Headless basses

[bassplayer2106]

Love them or hate them.

They do have a lot of plus points, easier stringing, great balance etc.

Post your pictures, I'm particularly interested in seeing spme headless single cut basses.

I'm about to order a new Sei 6 string, single cut. My current 6string is a headless Sei flambouyant, and I'm almost certainly going to go headless on the new one.

Here's mine to start.

 

[A9X]

Nice Sei,
Be very sure bout the SC idea before you order it I reckon it'll look as ugly as the basic headless Flam is beautiful (to me!).

 

[Papersen]

What about this one ?

 

[dunamis]

My main bass for the past 8 months or so-- Zon "Vinny" VB5.

 

[aesir6]

My main bass for the past 8 months or so-- Zon "Vinny" VB5.

thats cool!

 

[dunamis]

What about this one ?

That's a sweet lookin' bass!

 

[Baryonyx]

Here is what may be (or may be a replica) of what Jonas Hellborg was playing back in the 80's

And while not a "true" headless, it does the job for me...my Kubicki! Sorry it's not the best picture, I could post better ones but they're huge!

 

[ghost666]

I'm quite new to bass guitar, but my first one is a headless no-name, made somwhere in Poland (I'dont know anything more, I'm something like eight owner of it ).
It isn't finished by now, I'm fine tuning and renewing some parts.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

And btw - hi, this is my first post here

 

[Baryonyx]

Hmm...I think I'm gonna like this thread!

Headless basses are my bag, baby!

 

[BartmanPDX]

My main bass for the past 8 months or so-- Zon "Vinny" VB5.

Those Zon Vinnys are fantastic looking. I'd love to give one a try some day.

Here's some "old school" headless for you, built in 1988, plays exactly like it did when I bought it:

(My XL-2 will always be my most treasured bass, even above my Sadowsky -- we've just been through too much together.)

 

[Munjibunga]

Headless basses?

 

[Baryonyx]

Headless basses?

Look so good they can make you vomit? Is that what you're getting at?

 

[dunamis]

Headless basses?

Munjibunga has spoken.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Here's a couple of mine.

Heave ho, Munji!!

Riis

 

[Rocinante_x1]

Wouldnt headless basses be a PITA to tune? i dunno... i kina like the headstock look on a bass.

 

[Grooveminister]

... and here comes my Schack:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[KuMBye YamALaWd]

.....They do have a lot of plus points, easier stringing, great balance etc.......

.. Yes, they have many advantages; for example, the Steinberger XL2 has the advantage of being FAR superior to every bass ever made in terms of tone, tuning stability, balance, versatility, etc.


...and a couple of disadvantages; for example, the XL2 is no longer in production, so parts are difficult to come by; and also, the 5-string XL2 had too narrow a string spacing

..though if the current XQ series Steinberger is decent, that'll have decent string spacing PLUS available parts (not that there's a whole lotta demand for Steinberger parts, coz rarely IME do things need replacing



..IMHO + IME + FWIW


.

 

[bassplayer2106]

Here is what may be (or may be a replica) of what Jonas Hellborg was playing back in the 80's

And while not a "true" headless, it does the job for me...my Kubicki! Sorry it's not the best picture, I could post better ones but they're huge!

The Schack that Jonas Hellborg played looked amazing didn't it, so cool, to me anyway.

I like the whole headless thing, they just look so different.

The tuning thing that someone asked about, they so easy to tune, especially meid song, you just reach to the bottom of the bass. Also the tuners are very sensitive, making for very accurate tuning. There's also the benefit of it not going out of tune during transportation, the tuners don't get knocked.

The best thing though, besided the visual appeal, is the balance.
Most headed basses are head heavy, to some degree or another, you may not notice, you get accustomed to it.
My Sei 5 is slightly, but I didn't really notice untill I got the 6, it just sits in the perfect place, you can angle it anywhere when strapped on, and it just sits there, the balance is so perfect.

 

[Baryonyx]

Wouldnt headless basses be a PITA to tune? i dunno... i kina like the headstock look on a bass.

No, why would they be?

And Zooberwerx, I dig that Stealth!

And yes, on the balance issue, they're wonderful! I can play my Kubicki for hours because it's so well designed, it's a light as a feather, especially when it's strapped on. It's akin to holding a Stratocsater!

 

[lousybassist]

If there is one bass I've always lusted for, it's a headless Schack. I don't generally like boutique-y basses that much, but I wouldn't mind one like Grooveminister's, though I've never had the chance to actually play one.