Club FBass (Part 5)

[KJung]

you also like jeff berlin

Beat me to it.

Wilby, get the heck out of our J bass discussion

 

[Vic]

Beat me to it.

Wilby, get the heck out of our J bass discussion

LOL!

 

[Tom7]

it doesnt really work the same way when you back off the bridge pickup. something happens when both pickups are dimed with the phase cancellation that doesnt happen when you just back off one of the pickups a little bit. at least imo.

Oh, I agree, I was just saying we both were looking for a bit of a boost at the neck pickup.

 

[Wilbyman]

Beat me to it.

Wilby, get the heck out of our J bass discussion

Mom!!!!!!! Tom and Joe won't let me play and they're calling me NAMES!!!!

Looks like I need to come up with VF5 money before you guys love me again.

 

[emjazz]

Mom!!!!!!! Tom and Joe won't let me play and they're calling me NAMES!!!!

Looks like I need to come up with VF5 money before you guys love me again.

You may want to think before you buy.....who's love is more important.....Joe and Tom's.....or your lovely wife's?




.....man, how do you get so many basses through the door???

 

[Wilbyman]

You may want to think before you buy.....who's love is more important.....Joe and Tom's.....or your lovely wife's?

.....man, how do you get so many basses through the door???

Aw, I'm just talkin' I mos def have enough. Some go out the door, you know...but she is really cool about it all. I am pretty much at 4 electrics and 2 uprights.

 

[Dave Hill]

I've tinkered with every bass I've ever owned...as soon as I got them. First thing I did to my BN5 was lower the pickups and nudge the action up a bit. Very rarely do I try a bass (regardless of price) and it's set up perfect for me, and I'd never expect it to. Too many variables, playing styles, etc. I think most luthiers expect and encourage customers to change set ups accordingly.

It's interesting for me to note how you guys are altering the set ups to get these different sounds. I'd rather do that than buy a new bass, if I wanted a slightly different sound on a gig or on tape. No right and wrong, it's an art.

 

[Dave Hill]

guys considering buying a bass like this arent aiming for that modern burp tough in the first place. heavy ash, maple board, 70's spacing. thats marcus miller,sekou bunch,mark adams,baron browne etc, not jaco. i mentioned this in the last f bass thread and caught some flack for it, but i dont think these are being shipped out from the factory to sound like the fenders they can sound like.

thats going to cause some problems for guys giving these a casual review after playing them in shops. the two i played at the ampshop in sherman oaks and none of the video clips i thought sounded as "fendery" as how i have it setup now. the way it shipped almost had you calling wack on this bass after shelling out the dough. the factory setup almost had me wanting to sell mine after one gig.

Maybe the only reason your Fender sounds like a Fender is because it's set up like a Fender.

 

[narud]

Maybe the only reason your Fender sounds like a Fender is because it's set up like a Fender.

considering the marketing and intention of this series, shouldnt the vf's be set up like fenders at the factory? heres the blurb on the f bass brochure that came with my bass.
" the vf-5 is f bass' version of a vintage 5-string bass that captures the vibe, feel and accurate tone reproduction of the classic '60's and 70's basses, but with the modern advantages of easy access to the higher frets, onboard preamp and a solid low b string, made for those players who prefer a more traditional sound and feel, as opposed to the more modern standard f bass line of instruments."

neither of my basses came with the "accurate tone reproduction" of old fenders thats heard on tape. luckily theyre more than capable of doing so with some adjustments.

not everyone out there is a tweeker. youre going to end up with people who have tried these and telling their buddies that they dont do what theyre intended to do or sound more like bn series bass than a fender.

 

[Vic]

I've tinkered with every bass I've ever owned...as soon as I got them. First thing I did to my BN5 was lower the pickups and nudge the action up a bit. Very rarely do I try a bass (regardless of price) and it's set up perfect for me, and I'd never expect it to. Too many variables, playing styles, etc. I think most luthiers expect and encourage customers to change set ups accordingly.

It's interesting for me to note how you guys are altering the set ups to get these different sounds. I'd rather do that than buy a new bass, if I wanted a slightly different sound on a gig or on tape. No right and wrong, it's an art.

I agree totally, and I always tweak a bass's setup when I buy it (as well as do all my own setups in general), but I think Ken was just thinking the bass may have been a bit "too far out" to begin with. I suppose that's pretty subjective too tho.

 

[narud]

I think Ken was just thinking the bass may have been a bit "too far out" to begin with. I suppose that's pretty subjective too tho.

i gotta say, his initial reaction was pretty much what mine was when i first got it and gigged it. i didnt tweak it first for whatever reason. i held off on coming in here and posting a "this mf'r aint happenin'" thing and im glad i did

 

[Dave Hill]

considering the marketing and intention of this series, shouldnt the vf's be set up like fenders at the factory? heres the blurb on the f bass brochure that came with my bass.
" the vf-5 is f bass' version of a vintage 5-string bass that captures the vibe, feel and accurate tone reproduction of the classic '60's and 70's basses, but with the modern advantages of easy access to the higher frets, onboard preamp and a solid low b string, made for those players who prefer a more traditional sound and feel, as opposed to the more modern standard f bass line of instruments."

neither of my basses came with the "accurate tone reproduction" of old fenders thats heard on tape. luckily theyre more than capable of doing so with some adjustments.

not everyone out there is a tweeker. youre going to end up with people who have tried these and telling their buddies that they dont do what theyre intended to do or sound more like bn series bass than a fender.

