Fano Alt De Facto PX4 Bass - Hot or Not

**grygrx** · #1 02-17-2009, 02:37 PM

http://www.fattoneguitars.com/Shop/C...d/0/SFV/32695#

TheGrizz · #2 02-17-2009, 03:11 PM

I dig it. The Antigua finish looks off, but I'd rock it.

**grygrx** · #3 02-17-2009, 03:12 PM

I thought that also, too much yellow.

bass_snake · #4 02-17-2009, 05:05 PM

Looks great! Do you know how it sounds like?

Fred

chris.gotfunk · #5 02-17-2009, 06:58 PM

Cool look. Not so cool price. Too high in my opinion.

bass_snake · #6 02-17-2009, 07:20 PM

Yeah, price is high.

MikeBass · #7 02-17-2009, 11:32 PM

That's pretty cool, but a bit over priced IMO.

OH man........

Or this:

I need to stay away from the store!!!!! LOL!!!

TheWolf · #8 02-18-2009, 12:02 AM

$2200 for a Custom Relic'd Prototype Bass.... Wonder how it sounds? Still I personally voted carrots but that was because I was not sure if it was 60's Italian or the like... Turns out it is essentially a one of a kind impression ofa bunch of styles together, I like the Gretsch Billy Bass Better...

uglymutt · #9 02-18-2009, 03:20 AM

like the shape not the colour or the price tag, curious about how it sounds though

MIJ-VI · #10 02-18-2009, 06:24 AM

The Fano Alt De Facto PX4 Bass has a better layout than a T-Bird, but I don't see anything special in it. It's just another bolt-on neck 4-string.

kraigo · #11 02-18-2009, 06:37 AM

I like it, but I always buy with the thought of "how much do I stand to lose if/when I sell it?" Pay $2300, and you'd be very lucky to get $500 out of it on the backside. Declined.

I like Fano in general, if just because of the connection XTC, one of my favorite bands.

KO

OhThePeacock · #12 02-18-2009, 06:53 AM

Price is to high but that's an awesome looking bass!

vegas532 · #13 02-18-2009, 07:52 AM

Played it at NAMM and dug it. It was lightweight, balanced well, the neck was super comfy and broken in and it sounded great. I like it, but am currently needing to behave (like most of us) with the ole checking account right now.

mongo2 · #14 02-18-2009, 08:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grygrx

Hot or Snot?

I vote snot.

jsingles · #15 02-18-2009, 08:36 AM

**Chef** · #16 02-18-2009, 09:09 AM

Price-point aside, I kinda dig it.
TV Jones make some nice pickups; coil taps would be a nice addition.

"ToneStyler Tone Control."

Wow. Thanks for all the details on what that is and how it works...

Spanky(Andy) · #17 03-02-2009, 07:08 PM

Hi folks,

I've been emailing Dennis Fano about this bass, and didn't realise that the first example was already in a store (Fat Tone), let alone being discussed here on TB

Please note that I am not affiliated with Fano Guitars, Dennis Fano or anyone else in the musical instrument industry in any way, I just thought I would share this in the interests of the broader bass community.

Here are some responses from an email today (my stuff in italics, Dennis' replies in bold - note, I've edited out some of the preamble cos I was excited and sound like a silly fan-boi). The replies may shed some light on the design specs/tone circuit and future options:

> Dennis, Classic - I love it.
Thanks! I'm primarily a bass player, I love the concept and I love how it turned out.

> What kind of pickups are they? I'm assuming they're humbuckers? Are they your own design, or aftermarket?
The pickups are custom made for me by TV Jones. Future models will have individual coil taps for even greater versatility.

I'm using the Stellartone ToneStyler tone control as well. (http:// www.stellartone.com/Page.asp?NavID=147) I don't know if you're familiar with them but they're pretty amazing! The ToneStyler is essentially 16 tone controls in one. It's completely passive so there are no batteries and it has a bypass position. The difference between some of the positions is subtle but it easily provides 8 or 9 unique
bass sounds.

The bridge and tuners are from Hipshot, the scale length is 32" and the neck carve is a cross between a '62 Jazz bass (1.5" at the nut) and a Ric 4001 (2.2" at the 20th fret). It's a great feel for guys like me who have average size hands.

I've attached the spec sheet below.

Cheers!
DF

Please note that the spec sheet PDF was over 3mb, so I took a screen shot of it and have attached it to this post.

markjazzbassist · #18 03-02-2009, 10:24 PM

looks like the old guild jetstar basses.

dannster · #19 01-17-2012, 06:26 PM

Frankenstein....anybody ever buy one of these?

BassManPatsFan · #20 07-19-2012, 07:55 PM

Seriously, no buzz about these?

I just played this bass at Chicago Music Exchange and it was unreal. Instant gas.

Granted, the non-reverse thunderbird is probably my second favorite or favorite body shape of all time and I have a major affinity for <34" scales (both my basses are 30.75"), but I'm still amazed that this bass hasn't generated more interest on here. Yes, the price is high, but for a state of the art hand built instrument that has a killer vintage vibe, sounds amazing and feels like butter, it's not that ludicrous. The neck felt like something I had been playing for years within 5 minutes of playing the bass. I didn't even bother checking out the tone styler knob too much because it sounded so good on the setting that was selected when I picked it up.

Anybody own one? After I buy a new amp, I'll start saving immediately.