John Entwistle Status Graphite Buzzard I Bass

[beelee]

I don't really have any experience with Warwick basses, although I have tried one, it didn't do anything for me compared to all the other basses I own/play.
 
Now considering how Warwick pulled the rug out from under Status Graphite, you couldn't give me one of their basses for free, even one of their buzzards.
 
I wish something could be done about this, a petition or the like.
 
and they have the nerve to copy the Alembic Exploiter/ Spyder basses !!
 
It would be nice to find a used SG Buzzard ( not very likely) and what one would cost now after speaking to Oliver. maybe a Dragon wing is in my future....

[bigbadbill]

The stupid thing is, I don't really see that the Status would've caused Warwick too many problems sales-wise; very few people could afford them anyway, and anyone set on the graphite version would be unlikely to buy a Warwick instead (and vice versa). It just seems rather petty. Given John's penchant for playing basses many and varied I'm sure he would've preferred to see both manufacturers continue producing these instruments.
 
Actually, a petition sounds like a fun idea, although I can't imagine it would achieve much...maybe Alembic should jump on them for that Exploiter/Spyder rip-off? Now that would serve them right.....although maybe Gibson would have something to say in the argument....

[beelee]

I couldn't agree with you more Bill, Status is such a small company......how many Buzzards could they of  actually made and sold ?  SG is no threat to Warwick's instrument sales, there are so many bass choices out there how many of either kind of Buzzard would people buy anyway ?
 
Just another big company screwing the little guy....its really a shame.

[harald_rost]

It seems to be that Karl Marx' theory of capitalism  comes true within the bass building community. Of course one has to consider that originally the Buzzard was a design developed by Warwick together with John Entwistle. First rights - first rules. Ironically Warwicks first bass design - the shape of the Streamer - was nothing but a copie from the first Spector.

[senmen]

Harald,
sorry, but I have to correct you.
The design of the Buzzard was the sole idea of John Entwistle and not in collaboration with Warwick.  
As John went to the Musik Messe in 1984 he did his first contacts with Warwick and they agreed that Warwick would build the Buzzard. But the design as said is only John effort.
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

[katana_6506]

Shame on Warwick.
 
Their Spyder reindition is extremely poor-looking-that ugly paddle headstock doesn't mesh well with the Explorer body shape at all.
 
My heart goes out to Rob Green on this.

[zn_bassman]

Oliver, re: Buzzard design:
 
I read somewhere that John got drunk in a pub with the owner of Warwick, and they finalized the Buzzard's design right there in the pub. That would probably have been in '84 or '85 - if I'm not mistaken, the first project on which John used his Warwick Buzzard prototype was his solo album, 'The Rock', which was recorded and had its release aborted due to legal problems in '86. One song, 'Too Much Too Soon', features John's only known fretless recording (a solo halfway through the song using an elusive Warwick Buzzard fretless).
 
Any thoughts?
 
And Warwick is indeed petty and undeserving of Buzzard sales...
 
Zvi

[senmen]

Zvi,
yes you are right. And the fretless Warwick Buzzard is the one that is shown in the book on Johns collection. But he also owned and used a Wal fretless bass back then.
As for me personally, I sold my Warwick Buzzard and I hate such things. Honestly said, my Warwick had a neck like a hockey stick and the Warwick Cruisers (the Explorer type body) had a neck that wide and thick that it was not playable...
 
Oliver (Spyderman)

[zn_bassman]

Anybody know if John ever recorded or performed with his Wal fretless? Or which bass(es) he played on his solo tour in 1987?
 
Interesting how he praised Alembics (and aptly demonstrated why) on his Hot Licks audio instructional tapes - these were made after The Who broke up in '82, but was it before the Live Aid incident? All of the pix on the cover and some in the booklet have him with a Spyder, but the technique close-ups have him with a P-bass (which he plays through most of the tapes). His Hot Licks video has an Alembic on the front, but he plays a black Ibanez throughout the vid.
 
I played a W*rw*ck Corvette not long ago - nice shredding high end, decent mids, but muddy and undefined lows.
 