They should, and I agree. I was just trying to add some humor with that last post.

But, also the Jazz is a versatile instrument; then you break it down to construction eras, then you break it down to certain players (MM JP) tones. I wouldn't expect to walk around NYC, play a dozen real 70s jazz basses and have them all sound like Marcus Miller, even though they all sound like a 70's jazz... they'd have to. They definately won't all be set up even close to the same.

I think you said the VF5 does accurately capture the tone of a 70's jazz bass...just after some set up. More so than other more accurate 5-string reproductions you've tinkered with. So at least George's claims have some merit for the tone you seek.

 

[J.Wolf]

So....... Side note for F basser's.

I just had a guy contact me, wanting to trade his BN5 AND his Sonus special 5 for a BN6. I advised him as to the financial reality of that transaction, but thats what he wants to do. I am in no position to come off of my BN6 right now, but I wanted to share the love with the F bass clan.

So if you have a BN6 and are interested in trading it for a BN5 and a Sonus Special 5 (read: a screaming deal), send me a pm and I'll link you up with him. I've got pics of his basses as well...

And to answer the question that I had too, he doesn't seem like a crazy dude or a scammer, he and I have alot of mutual music buddies as it turns out, here in Asheville.

OK, back to regularly scheduled F bassing

 

[KJung]

George is going to come back to this thread and wonder what the heck happened

 

[KJung]

Here's the promised clip, through the same rig and in the same room as all the A-C clips I have posted (you can get to those through the menu to the right of the page if you pull up this clip). (By the way, check out some of TBer Visions live clips doing the Headhunter's stuff.. Killer sound with his Fender 5 IMO... they are marked as 'favorites' on the page that opens when you click the link in this post).

This is REALLY quick and dirty.... not even sure if the level is matched to the previous A-C clips, but at least it will give you an idea of how I have it dialed in (the clips are quite representative of the 'live sound' through the TecAmp rig IMO, if you have a decent playback system).

As you can hear, this is not 'your father's smooth, silky BN FBass'.... pretty nice sounding to me, and it has that trademark upper mid aggressiveness to my ear that at least partially defines what many of us loosely call a '70's J' tone (at least through a very clean rig!).

I dig it, and I like that upper mid aggressiveness of the Lo Rider steels on this bass.

There is a clip of the A-C LM on that site somewhere through the same rig in the same room (however, with Hi Beams... so a bit smoother and wider sounding to my ear).

Nice bass!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[KJung]

Here's a picture of my little practice space, the bass and rig used for recording, for context.

 

[Tom7]

Here's the promised clip, through the same rig and in the same room as all the A-C clips I have posted (you can get to those through the menu to the right of the page if you pull up this clip.

This is REALLY quick and dirty.... not even sure if the level is matched to the previous A-C clips, but at least it will give you an idea of how I have it dialed in (the clips are quite representative of the 'live sound' through the TecAmp rig IMO, if you have a decent playback system).

As you can hear, this is not 'your father's smooth, silky BN FBass'.... pretty nice sounding to me, and it has that trademark upper mid aggressiveness to my ear that at least partially defines what many of us loosely call a '70's J' tone (at least through a very clean rig!).

I dig it, and I like that upper mid aggressiveness of the Lo Rider steels on this bass.

There is a clip of the A-C LM on that site somewhere through the same rig in the same room (however, with Hi Beams... so a bit smoother and wider sounding to my ear).

Nice bass!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I dig it too.

I keep telling myself I don't need this spec bass... I just need to restore my 76 Jazz bass... but you and Joe are DEFINITELY making "myself" hard for me to hear lately!

 

[KJung]

I dig it too.

I keep telling myself I don't need this spec bass... I just need to restore my 76 Jazz bass... but you and Joe are DEFINITELY making "myself" hard for me to hear lately!

OT.....Check out our TB buddy Vision's (Jason Phelps) clip of 'Actual Proof', played live with his Fender 5 and killer new group. He is just KILLING it... it's in the 'favorites' list on the page the clip is presented on. That's what I'M talking about. It's through his LMII/410UL rig, and it just SKANKS! I LOVE it!

I'm going to get the VF in his hands to try out.

 

[Tom7]

OT.....Check out our TB buddy Vision's (Jason Phelps) clip of 'Actual Proof', played live with his Fender 5 and killer new group. He is just KILLING it... it's in the 'favorites' list on the page the clip is presented on. That's what I'M talking about. It's through his LMII/410UL rig, and it just SKANKS! I LOVE it!

I'm going to get the VF in his hands to try out.

Oh goody! One clip followed by a recommendation to another clip!

If heaven doesn't have Talkbass.com, then I ain't goin'! ;-)

Here's the Vision clip KJung was talking about. Love it!

 

[KJung]

Oh goody! One clip followed by a recommendation to another clip!

If heaven doesn't have Talkbass.com, then I ain't goin'! ;-)

Here's the Vision clip KJung was talking about. Love it!

Even better... video. Looks like Jason is using his LDS 112 coax cab for the recording.. nice. This group kills live. I went out to see them in Ann Arbor a while back, and will see them again on the 30th.

I tell you what, living in Detroit is a GOOD thing if you are a bassist. Ralphe Armstrong just started playing a club gig on Thursday's 20 minutes from my house!