Club Fbass (Part 4)

[choad42]

heres some clips. it took some tweaking to get the sound. ive noticed some variation in these basses (i thought the sunburst one donovan had sounded pretty bad)but you cant really just play it with the factory specs and think its going to sound like a fender. i had to spend some time with the setup,pickup heights and preamp experimentation to get the sound.
http://www.4shared.com/file/150517511/13d3f9b1/shine.html
http://www.4shared.com/file/150517448/16badf67/biz.html
some earth wind and fire and some teena marie lines.

Spot on!!! Brilliant clips Joe, that's about the most natural and raw sounding 70s VF I have heard yet. I think that George (and Mitch ) will be most impressed when they hear these clips. I would even venture to say that you definitely took the VF to it's designated tonal target IMO. As usual the playing itself was fantastic.

I can't wait until you post some new tunes on MySpace using your VF, I totally dig your stuff.

Cheers,
Paul

Link Removed

 

[Vic]

...but lowered the bridge more than the neck.

So the result was the bridge pickup was lower than the neck or just that you had to lower it more to match the neck since it started out higher?

next was the eq. ive never had an active f so getting used to how subtle the eq is and finding the sweetspots took a while. i think all that resulted in some clips that sound more like a 70's jazz than any of the vf5 clips ive heard so far.

So what was your EQ "sweet spot"?

 

[Tom7]

Oh, the irony. You play an F Bass! How does anybody describe them other than an updated Jazz bass?

(Not to say that's a bad thing, but come on.)

Oh the irony is right: that's my point exactly, Angus!

I'm not sure if I was too subtle or you missed my point, or both, but in the interest of clarity, let me be much more BLUNT:

Why would Hadrian opt for an endorsement deal with a jerk like Ken Smith for a jazz style bass that is manufactured oversees and based on a model that failed?

Seriously, what about that is an improvement over a hand made jazz style bass made by a guy universally respected for both his work and his bedside manner, and is known to really innovate with signature models? I don't get that.

Hadrein's got enough buzz behind him now that he could have probably had a signature model from whomever he wanted, including Fodera and Fbass.

This was a chance for him to explore all possibilities -- pickups, preamps, woods, body shapes, balance, manufacturers -- and INNOVATE!

I get that HE personally liked his Burner, but there were reasons that model went defunct.

This isn't about him not going with Fbass, Hadrien CLEARLY missed an opportunity to really do something special with his name and his signature bass.

Look at Alain Caron's signature bass for instance: acoustic chambers, piezos, wood choices, balance and body shape, even position marking dots... none of that was a warmed over leftover from a defunct product.

Yes, it is what Hadrien wanted, but he had a chance to do something ground breaking, and instead went nostalgic and set the bar far too low.

This isn't true. A master volume will have just as much "pure tone dilution".

Hm, if this isn't true, I guess you better explain it George Furlanetto, because he had this to say on the subject:

"The balance pot adds another resistor, so there is more capacitance in the signal chain, thus slightly reducing the high end (slightly noticeable). With two pots you can blend the amount of each pickup, whereas with the balance you can only blend the two levels in balance; you can never have one pickup on full and add a little of the other."

It doesn't necessarily have anything to do with achieving guitarist speeds. I play with 16.5mm spacing, and it is purely due to economy of motion and minimizing unnecessary reaches and hand motion rather than speed. I think his reasoning is the same, particularly given that he plays just as quickly on a full-spacing instrument.

I shouldn't have used the phrase "guitarist speeds," because I can see it's offended someone, but then again, you seem to be saying exactly what I was trying to say.

Some players value the benefits of narrower spacing, and some players value the benefits of standardized spacing between their various instruments. I'm in the latter group, therefore, as I wrote, Hadrien's signature bass definitely does not appeal to me.

I would've purchased an F Bass years ago if custom spacing and a scale length didn't add like $3000.

And I would have bought a 5 string Music Man if they could be bought in 19mm string spacing. I see that as a choice each of the bass makers made, not a flaw really.

