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Status or Dingwall??

#83
I don't think you are going to get a clear answer from this thread, since you've asked about two relatively rare basses, quite different from each other. So all the replies you get will be from enthusiasts for one or the other! Frankly, you'd be crazy to lay out your money on one or the other without trying it. It would be cheaper and surer to buy a used one of one of them and re-sell it if necessary..you'd lose less much less on the deal than trading in a new bass you found you didn't like.
Now I've never touched a Dingwall and I play Status all the time, so I'll put in my one-sided remarks. Status isn't just for funk. You can play any style with it. I'm a finger-picker and I get all tones from near-Motown to clear modern piano-tone. To get real Motown I'd need to use flat-wounds, but that's the case with my P-bass too! A graphite neck doesn't sound like anything but a straight, reliable, accurate neck: I have a wonderfully low action on my Status bass.
My Status bass was 20 years old when I bought it, and cost me £300. I'll never need to change it. If you want all those fancy wood options and the LEDs then an S2 Classic will do what you want, but please, try a used Status first.
 
#84
grendle said:
don't buy junk and you wont have dead spots. It's pretty much a fender / one piece neck issue.
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Unfortunately this is untrue. I've seen dead spots on all kinds of non "junk" basses, including Status. One of the worst basses for dead spots that I ever owned was a neck through, multi-laminated neck 1991 Warwick Streamer Stage I...
 
#85
grendle said:
You really gotta play both , or just take a leap of faith. Or get one , play it for a wile, flip it and get the other. Both are great and you can't go wrong . A word on the status though, don't play another graphite neck bass and assume the status is the same, they arent. Status has much more of a synergy thing going in with the graphite and wood. There are good basses out there but status imo. Is the only one who got the wood and graphite thing right.
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yeah, i was about to buy a modulus but i chickened out at the last minute! I also think that i can't go wrong with either, but i'm seriously getting the dingwall vibe, I guess that's where my leap of faith goes ;)
 
#86
droskobass said:
There is a lot of great advise in this thread, but I think that the fact that you are looking at two basses with very different features show's that you are very open minded and adventurous. (which is a great thing).

As for Dingwalls I've had the pleasure of meeting the whole Dingwall sales team and they are a classy operation that build amazing basses. You can't really go wrong there.

I believe that 9 hours of playing are all it takes to get over a physical factor (35", or fanned frets, different radius or string spacings, getting used to headless or fan fret etc.) After nine hours you become familiar and it's a non issue. That's just my experience. and because of this I'm not a "neck nazi" at all. I can play fat necks thin necks wide flat whatever. If it feels odd at first I know that I can adjust and I never ever think about it after a while.

I do also like graphite basses (primarily for the studio, never live) I have a status necked Jazz and a steinberger XL2.

The tone of the Status is very very flat, almost scooped, with lots of bass and upper harmonics galore. So some people find that like the bass can be difficult to hear on a noisy stage (due to less midrange bloom and emphasis compared to other vintage voiced basses). Or it may sound very clear to you but drummers might have a hard time hearing it, the abundant fundamental can eat tons of power too so if you've never played a Modulus or status you might be in for a surprise. The action, however, on my status necked Jazz is the best of any instrument I've ever touched, out of thousands* (*note my Steinberger XL2 is equal) so you can set it extremely low and FLY on it.

LEDs... never needed tham and they seemed like an expensive option that does nothing positive for tone. I don't think I'd take them for free. Who want wires running though their neck? (my 2 cents)
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thnx! I always wanted a different bass, I mean, I know Mike Lull and Sadowsky could be the tone kings, it's just that I don't wanna look at my bass and see a jazz bass instead of an instrument with its own visual character. I know it sounds a little shallow, but as I said before, If ur gonna get the bass of ur life (coz in mexico, saving 3 grand is 3 o 4 times harder than in the northern hemisphere with our 3rd world salaries) well, u gotta love the bass to death! That's why I want a bass that stands among the crowd, not only because of the tone or sound, but also because of its design, its curves and its looks as well! Since I started this thread I've been looking, as many of my fellow bass players have advised me, into Mike Lulls and Sadowskys, but I don't dig them much! I rather take my chances with a graphite neck or a fanned fretboard without even having played them before, but that's just me. In the end, I strongly believe that true tone comes from ur fingertips, and that groove comes from ur heart, as cheesy as it sounds :)
 
