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Six years and 741 posts ago, I started this thread because I had just received my first Status Graphite bass, a Stealth 5, and discovered that there was no Status Graphite club on TB. Today I received my third Status bass and my second Stealth. This time I went for the corner LEDs (I'd regretted not getting them on the first one, and appreciate them on my Streamline) and the Paramatrix/TriMax EQ/splittable coil electronics. Finish is gorgeous. Neck is fast. Came out of the box in tune. Won't get to take her out through her paces until after work, but I think I have my Status Graphite basses covered.
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I may want to raise the action a little - though maybe not, it's soo fast as delivered. Neck is usual amazing Status neck. Surprisingly, the A string intonation was off - I'm pretty sure what happened was a string change where the diagonal grommet screw wasn't tight enough, and tuning it up dragged the saddle back a mm or two. Quick and easy to fix. But the big deal is the electronics package. The pair of pairs of pickups can be stacked in 9 different ways, several of them really fine, and the humbucker mode is a close facsimile to the standard Status humbuckers. Volume/Blend/+-treble/+-bass as with the standard package, but also a sweepable +- midrange that's very effective. It *is* a bit heavier than my stock Stealth, and I somehow suspect that the batteries will need changing more often, but the bass is a monster. Thanks, Rob!
Yes, it's a veneer of wood. Some people would call that a pinstripe but I suppose it's thicker than most "pinstripes". Rob sometimes refers to it on his basses as "faux binding".
Are these pickups a line item or custom? Could you also explain the switching please?
The combination of the "TriMax" pickups and the "Paramatrix" EQ is an added cost option on the price list. You might be able to get one without the other as a custom option if you negotiate with Rob.
Each TriMax pickup is in fact a pair of J-style pickups. Each pair has a 3-position switch that selects one, the other, or the two combined as a humbucker. With the two pickups, there are 9 options. The difference between the humbucker mode and a single coil is of course dramatic. The difference beween the two single-coils in a given pair is more subtle, but it's there - different position on the string, different phase if you're combining pickups. I haven't played seriously at all the permutations yet, but even though I'm historically an EMG/humbucker kinda guy, it's waaay cool to get a Jazz tone out of a Status bass.
Oh, while my initial writeup described a parametric midrange EQ circuit, if you count the knobs, you can see that in fact there are *two* parametric +/- midrange controls, one for high mids and one for low mids. This bass has more powerful tone shaping capabilities than any of my amps, except *maybe* my vintage EBS-1 rack preamp! That's more than I need, but it's totally cool, and it "came with the pickups".
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I agree that there's a "too many damned knobs" impression when you first look at it, but it's actually much quicker to dial in a tone than any other bass I've played. Parametric EQ really is a great tool. If you just want the pickups, I'd like to think that Rob could set you up with a bass with the pickups (so you're stuck with the dual 3-position switches) and a more minimal preamp/EQ.The TriMax seems really cool but I can't cope with too many options when it comes to onboard EQ. I need simple.
QUOTE="Barticus, post: 24849017, member: 314567"]Is that a pinstripe or a veneer layer... looks like a layer of wood in the top. It's a stunning bass the Roman numerals are cool too.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! It's called Faux binding by Status Graphite. It's a custom option.
Thanks! It's called Faux binding by Status Graphite. It's a custom option.
That's exactly what I'm going for. Either the Bi-Max pickups with 2 way coil tap switch or the Tri-Max with three way coil tap switch, but with just the Volume, Tone and Pickup Blend knobs.
No one at Status responded to my last two emails (it could be that I'm blacklisted though). Phoning might be more effective.
Rob and Dawn have been pretty responsive to my emails over the years. There may have been one or two occasions where I've had to send a reminder. More frequently, it just took them a week or so to get around to me. By "blacklisted" you mean your emails flag a spam trap, or something more...personal?
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