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The reason for this
Road Test is to isolate any problems with the K Sulton Signature Bass
before it is made available to the public. What better way to do this
than to send the K Sulton on the road with Kasim on an actual tour!
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April - 2006 - the New CARS Tour |
It
has been our mission since the beginning of the Road Test program
to make any corrections neccessary to insure the K Sulton Signature
Bass is everything Kasim Sulton demands from a touring and recording
instrument. Scroll back and see how the K Sulton Signature Bass evolved
during the Meat Loaf tour. It's interesting reading and provides insight
into all the care and effort that's gone into making this amazing
bass. After a few crucial adjustments, the K Sulton is indeed Road
Tested and ready to roll! As always, we'll be here to insure that
the K Sulton remains the best possible bass in its price range you'll
find anywhere ... guaranteed!
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13th - March - Archer Guitars- New Berlin, WI |
Archer
Guitars, USA of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is pleased to announce their
new K Sulton Signature Bass Guitar will be on the road with Kasim
Sulton with The New Cars, and as a result, will make its televised
premier on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on NBC on Tuesday, March
14, 2006. Appearances are forthcoming on Late Night with Conan O’Brien
on NBC, The Late Show with David Letterman on CBS, The Late Late Show
with Craig Ferguson on CBS, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
This appearance coincides with a national tour beginning in May and
a worldwide tour to follow. The New Cars will be headed by rock Renaissance
man, Todd Rundgren, along with original Cars members, guitarist Elliott
Easton and keyboard player, Greg Hawkes. On bass guitar will be Todd’s
longtime partner, Kasim Sulton. Kasim is just off a worldwide tour
with Meat Loaf, and has been performing on Broadway in Billy Joel’s
“Movin’ Out” play. Kasim’s performance and
studio range has been with artists from Celine Dion to Hall and Oates
to Mick Jagger.
Kasim will be playing his newly designed K Sulton Signature Bass created
in Milwaukee by Archer Guitars, a Cascio Interstate Music Company.
Cascio is based in Milwaukee, and is celebrating its 60th year in
business.
Milwaukee-based Archer Guitars, USA offers acoustic, electric, and
electric bass guitars, and several bluegrass instruments for musicians
worldwide. The K Sulton Signature Bass will be offered directly to
consumers through fine music retailers like Cascio Interstate Music
in Milwaukee, Ed Roman Guitars in Las Vegas, House of Guitars in Rochester,
NY, select Sam Ash stores, other dealers throughout the U.S. and Europe,
and online worldwide at ksultonbass.com.
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1st - October - 2005 GUITARfest Cascio Interstate Music - New
Berlin, WI |
T he
K Sulton Signature Bass Road Test has been a great way to put the
K Sulton through its' paces in an actual live concert setting. Across
Europe this summer with Meat Loaf on the Hair of the Dog Tour and
through many U.S. dates this fall, the K Sulton performed beautifully.
Any small quirks encountered by Kasim were quickly dealt with by Archer
technicians and each subsequent prototype Kasim received made its
road worthiness even better. By the last show In Kansas City on September
30th, The K Sulton Signature Bass had reached a point of ... dare
we say ... perfection! We at Archer USA couldn't be more proud of
our association with Kasim Sulton and our new K Sulton Signature Bass.
Buy one for yourself and see why it's
the best bass in its' price range available today!
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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 |
"We're
very proud to have been able to contribute and be a part of this benefit
concert. It was a heartfelt and compassionate gesture on the part
of Meat Loaf, Kasim and the band. Of course, the American Red Cross
is also to be commended for their dependable presence when such tradgedies
occur. Seeing fundraising events like this take place around the country
affirms my belief in the importance of music as a healing influence
for humanity." -Michael
Houser CEO Archer Guitars USA
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
last prototype for the K Sulton Signature Bass is being finalized.
It will feature a bridge that is slightly more recessed per Kasim's
instructions. Barring any unforeseen changes, this should be the bass
that serves as the model for production slated to begin soon. Remember,
you can PRE-ORDER you K Sulton Signature Bass now! 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 |
Archer
is currently in the process of fashioning a prototype for Kasim with
a slightly more recessed bridge to add additionally stability and
facilitate ease of string-height adjustment. As you can tell from
Kas' latest Archer Notes, we're nearing the finish line and the bass
is performing beautifully. This is destined to be the most impressive
bass in it's price range available today.
| 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."