How can you make that judgment? Because he doesn't play the basses you like? He got a Fodera, but went back to his burner. He went to F Bass, but went back to his burner. I think he just saw the writing on the wall and stuck with the instrument that feels like home to him.

I have NO IDEA what "judgment" you think I am making. The conclusion of this post was that this bass wasn't for me, and I think that is a pretty safe judgment to make. One that you make yourself in fact with your very next sentence.

I wouldn't ever buy one, either, but if it is what feels like home to him, I think he made a BETTER decision that going to another manufacturer just because they make nicer stuff.

I think I see what you are saying: that for Hadrien, this was a better decision because this bass feels like home. I see that and get that, but then again, when Patitucci ditched Ken Smith for Yamaha, he didn't have Yamaha make a Ken Smith clone for him. He used it as an opportunity to innovate. The John Patitucci Yamaha signature bass layered woods for a certain compression and tone, and used bass clefs as position marker inlays, etc. It certainly wasn't just a warmed over Ken Smith.

Besides, perhaps you are forgetting where this discussion is taking place: Club FBASS. I worded what I wrote in the way I wrote it because I more or less know guys here like Fbasses.

Had I posted in Hadrien's thread announcing the bass, which I've considered doing, I would have expressed my opinions in a manner that would have sat better with that crowd.

Anyway, what I've said might make more sense if you know this about me, and yes, I know this is a quirky way to be....

When Lenovo bought IBM's Thinkpad laptop line, I quit buying them, even though they were my favorite laptops in the world. Lenovo Thinkpads could well be even BETTER than IBM Thinkpads ever were, but I will never own one because Lenovo is owned by the Chinese government, so buying one literally sends my money to a government and an ideology I don't want to contribute to.

I'd give to PBS or the high school basketball team, because I WANT to support those things, but I'm not really wanting to help a communist government compete with free enterprise businesses.

Likewise, I actually originally set out to buy a Ken Smith bass because I loved Patitucci's, but Ken Smith was such a pain to work with in determining the right configuration for my bass that I decided to look elsewhere, and that led me to Fbass.

I'd just rather my money go to supporting a nice guy who does great work as opposed to a grumpy guy who does great work.

In my opinion, Ken Smith is one of the most important bass builders of all time, and deserves to be remembered as such by history. I'm grateful for his contributions, and I'm sure I benefit indirectly from them as a bass player.

What baffles me about Hadrien's decision is why he opted to go with grouchy Ken Smith for a signature jazz style bass that isn't even actually built by Ken, that balances badly, has narrow string spacing, a master volume knob, and is based on a model that failed, when he COULD have innovated.

None of those decisions really make sense to me, that's all.

 

[narud]

So the result was the bridge pickup was lower than the neck or just that you had to lower it more to match the neck since it started out higher?

So what was your EQ "sweet spot"?

both pickups were considerably lowered to accommodate the lower string height then the bridge pickup was lowered further than the neck.

eq is bass at almost full boost. seems extreme, but its almost as if the first two thirds of the sweep dont do much. mids a third of the way up and treble a little under half of the way up. the mid boost was pretty key because ive been used to the coppolo 2 band that seems to boost upper bass/lowmids as well and the f bass boost alone wasnt doing it for me. thats what the settings were in the clips.

 

[Vic]

both pickups were considerably lowered to accommodate the lower string height then the bridge pickup was lowered further than the neck.

eq is bass at almost full boost. seems extreme, but its almost as if the first two thirds of the sweep dont do much. mids a third of the way up and treble a little under half of the way up. the mid boost was pretty key because ive been used to the coppolo 2 band that seems to boost upper bass/lowmids as well and the f bass boost alone wasnt doing it for me. thats what the settings were in the clips.

Perfect. Thanks!

Yeah, that's a lot of EQ, but the clip does sound really good, so I think I'm gonna' mess around with that a bit, tho I think I'll probably leave my bridge pickup where it is, which is actually slightly higher than the neck. I just prefer that sound a bit more. Funny, I had a '78 J for years and one of the first things I did to it after buying it (new, I might add), is raise the bridge to add more growl.

 

[narud]

Oh the irony is right: that's my point exactly, Angus!