In an agonizing decision a few months ago (helped with advice from Graeme, Oliver, Stoney, Irwin, and others), I bought a Rogue instead of a B2. I still want the B2, and if I ever get the $ together to buy one, I'll be thinking of W*rw*ck when I transfer the funds...

[ed_r]

I don't know that Warwick is the guilty party here, folks. I suspect it has more to do with the family and etate than it does Warwick.  
 
You CAN still get a graphite buzzsrd built, it just won't be built by or carry the brand name of Status. No guitar company on earth would come down on anyone who comnmissions or accepts a commision for an exact replica of a John Entwhistle Buzzard, if it's only a single piece , or even as many as 5. THere are certain requirements for cease and disist orders, and a single or a series of single pieces is more of a tribute in functional sculpture as opposed to 'trying to capitalize on Entwhistle's name and reputation', which is what his estate is doing.
 
There's no legal ramification in the world that can prevent someone making these in future.
I want one!

[borisspyder]

Yeah, but who is going to spend the tens of thousands of dollars on the tooling and dies? And who besides Status and perhaps Modulus has the experience & skillset to build it?

[ed_r]

It wouldn't cost tens of thousands to build a set of molds, it'd run under 5 grand for the whole deal, I'd bet. And I've got enough carbon-fiber experience to have built model helicopter blades of graphite, it can't be much tougher than that!

[rogertvr]

Ed_r - re: your second post in this thread - you're dreaming. Borisspyder is right on the money here.
 
If you really think you can mould a Buzzard using graphite based on your experience of creating graphite helicopter blades and you think it's not much tougher - I'm sure the whole Alembic Club would love to see the result!
 
I don't want to put you off, but Status Graphite had 15 years or so of experience of creating graphite instruments at the point they first attempted the graphite Buzzard.  One of the two prototype Buzzards failed and caved-in, to quote both Rob Green and John Entwistle.
 
I own a Status Graphite Buzzard and I seriously doubt that you or 99.99% of the rest of the world population could create one. It's a bit like saying Joe Bloggs in his garden shed with a few tools and bits of wood could create an Alembic Dragon's Wing - it's not going to happen is it?
 
I could add a well-known UK saying here but it's quite aggressive, so I'll skip.
 
Rog

[ed_r]

Roger, I can appreciate your opinion. Really, Honest;)  
One of the things to bear in mind when thinking I couldn't duplicate what Status did is that I'm not breaking any new ground, I have a blueprint to work from. I don't need to carve a new mold, I can use an existing Status instrument as a master for a new one and go from there. Status already did the hard part for me.  Another area I don't need to waste time in is reinforcement- I can take a look at a Status instrument and do it like they do. It's not too difficult to do.  
 
It's sort of like the difference between painting a portrait of someone from scratch and painting by numbers. When painting from scratch I need to decide and am in total control of everything, from what color to what brush stroke to what brush to what lighting to where to when to how to - to everything. THat's a lot of responsibilty. Rob at Status has already done the hard part for me, so all I have to do is make a set of molds, take a few x-rays, and solve a few issues as they arise.  
 
Now, I'm not saying it's going to happen, and I'm not saying you wouldn't be able to distinguish between my replica and a real one, but I AM saying it's entirely within the realm of possibility to do. I've done graphite helicopter blades, they spin up at around 250 MPH carrying loads of up to 50 pounds travelling at speeds in excess of 60 mph through the air in three dimensions, I am sure I could beef up a neck and body enough to cover the string tensions of a longscale bass.  I've done Les Paul and V and Explorer and Strat and Tele replicas for myself, from scratch- piles of raw wood. I've built cars. I know it's entirely possible for a human to do anything they set their minds to.  
Now, that being said, I don't have the time or resources to devote to such a project at the moment anyway so Rob and Warwick are both safe;)

[lbpesq]

Rog:
 
I agree that building model helicopter blades doesn't train you to build world class musical instruments, (heck, I built a Heathkit guitar amp when I was 13 - I still don't think I could build a computer from scratch).  But strange things have happened in the past.  As many in this club are aware, there was a guy named Stephen Cripe who used wood from an old opium bed and a few tools in his shed to build the Bolt guitar that Jerry Garcia played for the last few years of his life.
 
Bill, tgo