Club F-Bass (Part II)

[Tom7]

ARGH!
I accidentally read the answer before I had a chance to post my guess.

I borrowed some headphones and, even though I own an alder and rosewood VF5, was stumped.

My GUESS was going to be, and it was totally a guess because I didn't know, was that bass1 was the VF5 BECAUSE...

Because of what Vic said about the settings.

Fbasses, when set identical to my other basses, tend to be a tad bit quieter, and since the first recording had a quieter bass, that's why I was making the guess.

It wasn't for tonal reasons though.

Like Gary, I went back and forth for a bit when I considered just the tone.

And like Gary, I noticed the first clip was played more literally, and that the second clip was played freer, with more slides and other articulation techniques.

I was guessing the 2nd was recorded second as well, and Vic felt looser and warmed up.

Except for being late to the party, I enjoyed that.

---

EDIT: By the way, my VF5 has a BAV bridge and not the vintage bent plate bridge that Vic's VF5 has, making it sound (to me at least) even more modern and Sadowsky like I think.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by thndrstk6

Very cool clips Vic.

There is a slight difference in tone but it's not as big as many people would make it out
to be. It's funny though because it's not only a test of the tonal similarities between two
types of wood combinations but also a test between two different basses. Great job.

It would be interesting to make a similar test but with a Fender, a Warwick, a Pedulla,
an MTD, etc. and see what it turns out like.

Right, differences in wood types, differences in bass makers, differences in preamps... really similar in tone though.

HOWEVER!

Before we do this test with other basses, do the SLAP tones of each bass come out this close as well?

I'm guessing (and cheating 'cause I have an alder and rosewood VF5) that the slap tones are more distinct than the fingerstyle tones ended up being.

As a sidebar, the first time I heard Donovan's youtube clip of the Fbass VF5, I thought, "Wow! It sounds like a Sadowsky and plays like an Fbass."

I thought that was a GOOD thing, and that is why I picked it up.

Vic really underscored that initial impression with me with his taste test.

BTW, when I find time, I want to do the same thing only with an alder and rosewood VF5 and an alder and rosewood Alleva Coppolo.

[puff father]

Almost the only time I run my BN5 flat (without using the pre-amp) is practicing. How about a few clips where you adjust the pre-amp the way you like it for each instrument. That way we hear more of what the basses are ultimately all about.

Seems like most comparison clips are straight passive tone. Nice as that is, pre-amps are a part of the whole package with these things and rarely represented.

Just a thought.

Al

[Vic]

On those clips, I want to re-point out something I prolly didn't make a big enough deal about... the fact that I rolled off the passive tone control.

I'd just got done finishing tracks on the Sadowsky, and for those tracks I needed to mellow out the high end a bit. Well, I did the quick/sleazy test track with it without resetting it. DOH! I really had to get going so I instead of redoing that, I just dropped the VF5 to match as best I could.

What this means is, the two basses were still on "even ground", BUT, the dropping of that tone control still kinda' evened the playing field a bit.

So these should not be considered reference tracks by any stretch, but I still thought it'd be useful to, given the settings, see how the diffs might still show through. IMHO they still did.

In other words, for those of you who got it wrong, or had trouble telling, that's perfectly understandable.

That said, when folks did describe diffs, I generally think they got it right. So they described the tone diffs right, just picked the wrong wood combo to associate with them.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Vic

On those clips, I want to re-point out something I prolly didn't make a big enough deal about... the fact that I rolled off the passive tone control.

I'd just got done finishing tracks on the Sadowsky, and for those tracks I needed to mellow out the high end a bit. Well, I did the quick/sleazy test track with it without resetting it. DOH! I really had to get going so I instead of redoing that, I just dropped the VF5 to match as best I could.

What this means is, the two basses were still on "even ground", BUT, the dropping of that tone control still kinda' evened the playing field a bit.

So these should not be considered reference tracks by any stretch, but I still thought it'd be useful to, given the settings, see how the diffs might still show through. IMHO they still did.

In other words, for those of you who got it wrong, or had trouble telling, that's perfectly understandable.

That said, when folks did describe diffs, I generally think they got it right. So they described the tone diffs right, just picked the wrong wood combo to associate with them.

Thanks for that explanation. After hearing your clips, I went to my VF5 and played it, messing with the tone control as I did, and wondered why you turned down the tone control so much.

What threw me was you had all the other settings flat, so I reasoned that you chose to roll back the tone because that is where you felt the optimal spot was for showing off the basses.

At that point I decided that my hearing loss in upper frequencies must be worse than I realized, and that my VF5 as I play it must sound awfully harsh to everyone else, because I normally would not have rolled back the tone so much.

Sobered by the thought, I decided I needed to make a rule for myself to set things to sound good for me, then roll back the treble frequencies much more than I have been and hope that's the spot where it sounds good to everyone else.

In other words...

You're messin' with my BRAIN, man!

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by puff father

...How about a few clips where you adjust the pre-amp the way you like it for each instrument. That way we hear more of what the basses are ultimately all about.

+1. I've often wished for this too, so if I get time to do comparison clips, I'll include a version that shows the bass well dressed, and not just in its undies.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Tom7

In other words...

You're messin' with my BRAIN, man!

At least you still have one to mess with. I'm the idiot that forgot to crank the VTC back up before doing my one shot at a test track.

