Status Headless

Status Empathy II headless

Here's a great instrument that was custom-ordered and later traded towards my first Wal bass. The woven graphite neck ensured that the instrument was always in tune, even in this crazy climate. The tone was deep, clear and piano-like, probably due to the massive milled brass bridge and headstock string retainers. The instrument was well-balanced, medium weight at ~9lbs and had superb fit and finish. Here are the details:

Status Empathy II headless bass
Walnut body with quilt maple top
Graphite neck with ebony fretboard
Neck-through model
34" scale
Status 18-volt 3-band preamp
Status soapbar pickups
Machined brass bridge, tuners and string retainers
Weight roughly 9 pounds
Handmade in the UK, 1996
Accessories: gigbag

The pickups and 18v preamp were both made by Status and provided great flexibility and range. The only minor issue I found was that the preamp had a minor high frequency hiss that would increase as treble was boosted. Despite this minor misgiving it's a bass that I do miss occasionally.