I'm not sure if I was too subtle or you missed my point, or both, but in the interest of clarity, let me be much more BLUNT:

Why would Hadrian opt for an endorsement deal with a jerk like Ken Smith for a jazz style bass that is manufactured oversees and based on a model that failed?

Seriously, what about that is an improvement over a hand made jazz style bass made by a guy universally respected for both his work and his bedside manner, and is known to really innovate with signature models? I don't get that.

Hadrein's got enough buzz behind him now that he could have probably had a signature model from whomever he wanted, including Fodera and Fbass.

This was a chance for him to explore all possibilities -- pickups, preamps, woods, body shapes, balance, manufacturers -- and INNOVATE!

I get that HE personally liked his Burner, but there were reasons that model went defunct.

This isn't about him not going with Fbass, Hadrien CLEARLY missed an opportunity to really do something special with his name and his signature bass.

Look at Alain Caron's signature bass for instance: acoustic chambers, piezos, wood choices, balance and body shape, even position marking dots... none of that was a warmed over leftover from a defunct product.

Yes, it is what Hadrien wanted, but he had a chance to do something ground breaking, and instead went nostalgic and set the bar far too low.

Hm, if this isn't true, I guess you better explain it George Furlanetto, because he had this to say on the subject:

I shouldn't have used the phrase "guitarist speeds," because I can see it's offended someone, but then again, you seem to be saying exactly what I was trying to say.

Some players value the benefits of narrower spacing, and some players value the benefits of standardized spacing between their various instruments. I'm in the latter group, therefore, as I wrote, Hadrien's signature bass definitely does not appeal to me.

And I would have bought a 5 string Music Man if they could be bought in 19mm string spacing. I see that as a choice each of the bass makers made, not a flaw really.

I have NO IDEA what "judgment" you think I am making. The conclusion of this post was that this bass wasn't for me, and I think that is a pretty safe judgment to make. One that you make yourself in fact with your very next sentence.

I think I see what you are saying: that for Hadrien, this was a better decision because this bass feels like home. I see that and get that, but then again, when Patitucci ditched Ken Smith for Yamaha, he didn't have Yamaha make a Ken Smith clone for him. He used it as an opportunity to innovate. The Yamaha signature bass layered woods for a certain compression and tone, and used bass clefs as position marker inlays, etc. It wasn't a warmed over Ken Smith.

Besides, perhaps you are forgetting where this discussion is taking place: Club FBASS. I worded what I wrote in the way I wrote it because I more or less know guys here like Fbasses.

Had I posted in Hadrien's thread announcing the bass, which I've considered doing, I would have expressed my opinions in a manner that would have sat better with that crowd.

Anyway, what I've said might make more sense if you know this about me, and yes, I know this is a quirky way to be....

When Lenovo bought IBM's Thinkpad laptop line, I quit buying them, even though they were my favorite laptops in the world. Lenovo Thinkpads could well even be BETTER than IBM Thinkpads ever were, but I will never own one because Lenovo is owned by the Chinese government, so buying one literally sends my money to a government and an ideology I don't want to contribute to.

I'd give to PBS or the high school basketball team, because I WANT to sport those things, but not to helping a communist government compete with capitalist businesses.

Likewise, I actually originally set out to buy a Ken Smith bass because I loved Patitucci's, but Ken Smith was such a pain to work with in determining the right configuration for my bass that I decided to look elsewhere, and that led me to Fbass.

I'd just rather my money go to supporting a nice guy who does great work as opposed to a grumpy guy who does great work.

In my opinion, Ken Smith is one of the most important bass builders of all time, and deserves to be remembered as such by history. I'm grateful for his contributions, and I'm sure I benefit indirectly from them as a bass player.

What baffles me about Hadrien's decision is why he opted to go with grouchy Ken Smith for a signature jazz style bass that isn't even actually built by Ken, that balances badly, has narrow string spacing, a master volume knob, and is based on a model that failed, when he COULD have innovated.