#89
Osprey said:
I don't think you are going to get a clear answer from this thread, since you've asked about two relatively rare basses, quite different from each other. So all the replies you get will be from enthusiasts for one or the other! Frankly, you'd be crazy to lay out your money on one or the other without trying it. It would be cheaper and surer to buy a used one of one of them and re-sell it if necessary..you'd lose less much less on the deal than trading in a new bass you found you didn't like.
Now I've never touched a Dingwall and I play Status all the time, so I'll put in my one-sided remarks. Status isn't just for funk. You can play any style with it. I'm a finger-picker and I get all tones from near-Motown to clear modern piano-tone. To get real Motown I'd need to use flat-wounds, but that's the case with my P-bass too! A graphite neck doesn't sound like anything but a straight, reliable, accurate neck: I have a wonderfully low action on my Status bass.
My Status bass was 20 years old when I bought it, and cost me £300. I'll never need to change it. If you want all those fancy wood options and the LEDs then an S2 Classic will do what you want, but please, try a used Status first.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've heard those "status is a funk-only bass" and such, but I totally agree with u, I mean, that active EQ isn't there just because, right? Thing is, I have no options: If I want to have a dream bass, I gotta trust my instinct. As I wrote before, there's no way I can try a boutique bass here in this part of the country. Nobody sells them, and no player has them. Even if I could fly to Mexico City just to try them, It'd be pretty hard to find any of those. So, what would u do if u were in my position? Would u wait til ur able to try a bass of this kind in person or would u just trust ur gut? I mean, I really think I can't go wrong either way! Cheers mate!
 
#91
mexibass said:
. So, what would u do if u were in my position?
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I can't give you advice about how to spend a serious amount of money blind. Except to say that going with the consensus is no better than flipping a coin. If it were me I'd try to remember that a huge chunk of the resale value of either new bass flies out of the window as soon as I touch it. So I'd move heaven and earth to buy a used one, for maybe an eighth of the price, which I could resell losing not much. A used one of either: they are both basses which people love and both basses which few people have experienced. Once either bass is in your hands you'll know very quickly if it's right or not. And, unlike most agonised questions on TB, it won't just be a matter of changing a pick-guard!
 
#92
mexibass said:
c'est vrai, moi j'aime pas non plus les warwicks :p
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Pretty good French there, my friend! :) Regarding the MTDs - there are basically two separate MTD brands: those made in Asia and those made by Michael Tobias himself in a small shop in Woodstock, New York (the U.S.A. models). They're very different instruments! As for Jazz style basses, I love a Sadowsky or Lull with a distinctive top but I can understand why you'd be looking for something different. I would, again, strongly encourage you to shop second-hand. You're taking a big chance ordering a bass you've never played before. If you at least go the second-hand route you won't be losing nearly as much money should you decide to sell the bass and move on to something else. A lot of tone can be in the fingers but a lot is also in the bass. And keep in mind, too, that every bass is going to sound a little different (even within the same model). I love MTDs (I'm talking about the U.S. models) but I've owned a couple that just didn't do it for me tone-wise. Something else to keep in mind is a given person's experience when he or she recommends a bass. Has the person played the instrument in a variety of settings? It's all very well for someone to say, "Yeah, I have a "x" bass and it sounds amazing" but for all you know that person's playing experiences might not line up with your needs. For example, I had a Status S2 that I'd bought directly from Rob Green. It sounded incredible in my living room! The harmonics just popped off the neck and the low end was silky smooth. When I got the bass onstage with a band, however, the low end definition and note fundamental went out the window (while the high end cut right through the mix). That, for me, was a deal breaker - I just couldn't use the bass for live work. Take Sadowskys on the other hand. A lot of people have said that they were "underwhelmed" by the sound of the Sadowsky they picked up and tried at a local music store. They'd heard so much about how amazing these basses are that they expected to be blown away by the tone of the bass when they plugged it in. The thing is, Sadowskys are designed to have maximum impact in a live setting - not in a living room, and pretty much any player who has used a Sadowsky on stage will attest to how well the bass works in that particular setting. So keep in mind your needs versus the possible needs/experiences of the people you're discussing the topic at hand with, because the two might not line up. :)

P.S., Something else regarding Status basses that bears mentioning: resale value (at least in North America) is not very high. I had a heck of a time selling my S2 and when it did sell I took a huge loss. There's an S2 currently for sale here on Talkbass. It's been in the TB classifieds for over eight months...
 
#93
Osprey said:
I can't give you advice about how to spend a serious amount of money blind. Except to say that going with the consensus is no better than flipping a coin. If it were me I'd try to remember that a huge chunk of the resale value of either new bass flies out of the window as soon as I touch it. So I'd move heaven and earth to buy a used one, for maybe an eighth of the price, which I could resell losing not much. A used one of either: they are both basses which people love and both basses which few people have experienced. Once either bass is in your hands you'll know very quickly if it's right or not. And, unlike most agonised questions on TB, it won't just be a matter of changing a pick-guard!
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Guys, believe me, I knew this all along. And in the end I knew it was going like flipping a coin! i've already been thru this years ago, when i just started playing bass... i was so good at it for a guy that just moved away from guitar 2 months ago that everybody kept telling me "u should become a bass player", so I did, and I decided to get what I thought was gonna be my first real bass: warwick corvette pro 6 string: It looked so sumptuous in the ads, the fine woods, the huge neck, the sleek silouette, and when I finally played it, i hated it! it wasn the bass for me or for my level in that time... so I had to let it go for very few pesos! anyway, I'm already giving it a second thought and think I might as well take a look at the used gear section and have whatever bass I get sent to my brother's home in Texas, so he can bring it back to mexico for free next time he comes visit and I might spend "only" 1500 usd or so... Guess that's what I'll do... I might even try an used Sadowsky Metro!! if u guys know of one... lemme know!
 
