Thurisarz said:
Its hard to see the bass in this pic but the headstock looks like a Yamaha Motion B bass. I know that it probably in not but it sort of looks like one.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Jonas hellborg bass?
- Thread starter Thurisarz
- Start date
Its hard to see the bass in this pic but the headstock looks like a Yamaha Motion B bass. I know that it probably in not but it sort of looks like one.
Did you see this one?:
Invalid Link Removed
What brand is it?
Everytime I see pictures of him are with a different bass!!!
Invalid Link Removed
What brand is it?
Everytime I see pictures of him are with a different bass!!!
I remember that Jonas was interviewed by Guitar Player magazine back in the '80's around the time of the Mahavishnu album. He mentioned his custom-made amps and basses (the 27-fret one). He talked about fretted and fretless versions with Shadow piezo bridge pickups which helped him get the buzzy sound he wanted on "Elegant Punk" (crazy good album!!!) I like the stuff he did with Bill Laswell and I want to hear more of his artistry.
maxvalentino
Endorsing Artist Godin Guitars/ Thomastik-Infeld
Yes, everytime you see Jonas he is playing a different bass...'cos he owns quite a few.
The one in question is the "Jonas Hellborg Bass" which he designed (27 fret, shadow pu's etc...) and was jointly made by the Italian maker and the Swedish dist. named earlier.
He played this bass in his early tenure with Mahavishnu...along with a similarly self-designed "Jonas Hellborg" Amplifier and cabs (the amp had onboard effects and some pretty advanced eq)
He moved onto both single and doubleneck Wals with Mahavishnu.
He then moved onto a signature model Status with a 36v (yep..that right...and from what I heard the thing really ate batteries) preamp, which was basically a console channel strip converted to batt power and downsized to fit in the bass cavity. The newer electric recording of him with the late Shawn Lane and Jeff Sipe feature this bass.
In the 90s he began using his custom Wechter ABG. But also used a couple of ovation ABGs, one being a double-neck. These he played with Trace Elliot acoustic amps (the 100w model). He then moved onto to EBS amps, which he now uses.(they made him a custom "touring" rig with a D-class amp and a 1x12 cab small and ligt enough to meet arline restrictions...)
Several years ago Status made a new custom six string for him: tight spacing, hollow body, piezo and magnetic PUs, tuned EADGBE.
He had them make another with wider string spacing.
Of late he has been playing what he calls his "perfect" bass. A Crafter 4 string ABG. Korean made, off the shelf. Small body size, Fishman piezo. Quite inexpensive basses...but he says it finally gives him the sound he has been after.
No matter what he plays, he is a monster. His playing has certainly evolved from the fusion excesses of the 80's and 90s to some of the most remarkable, and sublime, support and soloing out there. A good example of a remarkable player who has forgone technique for deeper substance, and passion.
Max
The one in question is the "Jonas Hellborg Bass" which he designed (27 fret, shadow pu's etc...) and was jointly made by the Italian maker and the Swedish dist. named earlier.
He played this bass in his early tenure with Mahavishnu...along with a similarly self-designed "Jonas Hellborg" Amplifier and cabs (the amp had onboard effects and some pretty advanced eq)
He moved onto both single and doubleneck Wals with Mahavishnu.
He then moved onto a signature model Status with a 36v (yep..that right...and from what I heard the thing really ate batteries) preamp, which was basically a console channel strip converted to batt power and downsized to fit in the bass cavity. The newer electric recording of him with the late Shawn Lane and Jeff Sipe feature this bass.
In the 90s he began using his custom Wechter ABG. But also used a couple of ovation ABGs, one being a double-neck. These he played with Trace Elliot acoustic amps (the 100w model). He then moved onto to EBS amps, which he now uses.(they made him a custom "touring" rig with a D-class amp and a 1x12 cab small and ligt enough to meet arline restrictions...)
Several years ago Status made a new custom six string for him: tight spacing, hollow body, piezo and magnetic PUs, tuned EADGBE.
