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I think the BN5 will be an overall better fit for our mellower contemporary service (where the warmth will really shine through), but it did better in this environment than I expected after getting the EQ dialed in just so. One tip for all of you BN5 players: turn it up louder. The bass takes volume very well... only gets better and doesn't bother anyone. In fact, it seems that they like it.
I've always contended that those who find the BN-5 too "smooth" or a "jazz on champagne" don't use the preamp enough. Crank it! The fact that the output (set flat) seems a tad lower than other active basses leads me to believe it may have been designed for it.
Great point, Dave. I do know that a long time ago, in a thread titled something like "How to get a Marcus Miller tone from a BN5" George came on and said to crank the lows and highs 100% or near it... which in my mind at least verifies your theory that the bass was designed to take advantage of that musical preamp.
I think so too. The F bass preamp sounds great even at full boost. Unlike most other preamps I've tried that sound like #*&$ over 20% or so. That's 80% of the boost that is virtually unusable. And I am a fan of overkill, but I fail to see the advantage there. F's sound killer and have plenty of output when you kick up the pre. Go ahead, try to make it sound bad...
There is a very interesting 6-string F that just showed up on eBay. (search f-bass) I do not know the seller so this is not a plug or anything. Just a fancy looking piece that you F players would probably like to see.
Yeah I have my bass and mids half way up and my highs 3/4 of the way up. My tone knob
is usually all the way up. I think the preamp is made to be used unlike most companies.
is usually all the way up. I think the preamp is made to be used unlike most companies.
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Yes... and, of course, someone already linked to it... I cannot keep up with this thread for my life...
At least we all seem to appreciate the same things...
LOL yeah it's cool to see something different like those inlays even though I personally don't like them.
There used to be an announcement on the fbass.com news page about an endorsement deal with Hadrien Feraud, but that announcement is gone now.
Now I see Hadrien Feraud started a thread on talkbass to announce his new signature bass:
It is "made" by Ken Smith, the most socially impaired luthier I have ever known of. I write "made" in quotation marks because it is actually manufactured in Japan, and on multiple occasions Smith has made it clear that basses made with his name on them but not by him are not real Ken Smith basses.
Anyway, the irony of this endorsement deal can only be appreciated if you have read this old thread started by Ken Smith basically to mock and make fun of Hadrien.
In the thread someone guessed that Hadrien was going to do an endorsement deal with Smith, and Smith had this to say about Hadrien and endorsements:
Hadrien countered Smith's pompous post with a polite response which basically said, "Really? You don't consider this to be a Ken Smith bass? Then why did you guys put me on your artists page on your website?"
While there are a bunch of guys gushing about this signature bass, and while I definitely like Hadrien as a person and a player, I must say his signature bass is definitely not for me.
First, he went with Ken Smith, whose arrogance and rudeness have put me off of owning his basses.
Second, this is a return of the defunct "Burner" model, which is infamous for neck dive. Even if some players don't consider that balance neck dive, no WAY is it as nice as the balance of a BN5, BN6 or VF5, and I hate fighting with my bass to make it play.
Third, I don't see what this bass offers above and beyond a Jazz bass. It has a boutique look to it for sure, but to me it comes off as looking like an unbalanced Jazz bass that wants to look like a Fodera.
Fourth, the controls are Volume, Balance, Bass, Treble, and a 4 position mids boost switch.
Using a master volume instead of separate volume knobs, I understand, requires an additional circuit and dilutes the pure tone of the instrument.
And if you are going to use a knob for it anyway, why not let mids be controlled like treble and bass are: with smooth analogue control that can be tuned to any room, rig or situation?
Fifth, the string spacing is just 17.5. I know a lot of players can go between basses with different string spacing without much difficulty, but it takes me a minute or two to get used to it, and by then I've either butchered half a song, or haven't tried to do much with it as I adjust. Standardizing on 19 mm for all my basses works best for me, but I guess some guys, especially those that never slap, want narrow spacing to help them achieve guitarist speeds.
I don't know what happened with his Fbass plans, and I know how this sounds coming from the guy who tends Club Fbass, but from where I sit, Hadrien is a much better player than he is a decision maker. I can see very little that would attract me to his signature bass.
Now I see Hadrien Feraud started a thread on talkbass to announce his new signature bass:
It is "made" by Ken Smith, the most socially impaired luthier I have ever known of. I write "made" in quotation marks because it is actually manufactured in Japan, and on multiple occasions Smith has made it clear that basses made with his name on them but not by him are not real Ken Smith basses.
Anyway, the irony of this endorsement deal can only be appreciated if you have read this old thread started by Ken Smith basically to mock and make fun of Hadrien.
In the thread someone guessed that Hadrien was going to do an endorsement deal with Smith, and Smith had this to say about Hadrien and endorsements:
We don't do endorsements and have a special FAQ in my email folder to use almost every day when we get that sort of request. If you wanna see the FAQ, just email me, tell me how great and famous you are (or not) or how much we need each other and I will copy and past the FAQ like a machine and send it back in the return email.There are 1000s of good Bass players today. A company like mine would end up in the 'non-profit' classification (or out of business) if we gave endorsements to every Bass player that knew all the scales and modes and played them all on every song as well just to let you know.
