Graphite Bass
Jazz Bass with Moses neck
I’ve been messing about with Graphite the last few days (as well as sorting out some exciting things for the blog in the next few weeks). More specifically I’ve been playing with a Moses graphite neck on a 4 string jazz bass. A good lesson in the effort required to customize a bass. A process best left to a professional (if you know any good bass luthiers, let me know).
As it happens, it all went very smoothly. The bass is still shiny new, but now with added punch, sustain and power. Moses make a range of replacement necks for basses (see electric bass necks on their site). They have been used by a fair few players over the years.
Swapping necks is pretty straight forward:
- Remove/unwind the strings (good time to change them).
- Remove the machine heads (if you need them for the new neck).
- Unscrew the old neck.
- Attach the new neck, with machine heads.
- Restring and tune the bass.
Moses Graphite Neck
Graphite necks are stable across temperature and humidity, which is a big win in some parts of the world. They tend not to need any truss rod adjustment – It is just as well, as adjusting that wonderful piece of metal that keeps the neck (just about) straight is a pretty fine art.
A number of manufacturers use graphite in the construction of their bases – probably the most famous of these is Modulus Guitars in the US and Status Graphite in the UK (Status also make graphite replacement necks for a range of basses). I had a Status Graphite S2 for a while and loved it. I believe that Zon Guitars also make use of graphite (very distinctive in fretless instruments, if you’ve heard Michael Manring).
Graphite is one of those love-it or hate-it things when it comes to bass. Whatever you feel about it, you can’t argue for the benefits of its properties. About half of my basses have at least some graphite in the neck, even if it is there just to add stability.
wow thts a nice bass.
I shall write some more on it… the electronics and pickups are heavily modded too… It’s become a dream bass, although it has one string less than I would ideally want!
I know a very good Luthier in Boston/Brookline, MA. Mark Herbert has works for many headliners.
I once walked past his door to see one of 2 of Pat Metheny’s sitar/guitars open in it’s case. The 2nd was touring museums with The Art of the Guitar exhibit. Mark says the stress applied to the body by all those strings going in odd directions is a heck of a puzzle.
Mark mounted a 4 string Moses fretless neck on my Steinberger XP-2. It is a nice tight fit with no shims. I have taken each of the 3 basses I’ve owned for his opinion and his fine touch.
S&y
[…] It wasn’t until I saw a Badass bridge on a bass for the first time that I realised the importance of that lump of metal holding the strings on to the body. Leon Quan’s metal marvel promised a new generation of bassists better sustain and tone, without a completely new bass. It was a huge leap ahead of the standard Jazz Bass bridge of the time, which was a wafer thin mint by today’s bass bridge standards. The picture here is of a model II on my Moses-necked Jazz bass (featured in “Graphite Bass“). […]
[…] most recent departure is the custom Moses job featured in the “graphite bass” post, which is currently listed on ebay. Thus buying and selling basses has been part of […]
[…] (graphite) coned 6 inch mid-range speakers (so now you can have graphite in your cabinet as well as graphite in your bass’s neck). You’ll have to hurry though – it is a strictly limited edition of 10 cabs. Again thanks […]
I wrote an interview with a small, now one-man company in Germany – Bogart. They are relaunching their graphite basses sometime in spring:
(German text)
http://bassnews.de/index.php/relaunch-der-bogart-basse/
Thanks Sam, that’s quite a story (Google doesn’t do a great job of translating bass stuff, but for non-German speakers, here it is: Bogart Basses. Interesting that they have a background in Carbon products as well as bass. The wood body and graphite neck makes a visually pleasing combination!
I have 1997 Empathy Status bass. I’ve played it for 2 years it’s the best bass I’ve ever played. My next birthday I’ll be sixty and have played almost every bass that has be made with a few misses here and there. My bass has a neck thru solid graphite woven carbon neck. It has a swamp ash body core with amazaque facings. It’s just short of amazing. There hard to find in thr U.S.A. but worth the work. The electronic’s are great but a little at a time will do you more good than than a big twist. So much for my bass. I love the Status line. Stay in the pocket. Doug
Hi Doug, I love the Empathy model – Status don’t seem to list it anymore. I guess the Stealth is probably the closest thing. A truely end-to-end graphite bass!