Club F-bass (Part VIII)

[puff father]

Originally Posted by Abacobob

If anyone is looking, I saw a trans-red BN4 on the San Francisco Craigslist a couple of days ago. I think reasonable at $1695. I have no connection to the seller, but thought someone here might want to take a look.

Bob (F Bass member #99)

$1695 is quite reasonable. Trans red is quite beautiful.

[DonovanBankhead]

That is a killer price! I'm gonna see if I can find it!

[Vic]

Originally Posted by DonovanBankhead

That is a killer price! I'm gonna see if I can find it!

If it's the same one I found, it's down to $1500, though I don't know if he's still got it. Phone number listed tho.

[Karelbass]

Originally Posted by ManuBerdin

Hi Karel ,

A BN5 NYC is the name of a little number of basses made to the specs of Jimmy Coppolo that he sold in his shop when he was in NYC . There's a few différences like reverse headstock , Hipshot tuners , one piéce neck ... Maybe George himself should answer to this question .

ah cool thanks for the info.

[olegsulimov]

Originally Posted by ManuBerdin

Hi Karel ,

A BN5 NYC is the name of a little number of basses made to the specs of Jimmy Coppolo that he sold in his shop when he was in NYC . There's a few différences like reverse headstock , Hipshot tuners , one piéce neck ... Maybe George himself should answer to this question .

Yes, that's it! My Fbass is 11 It sounds amazing I compared with two Fbasses and mine was sounding much better in my friends' and my opinion. Sometimes I don't want to sell it or trade...

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Vic

If it's the same one I found, it's down to $1500, though I don't know if he's still got it. Phone number listed tho.

Wow. If it is 24 fret I might grab it. I've been thinking maybe I shouldn't have gotten rid of my Yin Yang after all so I can have a 4 string and less weight in some circumstances.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by starKee

Ha,ha that's nice :-),please may I have a numbahah...

And now to all of YOU from Irene attacked teritories:I'll pray for you and hope you will doing good and I wish you all the best from Slovakia,Peter.

+1. Stay safe.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by TheBasicBassist

Can I join? My bass:

www.LowEndBassShop.com :: View topic - Fbass Studio 5 string

Wow, what an interesting bass! Congratulations. I'll get right to work getting you a number.


Fbass Studio Model, with 20 frets.
Alder body, quilted maple top
Macassar ebony fretboard and pickup covers
Single coil pickups
Personally constructed by George Furlanetto

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by Tom7

Wow, what an interesting bass! Congratulations. I'll get right to work getting you a number.


Fbass Studio Model, with 20 frets.
Alder body, quilted maple top
Macassar ebony fretboard and pickup covers
Single coil pickups
Personally constructed by George Furlanetto

Today's roster update welcomes TheBasicBassist and his rare Fbass Studio 5 to our band of merry men -- er, and women. :-)

CLUB FBASS ROSTER (Part 1 of 2)
(Updated 29 August 2011)