He had them make another with wider string spacing.
Of late he has been playing what he calls his "perfect" bass. A Crafter 4 string ABG. Korean made, off the shelf. Small body size, Fishman piezo. Quite inexpensive basses...but he says it finally gives him the sound he has been after.
No matter what he plays, he is a monster. His playing has certainly evolved from the fusion excesses of the 80's and 90s to some of the most remarkable, and sublime, support and soloing out there. A good example of a remarkable player who has forgone technique for deeper substance, and passion.
Max
Some great info here about hellborg 
. There was a website link here awhile ago on TB in a thread i think was called jonashellborg.de, anyway they have som (unofficial?) clips of him and there's one clip where he uses the 27 fret bass and John plays some way crazy synth guitar, does anybody know what that song is called? I assume it's from the '84 Mahavishnu album? true/false?
. There was a website link here awhile ago on TB in a thread i think was called jonashellborg.de, anyway they have som (unofficial?) clips of him and there's one clip where he uses the 27 fret bass and John plays some way crazy synth guitar, does anybody know what that song is called? I assume it's from the '84 Mahavishnu album? true/false?
It's a few years old but here's a good interview with Jonas:
http://www.innerviews.org/inner/hellborg.html
http://www.innerviews.org/inner/hellborg.html
I bought my Hellborg bass in 1985 when I was sixteen years old in a store down an alley in Naples, Italy. It was designed by a bass player named Jonas Hellborg. I've been carrying this thing around with me for over twenty years.
Link Removed
The Link Removed says:
"in the early years jonas hellborg played a Link Removed (designed by himself) and wal bass guitars."
Although that IS the same guitar, the information on the fan site is erroneous. I emailed Wal bass guitars looking for information about its design, and the company denied making the bass.
Jonas Hellborg's own record lable, Bardo Records, had this to say: "That bass was built by a factory in Reccanati called melody guitars. The factory closed 15 years ago so there are no people to contact about it."
I notified the fan site's webmaster a few years ago, but the information hasn't been corrected.
Audio and video of my and my bass at my MySpace site: Link Removed
Link Removed
The Link Removed says:
"in the early years jonas hellborg played a Link Removed (designed by himself) and wal bass guitars."
Although that IS the same guitar, the information on the fan site is erroneous. I emailed Wal bass guitars looking for information about its design, and the company denied making the bass.
Jonas Hellborg's own record lable, Bardo Records, had this to say: "That bass was built by a factory in Reccanati called melody guitars. The factory closed 15 years ago so there are no people to contact about it."
I notified the fan site's webmaster a few years ago, but the information hasn't been corrected.
Audio and video of my and my bass at my MySpace site: Link Removed
That's a cool bass! I've always wanted to try one, but have never even seen one in real life. It sounds good in your hands too.
I don't see how the fan site information about what Jonas played early on in his carreer is in erroneous however, as it doesn't imply that Wal made his signature bass at all. It only states that he played a self designed bass and Wal basses - what's said in parenthesis refers to the black bass, not the Wals - which is what he did according to, among other sources, the lines notes of Elegant Punk: 2nd Solobass Album (1984). Let me quote: "Jonas Hellborg plays: on cut 1-5 a fretted custom built bass guitar [...] and on cut 13-15 a Wal doubleneck fretted/fretless bass."
That is one awesome bass! It's nice to see that you were able to get some info on it, though it's a shame that they haven't been made in so long. If it had black hardware I'd go nuts for it, especially given some of the tones that Jonas got out of it on Elegant Punk!
Hi CyberDurden !
can you post a review about the main pros & cons in the bass ?
thanks a lot.
FYI, the link doesn't work as written (there's an extra "http://" in there), try the one below:
http://www.hellborg.com/index.php/en/equipment/78-wal-double-neck-
Also while not directly Jonas related, producer Bill Laswell (who's produced and collaborated with Hellborg over the years) is releasing [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
FWIW Jonas was featured in the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] after Elegant Punk was released. There was quite a bit of detail about his custom bass and a little coverage of the amps he designed.
