Club F-Bass!!!!

[the JT]

Originally Posted by Tom7

The good news is I got my finger ramp for my AC6, and it is made of ebony and is radiused and is beautiful. The bad news is it wasn't quite what I expected. I thought it would be the width of the neck on one end and the width of the pickup on the other.

I'm hoping you guys can give me your opinions.

Below are two photos of my AC6. The first is without the finger ramp and with the thumb rest. The second is (obviously) with the finger ramp.

At first I hated that big black block of wood. I thought it covered up the more beautiful wood underneath, but then I realized it could be that I just got used to how my bass looked.

At any rate, what I want your opinion on is the ramp itself. Is what I got better than what I originally had in mind?

By the way, I don't know why the finish looks different in the photo above the pickup ... the bass doesn't look like that in real life.

And by the way #2, the ramp is just sitting there. I didn't want to screw it in until I KNEW that is what I wanted to do.

I dont want to discourage you from doing what you want, but there is NO WAY you can put that bit of wood over that beautiful burl! What would be cool though is if you could get a matching ramp. Then i wouldnt be so angry with you.

[bass_fish]

IMHO that ramp is way to big......it just looks weird on the bass.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by the JT

I dont want to discourage you from doing what you want, but there is NO WAY you can put that bit of wood over that beautiful burl! What would be cool though is if you could get a matching ramp. Then i wouldnt be so angry with you.

[Laughing!] I put the ebony ramp on with tape just for a few days to try it out. I didn't want tape on it for any longer in case it did bad things to the finish.

Wow, for as much as I hate to cover up that burl, I sure LOVE how that bass plays with the ramp. I REALLY do.

I'm working something out with George. I'll keep y'all posted.

[George Furlanet]

Hey Tom
How about a clear plexiglass one????
GF

[choad42]

Hey there F Bass enthusiasts. Thanks to George Furlanetto and Mitch Starkman I was able to secure this beautiful pre-owned black and white ceruse BN5 directly from F Bass. It's been far too long since I had my previous BN5, sold due to a temporary bout of G.A.S. or in my specific case, stupidity. I have to say that being without an F Bass for that long was awful. Nothing filled the void, in truth nothing even came close. It was surreal going into the F Bass shop a few days ago and seeing my beauty hanging on the showroom rack with so many other fantastic F basses. Timing is everything as used F Basses are very rare, especially up here in Canada. I am truly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to secure an F Bass that I can afford.

This is an incredible bass, the versatility is unmatched. The woody, organic tone and transparent preamp are a bassist's best friend IMO. The magical combination of natural tone and ergonomic refinements is a testament to George's brilliant formula. Boutique or not, F Basses are real tools for bassists. There is no fluff or useless extras on these instruments. Everything has a purpose and a real world use. Not to mention they are truly beautiful to behold.

Here is a photo of my new sweetheart courtesy of George Furlanetto.


Anyways, this bass really does it all for me, covering everything from rock to funk to jazz and even over to reggae. The passive BN5 tone is so addictive I have found myself favoring it, yet the smoothness and clarity of the F Bass preamp is just as sweet and just as thoroughly engaging. I couldn't be more pleased!

Note: Remember, if your ever looking for a pre-owned F Bass just check the F Bass website's available instruments section. There is an amazing pre-owned black & white ceruse BN5 with an ebony fretboard that is currently available. http://www.fbass.com/html/available.html

( No, I do not work for F Bass, I just love 'em! )

Fact, these basses elevate the bass playing experience to a new level. No B.S., F Basses are the evolution of the bass guitar in it's purist form. If your reading this thread you already know that though, don't you?

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
http://www.myspace.com/paultheriaultmusic
http://www.cobrakings.com/

[Dave Hill]

Nice score, Paul. Hope it takes care of you for a long time. I get to try all kinds of basses due to an awesome bass-only shop here locally, and I can tell you, I've never played anything that compares to an F. Tom7 posted some clips comparing a BN5 to a Nordy VJ5 in the Nordy Club (pt4) thread, and the fat round tone of the F made the Nordy sound anemic, although they were actually quite similar. The F tone definately had a little more booty to it.

Recently, Puff Father and I had the opportunity to compare our two identical BN5s (different finish) head to head over the course of a few days. There were subtle differences, but both sounded absolutely killer.

