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December - 2006 - the New CARS Tour |
Archer
guitar technician, Lou Klimesh, carefully inspects a K Sulton Signature
Bass prior to shipping.
As you know, these K Sulton Signature basses were made to Kasim's
exacting specifications. It's important to us that your new K Sulton
arrives ready to play and that it is expertly set-up. Our technicians
are second to none in expertise, knowledge and love of their craft.
It shows. You'll feel it the minute you pick up your K Sulton.
From it's original conception through an arduous Road Test on tour
with with Meat Loaf and The New Cars, The K Sulton Signature bass
has continuously been upgraded and improved. If it's good enough
for one of the hardest working bass players in the business, we
know you'll LOVE yours!
Order now! Only a limited supply of these signature basses are
on hand. Don't miss this rare opportunity to own a truly unique
and distinctive instrument ... the K Sulton Signature Bass from
Archer USA!
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April - 2006 - the New CARS Tour |
Check
here as Kasim comments on the K Sulton Signature Bass and its performance
during The New Cars / Blondie "Road Rage Tour" this summer!
What better place to put the K Sulton through its paces than onstage
in a real-life professional setting? Better yet ... catch The New
Cars in a performance near you where you'll see and hear this incredible
new bass for yourself!
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1st - October - 2005 GUITARfest Cascio Interstate Music - New
Berlin, WI |
This
was the first chance we at Archer had to see Kasim playing the K Sulton
Signature Bass live and in person. It sounded fantastic! This was
particularly evident when Kasim jammed with Kim Stone of the Rippingtons.
As the two good-naturedly battled it out in an extended improv, Kasim
put the K Sulton through its' paces and it responded beautifully;
powerful in the harder rocking moments and sounding sweetly in quieter
passages. It was clear that Kasim loves his bass and was most comfortable
with it in a live setting.
Kasim took the time to talk about
the K Sulton Signature Bass to those in attendance and encouraged
people to check out the website for new info as a release date draws
near. Remember, you can Order
your K Sulton Signature Bass online NOW!
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21st - September - 2005 Orlando, Florida - Bob Carr Performing
Arts Center |
American
Red
Cross Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert
Oglethorpe Speedway Park - Savannah, GA - Friday, September
16th, 2005 |
As
you read in performance notes, we recently raffled off my main K Sulton
Bass prototype that I have been playing for nearly this entire tour.
Of course, I was more than happy to help out with the benefit and
the great work of the American Red Cross for the victims of Hurricane
Katrina. Still ... I have to admit it was a bit scary parting with
the bass that I had grown to trust and depend on in mid-tour. Also,
the fact that it was a rare prototype ... a one-of-a-kind as it were,
well ... I will miss it. So Jonathon ... if you're reading this ...
take good care of it! Luckily,
I just got my new prototype in time to use it for the rest of the
tour and it works great. Especially with the new recessed bridge.
Things are timing out so well for the Road Test. Just as the tour
is winding down, the final adjustments have been made and I feel
it's ready to go in to production! This is an incredible bass. If
it wasn't, I wouldn't have my name on it. I hope you'll check it
out and pick one up for yourself. You won't regret it."
- Kasim
P.S. - See you all at GuitarFest
2005 - Cascio Interstate Music - New Berlin, WI - October 1st,
2005 from 11:30am until 6:30pm. It's FREE and I'll be playing with
NAshville guitar ace Johnny Hiland, the Hellecaster's Will Ray,
Kim Stone from the Rippington's , folk legend Artie Traum and Chris
Poland of Megadeth/OHM!!!!!!
17th
- August - 2005 - Bank Of America Pavillion - Boston, MS
20th - August - 2005 - Allen County Fair - Lima, OH
22nd - August - 2005 - Wolf Trap Filene Center - Vienna, VA
25th - August - 2005 - Tommy Hilfiger - Jones Beach, NY
27th - August - 2005 - PNC Bank Arts Center - Holmdel, NJ
29th - August - 2005 - Saratoga PAC - Saratoga Springs, NY |
The
moment we've been waiting for at Archer Guitars USA has arrived. The
K Sulton Signature Bass has evolved, through continuous upgrades,
to the point where further modifications may no longer be necessary.