None of those decisions really make sense to me, that's all.

who says you have to innovate to have a sig bass? innovation's sake for innovation's sake doesnt do anything for the bass world. the caron sig? i think acoustic chambers and piezos on an electric bass sound like butt....those innovations arent going to get me or even the average fusion head to buy that bass. not to mention the extreme cost those innovations add to the bass. maybe if he came up with something like the henman-bevilaqua

so yeah, his bass has narrow spacing a blend knob and some other specs tom7 doesnt dig. thats why its the hadrien sig and its not being built in some mass production factory like skylines. sleek elite is building these just like any other high end builder. its just happening in japan.

 

[narud]

Perfect. Thanks!

Yeah, that's a lot of EQ, but the clip does sound really good, so I think I'm gonna' mess around with that a bit, tho I think I'll probably leave my bridge pickup where it is, which is actually slightly higher than the neck. I just prefer that sound a bit more. Funny, I had a '78 J for years and one of the first things I did to it after buying it (new, I might add), is raise the bridge to add more growl.

you have a 60's style vf though right? i set my pickup heights differently on my 62 than my 78.

the fender really can get that same nasty sound with higher action. the boutique stuff for whatever reason doesnt.

 

[Tom7]

odd post. that was a lot of typing to basically say, " i cant believe how dumb this high profile player is for not playing an f bass"

as to spacing, thats a players problem if youre butchering stuff, not the bass. ive been using a jazz 5string with 17mm spacing at the bridge and i have no issues with it. i love to slap as much as the next guy. i also have the added benefit of fingerstyle things being much easier. arpeggios across the entire board are just way easier with tighter spacing. ill actually be getting the badass bridge on my vf5 slotted to 18mm. id go tighter if the neck wasnt 3" at the heel.

Obviously it was poorly written because some of you are missing my point.

What I was trying to say is:

1) I wonder what happened to Hadrien working with Fbass

2) Why on earth would Hadrien BLOW the opportunity to innovate and instead go with a poorly balanced jazz style bass that isn't even actually built by Ken Smith.

As for STRING SPACING...

I'm pretty sure I didn't say I cannot slap on a narrowly spaced bass; I can slap on a Fender Stratocaster.

I've also said I get why guys like narrow spacing, I see the benefits too. In fact, if I only had a couple of basses, I'd probably switch to narrower spacing. However, I have a lot of basses, and I like to switch between songs in the same set, therefore I like to be able to adjust as quickly as possible.

I see the reasons for narrow spacing, I just prefer to have a standard. That's all.

 

[Tom7]

pfft.

whats that you ask? oh yeah, thats my vf5

Today's roster update officially welcomes narud, and is NICE VF5 to the club. Welcome aboard!

CLUB FBASS ROSTER
(Updated 12 November 2009)