On a side note, we also a/b'd DR High Beams and Fat Beams on both basses. High beams were the favorite, being more clear and fundamentlally strong. The fat beams seemed to add some overtones that "clouded" the tone a little, and sounded a little more dirty, or maybe even modern.

[donstrenz]

Wow, there are some gorgeous basses in this thread. Here is an old one I bought somewhere around 1980 or so, which was stolen. I was sick over it. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of it:

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Dave Hill

... I've never played anything that compares to an F. Tom7 posted some clips comparing a BN5 to a Nordy VJ5 in the Nordy Club (pt4) thread, and the fat round tone of the F made the Nordy sound anemic, although they were actually quite similar. The F tone definately had a little more booty to it.

Since you brought it up...

Here is my a/b of my Nordy vJ5 and my Fbass BN5. The 1st 4 bars are the Nordy, followed by 4 bars of the BN5, and they swap back and forth the entire short recording. The Nordy has DR Fatbeams on it, the BN5 has Ken Smith Slap Masters.

In defense of the Nordy, all controls were at the notch, and with minor tweaking, the Nordy does better.

But then again, the controls were flat on the BN5 and it can do better than these recordings as well.

Maybe I'll do a quick finger style comparison of the two in the near future as well.

I am a 6 string player and only play 5s or 4s for certain reasons or occasions, and so normally I wouldn't want two 5 string basses this similar in tone, but I did want a Fender-y looking and sounding bass for some circumstances, hence the Nordy.

Ironically, I went with the Nordy because I didn't have a way to try a new vintage (there's an oxymoron) VF series Fbass, and I wanted to be sure I got something that sounded far different from my BN5. Because the VFs use George's preamp still, I worried they'd sound too much like what I already have. In the end, though, the Nordy was awfully close to what I already have as well.

The Nordy, like Fbasses, is a 34.5" scale, which I've decided is the sweet spot for basses -- at least for me.

I don't want to disparage the Nordy because I do like it, but then again, I'm not selling my BN5 by any means.

I play my BN6 and AC6 for 85% of what I do, so having two similar sounding 5-string basses is really a luxury I can't justify, except that I want a Fender style 5, and I like my BN5 too much to part with.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by choad42

Hey there F Bass enthusiasts. Thanks to George Furlanetto and Mitch Starkman I was able to secure this beautiful pre-owned black and white ceruse BN5 directly from F Bass. It's been far too long since I had my previous BN5, sold due to a temporary bout of G.A.S. or in my specific case, stupidity. I have to say that being without an F Bass for that long was awful. Nothing filled the void, in truth nothing even came close. It was surreal going into the F Bass shop a few days ago and seeing my beauty hanging on the showroom rack with so many other fantastic F basses. Timing is everything as used F Basses are very rare, especially up here in Canada. I am truly fortunate to have been given the opportunity to secure an F Bass that I can afford.

This is an incredible bass, the versatility is unmatched. The woody, organic tone and transparent preamp are a bassist's best friend IMO. The magical combination of natural tone and ergonomic refinements is a testament to George's brilliant formula. Boutique or not, F Basses are real tools for bassists. There is no fluff or useless extras on these instruments. Everything has a purpose and a real world use. Not to mention they are truly beautiful to behold.

Anyways, this bass really does it all for me, covering everything from rock to funk to jazz and even over to reggae. The passive BN5 tone is so addictive I have found myself favoring it, yet the smoothness and clarity of the F Bass preamp is just as sweet and just as thoroughly engaging. I couldn't be more pleased!

Note: Remember, if your ever looking for a pre-owned F Bass just check the F Bass website's available instruments section. There is an amazing pre-owned black & white ceruse BN5 with an ebony fretboard that is currently available. http://www.fbass.com/html/available.html

( No, I do not work for F Bass, I just love 'em! )

Fact, these basses elevate the bass playing experience to a new level. No B.S., F Basses are the evolution of the bass guitar in it's purist form. If your reading this thread you already know that though, don't you?

Cheers,
Paul Theriault
Bassjones
http://www.myspace.com/paultheriaultmusic
http://www.cobrakings.com/

I am SO glad you have another BN5!

I love your playing and recordings. Your playing and technique are what I need to focus on for the next step in my development as a bassist, and it truly broke my heart to hear you talk about your lost love (BN5), knowing what you could do with one. It just didn't seem right that I had one and you didn't -- not that I was going to give you mine or anything!!!!

I'm so glad to see you well matched again... and can't wait to hear you two in action!