As far as the Bass he has, it is NOT a Smith Bass. It is a Ken Smith Burner model of either the Cusom or Artist version. I sold a few of the Artist models to me old Dist. in France many years ago b4 we stopped making them.
I thought though, Bass models aside that he was an interesting player. BTW, anyone here know how to play a 'rest'?
At one NAMM Show a few years ago my son Jon made a sign and hung it up in the booth behind the Basses, "No 'E' Slapping". To try a Smith Bass that week in the booth you had to play a Blues in Db, walking with no bad notes. First mistake and we would point you around the corner to the other (more expensive NY rent/living style) Bass booth to kill their ears instead of ours..
Hadrien countered Smith's pompous post with a polite response which basically said, "Really? You don't consider this to be a Ken Smith bass? Then why did you guys put me on your artists page on your website?"
While there are a bunch of guys gushing about this signature bass, and while I definitely like Hadrien as a person and a player, I must say his signature bass is definitely not for me.
First, he went with Ken Smith, whose arrogance and rudeness have put me off of owning his basses.
Second, this is a return of the defunct "Burner" model, which is infamous for neck dive. Even if some players don't consider that balance neck dive, no WAY is it as nice as the balance of a BN5, BN6 or VF5, and I hate fighting with my bass to make it play.
Third, I don't see what this bass offers above and beyond a Jazz bass. It has a boutique look to it for sure, but to me it comes off as looking like an unbalanced Jazz bass that wants to look like a Fodera.
Fourth, the controls are Volume, Balance, Bass, Treble, and a 4 position mids boost switch.
Using a master volume instead of separate volume knobs, I understand, requires an additional circuit and dilutes the pure tone of the instrument.
And if you are going to use a knob for it anyway, why not let mids be controlled like treble and bass are: with smooth analogue control that can be tuned to any room, rig or situation?
Fifth, the string spacing is just 17.5. I know a lot of players can go between basses with different string spacing without much difficulty, but it takes me a minute or two to get used to it, and by then I've either butchered half a song, or haven't tried to do much with it as I adjust. Standardizing on 19 mm for all my basses works best for me, but I guess some guys, especially those that never slap, want narrow spacing to help them achieve guitarist speeds.
I don't know what happened with his Fbass plans, and I know how this sounds coming from the guy who tends Club Fbass, but from where I sit, Hadrien is a much better player than he is a decision maker. I can see very little that would attract me to his signature bass.
This is on your BN6? I frequently play just like this only with perhaps a tad more bass, but then my rig is kind of bright.
I think his sig bass is cool looking and fits his look well but holy cow Ken Smith is jerk!
George Furlanetto is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. His basses are amazing and
these are the reasons while he will be getting more orders from me in the future.
One sound that I think Fbass falls short with though is the "compressed, nasal" sound.
Ken Smiths are known for this sound and Fodera's also have that hard, midrangy sound
to them. I would like to see an Fbass made with a harder more compressing wood to
compete with those other companies.
George Furlanetto is one of the nicest guys I've ever met. His basses are amazing and
these are the reasons while he will be getting more orders from me in the future.
One sound that I think Fbass falls short with though is the "compressed, nasal" sound.
Ken Smiths are known for this sound and Fodera's also have that hard, midrangy sound
to them. I would like to see an Fbass made with a harder more compressing wood to
compete with those other companies.
Yeah that's my BN6 and my rig is muddy so I have to keep my bass on
high. I'm hoping to get a new rig in the next year or so though so I don't
have to deal with the muddy yucks.
- Aug 25, 2001
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- Owner - FretSpot.com; Vice President - Springfield Music
Yeah he's 25.
I read more of that thread. KS basically insults HF for how he plays and HF responds but
doesn't understand the sarcasm or references and then praises KS and his basses. Then KS
turns around and starts saying how great HF is. Lame.
I read more of that thread. KS basically insults HF for how he plays and HF responds but
doesn't understand the sarcasm or references and then praises KS and his basses. Then KS
turns around and starts saying how great HF is. Lame.
If I could challenge slightly your experience with mine...
My BN6 doesn't do that "compressed nasal" sound so well, but my VF5 does, and my BN5 is better than my BN6 at it.
Although I see what you mean about the woods and do agree with that, Fbass has enough range in their product line that it is getting harder to make blanket statements about how all Fbasses sound, you know?
--- EDIT ---
BTW, I'm really tired of the nasal tone, it is just so over used. It's basically the darling of people playing fretted basses that they want to sound fretless.
Also, whenever I hear that tone, I brace myself. The compressed nasal tone seems to pre-announce someone who wants to take license to see how many notes they can play per measure.
Hence Ken Smith's sarcastic "does anyone here know how to play a rest" comment.
It would be nice to hear Matt Garrision and co. -- basically that whole Fodera crowd -- explore other tonal possibilities within their playing. Thankfully Victor Wooten does.
+1
I've noticed Ken Smith has "Banned" under his name in posts now.
You think it's him being funny, or do you think he's gone too far and got himself booted?
I completely agree. I love that my BN6 isn't nasaly. I do want another
bass that has more of that jazz bass honky but I love the way my BN6
sounds just the way it is. It's different but in a very tasteful way.
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