1. BN5 (Number assigned by club vote)
2. Tombowlus - BN5, George_Furlanet, BN4
3. Puff_father - BN5
4. Debassed - VF5
5. ThumbyAche - BN5, BNF5
6. brandonwong - BN5, GFC, AC6, BN5, BN6, VF5
7. Tom7 - Vintage Fretless 5, BN5, BN6, BN5
8. Erick Lam - BN5,
9. knarleybass - AC5, BN5
10. Reefer - BN5, BN4?
11. VinceLovesF - BN6 b
12. T._Brookins - BN5
13. DKB - BN5
14. Speyer - BN5 (BN5,)
15. jmilky - b
16. edel - BN5,
17. administrator - BNF5
18. Dave Hill - VF5 (BN5)
19. FbassDave - b c
20. Vic - BN5
21. Georges_Abitbol - (b) (BN5) (?)
22. xav_paris - Studio5, Prototype
23. Munjibunga - AC5
24. Toolmybass - BN5
25. Modny - BNF5, BN5
26. mikoespanol - BN6
27. Ron_Plichta - AC5
28. Gbarchus - BNF5
29. nuwavedc - AC5
30. JerryJ - >, Vintage 4, Studio6
31. yansdgr - BN6
32. firebass - BNF5, AC6
33. <reserved for the return of choad42Studio5
34. donstrenz - BN4 (stolen)
35. Gilsonite - BN5
36. Tjluke - BN5, AC6
37. cabooke - BN6
38. Brad Johnson - AC5
39. MHemmber - 2
40. FortressOne - AC6
41. dreamwood - BN5
42. wolfbass1025 - BN6, Vintage4, BN5
43. funkydanbass - BN6
44. Phillip Jordan - BN6
45. Halftooth - BN5
46. thndrstk6 - Vintage4
47. funkifiedsoul - AC5
48. Trapeze Fan - BN5
49. Poppsyche - BN6
50. Groovy Bastard - BNF6
51. Kemet09 - BN6
52. ModulusAcacia - BN4
53. bassjam - AC5
54. Bassconbeatz - BN6
55. Basses55 -
56. Kevin Woods - BN5
57. pierreganseman - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
58. DiDi G - BN5
59. Greggles - BN6
60. kotzman - BN6
61. Alphaman - BN4
62. remigioremigio - VF5
63. JensWest - AC5
64. eduardxtb - BN5
65. dveeus1 - BNF5, BN5
66. paulvienneau - AC6, AC6
67. bdgotoh - BN6
68. rabster - BN6, b
69. funkygeos - AC6
70. fusoid - b, BN5 (piccolo)
71. WovenGraphite - AC5 (BN6), BNF5 (BN5)
72. rnlytton - AC6, AC6-LW, BN5, 3 BN6s!
73. bardlute - BN5
74. chrisloe - BN6
75. Iposavad - BNF5
76. yinghock - AC5
77. pocketmonster - BN5
78. bassment bn5 - VF5
79. hairman - BN5, AC4,
80. JOEP054 - VF5, GRoberts
81. p0k - AJ Brown
82. jmilkey - JRB
83. Bass Junkie - jmondick, (with a VF4 being built!)
84. narud - ursus
85. <Your name could be here!>

Former Fbass owners:
Freddy-G, Adrian Garcia, Yvon, dean82, smperry, Ryan_L, rodneyat, 123eranoid, Gordon of Eden, choad42, black.rose1402, blen dem, AC5, BN4, BN5, ?, BN4, Jonno1707 - BN5, Quadzilla - George_Furlanet, BN4, BN5, RoboChrist - VF5, blen dem - BN5,

 

[thndrstk6]

both pickups were considerably lowered to accommodate the lower string height then the bridge pickup was lowered further than the neck.

eq is bass at almost full boost. seems extreme, but its almost as if the first two thirds of the sweep dont do much. mids a third of the way up and treble a little under half of the way up. the mid boost was pretty key because ive been used to the coppolo 2 band that seems to boost upper bass/lowmids as well and the f bass boost alone wasnt doing it for me. thats what the settings were in the clips.

It sounds like your not really happy with your Fbass. No?

 

[narud]

It sounds like your not really happy with your Fbass. No?

im really liking this bass so far. i just dont believe in leaving things the way a builder had them set up wise just because. i know what i need better than anyone else does.

 

[narud]

Today's roster update officially welcomes narud, and is NICE VF5 to the club. Welcome aboard!

CLUB FBASS ROSTER
(Updated 12 November 2009)