This is the Status Jonas Hellborg in my closet. I have good pics on my other computer. It is a magic plank, the absolute WARMEST piece of wood I've ever heard. The headstock wants a johnk_10 tungsten slug dead spot elimination job (see http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/dead-spot-removal-743976/ and forget about collector value, this tone is too close to someone's idea of perfection not to nudge it over the line).
Attachments
Nice! What pre does your Status Hellborg model have? I had one that was a fantastic bass but the 36v pre was a bit of overkill (and a major PITA if you had to change the batteries during a gig!)
Well, I did absolutely the DUMBEST thing. I thought the pre was dead so I called England and got another one and replaced it. Now I have to unreplace it because it was the wrong one, though the Status folks said it was right. And it wasn't a bad pre, it was dead batteries. I was keeping some hellacious hours and I was brain dead.
Well maybe it's the right one but it's maladjusted or something, but I don't care. I'm going to put the original back in where it belongs, probably after I get it refinished.
See, when I put the new pre in, I forgot to space the knobs off the body with a business card, so one of them scratched the finish. Of course, it can't be seen, but I KNOW it's there. I may end up paying for a refin, unless the finisher is clever enough to know how to touch it up. Should be possible. It's just satin poly.
Frustrating. AND it needs the tungsten slug job. Luckily, there IS a solution, and after it's fixed, it'll have more evenness of response than nature could have endowed it with.
It came with the Status case. The case is a peach. I guess I wish it were rectangular, but I used to own a 650 BSA, well, two at different times, and I learned that quirkiness is almost an English monopoly.
Man, is it ever gonna sing when it's all done. But it's utterly oddball, an answer to a question no one but Jonas asked. Like, with this family of sounds, why frets? On the other hand, if someone's gonna slap it, why the utter waste of the richest, creamiest mids on the planet?
Maybe I was brain dead when I bought it. But magic wood is magic wood, and now I'm cursed with being its custodian. It would have been a killer J body, it would have been the Holy Grail, no doubt at all in my mind, but no one on the planet could have guessed walnut could sound like this, and anyway, who buys walnut for a bolt-on J body?
Maybe I'll just have to drag it through life 'til I can get everything right. David Schwab could do it. He could look over the electronics and figure out how to make it roar, just totally romp and stomp.
Well maybe it's the right one but it's maladjusted or something, but I don't care. I'm going to put the original back in where it belongs, probably after I get it refinished.
See, when I put the new pre in, I forgot to space the knobs off the body with a business card, so one of them scratched the finish. Of course, it can't be seen, but I KNOW it's there. I may end up paying for a refin, unless the finisher is clever enough to know how to touch it up. Should be possible. It's just satin poly.
Frustrating. AND it needs the tungsten slug job. Luckily, there IS a solution, and after it's fixed, it'll have more evenness of response than nature could have endowed it with.
It came with the Status case. The case is a peach. I guess I wish it were rectangular, but I used to own a 650 BSA, well, two at different times, and I learned that quirkiness is almost an English monopoly.
Man, is it ever gonna sing when it's all done. But it's utterly oddball, an answer to a question no one but Jonas asked. Like, with this family of sounds, why frets? On the other hand, if someone's gonna slap it, why the utter waste of the richest, creamiest mids on the planet?
Maybe I was brain dead when I bought it. But magic wood is magic wood, and now I'm cursed with being its custodian. It would have been a killer J body, it would have been the Holy Grail, no doubt at all in my mind, but no one on the planet could have guessed walnut could sound like this, and anyway, who buys walnut for a bolt-on J body?
Maybe I'll just have to drag it through life 'til I can get everything right. David Schwab could do it. He could look over the electronics and figure out how to make it roar, just totally romp and stomp.
@ kurosawa - we all make mistakes, sounds like the bass is fixable. Your description is intriguing - got any sound clips?
