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cutlass's

I've got a Status neck on my '87 SR4. Cost £330 including installation and set up (no LEDs on mine).

Oldbluebassman : What did yours cost ?

Gav's got some photos I emailed last year. Gav : do you still have them ?

No regrets about the change. Personally I prefer the feel of the Status neck to the original wooden one. Note the Status neck is not an exact copy of the wooden version. Its slimmer on the back and the fretboard is flatter. The neck also has a type of trussrod whereas the original Cutlasses did not.

I made the change 'cos I always wanted a Cutlass. However combination of the Status neck and an EB ray is IMO better (trussrod on neck + contoured body).

Comparing with my '77. Sound is very even across all notes. Tone is noticeably brighter and the notes more defined. Sustain marginally better.

The workmanship is very impressive. The neck is of very high quality.

Next project is to buy 'ray #3. Which will be an EB 2 band and switch the neck to that.
 
kenito said:
Oldbluebassman : What did yours cost ?

Gav's got some photos I emailed last year. Gav : do you still have them ?

No regrets about the change. Personally I prefer the feel of the Status neck to the original wooden one. Note the Status neck is not an exact copy of the wooden version. Its slimmer on the back and the fretboard is flatter. The neck also has a type of trussrod whereas the original Cutlasses did not.

I made the change 'cos I always wanted a Cutlass. However combination of the Status neck and an EB ray is IMO better (trussrod on neck + contoured body).

Comparing with my '77. Sound is very even across all notes. Tone is noticeably brighter and the notes more defined. Sustain marginally better.

The workmanship is very impressive. The neck is of very high quality.

Next project is to buy 'ray #3. Which will be an EB 2 band and switch the neck to that.
Click to expand...

Neck + LEDs + routing for battery box + fitting = more than double what you paid but it has been worth it. I concurr with all your comments. The slightly lower profile neck suits my small hands really well.
 
Dave, pretty expensive.

I got mine done last summer at the bass gallery in Camden. They had a Status neck in the shop in early 2004 which is the first time I saw one. They fit half a dozen a year.

How different is the neck to your Cutlass ?
 
did anyone happen to notice the twist thingies in the pre-amp of the cutlass on ebay? that doesnt look so good to me. i dont think MM would actually use those in production. and what is the name of the color of the namm bass? anyone know?
 
>>>>did anyone happen to notice the twist thingies in the pre-amp of the cutlass on ebay? that doesnt look so good to me. i dont think MM would actually use those in production.

Are you talking about the control knobs?

If so, Pre-EB knobs are different to the EBs.

>>>>EB may have a special name for the Silver...perhaps "Sterling Silver" ;)

Really don't know but it would be interesting to find out. Maybe Jon, Derek or Brian can advise on that.

.
 
Rod Trussbroken said:
Perhaps for completeness....NAMM Bass.

NAMM_Bass.JPG



NAMM%5F2%2EJPG



.
Click to expand...

That's a great looking Bass !!!
 
no no. i know what the knobs are. look at the wiring going into the body. the wire twists. i dont know the real name for them. theyre gray, shaped like a cone, used for twisting to wires together to make contact. you can see them in the picture where the inside of the pre- amp is exposed.
 
Gotcha.

Darn, I missed those pics...they were added latter.

That's an insulating connector normally used for household electrical wiring. The wires are twisted together and the connector is twisted over the top to give both mechanical strength to the join and insulation from other wiring. You can't use solder for house wiring.

It's not an original pre-amp part. Normally, the joining wires are soldered with a clear plastic sleeve sliped over the top (as can be seen to the left).

Cutlass%5FCirca%5F1983%5FB023256%5FPre%2Damp%2EJPG

.
 
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cutlass

guys and gals,
the Cutlass was made from '80-'83, with approx. 773 produced. there were issues with some of the necks having to be planed and refretted. i owned one of the first and never had a problem.
the NAMM basses were called Inca silver after some basses painted silver in the '70's & early '80's ( a color never offered by Leo/Musicman). 50 went to Europe and Japan,1 to the Namm museum & 49 for sale in the US.
 
Hi poui. Welcome to the Forum.

Do you have any more info on production numbers ... or any other info?

>>>>>there were issues with some of the necks having to be planed and refretted.

Yeah, the necks had to be shaved. Some may have been refretted but my understanding is that they had to be left as fretless necks after the reworking.

.
 
What I should probably do is save the pics from the Ebay auction and paste them in this thread. I have plenty of storage space...zillions and zillians ( as my hero Carl Sagan would say :) ) They're pretty good pics. It may be usefull for further continued reference and discussion :cool:

.
 
Since I have the attention of two Cutlass experts....

What finishes were availabe for the Cutlass1? These are what I've seen:

Black (the most common?)

Red

Sunburst

Natural

Anyone know which finishes are the most rare?

I have a later version Cutlass with no neck problems- were the necks improved on the later versions or are problems report on all?

Poui- when you say 773 were produced, is that both Cutlass 1 and 2s?

Thanks!
 
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cutlass

I've seen silver, black, white, sunburst,red and natural that were true cutlass'. My production figures were for the cutlass I only. Never liked the II. The Cutlass could be refretted but it was a pain in the arse! My friend Terry McInturff (yes the guitar builder) did mine and swore he'd never do another. The blueburst is a refin.
 
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