I see Korg has been making moves at Spector and bringing them up to speed. they've added alot more options to their custom shop in terms of finishes and electronics, roasted necks, body chambering. Even going multiscale with the korean NS Dimension. Spector though once one of the big innovators of Bass had become almost a heritage brand like Rickenbacker and fender, only offering the same thing they had for years (thats not to say that what Spector was offering was bad by any means). I currently have no Spectors of my own but went through a good few of them and can whole-heartedly say they have cemented themselves as one of if not my favorite bass brand.
Though I didn't have my headless Status for very long, I can say one thing, headless is definitely the future, on the merits of comfort and balance alone, it definitely makes playing alot. I know headless basses have been a thing since the 80s, but its finally catching on as something more than a gimmick. Ibanez and Kiesel have been bringing them into more hands and lots of small builders are focusing on headless designs and people are eating them up. I'm also not claiming that headed basses and guitars will disappear altogether, nor do I want them to, in-fact I know first hand that headed basses can have magnificent balance (look at Dingwall), but I think the shift is coming and any brands that focus on behind modern should start to focus on developing a nice headless to get a piece of the pie.
I don't think it'll be too long before Yamaha, starts offering some headless basses, look at Nathan Easts Custom shop 6. And I know Sheldon Dingwall like to make sure his stuff is expertly engineered so it might bee a while before we see a headless Dingwall, but I do think they should jump on the bandwagon as well. I think Spectors would really benefit from offering something headless as well because, if I'm honest, unless the body weighs a ton, they're pretty terribly balanced basses. I know that every year theres an increasing amount of people that will refuse to buy a bass if its not headless or featherweight. I honestly like the feel and sound of heavier basses (I do believe weight can contribute to sound), and from my experience with the the Status headless I had, even a bass thats not terribly light feels great and easier on the shoulders if its balanced well, that bass was around 9 pounds but felt much lighter when I played it. I love the rock solid feel of a Spector body, I can imagine they could make a nice solid body feel much better by making it headless. I don't dislike chambered bodies but it does definitely affect the sound in my experience. I'd much rather have a more solid headless bass than a chambered headed one though.
Just thinking out loud. What do you all think about more brands offering headless basses?
BTW- My main player is a Yamaha BBNE2 (absolutely bonkers bass) that Balances like a dream, making the 9 plus pounds of it a lot easier on me, but I do often wonder if id really purchase another headed bass over the increasing number of headless basses.
Though I didn't have my headless Status for very long, I can say one thing, headless is definitely the future, on the merits of comfort and balance alone, it definitely makes playing alot. I know headless basses have been a thing since the 80s, but its finally catching on as something more than a gimmick. Ibanez and Kiesel have been bringing them into more hands and lots of small builders are focusing on headless designs and people are eating them up. I'm also not claiming that headed basses and guitars will disappear altogether, nor do I want them to, in-fact I know first hand that headed basses can have magnificent balance (look at Dingwall), but I think the shift is coming and any brands that focus on behind modern should start to focus on developing a nice headless to get a piece of the pie.
I don't think it'll be too long before Yamaha, starts offering some headless basses, look at Nathan Easts Custom shop 6. And I know Sheldon Dingwall like to make sure his stuff is expertly engineered so it might bee a while before we see a headless Dingwall, but I do think they should jump on the bandwagon as well. I think Spectors would really benefit from offering something headless as well because, if I'm honest, unless the body weighs a ton, they're pretty terribly balanced basses. I know that every year theres an increasing amount of people that will refuse to buy a bass if its not headless or featherweight. I honestly like the feel and sound of heavier basses (I do believe weight can contribute to sound), and from my experience with the the Status headless I had, even a bass thats not terribly light feels great and easier on the shoulders if its balanced well, that bass was around 9 pounds but felt much lighter when I played it. I love the rock solid feel of a Spector body, I can imagine they could make a nice solid body feel much better by making it headless. I don't dislike chambered bodies but it does definitely affect the sound in my experience. I'd much rather have a more solid headless bass than a chambered headed one though.
Just thinking out loud. What do you all think about more brands offering headless basses?
BTW- My main player is a Yamaha BBNE2 (absolutely bonkers bass) that Balances like a dream, making the 9 plus pounds of it a lot easier on me, but I do often wonder if id really purchase another headed bass over the increasing number of headless basses.