1. George_Furlanet (Number assigned by club vote)
2. Tombowlus - BN4, BN5, VF5
3. Puff_father - BN5
4. Debassed - BNF5
5. ThumbyAche - BN5, GFC
6. brandonwong - BN6, BN6 custom, AC6, BNF5, BNF5(2), BN5 custom
7. Tom7 - AC6-Standard, AC6-Classic, AC6-Fretted, BN5, BN6, VF5,
8. Erick Lam - Vintage Fretless 5
9. knarleybass - BN5, BN6
10. Reefer - BN5, BN4?
11. VinceLovesF - BN5,AC5
12. T._Brookins - BN5
13. DonovanBankhead - BN5
14. Speyer - BN6 (b)
15. jmilky - BN5
16. edel - BN5, (2)
17. administrator - BN5
18. Dave Hill - BN5, (b), VF4
19. FbassDave - BN5,BNF5
20. Vic - VF5
21. Georges_Abitbol - BN5 (b) (c)
22. xav_paris - BN5, (b)
23. Munjibunga - BN5
24. Toolmybass - ?
25. Modny - Studio5, Prototype
26. mikoespanol - AC5
27. Ron_Plichta - BN5
28. Gbarchus - BNF5
29. nuwavedc - BN5
30. JerryJ - BN5, BN6, AC5
31. yansdgr - BNF5
32. firebass - AC5, AC6
33. choad42 - BN5
34. donstrenz - Vintage 4 (stolen)
35. Gilsonite - Studio6
36. Tjluke - BN6, AC6
37. cabooke - BNF5
38. Brad Johnson - Studio5
39. MHemmber - BN4
40. Deevit / FortressOne - BN5, (2)
41. dreamwood - BN6
42. wolfbass1025 - BN6, AC5, 2
43. funkydanbass - AC6
44. Phillip Jordan - BN5
45. Halftooth - BN5
46. thndrstk6 - BN6
47. funkifiedsoul - Vintage4
48. Trapeze Fan - BN5
49. Poppsyche - BN6
50. Groovy Bastard - BN6
51. Kemet09 - Vintage4
52. ModulusAcacia - AC5
53. bassjam - BN5
54. ad9000 - BN6
55. Basses55 - BN5
56. Kevin Woods - BNF6
57. pierreganseman - BN5
58. DiDi G - BN6
59. Greggles - BN4
60. kotzman - AC5
61. Alphaman - BN6
62. remigioremigio - BN5
63. JensWest - BN5
64. eduardxtb - BN6
65. dveeus1 - BNF5, BN5
66. paulvienneau - BN6, AC6
67. bdgotoh - BN4
68. rabster - VF5, AC5
69. funkygeos - BN5
70. fusoid - AC6, BN6
71. WovenGraphite - BN6 (b), AC6 (b)
72. rnlytton - AC6, AC6-LW, BN5 (piccolo), 3 BN6s!
73. bardlute - AC5
74. chrisloe - BN6, b
75. Iposavad - BNF5
76. yinghock - BN5, BN5 with rosewood board!
77. pocketmonster - BN5
78. bassment bn5 - BN5, VF5, VF5
79. hairman - BN6, BNF5,
80. JOEP054 - AC5, BN5, VF5
81. p0k - VF5
82. jmilkey - BN5
83. Bass Junkie - AC4, (with a VF4 being built!)
84. narud - VF5,
85. BIg O - Studio 5, Passive 6, BN5, more photos
86. felicidade - BNF5
87. Drone80 - BN5, VF5
88. steve f - BN5
89. Fbassed - BN5, AC5
90. rick1906 - BN5
91. Romu - BN5
92. Bajosintrastos - BNF5
93. jimc - BN5, VF5
94. cfequa - BN5
95. mrbassman_de - AC5, BN5, BN4 (2)
96. Graham Monette - BN5
97. Shelly - VF5
98. tonenazi - BN5
99. Abacobob - BN5
100. jogi68 - BN5 (studio), BN5 (defretted), VF5, AC5, BN6, NY5, VF5

[Tom7]

CLUB FBASS ROSTER (Part 2 of 2) 101. ManuBerdin - Studio, BNF5, BN5
102. rvf42 - BN5
103. kuma9 - BN5 (wide nut)
104. jbay - BN6, lined AC6
105. INGALL'S - BN6
106. BIGGUY78 - VF5
107. KERMITNT-BN5
108. Ewo - BN5
109. frizzle - BN5
110. t0t0m - BN5
111. blen dem - BN5
112. francoprof - BNF6
113. bassistck - BNF5
114. Sirmike75 - BN5
115. Stereo Joe - Vintage BN5
116. starKee - VF5
117. eaflyaway - AC5
118. hyperba55 - AC4, BN6, AC6
119. penny0072001 - BN5
120. TheSiberian - BN6 + piezo, AC5
121. PhillM47 - BN5
122. Robochrist - Studio5
123. tcydennis - BN5
124. wellso74 - BN6, BN6
125. boomski - BN6
126. nemo - Studio5
127. maritimer - BN5
128. olegsulimov - BN5 NYC
129. Slammyapple - BN5
130. jephil - BNF5, BN6
131. MVPBASS - BN4, BN4
132. lindseyp - BN5
133. J.Wolf - BN5, AC6
134. Karelbass - VF4
135. uilleann13 - BN6
136. GRoberts
137. AJ Brown
138. JRB
139. jmondick
140. ursus
141. Freddy-G
142. Adrian Garcia
143. Yvon
144. dean82
145. smperry
146. Ryan_L
147. rodneyat
148. 123eranoid
149. Gordon of Eden
150. choad42
151. black.rose1402
152. Jonno1707 - AC5
153. Quadzilla - BN4, BN5
154. RoboChrist - BN4
155. blen dem - BN5
156. BassBoss - AC5 (now belongs to mrbassman_de)
157. KJung - VF5
158. Bassconbeatz - BN6
159. Dennis Kong - BN6, vintage fretless 6
160. copasetic - BN6
161. brooklynbassguy - BN6
162. thomasjbass - BN5
163. Maurizo Rolli - BN5
164. widjajar - BN5
165. Tomkiss - BN5
166. midijab - VF5
167. taylor - VF6
168. rodsnhawgs - BN6
169. TheBasicBassist - Studio 5
170. <Your name could be here!>
.