1. BN5 (Number assigned by club vote)
2. Tombowlus - BN5, George_Furlanet, BN4
3. Puff_father - BN5
4. Debassed - VF5
5. ThumbyAche - BN5, BNF5
6. brandonwong - BN5, GFC, AC6, BN5, BN6, VF5
7. Tom7 - Vintage Fretless 5, BN5, BN6, BN5
8. Erick Lam - BN5,
9. knarleybass - AC5, BN5
10. Reefer - BN5, BN4?
11. VinceLovesF - BN6 b
12. T._Brookins - BN5
13. DKB - BN5
14. Speyer - BN5 (BN5,)
15. jmilky - b
16. edel - BN5,
17. administrator - BNF5
18. Dave Hill - VF5 (BN5)
19. FbassDave - b c
20. Vic - BN5
21. Georges_Abitbol - (b) (BN5) (?)
22. xav_paris - Studio5, Prototype
23. Munjibunga - AC5
24. Toolmybass - BN5
25. Modny - BNF5, BN5
26. mikoespanol - BN6
27. Ron_Plichta - AC5
28. Gbarchus - BNF5
29. nuwavedc - AC5
30. JerryJ - >, Vintage 4, Studio6
31. yansdgr - BN6
32. firebass - BNF5, AC6
33. <reserved for the return of choad42Studio5
34. donstrenz - BN4 (stolen)
35. Gilsonite - BN5
36. Tjluke - BN5, AC6
37. cabooke - BN6
38. Brad Johnson - AC5
39. MHemmber - 2
40. FortressOne - AC6
41. dreamwood - BN5
42. wolfbass1025 - BN6, Vintage4, BN5
43. funkydanbass - BN6
44. Phillip Jordan - BN6
45. Halftooth - BN5
46. thndrstk6 - Vintage4
47. funkifiedsoul - AC5
48. Trapeze Fan - BN5
49. Poppsyche - BN6
50. Groovy Bastard - BNF6
51. Kemet09 - BN6
52. ModulusAcacia - BN4
53. bassjam - AC5
54. Bassconbeatz - BN6
55. Basses55 -
56. Kevin Woods - BN5
57. pierreganseman - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
58. DiDi G - BN5
59. Greggles - BN6
60. kotzman - BN6
61. Alphaman - BN4
62. remigioremigio - VF5
63. JensWest - AC5
64. eduardxtb - BN5
65. dveeus1 - BNF5, BN5
66. paulvienneau - AC6, AC6
67. bdgotoh - BN6
68. rabster - BN6, b
69. funkygeos - AC6
70. fusoid - b, BN5 (piccolo)
71. WovenGraphite - AC5 (BN6), BNF5 (BN5)
72. rnlytton - AC6, AC6-LW, BN5, 3 BN6s!
73. bardlute - BN5
74. chrisloe - BN6
75. Iposavad - BNF5
76. yinghock - AC5
77. pocketmonster - BN5
78. bassment bn5 - VF5
79. hairman - BN5, AC4,
80. JOEP054 - VF5, GRoberts
81. p0k - AJ Brown
82. jmilkey - JRB
83. Bass Junkie - jmondick, (with a VF4 being built!)
84. narud - ursus
85. <Your name could be here!>

Former Fbass owners:
Freddy-G, Adrian Garcia, Yvon, dean82, smperry, Ryan_L, rodneyat, 123eranoid, Gordon of Eden, choad42, black.rose1402, blen dem, AC5, BN4, BN5, ?, BN4, Jonno1707 - BN5, Quadzilla - George_Furlanet, BN4, BN5, RoboChrist - VF5, blen dem - BN5,

funny, ive played and owned f basses for at least 10 years. good ole talkbass clubs

 

[Tom7]

... (i thought the sunburst one donovan had sounded pretty bad)...

As the current owner of the "sunburst one donovan had," I'll try to overlook the fact that you appear to be a graduate of the Ken Smith school of social etiquette and say I enjoyed the clips. Definitely great playing and great tone.

I'm very surprised to read that you feel George sends out his basses poorly set up. I have yet to encounter that personally, but then again I just have a BN6, a BN5, an AC6 and VF5, and am not an Fbass dealer or anything.

What specifically do you recommend we do to our VF5s when we get them then?

 

[Tom7]

Nice! Well I like the tone either way.

+1

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

2) Why on earth would Hadrien BLOW the opportunity to innovate and instead go with a poorly balanced jazz style bass that isn't even actually built by Ken Smith.

Because it's not innovation if you're creating something you like less than the thing you already have.

Also, Hadrien hasn't blown anything- he's at the tippy top echelon of bassists right now. There's probably a long list of talented luthiers out there who would be willing to build a bass or even a signature line on his ideas/specs at the drop of a hat. If he decides to go with a different builder/product than Fbass, then he hasn't lost out on anything.

 

[mstott25]

I'm very surprised to read that you feel George sends out his basses poorly set up. I have yet to encounter that personally, but then again I just have a BN6, a BN5, an AC6 and VF5, and am not an Fbass dealer or anything.

