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I've been bitten by the Zon bug...

Trevorus

Trevorus

Oct 18, 2002
12,352
98
42
Urbana, IL
#1
Oh, dangit. I am baby-sitting a Zon for papersen, and I fell in love... That guy can build some nice freaking basses. And the bartolinis sound soooo nice. One of the few 5 strings I actually really like. I am really a 4 string sort of guy. But this thing is fantastic. No relief adjustment is kinda wierd for me, but it is no problem with the composite neck.
 
#4
Trevorus said:
I think it's a sonus 519.
Click to expand...
Nope, it's a Sonus Special. You can tell because the two J pickups are close together. Check my gear page, at the bottom, because I have one Sonus and one Sonus Special (tho fretless), so you can see them side by side.

519's only have 22 frets, a 35" scale, and 19mm spacing. The Specials have 24 frets, 34" scale, and 17mm spacing.

...and yeah, Zons are amazing... :)
 
#5
Vic said:
Nope, it's a Sonus Special. You can tell because the two J pickups are close together. Check my gear page, at the bottom, because I have one Sonus and one Sonus Special (tho fretless), so you can see them side by side.

519's only have 22 frets, a 35" scale, and 19mm spacing. The Specials have 24 frets, 34" scale, and 17mm spacing.
Click to expand...

See, someone has been bitten a few more times than me...

I need to get one of these.
 
#10
Mental Octopus said:
I hear that Zon graphite necks sound somewhat similar to wood and more organic than other graphite necks...do you guys agree with that? I wish I had the chance to play a Zon.
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Yes.

In fact, I've played many Modulus' and also some Moses equipped basses, and while they do sound really cool, they just had too much of the edge to them, and while I wouldn't necessarily say they were thin, I would say they seemed to lack some kind of natural depth or complexity. The Modulus Genesis is an attempt to tame that down a bit, and while it did, I generally wasn't blown away by those either. Of course this is IMHO, as I fully realize there's tons of huge Modulus fans out there and they're very high quality basses.

Somehow Zon's proprietary compound and (I assume) wood selection and bass construction seems to give just the right amount of brightness and edge but without sacrificing any of the organic tone with the synthetic neck. I'm telling you, it's seriously addictive... especially when coupled with the zero-maintenance setup feature and their general light-weightedness.

In short, don't play one unless you're prepared to buy or suffer serious frustrated GAS! :)
 
#11
I have to agree with Vic here.

I have been a Status player for a long time and swear by graphite neck. To me they have the perfect feel front and back (thin-ness of the neck and feel of the fingerboard).
Status however can be very sterile. Sometimes this is just what you need... and I love them for that.

On the other hand, when I had a chance to try a Sonus Studio 5 I had to buy it (now I am selling it for need of $... arrgg... maybe I am changing my mind)
That bass is amazing. The feel of the neck for a 5 string is impressive. The playability, with the 19mm spacing is great.
The tone range of that model is unreal, I am always surprised to hear the midrange (450Hz sweet spot) on that bass, it almost sounds like a Jazz on the bridge pickup (I said "almost")

Anyways, yes, Joe makes great instrument. Thanks Joe!
 
#12
that (the one in the photo) sonus special is amazing. the best zon bass i have ever owned. I was the original owner of that bass. Played it on numerous records. Every engineer loved the tone. Preferred it over the standard j. i toured with that bass all over the country. its a little beat up but still amazing.
 
#13
WovenGraphite said:
On the other hand, when I had a chance to try a Sonus Studio 5 I had to buy it (now I am selling it for need of $... arrgg... maybe I am changing my mind)
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Dude, I'd totally keep that bass! No offense, but sell the Status and keep the Zon!

:hiding:

The tone range of that model is unreal, I am always surprised to hear the midrange (450Hz sweet spot) on that bass, it almost sounds like a Jazz on the bridge pickup (I said "almost")
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This is by design. Back when the Sonus first came out, Zon tagged it as "The Jazz bass of the 90's". While my Sonus is less versatile than the Studio, I'd have to say "darn right" My Sonus slices thru mixes like there's no tomorrow.

Resonance for days, bright full deep warm punchy tone oozing from everywhere, deadly B strings on hand-polite 34" scales, always perfect action from 90+ degree choking humidity festivals to the most dry frigid club in the wintertime, and all that in a package anyone can carry all night pain free.

Not much room for improvement here. :)
 
#15
I've owned a Modulus Quantum and now own a Legacy Elite and I can say that the Legacy Elite totally eclipses the Modulus in terms of feel, craft, and tonality.

When I owned the Quantum, I thought it sounded pretty good. Utilitarian is how I would describe it. No real character, just a pretty cool bass to look at and play on a recording. Since I like my basses to be a little more "apparent" I had to get rid of it. The bartolini pickups in the Quantum were so tame. Bleh.

The Zon on the otherhand... oh man. I don't know how Joe does it, but the bass is receptive to ever conceivable nuance of playstyle. It also could cop those Fender tones like there's no tomorrow. Couple that with the construction and bam... you're sold :smug:

In short, Zon > Modulus

You'll have to pry my Legacy from my cold dead hands!
 
#16
I own a Zon Sonus 4 cannot say enough about it. I have played and owned a bunch of basses in my 20 years of playing and find the Sonus to be the absolute best marriage of tone, playability, comfortabilty and construction. Ever. At any price point. The longer I have the bass the more I appreciate it. Buy one and you will see!
 
#17
Vic said:
My Sonus slices thru mixes like there's no tomorrow.

Resonance for days, bright full deep warm punchy tone oozing from everywhere, deadly B strings on hand-polite 34" scales, always perfect action from 90+ degree choking humidity festivals to the most dry frigid club in the wintertime, and all that in a package anyone can carry all night pain free.

Not much room for improvement here.
Click to expand...


+1000 dead on about the zon
 
#18
I wish I had a way to make 4000 bucks to get a zon. Realistically it would take me about 3 years to get one with all the other things to pay for. After I buy a loop pedal all the rest of the money is being saved up for a fretless 5 vinny and then a fretted 5 vinny (both tuned eadgc) After I get those Ill be happy untill the next amazing product comes out right?
 
#19
RG said:
Vic, since you have the Special and the 519, maybe you can give your opinion. I know one is fretted and one isnt but is the sound much different taking into consideration the scale length and pickup placement?
BTW didnt mean to single you out, all replies welcome.
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Mine's not a 519. I'm just familiar with them. Mine's a Special and a "regular" Sonus 5. In other words, the only diff between MY two, is the pickups are wired different and placed different in the Special to accentuate the mids, which is why I wanted my fretless to be that model. Also, they have a bubinga top as standard, which also accentuates the growl. Let me tell you, IT WORKED! That fretless is almost telepathic... nearly plays itself and sings for days.

I've played 519's, but don't own one. I don't mind the narrower spacing, because I have smallish hands, and I prefer the full two octaves as well.
 
#20
Clay_Bass said:
I wish I had a way to make 4000 bucks to get a zon. Realistically it would take me about 3 years to get one with all the other things to pay for. After I buy a loop pedal all the rest of the money is being saved up for a fretless 5 vinny and then a fretted 5 vinny (both tuned eadgc) After I get those Ill be happy untill the next amazing product comes out right?
Click to expand...
Dude, you can get into a NEW Sonus 5 for WAY less than that... well under 3K, and much less if you find one used, albeit those are rare... folks tend to hang on to them. :)
 

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