[Tom7]

Originally Posted by ManuBerdin

Hi Karel ,

A BN5 NYC is the name of a little number of basses made to the specs of Jimmy Coppolo that he sold in his shop when he was in NYC . There's a few différences like reverse headstock , Hipshot tuners , one piéce neck ... Maybe George himself should answer to this question .

That was very well said though; I wonder if George can even improve on that.

It was a pretty cool idea though, really. I think it gave Jimmy something exclusive to sell in a town where he was competing against some high end (Fodera, Sadwosky) competition.

I've toyed with the idea of becoming an Fbass collector. Had I decided to go that route, I certainly would be keenly interested, but since I'm just a part time player and not a collector, I'm better off hanging on to my beloved BN6... and it C string!

[Karelbass]

WOW! Dominique Di Piazza and his VF5 are crazy!!!!! John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension - Hijacked - YouTube

[DonovanBankhead]

I could practice every day, all day, for the rest of my life and still not be able to play like that. Karel on the other hand, would be able to, with some good stank on it too!

Originally Posted by Karelbass

WOW! Dominique Di Piazza and his VF5 are crazy!!!!! John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension - Hijacked - YouTube

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Karelbass

WOW! Dominique Di Piazza and his VF5 are crazy!!!!! John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension - Hijacked - YouTube

+1!

[Aram]

Well folks, I think I've put it off long enough, and now it's time for me to commit to a review of my glorious BNF5-fretted. I've been playing around with it a LOT, and I've got a couple of gigs (and several practices) under my belt now, so here goes...



Preamble:

I haven't been a five-string player in a long while. Since I picked up a six string 15-odd years ago, I've played nothing but 6's and 4's pretty much exclusively. They just feel right to me, and I still do love them. But lately I've gotten into some patterns that just make them a little too familiar, and I wanted to shake things up a bit and get out of my comfort zone.

I was able to procure this F Bass via Donovan @ Fretspot, as followers of this thread may have picked up, on a partial trade for a bass I was trying to unload for a while. When thinking about specs and reading up on TB and the FBass site, I was really taken by the BNF body shape, which differs slightly from the BN. So, a fretted BNF is not the most common thing in the world, but I really, really dig it from a design perspective, especially now that i have it in the flesh.

Another departure for me is this being a single pickup, passive bass with active preamp. Usually my basses are 2-pickup and fully passive, although I do also have a fully active Spector Euro. I decided over the years that passive worked better for me live, since I found myself tweaking way too much when I had too many options onboard (i.e., pickup pan, passive tone, and three-band EQ). However, since everyone agrees the F Bass preamp has a lot to do with it's mojo, I decided to give it a whirl. The single pickup was a product of me trying to minimize my fiddling while playing live, and also leaving a little room to dig in given the extended fingerboard.


Construction:

This bass is comprised of a swamp ash body, maple neck and macassar ebony fingerboard. At my request, it was built extremely light; I haven't weighted it, but there's no way it's more than 8 lbs or so. The original bridge was an aluminum Hipshot Style A, which I later replaced with a brass version to act as a bit more of a counterweight. It made it a little heavier, but it also balances better now.

The finish is very rich and nicely applied, and both the fingerboard and body woods have incredibly beautiful grain patterns. One small construction gripe is that I believe at this price point the bass should have threaded inserts where the screws are. Indeed, the upper horn strap pin has begun to work itself loose (meaning the hole is getting bigger). I'm not 100% sure threaded inserts would have stopped that from happening, but I have other basses that do utilize that construction technique and they seem very solid.