What specifically do you recommend we do to our VF5s when we get them then?

narud sets his up more like Gary Willis...I don't think he was saying anything was poor about the factory setup. In fact if George F. set his basses up like narud prefers, there'd probably be a seperate thread about how unplayable F basses are...

 

[Tom7]

both pickups were considerably lowered to accommodate the lower string height then the bridge pickup was lowered further than the neck.

eq is bass at almost full boost. seems extreme, but its almost as if the first two thirds of the sweep dont do much. mids a third of the way up and treble a little under half of the way up. the mid boost was pretty key because ive been used to the coppolo 2 band that seems to boost upper bass/lowmids as well and the f bass boost alone wasnt doing it for me. thats what the settings were in the clips.

Actually, bass at almost full doesn't sound extreme at all. We were just having a conversation about that here: how the Fbass preamp is more subtle and seems to have been designed to be use.

Maybe I'll measure out my pickup height and write it down (so I can bring it back to George's settings) and experiment here. Thanks.

 

[narud]

As the current owner of the "sunburst one donovan had," I'll try to overlook the fact that you appear to be a graduate of the Ken Smith school of social etiquette and say I enjoyed the clips. Definitely great playing and great tone.

I'm very surprised to read that you feel George sends out his basses poorly set up. I have yet to encounter that personally, but then again I just have a BN6, a BN5, an AC6 and VF5, and am not an Fbass dealer or anything.

What specifically do you recommend we do to our VF5s when we get them then?

im talking about the sunburst ash maple bass that donovan had that he was selling used. it originally came from the bass exchange in sherman oaks.

if you like your stuff the way it is cool. im not telling anyone they have to like what i like. but, as someone who has looked for a 5 that sounds like a legit 78 jazz with some marcus tone, the stock setup hasnt done it. no where did i say poorly set up. i will say that the 70's vf's werent set up in a way to demonstrate what they can do.


i dont gush over gear either. no one liked it in the coppolo thread when i said that i went in there with my rig, played everything he had and thought my fenders sounded better. that was my truth though. and to a perspective buyer, i think it does a disservice to only see the glowing gushing reviews that talkbass has to offer. i almost bought one off of the nothing but positive reviews sight unseen and if i would have i would have been disappointed.

 

[Tom7]

who says you have to innovate to have a sig bass? innovation's sake for innovation's sake doesnt do anything for the bass world.

Joe, if I could ask a small favor please...

This is the second time you have put words in my mouth, then blasted me as if I had actually said them.

I never said I couldn't slap on a bass with narrow string spacing, nor did I say we should innovate for innovation's sake.

If you want to take exception with me, please do it for things I have actually said, rather than things I haven't said. It will make the conversation go smoother, and I won't have to write so much in response.

That said...

No, of course innovation for innovation sake doesn't do much for the bass world.

Then again, what is the point of having a signature bass if it is the same as brand x?

Without differentiators of some kind, a signature bass just becomes fan boy adoration really.

the caron sig? i think acoustic chambers and piezos on an electric bass sound like butt....

Wait, are we SURE this isn't really Ken Smith with a new login name?

At any rate, having come across many very appealing butts in my lifetime, I can't say you've done a very effective job at disparaging Alain Caron's signature basses anyway.

those innovations arent going to get me or even the average fusion head to buy that bass. not to mention the extreme cost those innovations add to the bass. maybe if he came up with something like the henman-bevilaqua

So are you putting yourself ABOVE average fusion heads, or below them?

so yeah, his bass has narrow spacing a blend knob and some other specs tom7 doesnt dig. thats why its the hadrien sig and its not being built in some mass production factory like skylines. sleek elite is building these just like any other high end builder. its just happening in japan.

Again, I don't think anyone here has said, including me, that they were being mass produced in some mass production factory.

The point is, they are not being produced by Ken Smith. He just gets to stamp his name on someone else's work.

 

[Wilbyman]

Narud gets welcomed to the club and shown the door, all within four posts!!! I love you Joe!!!