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Club FBass (Part 5)

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#381
Wow, I hope you wore protection...:D
Tom7 said:
I realize this photo is out of context, but I thought you guys could relate.

I'm thrilled to get my new fretted AC6, but a bit sad at what I had to let go to get it.

I'm not saying I'm going to miss it too much, but here's the photo my wife snapped of me last night... :D

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

p.s. This was taken in our guest room, and my wife hand made the quilt.
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#382
Charles, you have a beautiful family. Although I agree - we need to add some rosewood to that lineage. :D

felicidade1 said:
Finally, my VF5 and BN5 are here to join my F Bass family. Thank you Donovan and George!!!

P1010402.jpg
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#385
felicidade1 said:
No offence but I somewhat prefer the quilt over the "Ying Yang" bass. :D
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Laughing! I read that to my wife and screamed, "Yee haw! You can be on talkbass as long as you want to be today."

You just made my wife very happy, and as a result me too. Thanks for that (I owe you one).

Oh, she just shouted over to me that you are welcome to come over for Christmas dinner.
 
#388
Too funny Tom!

If you let the buyer see this picture, they might change their mind and you'll get to keep it!

Tom7 said:
I realize this photo is out of context, but I thought you guys could relate.

I'm thrilled to get my new fretted AC6, but a bit sad at what I had to let go to get it.

I'm not saying I'm going to miss it too much, but here's the photo my wife snapped of me last night... :D

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

p.s. This was taken in our guest room, and my wife hand made the quilt.
Click to expand...
 
#389
RoboChrist said:
They're 100% handmade.
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Lots of the high-end bass makers make their basses 100% by hand. From the Fs I've played, I'd say the ability to get a really Jazz-inspired tone while still having a very versatile electronics setup and the body design (and how it fits the player) is what sets it apart.
 
#390
GODSBASSMAN said:
What is it about F basses that differentiates them from the rest of the pack of high end basses?
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For me, I had never heard of one, I was a older than average (Played full time for 7 years before going back to school)College freshman (Music education) in Minnesota. I walked into a music store in St. Paul and saw a blue BN-6 hanging on the wall. Being a huge Dream Theater fan, I was instantly drawn to the 6 strings.

Here is how they differ: I have seen tons of basses, few of them have the visual appeal of the design of a BN-6 (to me). Then I played it, it played effortlessly, better than anything I have ever played. The preamp is very cool, you can get tons of different sounds from it. I sold this one, and regretted it. I got it back (really beat up) and sold it again, then later that week called my friend I sold it to to try to get it back. (I know, I have some weird thing about me-don't ask) I have just ordered "Superbass" from Donovan, and it is a BN-6 with the options I wish the original one had.

If you check into the kind of person George is and the quality and care he puts into his work and instruments, they become even more attractive (to me).
 
#394
GODSBASSMAN said:
What is it about F basses that differentiates them from the rest of the pack of high end basses?
Click to expand...

Bryan R. Tyler said:
Lots of the high-end bass makers make their basses 100% by hand. From the Fs I've played, I'd say the ability to get a really Jazz-inspired tone while still having a very versatile electronics setup and the body design (and how it fits the player) is what sets it apart.
Click to expand...
I'd say this is a very succinct, and accurate statement.

chrisloe said:
... If you check into the kind of person George is and the quality and care he puts into his work and instruments, they become even more attractive (to me).
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And likewise, this is an accurate statement and an influencer with me as well.

Invalid Link Removed. It should be noted that it focuses mostly on the BN and AC product lines, because the VF line has a 34 inch scale length, and doesn't have the coil tap hum bucking feature.

Ideally you should click the link and read the whole thing, but in case you don't, hopefully Donovan doesn't mind me posting some of that section here...

Fbasses have some unique advantages over nearly all other basses, advantages that make them the quintessential players’ bass.

— Pickups
Some bass makers use other people’s pickups, (Fodera, Pedulla, Roscoe, Mike Lull, etc.). Others design and use their own pickups (Sadowsky, Ken Smith, Nordstrand, etc.) FBass pickups are proprietary single coil stacks that play in either single coil or humbucking mode via a pull up coil tap control. Most of us prefer the single coil tone, but if you want a glassier tone, or need to kill a hum, you just pull up on a knob and you’ve got humbuckers. The thing is, Fbass gives you a choice: single coil or humbucking — in the same bass, and they get points for that in my book.

— Preamp
The preamp is likewise made by Fbass. It’s famous for being “transparent” and nearly impossible to distinguish from the tone of the bass in passive mode when the preamp is turned on. The Fbass preamp is boost only and 3 band (bass, mid and treble). What makes the Fbass preamp stand out is how each boost is musical at any setting. You can’t seem to make the mids honk, or the bass muddy or the treble shrill. You always have an organic sounding bass even when playing it in active mode.