-Kasim Sulton
These words are music to our ears
at Archer USA. Constant refinement of the K Sulton Signature Signature
Bass over the course of Meat Loaf's European and North American
Tour have this incredible instrument nearly ready for production.
At present, our manufacturers are making final adjustments to the
last prototype Kasim will use on this tour. We won't go into production
until the K Sulton meets Kasim's demanding specifications, but with
each performance, we're getting extremely close!
5th,
7th, 9th - August - 2005 - Beacon Theater - New York, NY
11th - August - 2005 - Casino Rama - Orillia, Ontario, Canada |
At Archer USA,
we've instructed our manufacturers to recess the bridge another 1/16th
of an inch per Kasim's specifications. We will now be sending Kasim
another prototype of the K Sulton Signature Bass with the minor modifications
he suggested. The Road Test continues to be an effective "proving
ground" for the development of the K Bass. Barring any unforeseen
changes, this prototype may well be the one that goes into production
and becomes available to you this fall. order
yours today!
A s
mentioned in our July 15th response, six new bridge prototypes are
on their way to Kasim and he'll be testing each upon his return to
the states. Of course, we won't be satisfied until Kasim is satisfied!
With
several successful modifications in place; neck upgraded to Hard
Canadian Maple for increased stability, nut altered to Kasim's specifications,
more durable input jack installed, new abalone inlay and enhanced
black polyurethane finish, the K Sulton Signature Bass continues
to be fine-tuned to perfection. We'll continue to Road Test the
K Sulton as Meat Loaf's Summer Tour 2005 winds up in Europe and
heads for the states. Check back frequently to see the constant
refinements undertaken to make the K Sulton Signature Bass the best
bass is it's price range you'll find anywhere! Available this fall.
July
15, 2005 - Archer Guitars - Milwaukee, USA
Kasim mentioned
that bridge improvements were needed on K SultonSignature Bass prototype
#4 (the latest upgraded model we sent him for the Road Test). While
he is pleased with the sound and appearance of the bass, corrections
are needed to make the action more to his liking.
In response
to this, Archer is immediately dispatching no less than SIX new
bridge designs to Kasim. He will work with his guitar tech to determine
which of these best meets his needs.
Again,
the Road Test has proven to be an invaluable laboratory for isolating
areas of the K Sulton Signature Bass in need of modification. With
a few dates left on the European leg of the Meat Loaf tour, and
the U.S. Tour getting underway August 5th in New York City, we will
continue to enhance the K Sulton to perfection ... no matter
what it takes! We are committed to excellence and to delivering
the best possible instrument to our customers when the K Sulton
Signature Bass is debuted later this year. As Kasim
says ... "It has my name on it. It HAS to be great!" At
Archer ... we couldn't agree more!
Check
back frequently as the Road Test rolls on!
| 25th
- June - 2005 - Zitadelle - Mainz, Germany |
Kasim's new
prototype (#4) is on the way! If you've been following along over
the course of the tour, you can see how the "Road Test"
concept is working out beautifully! With each performance we've been
able to isolate areas in need of modification and we are quickly seeing
the evolution of what promises to be a truly exceptional bass guitar.
| 24th
- June - 2005 - Rastatt Open Air - Rastatt, Germany |
We're
delighted to hear the K Sulton Signature Bass (Prototype #3) is performing
so well for Kasim! A new prototype is on it's way to him and should
make the K Sulton even better. It will feature an upgraded Hard Canadian
Maple Neck, a smaller bridge as Kasim requested, new high-quality
abalone inlay and an enhanced translucent black finish. Remember ...
these are all improvements we'll pass on to you this fall when the
K Sulton Signature Bass makes it's public debut! The Road Test continues
to be an excellent proving ground for this innovative and evolving
instrument.
Since Kasim mentioned how new strings improved the sound clarity of
the K Sulton, this might be a good time to point out that the production
model K Sulton Signature Bass will come equipped with Elixir Strings,
which we at Archer feel are the perfect compliment to the K Sulton.
In addition, the bass will also come outfitted with EMG designed pickup's
in a standard PB/JB configuration for maximum tonal realization.
Kasim was pleased with the lightness of the K Sulton. We feel playing
comfort is important, so we chose to use Ash for the body of the K
Sulton to make it lightweight, while not sacrificing tone quality
and sustain.