[thndrstk6]

Hey guys. Here's a new clip I found of a BN6 with a brown burst finish. There's a few of these but this one shows the bass the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA0brZc2d4U

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by thndrstk6

Hey guys. Here's a new clip I found of a BN6 with a brown burst finish. There's a few of these but this one shows the bass the best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gA0brZc2d4U

Are you sure it's a BROWN burst?

Because it SOUNDS like it is sunburst, black hardward... and with the tone control rolled down about 30 percent as well.

Seriously though, cool clip. Thanks for sharing.

I have mixed feelings about extreme effects like that. Sometimes I think some of us bass players want to play bass until it is time to take a solo, then suddenly we want to be some other instrumentalist.

Then again, it does cut through very well and shows off chops and ideas, so I try to be cool with it.

[thndrstk6]

Yeah I'm not big on lots of FX either but I think this guy uses them more because he
doesn't have to play bass. They have another bassist in the band so I think the lead
bassists roll is just to fill the void that is left by not having a guitarist.

But yeah he definitely has a mellow tone setting on it compared to every other F bass clip
I've seen/heard.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by BassBaciu

Hello....i am selling a perfect condition BN6....i am selling it 2400$ (can) + FBASS gig bag + new pack of Labella strings + Ribbon Gift Incentive card....

Please let me know if you or anyone you know, are interested in my BN6 at nearly half the price.

Thanks

email me for pics.....for some reason i cannot upload them.....sorry for the inconvenience

"A Ribbon Gift Incentive card"?!

Well, that's a first for me!

By the way, BassBaciu, while we DEFINITELY welcome Fbass discussion here, I think talkbass frowns on selling gear outside of the classified ad forums here on talkbass. That really is the proper place to post an ad like this.

What a great price though. That is $1,895 in U.S. dollars!

Hopefully your BN6 finds a good home soon, and hopefully its new owner joins us in Club Fbass so we can all oo and ah over it.

Good luck with the sale.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by XavidmanX

Thanks for sharing. You're right...the player and the bass both sounded incredible. Could you tell what rig he was playing through?

Sorry to be so late with this answer.

Baba is definitely playing through an Eden head, but I cannot make out which amp it is for sure, but it look like WT-800.

The head is sitting on a 2 10 cab, and another cab, 15" or possibly 18" is to the side of it (stage right).

BTW, while searching for which amp head that might be, I came across an interview Baba did in 2000 with Global Bass online.

GB: Could you give us a rundown on the equipment you use?

Baba: I have an ‘F’ Bass, it’s my favorite. I actually heard Alain Carron playing one and I fell in love with the instrument. I had Bass Centre order one and when I took it off the wall and played it I told them to put it behind the counter. I told them then it was mine.

By the way, from the video I can tell he is not using exposed core Fbass strings on it. In fact, judging by the tone and the looseness of the strings on the video, I'm pretty sure he is using Thomastik Infeld Jazz flats.

Any fan of Fbass AC5s and AC6s, or of really nice jazz really ought to look into getting this DVD. Here is an example of what I mean. Individually, each of the 3 musicians are very good, but together you can hear a chemistry and familiarity that allows them to play together live and create music that in a studio is not so spontaneous, and is to some degree patched together to sound this good.

These guys just set up in a steamers cafe and did THIS! It's so enjoyable.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Tom7

I had to post one of the photos you provide for convenience sake, it was just so pretty.

I was wondering if any of you have taken the wood covers off of your pickups, and if so, did you take any photos?

I've heard Fbass pickups described as "soapbars," and I've wondered how they look different from the jazz style pickups we all see.

[tombowlus]

Originally Posted by Tom7

I was wondering if any of you have taken the wood covers off of your pickups, and if so, did you take any photos?

I've heard Fbass pickups described as "soapbars," and I've wondered how they look different from the jazz style pickups we all see.

In most cases, those are not separate "covers." They are the shells. So, instead of the windings being epoxied into a plastic shell, they are epoxied into a wood shell. At least most of the "wood pickup covers" I have seen are like that.

Tom.

[J.Wolf]

Looks like my BN6 won't be lonely any more! I'll be adding this honey to the mix next week! I can't wait, I've lusted after a Caron for years, and finally found one for the "right" price. Had to let my Roscoe fretless go to get it, but I've seriously jones'ed for an AC since forever! Originally I had my heart set on violinburst, but I think this color is pretty killer!

[DonovanBankhead]

That thing is beautiful! Congrats on a fine addition!

[emjazz]

Originally Posted by wolfbass1025

Looks like my BN6 won't be lonely any more! I'll be adding this honey to the mix next week! I can't wait, I've lusted after a Caron for years, and finally found one for the "right" price. Had to let my Roscoe fretless go to get it, but I've seriously jones'ed for an AC since forever! Originally I had my heart set on violinburst, but I think this color is pretty killer!

Congrats Jake. You've been talking about having one of these for quite some time. They really are wonderful basses.

[Dave Hill]

Awesome AC...I bet it smokes. I'm still waiting to find one at my "right" price, which at the present would have to be extremely low.

[J.Wolf]

heck yeah, I'm really excited! I should never have played the redwood AC6 at namm this year though........

Anyone seen an AC with this finish before? its a first for me. The only satin bursts I've seen have been the violinburst. Hard to make a bad looking AC if you ask me...

[puff father]

Originally Posted by wolfbass1025

Anyone seen an AC with this finish before? its a first for me. The only satin bursts I've seen have been the violinburst. Hard to make a bad looking AC if you ask me...

Is it Auburn burst? Looks fine (as in 'so fine')!