Status Graphite
Status Graphite is a British hand-made bass and guitar producer, based in Colchester, Essex, UK. The company was founded in 1981, by head builder Rob Green and consists of him and a small team of luthiers. Their basses are most known for their graphite necks, which differ from wooden necks in that they have longer sustain, a more even response and are more structurally stable. Status Graphite also build and sell their own active pickups an pickup circuits, hand made straps, and other accessories. One of Status' most iconic players is perhaps Mark King of Level 42, who has played Status basses ever since the 1980s. Other artists who play or have played Status basses include Alessandro Venturella of Slipknot (whose collection also includes a few Chris Wolstenholme signature basses), Mark Rutherford from Genesis, Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi from Status Quo, and John Entwistle from The Who.
Wolstenholme likely got into Status Graphite through Morgan Nicholls, who's been an S2-Classic player ever since the 1990s (if not earlier). Chris's first Status he bought was the headless Series-II. According to the Status Graphite website, he bought it from a friend, after being impressed with the tone.[1] Chris was first seen using the Series-II during the recording of The Resistance. Throughout The Resistance tour, Chris expanded his Status collection to include two S2-Classic models, and a KingBass Mk-II. The S2-Classic later inspired the Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass. Chris's almost exclusively using his signature Status basses for over a decade, almost entirely replacing his array of Fender Jazz Basses, with a few exceptions. Additionally, Chris was also seen using a Status Slipstream electric guitar live on certain songs.
Basses
- Status Original Series II
- Status S2-Classic
- Status The KingBass Mk-II
- Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass
- Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass 5-string
- Status Kitara Doubleneck Bass
- Status Kitara Doubleneck Bass Mk2
- Status Keyboard Bass