to mind; the Modulus Genesis and the Steinberger Synapse . I havent heard the new Steiny yet; the reviews seem mixed, but if it had a 35" scale I'd take the chance and try one, as I love the notion of headless ERB's with hybrid wood/composite construction...I just can't abide those 34" scale B strings...

I used to own a Genesis , and it was a wonderful instrument for a jazz-pu'd fiver...one of the nicest necks I ever felt, and looked wonderful, too, as you could clearly see how the graphite/composite was integrated with the wood. Sounded pretty neat, too, although the pre was a bit mild-mannered for my taste...had it been a sixer, I would have kept it for sure...

RC

 

I see Modulus Vintage Js go on Ebay for like $800 pretty regularly.

 

I believe thinner necks, easy to play (I like to call them fast necks) and tuning rarely changes. I'd for a week on my Status S2 without tuning it.
Besides that, I noticed that frets tend to be lower than that of a jazz bass for example.
Also, it seems like once you are going graphite you can't go back to other necks...

 

The truth! beware, you'll end up having to get graphite necks on all of your basses from now on.

 

Positive Effects:
*Sustain is rediculous
*Low B's are like rolling thunder
*Harmonics ring out great
*Always (I mean ALWAYS) stays in tune
*Hardly ever needs adjustment (I've had my Modulus Q6 since 1996. These were the years that modulus didn't put a truss rod in the neck. I've never needed any kind of adjustment)
*The look cool and always gets alot of question
*Very low maintenance. Just clean the "finger funk" off of the fretboard every once in a while

Negative Effects:
*Some people say it doesnt sound "organic" enough. I really think this depends on the manufacturer and pickup/preamp combo. I've heard some that sound VERY sterile. I've also heard some that sound better than wood
*Expensive
*If you need repairs, its hard to find someone that knows what they are doing with graphite.
*If the neck is warped, cracked, or damage majorly, you might as well kiss the neck goodbye. Not ease and very expensive to repair, if it can even be repaired.

To me, the advantages outweight the disadvantages. Like I said, I've had my bass for almost 10 years and have had NO problems (knock on wood. or, um, graphite). I would never get rid of it. Dont get me wrong, I like playing wood necked jazzers but once the weather changes and the wood neck get out of wack, I know I can pickup my Modulus and it'll be just the same as it was last season, the season before that, all the way back to the first day I bought it.

Hope that helps a bit

 

If you're looking for a cheap graphite-necked bass, search ebay for the Peavey G-Bass. I believe Modulus made the necks, and you can get them under $500. There's 2 models out there: 4 string, single pickup and 5 string, dual pickups. I always thought they sounded great for the money. Only drawback to me was the sparkle finishes, but you may not mind.

 

The G-bass was an incredible deal. Modulus had previously made the neck for the B-Quad series. For the G-bass series, Peavey went direct to an aerospace firm specializing in graphite composites. Excellent neck.

Kim

 

Bobby knows what he is talking about and again, if you go with a reputable company like Status, Zon, Modulus, Parker (not one of those shady fly by night composite shops! Do your web research wisely!!!), you won't even have any real disadvantages. Happy shopping!! Let me know if I can help out in any way, shape or form!

JT

 

Agreed, though my preference goes to Status.

I have 3 carbon necked basses none of which have trussrods, and are stable and extremely strong. All are around 20yo so there are no longevity or wear issues I've found so far.

As for the tone, well that's personal preference, but I've never heard a carbon neck bass sound "sterile"; to my ears, it's a lack of mud.

 

.. in the UK I've seen many Status basses with Graphite necks go for <£500. Bargain.

I've just put together a Pbass with a beat up old Moses jazz neck - I've yet to play a graphite neck bass that I didn't like.

 

I have never understood the whole "sterile" sounding about. A bass that sounds ALIVE with INFINITE SUSTAIN and RESPONSE is anything but sterile. I think this is perhaps an old wive's tale spat out by traditional purists.

Graphite rules.....Now that I have a Status Fretless 6 Stealth-2, I have never had access to such a diverse array of sounds in my life!

I just wish that Rob could make an 8 or a 9 string. 8 would probably be the best option, B to Bb, but the cost of doing a special one-off mould would be pricey.

 

So if one would buy a graphite neck for a Fender Jazz, how much fiddle is there to get it installed? And how about roundwounds and fretless in graphite necks, any wear issues there?