#94
Status S2 owner for about 12 years now (got it in high school). I flip pedals on the daily. Get GAS for stuff all the time.....but in 12 years I've never even glanced at another bass. Friends will post stuff about their new basses and I have to fake excitement.

It's all about your tonal goals (like others said), though. I like my sound articulate and hifi. Love my Status.

......and someone said "there's nothing like rubbing your thumb down a wood neck".......guess there's nothing like eating glass, too. Graphite is just beautiful on the thumb. **** wood. :p

Link Removed
 
#95
bass12 said:
Pretty good French there, my friend! :) Regarding the MTDs - there are basically two separate MTD brands: those made in Asia and those made by Michael Tobias himself in a small shop in Woodstock, New York (the U.S.A. models). They're very different instruments! As for Jazz style basses, I love a Sadowsky or Lull with a distinctive top but I can understand why you'd be looking for something different. I would, again, strongly encourage you to shop second-hand. You're taking a big chance ordering a bass you've never played before. If you at least go the second-hand route you won't be losing nearly as much money should you decide to sell the bass and move on to something else. A lot of tone can be in the fingers but a lot is also in the bass. And keep in mind, too, that every bass is going to sound a little different (even within the same model). I love MTDs (I'm talking about the U.S. models) but I've owned a couple that just didn't do it for me tone-wise. Something else to keep in mind is a given person's experience when he or she recommends a bass. Has the person played the instrument in a variety of settings? It's all very well for someone to say, "Yeah, I have a "x" bass and it sounds amazing" but for all you know that person's playing experiences might not line up with your needs. For example, I had a Status S2 that I'd bought directly from Rob Green. It sounded incredible in my living room! The harmonics just popped off the neck and the low end was silky smooth. When I got the bass onstage with a band, however, the low end definition and note fundamental went out the window (while the high end cut right through the mix). That, for me, was a deal breaker - I just couldn't use the bass for live work. Take Sadowskys on the other hand. A lot of people have said that they were "underwhelmed" by the sound of the Sadowsky they picked up and tried at a local music store. They'd heard so much about how amazing these basses are that they expected to be blown away by the tone of the bass when they plugged it in. The thing is, Sadowskys are designed to have maximum impact in a live setting - not in a living room, and pretty much any player who has used a Sadowsky on stage will attest to how well the bass works in that particular setting. So keep in mind your needs versus the possible needs/experiences of the people you're discussing the topic at hand with, because the two might not line up. :)

P.S., Something else regarding Status basses that bears mentioning: resale value (at least in North America) is not very high. I had a heck of a time selling my S2 and when it did sell I took a huge loss. There's an S2 currently for sale here on Talkbass. It's been in the TB classifieds for over eight months...
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I actually decided that if I'm gonna try something really nice it has to be one of those basses u've recommended, and I'm calling Bass Central tomorrow to explain my situation and see if they have something that i can buy to try out second hand, i'll have the bass shipped from there to texas for free and then u know the rest. Who knows? My next bass could be an american MTD! I got a Tobias Killer B years ago and it was a lovely beast! gotta check em out!

Than u for ur patience and ur kindness man. Having other bass player from around the world to help u clean ur mind (or not) is the best! I'll let u know how it goes... a plus!
 
#96
MSUsousaphone said:
Status S2 owner for about 12 years now (got it in high school). I flip pedals on the daily. Get GAS for stuff all the time.....but in 12 years I've never even glanced at another bass. Friends will post stuff about their new basses and I have to fake excitement.

It's all about your tonal goals (like others said), though. I like my sound articulate and hifi. Love my Status.

......and someone said "there's nothing like rubbing your thumb down a wood neck".......guess there's nothing like eating glass, too. Graphite is just beautiful on the thumb. **** wood. :p

Link Removed
Click to expand...

is that your status in ur signature track? it sounds really good! and the song rocks! nice job dude!
 
#99
mexibass said:
I actually decided that if I'm gonna try something really nice it has to be one of those basses u've recommended, and I'm calling Bass Central tomorrow to explain my situation and see if they have something that i can buy to try out second hand, i'll have the bass shipped from there to texas for free and then u know the rest. Who knows? My next bass could be an american MTD! I got a Tobias Killer B years ago and it was a lovely beast! gotta check em out!

Than u for ur patience and ur kindness man. Having other bass player from around the world to help u clean ur mind (or not) is the best! I'll let u know how it goes... a plus!
Click to expand...

Glad to help. Honestly, the first place I would look is the Talkbass classifieds. It will most likely be the cheaper route.
 

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