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Great headless basses?
- Thread starter ShawnG
- Start date
I've never owned one but I would...
Early Kramer.
Early Kramer.
Interesting, if you can put me in touch with them somehow, that'd be great- if so, hit me with s DM. Appreciate the info!
- Dec 21, 2007
- 15,231
- 45,099
- Disclosures
- Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
I have a B-V that I defretted. Everything he said is true - cheap, bulletproof, play well, sound great.
I love my Ned-designed basses. Steinberger L2, XL2, XQ5, and NS CR5 Radius fretless. They are getting hard to come by, as are the spare parts. I'd love to pick up a Roscoe headless.
I love my Kiesel, and would recommend one to anybody wanting a top notch headless. I didn't go for many fancy options and mine was right at $1600.
However, one day I will have a headless Roscoe. They cost juuust a little more than the Kiesel though
However, one day I will have a headless Roscoe. They cost juuust a little more than the Kiesel though
Two obscure Japanese headless basses from the 80's:
Alembic licensed a Japanese company to make a headless bass, called the AJ-I-HB. As far as I know these are the only headless Alembics ever made, as well as the only Alembics made in Japan.
Greco made a cool bass called the Device Formula. This one was for sale at a local guitar store here in Seattle a few months ago, and I was very tempted.
Alembic licensed a Japanese company to make a headless bass, called the AJ-I-HB. As far as I know these are the only headless Alembics ever made, as well as the only Alembics made in Japan.
Greco made a cool bass called the Device Formula. This one was for sale at a local guitar store here in Seattle a few months ago, and I was very tempted.
Their design is far from traditional, but Claas seems to make a killer headless.
Modern electric guitars and basses – ClaasGuitars
Nathan Navarro plays one in this shootout, and the clarity of its tone is pretty sick:
Modern electric guitars and basses – ClaasGuitars
Nathan Navarro plays one in this shootout, and the clarity of its tone is pretty sick:
Ditto! If Kiesel made ANY 32" scale bass, I'd be all over it. You'd think a custom bass maker would offer a 32" scale. I really like the Vader body, but don't want the scales they offer.
As always, it depends on your budget.
I’ve owned many but agree with @Lesfunk on the Status... my Streamline is my main player, it has an amazing asymmetrical neck is light weight and balance is perfect. I’m planning to order another one with custom spec.
My custom that I built from Steinberger parts and my Maruszczyk Frog round out my current top 3. One thing to consider with the Frog is that it’s a 34” scale but because of how long the upper horn is it really feels like a 32” scale, and it is super comfortable to play. The body is a little bit larger than the norm but it’s thin and contoured so it’s very comfortable and balances really well. Fit and finish is also superb.
As with any bass personal preferences come into play... one of many things to consider is the type of bridge and the string spacing. For me, I prefer somewhere around 16.5-17mm spacing 18 max and 19 is just way too wide for my preference, so I tend to stick with bridges that are adjustable and I always narrow up the saddles. The Ibanez headless seems to be a decent budget instrument as well and also has a good adjustable bridge to vary the spacing + or -.5mm.
My headless basses definitely get played more than my normal basses, they’re more convenient for me, light weight and easy to throw around.
My normal basses tend to hang on the wall more than get played anymore.
I should also say one of the main reasons I built that custom one on the right about 15+ years ago is that I wanted a nice five string to take as a traveler. As a result that bass has traveled with me on biz trips well over 500,000 miles around the world. It has usually ridden upfront in the first class closet and rarely has it ever seen it overhead other than on commuter planes.
I’ve owned many but agree with @Lesfunk on the Status... my Streamline is my main player, it has an amazing asymmetrical neck is light weight and balance is perfect. I’m planning to order another one with custom spec.
My custom that I built from Steinberger parts and my Maruszczyk Frog round out my current top 3. One thing to consider with the Frog is that it’s a 34” scale but because of how long the upper horn is it really feels like a 32” scale, and it is super comfortable to play. The body is a little bit larger than the norm but it’s thin and contoured so it’s very comfortable and balances really well. Fit and finish is also superb.
As with any bass personal preferences come into play... one of many things to consider is the type of bridge and the string spacing. For me, I prefer somewhere around 16.5-17mm spacing 18 max and 19 is just way too wide for my preference, so I tend to stick with bridges that are adjustable and I always narrow up the saddles. The Ibanez headless seems to be a decent budget instrument as well and also has a good adjustable bridge to vary the spacing + or -.5mm.
My headless basses definitely get played more than my normal basses, they’re more convenient for me, light weight and easy to throw around.
My normal basses tend to hang on the wall more than get played anymore.
I should also say one of the main reasons I built that custom one on the right about 15+ years ago is that I wanted a nice five string to take as a traveler. As a result that bass has traveled with me on biz trips well over 500,000 miles around the world. It has usually ridden upfront in the first class closet and rarely has it ever seen it overhead other than on commuter planes.
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A lot of awesome basses here, thanks all for the education!! Y’all have some amazing instruments!!
The Kiesel basses do appear to be great value for money. Not cheap, but pretty awesome to be able to get a custom bass for less than $1500 if you are careful with options.
The NS Design basses are intriguing to me as well. With all of the amazing basses Ned Steinberger has designed over the years, it’s hard to believe he’s not better known than he is.
The Kiesel basses do appear to be great value for money. Not cheap, but pretty awesome to be able to get a custom bass for less than $1500 if you are careful with options.
The NS Design basses are intriguing to me as well. With all of the amazing basses Ned Steinberger has designed over the years, it’s hard to believe he’s not better known than he is.
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If you’re looking for something headless that’s more traditional keisel has the Thanos model. Essentially a headless jazz bass. I like the look of their Zeus model personally. Been thinking about getting one in satin white but I do wish they’d at least put a pickgaurd on it. something tele like would work since the Zeus is more similar to a tele shape as far as “classic” styling.
Yep and Tom does some jazz like shapes like the Kim body shape also. Nice guy and he seemed to have figured out how to make really lightweight basses that sound good.
You mean the finish or the pickgaurd idea? I’ve seen a lot of carvin and keisel basses and guitars in person and just prefer the satin finishes. They can be spiced up a bit with your choice in fingerboard wood for example. So it’s not too plain. But yeah all the flashy finishes they do that look interesting in photos kind of just look generic to me in person. I have a friend with a keisel 7 string guitar in satin white with gold hardware at it looks great in person. As for the pickgaurd I’d really have to get my hands on one. I tend to like having a pickgaurd to decrease the space between the strings and the body. Helps me when doing more intricate slap stuff. If you ever seen Dirty Loops bassist he actually has what he calls a “slap ramp” on his signature basses for the same reason. If I do get one it would be the multiscale 7 so basically this kind of look
on this bass
Pickguard. Ramp is fine, my main player has one ex factory and I've seen no reason to remove it yet.
PS: I really like the black Keisel bass above, but would prefer the Vader body style (though I'd happily take that one if you gave it to me).
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