This is great news since it shows the concept of the Road Test has
served it's purpose well in providing Kasim with a great way to take
the K Sulton Signature Bass on a Shakedown Cruise before it's made
available to the public this fall. You can see Kasim Sulton demonstrate
the new K Sulton Signature bass LIVE October 1st, 2005 at GuitarFest
2005. This event will feature not only Kasim Sulton but former
Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland, The Hellecasters Will Ray, folk legend
Artie Traum and Kim Stone, bassist for The Rippingtons.
| 15th
- August - 2005 Mohegan Sun Casino - Uncasville, CT |
As
far as I'm concerned this bass is done design wise. It's just a matter
of getting the final prototype from the manufacturer and OK-ing it.
I've tinkered and adjusted it under the most stressful conditions.
Prior to a show, after a show and even DURING a show. I've used it
exclusively on over 30 Meat Loaf shows and I'm satisfied with it.
No, wait ... I'm not just satisfied, I'm extremely PROUD of it. Pretty
soon it'll be out of my hands and in the hands of new and old players
alike!
I'm sure the readers of these pages know that I don't take my position
lightly. For me to put my stamp of approval on ANY instrument or piece
of gear, I have to use it, believe in it and LOVE it. There are those
who trade their image for a free guitar or magazine shot. That is
certainly not the case here. This Bass is an instrument of the highest
quality and I challenge anyone who picks one up to play it to say
otherwise. If you're serious about your sound, if your serious about
your instrument, you NEED one of these Basses. SO THERE!
- Kasim
| 13th
- August -2005 - Borgata Casino - Atlantic City, NJ |
I've been playing
this Bass for the entire European leg of the tour and I have no intentions
of using any other Bass on the rest of these shows.
It took a little while to get it to this place but, the stonger Canadian
Maple neck made all the difference in stability. I'm expecting to
get one more prototype from the manufacturer (this one will have the
bridge slightly recessed in the body) and if all goes well we should
be able to go into production by September!
-
Kasim
5th,
7th, 9th - August - 2005 - Beacon Theater - New York, NY
11th - August - 2005 - Casino Rama - Orillia, Ontario, Canada |
After
having a chance to view some different bridges for the Bass, I, along
with my tech Charlie have decided the original bridge is going to
work best both aesthetically and functionally on the guitar. It's
always difficult to try and change one thing on a guitar without having
to change EVERYTHING and I didn't want to upset the way the Bass looked
and felt.
I really wanted to retain the string-through design and my most recent
request to the maufacturers is to 'recess' the bridge in the body
about a sixteenth of an inch. This should provide for more adjustability
on the bridge. For players who like a high action as well as players
like myself who prefer lower action.
We're really
close to having the final design down pat. I'm confident that this
guitar is going to be everything I wanted in a Bass.
- Kasim
For NEW excellent
photos of the bridge on the K Sulton Signature Bass and comments
from Kasim, see Photos.
16th
- July - 2005 - Warwick Castle - Warwick, England
15th - July - 2005 - Blickling Hall - Norfolk, England |
I
would like everyone to know that I'm still working on making the K
Sulton Signature Bass as perfect as it can be. I'm going to be receiving
examples of the final bridge design from Archer. So far, the ones
that I've tried have fallen short in terms of adjustability.
Remember I had asked for the harder
Canadian Maple neck material? Well, I took that neck and put it
on the prototype body that had the better bridge on it. Confusing,
I know but, it did work. It sat in the body slightly raised, giving
me more freedom to adjust the individual string heights up and down.
No neck is perfectly straight, and the need to be able to adjust
each string independently from the others is very important. Personally,
I like lower action, enabling me to play slightly quicker live.