Is it possible that Kasim's use of the "Steve
Vai Move" might have caused some of the neck shifting he
experienced early on in the Road Test? Hmmm.
| 22nd
- June - 2005 - Tollwood Festival - Munich, Germany |
Archer
USA has sent a fourth prototype to Kasim with several new modifications.
He will have it in time for the Hamburg show on the 28th. The new
prototype will feature a Hard Canadian Maple Neck for added stability.
We were pleased to hear that Kasim's current prototype has "settled."
Kasim's new prototype will also feature a new and improved bridge,
more in line with his preferences. The new bridge will be more compact
and should alleviate any string height issues. The latest prototype
will also feature a more 'visually pronounced' abalone inlay per Kasim's
request.
Finally ... Kasim's newest prototype will have a deeper black finish,
while still allowing the wood grain to show through.
Nigel Tufnel: "It's like, how much more black could this be?"
- and the answer is none. None more black."
| 18th
- June - 2005 - Ardgillan Castle - Dublin, Ireland |
As
Meat Loaf's European tour continues, Kasim Sulton is keeping Archer
updated on the performance of his K Sulton Signature Bass prototype.
The slight instability Kasim was experiencing with the neck has abated.
This will be permanently remedied with the addition of a Hard Canadian
Maple Neck on the next prototype (which Kasim will receive soon).
The K Sulton Signature Bass available to the public this fall will
also be outfitted with a Hard Canadian Maple Neck.
The Road Test is designed to reveal any potential areas of improvement
that need to made before the K Sulton Signature Bass is debuted this
fall.
Archer will examine the pickup screws Kasim mentioned to see if they
need to be lengthened in order to anchor them more securely.
With each show and each new improvement, our intent is to Road Test
the K Sulton Signature Bass to perfection!
| 17th
- June - 2005 - Ravenhill Rugby Ground - Belfast, Northern Ireland |
A fter
some initial concerns with neck stability, Archer decided to develop
a new prototype for Kasim featuring a Hard Canadian Maple neck, which
he will be receiving shortly. (See Our Response June 13th, 2005).
Kasim's original prototype came with stock factory pickups. To improve
tonal quality and output, it was later decided to upgrade the K Sulton
with EMG designed pickups in a PB/JB configuration. These will come
standard on the production model K Sulton Signature Bass available
this fall. Kasim's prototypes are custom-fitted with Hipshot™
Bass Xtenders. These will not be standard on the production model,
but will available as an option.
After
the Lichtenvoord, Holland show, (6-11-05) Kasim experienced some trouble
with the neck which was possibly caused by cool outdoor temperatures.
Shifts in climate conditions can be a real problem for touring musicians
traveling from one location to another. Differences in humidity can
cause wood to expand and contract dramatically, potentially "reeking
havoc on the neck," as Kasim put it, and necessitating frequent
adjustments.
In
response to this, the next prototype we send Kasim will be upgraded
with a Hard Canadian Maple Neck. This should help to provide additional
stability and strength to the instrument while improving the overall
tonality and playing comfort. This would also eliminate the need
for inconvenient truss rod adjustments. In addition, Archer has
also sent Kasim a reconfigured nut which should help to eliminate
any "fretting out" situations.
It
would be easy to gloss over imperfections and paint a picture of
perfection to our customers. Lots of other companies do it. At Archer,
we think you deserve better than that. We hope you appreciate our
honesty in "putting the truth on the table" with this
Road Test. The K Sulton Signature Bass still requires some subtle
refinements, but this Meat Loaf tour is the perfect laboratory for
us to determine what modifications are neccesary.
Making
the K Sulton Signature Bass the best instrument it can possibly
be is extremely important to us. Of course, Kasim Sulton won't put
his name on it until it's met his demanding specifications. We promise
to deliver the very best bass for the money you can buy and that's
what this Road Test is all about. We encourage you to follow along
as the Road Test continues.
On
to Belfast, Northern Ireland, Friday, June 17th!
Kasim will be in Lichtenvoorde, Holland with Meat
Loaf on Saturday,
June 11th, for the Arrow Rock Festival. We expect updates on the
performance of his Archer K Sulton Signature Bass prototypes by Monday,
June 13th.
The Road Test is designed for the purpose of isolating and correcting
any problems Kasim notices with the bass while on tour. In this way
we
can bring the K Sulton Signature Bass to perfection before it's made
available to the public in the fall of 2005!
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