The preamp is standard F Bass issue, except since it's a single pickup configuration, it has a single coil / stacked coil toggle instead of a second volume or blend knob. I initially felt that the pots don't really have enough resistance when you turn them, however, I spoke to my tech and he said that since they're Bourns pots, and they're excellent quality and I should quit my bitching The volume pot also has a minor issue that it cuts out at times if you hold a note and turn it, but that's easily replaced, and a minor oversight.

I won't "rate" the construction of this bass per se, but aside from the two minor gripes, everything else is rock solid. The neck joint is incredibly tight, fretwork looks impeccable and everything else just flows together very, very nicely. I believe the body is carved from a single piece of wood as opposed to two- or three-piece laminate, which is a bonus in my book as well!


Playability:

This BNF5-f truly fits me like a glove. I am still re-acclimating to a five-string, and experimenting with strap hight and set up, but I will say it feels very, very good to me so far.

The neck profile is comfortable and has a nice contour but is not clunky or chunky in the least. And the fairly significant fingerboard and pickup cover radius (a good thing, IMO) make for a more facile string-to-string crossing. In fact, there are times when I stop thinking about the bass entirely while I'm playing, which really is the sign of a phenomenal design and execution.

I will say, while I LOVE the F Bass strings on my fretless, it wasn't until I slapped some DR Sunbeams on this pumper that I went head-over-heels on the playability. I also have a set of Elixirs sitting here that I'd like to try out on it, once the DR's finally die too. I know people have mixed emotions on Elixirs, but I've had very good luck with them in the past. Either way, though, I've reconfirmed that I can't do taper-cores on a fretted, as much as I'd like to.


Sound:

Well sh*t. I'm tempted to not even comment on the sound, because I will not be able to do this instrument justice in writing. Where do I begin...

Unplugged, the bass is incredibly resonant, yet punchy and aggressive. In fact, it's downright LOUD for a non-hollowbody electric! I was recording with a guitarist friend of mine, and I had my Sennheiser cans on so he could only hear it un-amplified...his jaw nearly dropped to the floor listening to how amazing the natural sound of this bass really is.

Plugged in, it's absolutely impossible to dial in a bad tone, either recorded or live. I'm to the point where I have stopped using any amplifier or outboard EQ, and run everything flat with just minor tweaks from the onboard EQ. And yet, when you go to extremes on the tone controls, it still sounds GREAT! People were spot on when they've said this preamp has a huge role in the sound, and frankly I'm super excited I didn't stick with my traditional passive bias.

To be honest, I've historically not really cared for boost-only preamps. I do understand why it's done, but I'd like to have a center reference point for onboard EQ, even if the detent is not where "flat" is. This is really for practical reasons...for example if you're mid-song and you realize you're too boomy you may need to make a quick bass roll-off adjustment, but if you didn't have it way up to begin with, you've really got no room to back off.

However, I've gotten over this on the BNF...again, I'm told the pots are top-quality, so replacing them with center detented pots seems foolish. So now, when I get to a gig or practice, I use the white lines on the knobs to find the center (read: half way up), and use that as my baseline to adjust up or down. So far this has worked out just fine for me in a live context, and it's nice to start with a bit of color to the sound at the outset.


Live Impressions:

I've used the BNF on two very different gigs so far (as well as several practices), and it has been completely at home in all contexts.

The first gig was a semi-outdoor vineyard gig on Eastern Long Island, playing a blend of straight ahead jazz --> funk --> folksy indie stuff (I'll try to find a pic). I played through my trusty GK1001RB2 run flat into my Acme B1, and the sound was blooming and full when I needed it to be (jazz standards), and burpy and sharp when I needed that vibe. It can definitely pull off an aggressive sound, unlike how some people have described the F Bass tone in the past (ie, refined). The other guys in the band were as enamored as I was with the tone, and combined with the feel of an instrument that just melts into your playing style, it was an incredibly surreal experience.

