Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass

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Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass
Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature Bass
Manufacturer Status Graphite
Used Blue-LED (graphite finish) (prototype): ?—?

Blue-LED (graphite finish): 2012-08-12—
White-LED (aqua blue finish): 2012-10-16—
Red-LED (graphite finish): 2012-10-16—
White-LED (stealth finish): 2015-07-17
Microstrip-LED (indigo blue finish): 2019-05-26—

Body type Alder encased in one-piece graphite composite
Neck joint Neck-through
Body covering High gloss lacquer
Wood Alder body, wrapped in a carbon-graphite shell
Bridge Mono-rail bridge units
Electronics Master volume and pickup blend controls
Pickup(s) 2 Status hum-cancelling pickups
Special circuits Treble and bass active E.Q. plus bright switch

Control orientation reversed
Midrange boost circuit
Custom LED lights in fretboard

Information

Based on the Status S2-Classic, the Status Chris Wolstenholme Signature model is a custom model, made for Chris's own preferences and playing style. It differs in a few points from its forerunner:

  • The bridge pickups have been moved away from the bridge by 20mm to make the right-hand technique a little more flexible.
  • The neck pickup has also been moved towards the fingerboard by 10mm which makes the tone a little warmer.
  • Volume/pickup balance and bass/treble controls have been reversed, when compared to a standard Status bass. This has no effect on the way the controls operate, it's just a personal preference Chris has.
  • A new midrange control has been fitted: It has individual controls for both mid frequency adjustment, and mid cut/boost. This allows for pin-pointing the exact midrange frequency, then adjusting exactly how much is to be boosted or cut. This midrange control can be pre-set and there is an on/off switch to by-pass it completely.
  • Chris also specified front LEDs as a custom option. The original prototype bass has blue LEDs. Red, green, amber and white are also available, as is a tricolor RGB option.
  • Black hardware is standard on Chris' basses. Gold and chrome are also available.
  • Individual mono-rail bridge units are fitted as standard.

Wolstenholme most likely first played his custom model at the Olympic Closing Cerenomy. It's unknown, if this model differs from the prototype model, wherefore it's unclear if he used the signature model for the first time in 2012 or 2011.

Beginning with the start of The 2nd Law Tour, Chris recieved a batch of three new custom basses, which are still used live. These include a white-LED model in an aqua blue tint, a red-LED model with a natural/graphite finish, and lastly, the first 5-string signature model.[1] The white-LED and red-LED basses replaced the walnut and graphite Status S2-Classic basses. The aqua blue/white-LED bass became his main bass throughout the tour, holding this position to this date. In 2015, Wolstenholme recieved another batch of two basses. The first one - a white-LED bass, finished in stealth, with only one known use - was recieved during the Drones Festivals Tour 2015. The second one, a woven chrome tinted tricolor-LED bass, was acquired during the headlining tour in 2016, and is still used. In 2019, Chris's gotten another signature bass, this time with white LED strips built into the body and the neck, painted indigo blue. The bass was used exclusively for the Simulation Theory Tour.

Models

Blue-LED Signature Bass (Graphite Finish)

Blue-LED Signature bass

The first signature bass Chris recieved, outside of his prototype model, which also had blue LED lights installed. The bass's first been used in standard tuning. Between 2013 and 2016, the bass's been used in drop D and drop C (apart from one gig in 2016, where it was used in standard tuning). Since 2016, it's been used as a half-step down bass. It currently sits in his A-rig as such.

In 2022, Chris was seen using the bass in standard tuning in two TikTok videos, playing Compliance and Will of the People. It was likely only used in the tuning for the purpose of filming the two TikToks.[2][3]

Tours and songs played before 2011 with the prototype model are also included in the lists below.

Tuning:

Songs used for

White-LED Signature Bass (Aqua Blue Finish)

White-LED Signature bass

Chris's main Status bass, and his main overall bass when used live. Since acquiring it in 2012, the bass has been used for songs which are in standard tuning. In 2015, the bass was used in the half-step down tuning, while during the Drones headlining tour, the bass was sometimes used for songs in drop D tuning. Chris currently has two of these basses in his B-rig; One tuned in standard, and another one tuned in drop D or drop C, depending on the song.

Tuning:

Songs used for

Red-LED Signature Bass (Graphite Finish)

Red LED Signature bass

The bass was, and is, primarily used for songs which require half-step down tuning, exception being a period during the Drones era in 2015 and 2016, when it was used for drop D or drop C songs, swapping roles with the blue-LED bass, before Chris acquired the Woven Chrome bass. It currently sits in his B-rig as a half-step down bass.

Tuning:

Songs used for

TriColor-LED Signature Bass (Woven Chrome Finish)

Tri-Color Woven Chrome Graphite bass

Marked in Chris's bass rack simply as "Drop", it is used for songs in both drop D, drop C, or other drop tunings. It is tuned by Chris's bass tech according to the song. The bass replaced the blue-LED and red-LED basses in this role, and has thus become one of Chris's most used basses, together with the Aqua Blue White-LED one. It was also used in standard tuning quite a lot in 2016. Additionally, it was used in both standard and half-step down tunings for the X Factor Italy finals performance in 2018. The bass was also used in standard tuning for Space Dementia once in 2022.

Tuning:

Songs used for

LED Microstrip Signature Bass (Indigo Blue Satin Finish)

The Lighting Bass

First used at the Prague gig on 26th of May, 2019, during the Simulation Theory Tour, it is also known as "The Lighting Bass"[4].

This bass differs from other basses in that it's fully covered with LED microstrip lighting, integrated into both the body and the neck. It was used during the Simulation Theory World Tour until October 2019, and is, in terms of general specifications, based on the aqua blue/white-LED bass, which it replaced. The bass made a return in June 2023 for the Will of the People World Tour.

Tuning:

Songs used for

White-LED Signature Bass (Stealth Finish)

White LED Stealth Signature Bass

This bass was presuambly first used at the Vieilles Charrues Festival 2015.

The bass features a white-LED fretboard, but unlike the other white-LED bass this one has the matte black stealth finish. It's only been used on this gig so far and has been abandoned from live use.

Tuning:

Songs used for


Go back to Bass

References

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/CTWolstenholme/status/256419624374124544
  2. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@muse/video/7077215261048278278
  3. ↑ https://www.tiktok.com/@muse/video/7106178420656098565
  4. ↑ http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html
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