In the studio, I might raise the action a bit to get more 'string'
and less rattle. This is why having the ability to go either way
is important.
(See
Our Response for our plan of action concerning the bridge on
the K Sulton Signature Bass)
Once I get home and take a look
at the options I'm sent, I'll make a final decision on the bridge
and we'll go into production. I'm so excited about being this close
to having my guitar in stores. I never thought when I picked up
a bass guitar 25 years ago that I'd be this lucky!
- Kasim
28th
- June - 2005 - Stadtpark Freilichtbuhne - Hamburg, Germany
2nd - July - 2005 - Fitzgerald Stadium - Co. Kerry Ireland
3rd - July - 2005 - Harewood House - Harewood, England
8th - July - 2005 - Leeds Castle - Maidstone, England
10th - July - 2005 - Chatsworth House - Chatsworth, England
12th - July - 2005 - Big Top - Liverpool, England |
For
the most part, the K Bass has been serving me well. Sounds great and
looks good. I'm still having a slight problem getting the action to
where I'm really comfortable with it on the new prototype.
Action
height is such a personal preference. What one player thinks is
too high, another would say, "not high enough." The trick
is to have a guitar that can accomodate different tastes and still
not buzz too much or fret out. I've played other peoples guitars
where you could just TOUCH the string on a fret to have it sound
and other guitars that you had to take a Taxi from the string to
the fretboard. My taste lies somewhere between the two extremes
as I think most people's does.
I
have no doubt that this issue will be sorted out just like the issue
with the nut was addressed and fixed. The finish is now darker and
the input jack has been replaced as I requested. My biggest concern
is putting something in a players hands that meets and excedes most
other bass guitars available in this price range. Plus, it has my
name on it. It HAS to be great!
- Kasim
Check
out Our Response to see the immediate
action Archer is taking to improve the bridge performance on the
K Sulton Signature Bass!
| 25th
- June - 2005 - Zitadelle - Mainz, Germany |
I believe I've finally gotten
my main prototype tweaked properly. I know this because during last
night's show I found myself concentrating on how great it sounded.
The thing that impressed me the most about it was the punch I was
hearing from my Amp Cabinets.
In the past I always had to make sure I had some bass rolled on in
the EQ section of the head I was using in order to get the proper
low end sound. Not so with this Guitar. I could put more bass on but
it's not neccessary. Besides, my experience with bass guitar sound
in larger venues has always been 'boomy' and 'nondistinct'. I mean,
you can tell there's a bass player but just what he/she is playing
remains a mystery. This guitar has a balanced sound which is refreshing
to hear.
I get my new prototype this week and I'm excited to report back on
the changes I've requested be made to it. This is all about creating
a guitar that - out of the box - sounds great, is easy to play and
is very affordable.
- Kasim
| 24th
- June - 2005 - Rastatt Open Air - Rastatt, Germany |
I
put some new strings on the bass tonight and it sounded great. Our
drummer asked me earlier if I did anything to my EQ or sound because
he was hearing me better than he could remember. I doubt the strings
had all THAT much to do with it, I just think the bass - even this
prototype - is doing exactly what I want it to do. To be honest, I'm
even noticing a better clarity to my sound which in turn makes me
play differently. I'm finding it easier to play less notes ... that
might sound weird but it makes a lot of sense if you think about it.
I should have my new prototype middle of next week and there are a
lot of changes on the new bass that I'm excited to see.
One of the great things about this guitar is it's weight. I can wear
it for a full 2 hour show and not feel like I've carried a bag of
rocks up 10 flights of stairs. I think the new prototype will have
the smaller bridge on it too. I should be able to do that Steve
Vai move (tossing the guitar over my back and catching it in front)
with no problem!