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by donstrenz

Wow, there are some gorgeous basses in this thread. Here is an old one I bought somewhere around 1980 or so, which was stolen. I was sick over it. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of it:

Whoa! That's wild! That's an Fbass?!

I hate dishonest people, don't you?

[George Furlanet]

Originally Posted by donstrenz

Wow, there are some gorgeous basses in this thread. Here is an old one I bought somewhere around 1980 or so, which was stolen. I was sick over it. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of it:

Don
I remember that!!! That's the third instrument I ever made and the first fretted bass!
The inlay at the time was GF, not the F logo.

[Dave Hill]

Originally Posted by Tom7

In defense of the Nordy, all controls were at the notch, and with minor tweaking, the Nordy does better.

But then again, the controls were flat on the BN5 and it can do better than these recordings as well.

Yeah, it seems that there is a certain "the bass has to sound best flat" mentality that I don't understand. Make each sound as good as possible with their preamps and then compare. Of course then your adding a personal taste factor, but.

You may have been able to make the basses sound more similar by upping the treble on the F, or adding some bass to the Nordy. That being said, I hear certain "body" in the tone of the F, that I don't in the Nordy. This is the same feeling I've gotten playing these basses myself. Also I hear the F being much more "Fenderish".

Nordy's seem to have been the flavor of the month around here, and it seems that there have been more than a few for sale as of late, practically new. So, maybe the sound doesn't match the look, more like it does on an Alleva-Coppola, which seem to be selling well lately.

[Yvon]

Originally Posted by George Furlanet

Don
I remember that!!! That's the third instrument I ever made and the first fretted bass!
The inlay at the time was GF, not the F logo.

I love the model and P/J config.
You should do a vintage reissue of this model

[donstrenz]

Originally Posted by George Furlanet

Don
I remember that!!! That's the third instrument I ever made and the first fretted bass!
The inlay at the time was GF, not the F logo.

It's great to see you're doing well and still making basses, George. Man, you sure have come a long way perfecting your bass building. Absolutely Beautiful stuff!

I was very bummed out when my pride and joy was stolen. Do you happen to remember approximately what year that bass was made?

[George Furlanet]

Originally Posted by donstrenz

It's great to see you're doing well and still making basses, George. Man, you sure have come a long way perfecting your bass building. Absolutely Beautiful stuff!

I was very bummed out when my pride and joy was stolen. Do you happen to remember approximately what year that bass was made?

I believe I started it in 1978

[George Furlanet]

Originally Posted by Dave Hill

Yeah, it seems that there is a certain "the bass has to sound best flat" mentality that I don't understand. Make each sound as good as possible with their preamps and then compare. Of course then your adding a personal taste factor, but.

You may have been able to make the basses sound more similar by upping the treble on the F, or adding some bass to the Nordy. That being said, I hear certain "body" in the tone of the F, that I don't in the Nordy. This is the same feeling I've gotten playing these basses myself. Also I hear the F being much more "Fenderish".

Nordy's seem to have been the flavor of the month around here, and it seems that there have been more than a few for sale as of late, practically new. So, maybe the sound doesn't match the look, more like it does on an Alleva-Coppola, which seem to be selling well lately.

I believe the bass has to sound good flat, so that you have a very good initial tone which you can then modify to suit. If you start out with a bad tone, then it would make it fairly difficult to rectify with electronics and amplification.

I think that was Tom's intention, plus, I think, he wanted some base point to start with.

[Dave Hill]

Originally Posted by George Furlanet

I believe the bass has to sound good flat, so that you have a very good initial tone which you can then modify to suit. If you start out with a bad tone, then it would make it fairly difficult to rectify with electronics and amplification.

I think that was Tom's intention, plus, I think, he wanted some base point to start with.

Absolutely. Your preamp makes it sound even better, though.

[George Furlanet]

Originally Posted by Dave Hill

Absolutely. Your preamp makes it sound even better, though.

Yes it does!
We will soon make it available in a "stomp box" format.

[CliffD]

This is a very cool thread! I'd love to learn more about F Basses: What type of pickups are used? Anyone know the specs on the onboard preamp? The AC's models are just beautiful!

[Yvon]

Originally Posted by CliffD

This is a very cool thread! I'd love to learn more about F Basses: What type of pickups are used? Anyone know the specs on the onboard preamp? The AC's models are just beautiful!

http://www.fbass.com/


If you can't find your answer there, you can always e-mail or call George.