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Headless basses - why or why not?

#21
OutToPlayJazz said:
The benefits far outweigh any shortcomings for headless basses. I own four Status basses at the moment. The balance at the top horn is utterly perfect & I can change a whole set of strings on either a 4 or 5 string within about 5 minutes and be ready to go. The graphite necks are to die for as well - The growl, clarity, sustain and stability are all perfect. What's not to like? B)
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+1 for Status Basses....
 
#22
ehque said:
I'm not sure what this means either. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Oh btw can_v, headless bass =/= paddle bass, there are many headless basses out there with a more conventional ergonomic profile, body-wise! :D
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3647170803_ea968b775f.jpg


+1

Pros:

- stays in tune indefinitely
- no neck dive
- double ball end strings take about 10 minutes tops to change
- I love the Status active pre on this bass

Cons:

- its a little on the heavy side - I never weighed it but i feels more heavier than my Fender but I do have a wide padded strap that makes it negligible
- less choices on the market for double ball end strings. While
this particular bass accepts both single and double ball end strings, I like the double ball ends for the more cleaner look. I
usually use Status Hotwires which unfortunately I have to order from the UK. It takes about a week to get here in Florida from England.
 
#24
David King used to say that he built headless basses because it was impossible to build a properly balanced instrument with a headstock.

I tend to agree; my King is as perfectly balanced as it gets. On the other hand, there is something about the "feel" of a headstock, the mass at the end of the neck, that I miss. Weird.

DSCN0572_small.jpg


/rick
 
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#27
can_v said:
I own one. It's a Hohner B2A 4 strings.

The reason I bought it is that sometimes I just want something I can carry around easily. And, I think it looks cool.

But it needs time to adjust to its small shape. Since, mine is the "paddle" shape, the biggest problem is that I have no arm rest! It takes sometime to get used to. But once I get past that point, it's a lovely bass. It would be very hard for me to sell it.

Here she is...

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Don't forget to mention the neck is super fast and they sound great!
 
#28
can_v said:
I own one. It's a Hohner B2A 4 strings.

The reason I bought it is that sometimes I just want something I can carry around easily. And, I think it looks cool.

But it needs time to adjust to its small shape. Since, mine is the "paddle" shape, the biggest problem is that I have no arm rest! It takes sometime to get used to. But once I get past that point, it's a lovely bass. It would be very hard for me to sell it.

Here she is...

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

are these still available in the market? i need to add one to my gas list lol
edit: found it, woops pretty expensive heh! http://www.activemusician.com/item--EM.B2B
i thought the copies would be around the 400$ ballpark
 
#29
Got my eye on a local Kramer Duke. The shorter headless look might be strange as I am 6'7" tall.........Been diggin' my Aluminum neck Kramer lately so might have to seriously check out the Duke.....Bud
 
#30
i really love my Hohner Jack Bass Custom V. Sounds and feels much better than a Jazz Bass Deluxe V MIM i had before.
I don´t care about the look. Though i´m planning to stealth-it. I´m gonna cover it with black matte, turn (tint) the rosewood into black, and put some Black Beauties.

hjf.jpg
 
#31
varunkapahi said:
are these still available in the market? i need to add one to my gas list lol
edit: found it, woops pretty expensive heh! http://www.activemusician.com/item--EM.B2B
i thought the copies would be around the 400$ ballpark
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yes, I believe so. What kick ass about the newer hohner is that they have those Drop-D Tuner thingy installed as well.

ehque said:
I'm not sure what this means either. Is it a good thing or a bad thing?

Oh btw can_v, headless bass =/= paddle bass, there are many headless basses out there with a more conventional ergonomic profile, body-wise! :D
Click to expand...

I know, I used to own another headless hohner, the Jack - sold of course.

Then I bought this one out of impulse (who doesn't! - It looked very tempting in small Ritter gig bag). Before this, I never thought a place where to rest my arm is important. Turns out, it is.
 
#32
RickC said:
David King used to say that he built headless basses because it was impossible to build a properly balanced instrument with a headstock.

I tend to agree; my King is as perfectly balanced as it gets. On the other hand, there is something about the "feel" of a headstock, the mass at the end of the neck, that I miss. Weird.

DSCN0572_small.jpg


/rick
Click to expand...

I LOVE this bass Rick!!!! If it had narrower string spacing I'd offer you what ever you want for it....great bass....
 
#36
bongomania said:
Some headless basses have no "stop" or flare at the end of the neck, so I've seen several posts from people who say they feel like their hand will just fly off the end there. I don't feel that way myself though. Traditional headstock tuners are easier to use than the tightly-spaced barrel knobs of many headless bass tuning mechanisms.
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They definitely make that big glissando at the end of a song a lot more dangerous. If I played one, I'd have a little sort of leash connected to my wrist and attached to the guitar body so my hand wouldn't fly off the end.

I was at an engineering conference down in Savannah once and, when the band playing the dinner dance (The Rogues) was on a break, I asked the lead singer/bass player how he liked his Steinberger. He immediately said, "Are you a bass player?" "Uhhh ... well, yeah ..." "Well get up here!" I ended up playing their whole last set on that stupid Steinberger. Turns out, he hated playing bass and just wanted to be the lead singer. I was terrified the whole time that my hand would go flying off the end of the neck. He probably hates playing bass because of the Steinberger, and doesn't even know why.
 
#37
The Ex factor Kubicki is semi headless, I guess one might call it a hybrid. There's a weight a balance that some do not like if they move around a lot. I think you can jump and move around a lot with a headless bass. Takes a, little getting use to, I have all 3 types, Status, Kubicki and the other head on basses.
I like them all.

Some seemed a bit too long or hung weirdly on me. I suppose some more strap holder holes or rods like the Honer could have fixed the placement, but blah.....but this was the case for the head and headless basses. So it seemed to depend on the specific bass and balance, no so much the headless option or not.

The Kubicki feels very much like a head bass BTW.
Very comfy to play.

Tom
 
#38
Headless makes neck dive nonexistent even on basses that would typically neck dive. However, unless it has one of those special things on neck end that allows you to use regular strings (no ball end at headstock) your string choices are limited and finding your strings at local store can be rather difficult.
 

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