- Kasim
| 22nd
- June - 2005 - Tollwood Festival - Munich, Germany |
Once again, the prototype
has performed flawlessly. I think the neck is 'settled' and as long
as there aren't sharp variations in temperature during the day, it
doesn't require any adjustments. I am looking forward to receiving
the newest prototype sometime next week with a new bridge on it. The
bridge on the Bass I have now is slightly too big for my taste and
I have the individual 'string height' adjustments about as low as
they can go. I think a little less mass on the bridge will serve to
make finer adjustments easier to accomplish.
Also, I've requested an Abalone inlay on the headstock to make the
"K" stand out a little more and the finish to be a little
darker. I wanted to keep the black transparent enough to still be
able to view the grain of the wood but the lighter the finish, the
less 'black' the bass looks. In certain light it comes off a little
too purple for my taste.
The new, more shallow nut on my spare prototype worked out much better
than the deeper cut one that came on the bass and I'm requesting that
all future nuts be cut this way.
- Kasim
| 18th
- June - 2005 - Ardgillan Castle - Dublin, Ireland |
I
think I finally have the neck on the guitar adjusted right. Even though
the weather was slightly chilly last night, I didn't have any problems
with the neck shifting. I've also discovered why I was having a problem
with my 'A' string. During the show last night, all of a sudden the
string wasn't sounding properly. I took it over to Charlie so he could
take a look at it and he seemed to diagnose the problem immediately.
It seems that the lower neck pick up on the P/J configuration was
'riding up'. The set screw that holds the pick up to a certain height
was loosening to the point that the 'A' string was hitting it. Until
I can have a chance to place a piece of foam under the pick up to
hold it tight, my suggestion to Charlie was to put a dab of nail polish
on the screw to keep it in place.
See Our Response for Archer's comments on the current development
of the next K Sulton Signature Bass prototype.
- Kasim
| 17th
- June - 2005 - Ravenhill Rugby Ground - Belfast, Northern Ireland |
Since
the weather last night wasn't as damp as the previous show, I was
interested to see if I was going to have the same issues with the
bass that I did when it was cold and rainy.
This was another 'no-soundcheck' show and I was concerned that I might
have to use my spare K-Bass because of the problems I was having with
the Black one (neck issues, nut issues).
I arrived at the venue with the spare nut that Archer Guitars sent
over to me and after taking a look at the Black Bass, I decided to
put the new nut on the 2nd Bass because it looked like that one was
more in need of the change. I also asked Charlie to put the extra
set of EMG's in the spare, deciding the sound was much better than
the factory installed pick-ups.
I should also mention at this point that for the past five years,
since becoming Meat Loaf's Musical Director and Bass Player, I was
using a 5 String Bass. For some types of music it's essential to have
that Low B. Meat Loaf music falls into that category. BUT ... I made
a conscious decission to go 4 String with a Hip-Shot (lowers the E
String to a D when you need it) with the K-Bass. I can do everything
I can with the extra string but 5 notes.
- Kasim
For the most part, the prototype
K-Bass has performed well. Easy to play, sounds good but I've been
having some neck difficulties. I can get the action correct for my
taste but recently, over the past 2 shows, I've noticed the 'D' String
in particular 'frets out' in the first position. Initially, I thought
the Nut might be cut a little too deep so I requested a replacement
Nut from Archer which I am waiting for. I will then have my tech,
Charlie Milton (he's been with me for 10 years) install it and see
if that remedies the problem. However, last night, I noticed about
two-thirds into our show that my 'A' String wasn't sounding properly.
I can only attribute this to the particular wood that the neck is
made of. Because the show was outside last night and it was so cold,
about 55 degrees, the weather must have been reeking havoc on the
neck. Dampness can soften the wood to the point where it throws the
entire neck out of whack if the wood isn't strong enough. Giving the
neck relief in the form of loosening the Truss Rod helped slightly
but made playing the instrument more difficult than I would have liked.
Also, neck adjustments aren't normally something you want done in
the middle of a show.
- Kasim
Click "Our Response" to see
the corrective measures Archer is taking to
continually improve the K Sulton Signature Bass.
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