— Scale length
I’m always going on about the genius of a 34.5″ scale. Both the Fender Precision and the Fender Jazz basses were 34 inches from nut to bridge, which was fine until people starting putting B strings on basses. To give the B more oomph, many luthiers began to make basses 35″. The trouble is, that didn’t just tighten the B string, it tightened all of them. Many players don’t like the tightness, especially on the C string of a 6 string bass… it just sounds too tinny and artificial. Plus the added distances between the frets near the nut wears down hands faster. And while American builders were hung up debating the pros and cons of integer measurements in inches, (34 vs. 35), the Canadians’ use of the metric system must have left them not caring because George Furlanetto figured out that the sweet spot for electric basses is 34.5″. At 34.5 inches, the C strings are musical and the B strings are solid, and the extra half inch difference from 34″ scale just isn’t a burden on the fretting hand. The 34.5″ scale length works so well, I am pretty sure I will never buy a 35″ bass again.

— String spacing
All Fbasses that I am aware of use the string spacing of the standard 4 string Fender Jazz bass: 19mm (3/4 inch). I am SO glad, because I go between 4, 5 and 6 string basses all the time, and having the string spacing standardized like that makes the transition minimal.

— Controls
Many players prefer the control configuration of a single volume control and a “blend” (a.k.a. “pan” and “balance”) knob. The trouble is, blend knobs tend to give you just 3 tones: soled bridge, soloed neck, or both pickups on. The only exception I know of is the Audere preamp which treats each pickup’s signal separately, preserving a STEREO signal throughout the preamp, and making the preamp in essence a little mixer which allocates sound in a smooth, linear way proportional to the knob’s position, giving a bass the tonal variation it would have it had dual volume controls… like Fbasses have. Dual volumes are annoying because you can unintentionally mess up your tone by simply trying to turn your bass up or down, but on the other hand, you can dial up tones not available to most volume / blend basses. That is worth it to me and to a lot of other players who prefer vol/vol to vol/blend.

Donovan’s Comments: Also, regarding the lack of a blend knob, here’s more info straight from George Furlanetto:
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.
​
— Balance on the strap
FBasses hang on the strap in a unique way. The entire bass is shifted to the right (if you are right handed), making life a lot easier for your fretting hand. An additional benefit is the viewing angle you get on the upper frets, which is especially nice if you have a fretless, lineless bass like I do. It helps me play in tune.

— Quality workmanship
Actually, quality workmanship isn’t unique to Fbass, but Fbass quality is right there with anyone else you want to name.

— Playability
Other guys know the details and the reasons… whether it be the shape of the neck or whatever, but the Fbass truly is a players’ bass. It plays very well, not just easily, and rewards players who have developed hand techniques to make their playing more musical.

— Tone
Here is a favorite clip of mine on Youtube of an Fbass BN6. The player is an excellent bassist by the name of Dave Hughes.
 
#396
GODSBASSMAN said:
What is it about F basses that differentiates them from the rest of the pack of high end basses?
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If you are a fan of "smooth," F Bass is in a class by itself. If you want a more aggressive sound, the preamp will get you there, too, but to my ears, George's basses do a naturally smooth, full-range tone better than any other bass out there.

Edit: I am talking primarily about the BN series, here. The VF series is even more vintage Fender inspired.
 
#397
GODSBASSMAN said:
What is it about F basses that differentiates them from the rest of the pack of high end basses?
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In a nutshell, user preferences. :)

Seriously, there's nothing that makes F Basses definitively better than other basses in its class, except for in the eyes of the specific buyers who particularly bond with George's designs. Of course, the same is true across the board for other makers, as well.

I'll even go so far as to say it happens within a brand. No offense to the BN fans on this thread, and I know there are many, and for good reason, but I just never bonded with the BN at all. The VF, on the other hand, was pure magic for me from the first note... even in the sonic crush of NAMM, and even playing through a bass combo that was fairly different from what I normally use. I literally bought the first VF I ever touched, and haven't regretted it for a second.
 
#399
Tom7 said:
But the BN series really is different from other basses.
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True, but IMHO, that goes both ways. Comments like this seem to read as if to rate BN's above all others in its class without qualifying it to what I consider to be the core point... user preference.

Put another way, other basses at this premium of a level (and there are many) are ALSO quite different from the BN, and also from each other for that matter. So at least in that respect, the BN isn't "unique"... except in the eyes of a particular beholder. IMHO that's really the only way to answer the OP's question. :)
 
#400
Vic said:
True, but IMHO, that goes both ways. Comments like this seem to read as if to rate BN's above all others in its class without qualifying it to what I consider to be the core point... user preference.

Put another way, other basses at this premium of a level (and there are many) are ALSO quite different from the BN, and also from each other for that matter. So at least in that respect, the BN isn't "unique"... except in the eyes of a particular beholder. IMHO that's really the only way to answer the OP's question. :)
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Pschaw! You sound like one of them there "non-BN owners." :ninja: :smug: :p :D
 
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