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Graphite necks?

#4
I use Status necks exclusively and have nothing but great things to say about them. They're super stable, but contrary to popular belief, they DO move from time to time. As for the tonality difference... I've never owned a bass with a wooden neck that I switched to carbon fiber to hear the difference. If your bass hasn't had both, how would you ever know the difference?

On a side-note, I have a 2005 Status J neck and a 2008 Status J neck, and despite Rob Green saying that they would be identical, they're not. The 2008 is a little wider (not P-Bass wider, but definitely wider than the 2005), and the the edges of the fretboard are a bit more angular, whereas the 2005 feels like it had a very small diameter router taken across the edge to smooth it out. I greatly prefer the 2005.
 
#5
In my experience, wooden necks tend to have more 'tone;' more complexity in the midrange.
Graphite (Status) has a clearer note definition than wood, and more treble and deep low end.
This is what I hear if I compare my two P basses- a factory '08 Am. Std vs. '07 Am. Std body/electronics with Status neck.
Admittedly not scientific, not quite apples-to-apples, but my experience with this neck, as well as several wooden ones, incorporated into several different builds, is consistent with my description. It's a 'Hi-Fi' sound.
 
#6
dmusic148 said:
In my experience, wooden necks tend to have more 'tone;' more complexity in the midrange.
Graphite (Status) has a clearer note definition than wood, and more treble and deep low end.
This is what I hear if I compare my two P basses- a factory '08 Am. Std vs. '07 Am. Std body/electronics with Status neck.
Admittedly not scientific, not quite apples-to-apples, but my experience with this neck, as well as several wooden ones, incorporated into several different builds, is consistent with my description. It's a 'Hi-Fi' sound.
Click to expand...

This is quite the opposite to a lot of descriptions I've heard and congruent with a lot of others.

My jazz bass (Warmoth alder Jazz body, DiMarzio Model J pickups) falls in line with your tone description more than most basses I've heard with DiMarzio Model J's. More deep low end extension, more sparkly treble, less midrange complexity. My G4 (Warmoth alder G4 body, Darkstar pickups) could not be more the opposite of your description. Tons and tons of very complex midrange tonality, tight and very present low end, slightly muted top end. The only things that remain constant between the two basses is the Status neck and the fact that they both have alder bodies.

As has been stated, there's not really one definitive answer on the subject. Until someone starts doing some tests with a bass that can accept both wood necks and carbon fiber ones, we won't really know a difference. Even then the differences will be highly debatable.
 
#7
silky smoove said:
Until someone starts doing some tests with a bass that can accept both wood necks and carbon fiber ones, we won't really know a difference. Even then the differences will be highly debatable.
Click to expand...
I could do it; both of my P's are alder, almost exactly the same weight, with the same electronics/hardware. I could swap necks in a jiffy.
But I won't bother, because I already know what the result would be.
And as you say, it would be highly debatable anyway. Someone would find a way to shoot down my results, so, I can't be bothered.
 
#8
dmusic148 said:
And as you say, it would be highly debatable anyway. Someone would find a way to shoot down my results, so, I can't be bothered.
Click to expand...

The simplest and most logical way to shoot it down would be to say that a bass is the sum of its parts and that any one component doesn't tell the whole story.

This is evident with my basses. They both have a Status Graphite J neck, but sound drastically different. There's no aspect of either bass' character that's similar from a tonal standpoint. If everyone's generalizations about part A creating tone A and part B creating tone B were true, there would be at least SOME semblance of similarity given that they use essentially the same neck.
 
#9
Thanks a lot for the answers. You are right in what you said: the tone of each bass is a result of all its components combined. I was just curious about these necks. When I get some money I might buy a Sterling SB14 and swap the neck for a Status to see how it works.
 
#10
Regardless of tone profiles, I absolutely adore Status necks and find Rob Green to be an exceptionally easy person to deal with. The difference in the necks I mentioned earlier is the only thing I can say about my dealings with Status in a negative light. That said, even though I prefer my 2005 neck, the 2008 one is still of the highest quality.

I can't speak to their Stingray necks as I've only used their Jazz necks, but if they're comparable I think you'll be in for a treat.

Have you confirmed that the neck pocket on the Sterling series instruments is the same as the US made EBMM's? If its not you might have an issue with getting the Status neck to fit properly into the existing neck pocket on the bass without modifications. It could be worth your time to head over to the Ernie Ball forums and ask the question. Hopefully Sterling or Bovine can give you a detailed answer to that issue.
 
#11
I have a Status Precision neck coming hopefully sometime soon, Rob had to custom make it without the fretboard dots. I'll be able to tell you the tonal differences between a maple neck and graphite neck on my '08 MIA Precision once it's installed.

I'm really looking forward to it and I plan on buying my first 'real' Status once I graduate college and find a job. Which may be never. :hmm:
 
#12
silky smoove said:
Regardless of tone profiles, I absolutely adore Status necks and find Rob Green to be an exceptionally easy person to deal with. The difference in the necks I mentioned earlier is the only thing I can say about my dealings with Status in a negative light. That said, even though I prefer my 2005 neck, the 2008 one is still of the highest quality.

I can't speak to their Stingray necks as I've only used their Jazz necks, but if they're comparable I think you'll be in for a treat.

Have you confirmed that the neck pocket on the Sterling series instruments is the same as the US made EBMM's? If its not you might have an issue with getting the Status neck to fit properly into the existing neck pocket on the bass without modifications. It could be worth your time to head over to the Ernie Ball forums and ask the question. Hopefully Sterling or Bovine can give you a detailed answer to that issue.
Click to expand...

Yes I'll check it. Another thing I might try to do is fit a stingray neck into the sb14. That would be SWEEEEET! :hyper: Specially if I can get a friend of mine to do it for me for free xD
 
#13
PBass101 said:
Rob had to custom make it without the fretboard dots.
Click to expand...

I had my last neck done without the any fretboard dots. The bass it was going on had a modern look to it, so the dots would have been a detraction. The stealthy all-black fingerboard looks SWEET.

One little niggle: Your neck isn't any more custom than other Status necks as fret markers or no fret markers are standard options with Rob's necks.
 
#14
silky smoove said:
I had my last neck done without the any fretboard dots. The bass it was going on had a modern look to it, so the dots would have been a detraction. The stealthy all-black fingerboard looks SWEET.

One little niggle: Your neck isn't any more custom than other Status necks as fret markers or no fret markers are standard options with Rob's necks.
Click to expand...

Well, I guess "custom" in that he told me that he didn't have any non-dotted necks in stock at the time. Technically, isn't everything he makes sort of "custom"?
 

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