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The Explorer Bass Club
- Thread starter Spleenface92
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And isn't it pretty?
I fell in love with this bass all over again today. It truly is a masterpiece. Now that it's set up for the way I play (it took a little trial and error to get it dialed in), I've got no problems whatsoever with the trem. With my Hamer in an unplayable state, I needed my Kahler fix and this bass is very satisfying. Neck dive is a bitch, though.If you look at the "arm"/lower horn of the body, you'll notice that it's the same shape as the Jackson/Charvel pointy headstock. This bass's body feels vastly different from any Mockingbird I've played. The Mockingbird feels a lot more comfortable and stable, but I love the Kelly just because of how wild it is. And I think the body shape looks a lot better on bass than guitar because the neck and headstock appear more proportionate.
My Kelly is my dream bass. If you handed me a Jackson CS order form, I'd have it spec'd out pretty much just like that (I wouldn't have thought of the purple bevels, though. But that's Rough Cutt for ya
). Except you can't get the EMG HB pickups that easily anymore.And that's a beautiful bird, rubato!
that is one of the most awesome basses i ever saw!!!!
Thank you.
I agree wholeheartedly. I'm really proud to own it.Chowderboots, I almost gave you another number on accident. Sweet bass! Would that happen to be a bass trem, too? -drools-
Thanks! Yep it's a 1985 Kahler 2410. It's one of the early models with two springs instead of three. I prefer the three spring setup for 45-105 gauge strings, but I'm so happy just to have a bass with a trem on it that I don't really care.
Once I get the bridge/nut/new pickup into my Hamer, I'll post a couple photos.
I do miss the way my Hamer balances when it's on a strap. And the way the neck feels. And the huge range that I can get out of the trem on it. I could go on and on. For such a weird looking no-frills bass, it's one of the best instruments I've ever played.
Here's a closeup of the recessed tremolo. This was taken before my grubby hands covered it in fingerprints.
And the bevels are actually purple, but it's hard to tell in most light. Adds to the mystique.
Yeah now imagine my excitement when I first saw it, then when it was offered to me for $1200.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Here's a closeup of the recessed tremolo. This was taken before my grubby hands covered it in fingerprints.
And the bevels are actually purple, but it's hard to tell in most light. Adds to the mystique.
That is so sweet! Very nice!
And I know that tremolo!
Tom.
That is so sweet! Very nice!
And I know that tremolo!
Tom.
Thank you very much.
Sick! Kahler bridges are by far my favorite for bass. The 2410 and 7410 are stellar trems and the 2440 is a superb hardtail. And they had better be for the price.
Nothing says hair metal like a pointy BC Rich with a Kahler trem.
My Kelly was originally owned by Matt Thor from Rough Cutt, I think to commemorate their first album. He ordered a white and black CS Kelly for the second album, which you can see in the Double Trouble music video.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Very sweet.
Either that or very embarrassing, depending on what you think of them.
Nice arm lock on your trem. I did a similar thing with the 7410 on my Blitz. It kinda works. It scratched up the chrome a lot on the top of the cam, though.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,516
- 19,952
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
Either that or very embarrassing, depending on what you think of them.
I like Rough Cut, so you're in the "cool" category with me, at least.
So far, so good, on mine (with regard to scratches). Admittedly, though, I don't have the arm installed most of the time.
Tom.
I ordered a new Cam for my Kahler,as the threads for the arm were stripped in the original one,I also ordered new Bearings,it didn't say that the new cam came with them already D'oh
Also bought a new Chrome arm,didn't want black,was dissapointed that the cam needed filing to get it to fit properly,do these things do dives as well as pull ups?,as mine doesn't seem to want too,but then I can't put strings on the bass yet,broken truss rod nut and a front bow with no strings!,I am going to get it fixed as soon as my Widow gets back from the Luthier
Also bought a new Chrome arm,didn't want black,was dissapointed that the cam needed filing to get it to fit properly,do these things do dives as well as pull ups?,as mine doesn't seem to want too,but then I can't put strings on the bass yet,broken truss rod nut and a front bow with no strings!,I am going to get it fixed as soon as my Widow gets back from the Luthier
I ordered a new Cam for my Kahler,as the threads for the arm were stripped in the original one,I also ordered new Bearings,it didn't say that the new cam came with them already D'oh
Also bought a new Chrome arm,didn't want black,was dissapointed that the cam needed filing to get it to fit properly,do these things do dives as well as pull ups?,as mine doesn't seem to want too,but then I can't put strings on the bass yet,broken truss rod nut and a front bow with no strings!,I am going to get it fixed as soon as my Widow gets back from the Luthier
Wow...that thing must have really been (ab)used for a good number of years for that to happen! Did you get a 2400 cam, then?
A 2400 on an Ironbird--there's another fantasy of mine. Never thought I'd see it, though. When was that bass made? I don't think that any production model Ironbird could fit a Kahler onto it--there isn't enough room on that little jut for the bridge.
Have you used a Kahler trem before? They are designed to allow you to drop the strings really low and they are made primarily for lowering pitch, although they have decent range in both directions. I know people who can drop the strings an entire octave/until they don't hold tension any more. You can only get about 1-1 1/2 steps of rise before you start stretching out our strings and breaking them, most of the time.
There isn't a lot of reference material for people to find out about Kahler trems and how to set them up properly/maintain them. It sounds like you need to adjust the spring tension which can be done by adjusting that little hex bolt in between the arm holes on the top of the cam. And not knowing how old that trem is, you might want to get new springs for it as well, to avoid any other problems. Is yours a two or three spring model?
Sounds like the neck has its share of problems as well...yikes! poor bass.
Enough from me about Kahlers. I'll try to keep it on topic from now on.
Enough from me about Kahlers. I'll try to keep it on topic from now on.
Yeah, haven't you like got a forum or something, just for that kinda stuff.....