The second gig was with a rock cover band on a rooftop in Manhattan (Ink48 on 48th/11th Avenue) for a private event (see attached). Here, the supplied backline was an SWR SM-900 (I think), into a Goliath 410. Again, I ran the amp pretty much flat, and adjusted the tone using the onboard preamp. It had no problem cutting right through two heavily distorted guitarists, and sat perfectly in the mix all night through all the 1970s-2000's rock covers we performed. Tons of complements all around that night as well and man what a fun gig.


Final Thoughts:

I had only played a couple of F Basses years ago when Jimmy Coppola used to run his shop in Hells Kitchen (somewhere in the 50s on 9th Ave), and then an Alain Caron years ago in the Amp Shop (or Bass Exchange, or whatever it's called...) So, while I knew they were quality basses, it was a little bit of a crap shoot for me to get this one sight-unseen. All I can say is I am SO glad I did take the plunge.

My two very small construction gripes (no threaded inserts, and the pots) are really not all that big a deal...although I may be a bit biased because I didn't shell out the full $4k +, and rather just paid the difference on a trade.

Anyway, my very, very first thought when I took this bass out of its case for the first time was "Why the _______ didn't I get a six-string version!?!" But alas, I think forcing myself to take a different approach to playing, and get used to a fiver again is the right thing to do, and I'm unbelievably glad I'm able to do that with an instrument of such a high caliber.

Plus, now I can start the process all over again and spec out a six-string BNF...

[Aram]

What the hell, one more pic...this one's from sound check at that roof gig earlier in the day. Almost looks like a maple board in that shot...

[DonovanBankhead]

Awesome review, Aram! I think you really nailed what that bass is bringing to the table.

It's worth mentioning that the two issues you've had, the strap button and the volume tone knob, are covered under the FBass warranty and George will make those issues right whenever you have time. I know you know that, but now everyone else knows that too.

[Vic]

Originally Posted by Aram

Construction:
...One small construction gripe is that I believe at this price point the bass should have threaded inserts where the screws are. Indeed, the upper horn strap pin has begun to work itself loose (meaning the hole is getting bigger). I'm not 100% sure threaded inserts would have stopped that from happening, but I have other basses that do utilize that construction technique and they seem very solid...

Nice review, but one question and one comment.

Question; What basses use threaded inserts for strap pins? I've personally never seen one, and I've been through an awful lot of basses at every price level.

It's an often debated topic regarding electronics covers, but I've honestly never heard of strap buttons held on by machine screws and inserts.

I've heard the debate on the elex covers, but honestly, for how rarely you have to replace batteries in these things, I've never ever had one strip out on me. Further, the screws are often a different material than the threaded inserts, which means if they sit long enough, especially in a humid environment, you can have bi-metal electrolysis/corrosion cause almost a welding effect unless you make sure they're oiled. Admittedly, extremely rare, but just to point out both methods have potential drawbacks.

Comment; The strap button thing, especially on the top horn, is probably more common than you think, but there's a very simple solution I've found to be pretty much flawless. Take it out, and coat the screw threads with a very strong wood glue (like tightbond or whatever... just don't use plain crappy white glue). Screw it back in wiping off excess as needed. Let it set overnight. It'll probably never back out on you again.

Regardless, AWESOME bass!!

[TapyTap]

Originally Posted by Aram

The single pickup was a product of me trying to minimize my fiddling while playing live, and also leaving a little room to dig in given the extended fingerboard.

The preamp is standard F Bass issue, except since it's a single pickup configuration, it has a single coil / stacked coil toggle instead of a second volume or blend knob.

Aram,

Thank you for taking the time to tell us your thoughts about your new F. I have literally been checking this thread everyday in eager expectation of your review! Great job with the details too...I really appreciate it.

Perhaps this might sound like a silly question, but how did you decide where you wanted to have the pickup positioned relative to the scale length? Did you just tell Mr. Furlanetto the sound you were after, or was there something else to it?

Also, when you switch to the stacked coil mode, are the two coils then wired together in series or parallel?

Bryan

[Aram]

Originally Posted by DonovanBankhead

Awesome review, Aram! I think you really nailed what that bass is bringing to the table.

It's worth mentioning that the two issues you've had, the strap button and the volume tone knob, are covered under the FBass warranty and George will make those issues right whenever you have time. I know you know that, but now everyone else knows that too.

Yup, really a non-issue for me as both are easily fixed, and fully covered under warranty.