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Wow…as nice as the front is, that baby got back!
I was curious how that blue would look. Nice share
Thanks… the photos get close. The blue is richer in person. I got to play it again last night after everyone went to bed. Still smiling.
Absolutely love that one. Any way to capture the blue-ness of the finish more? Looks closer to dark gray in the Fretspot pics
I go this one from Marcel, but I think it is similar. I took a few too... I will keep trying.
FBass is really killing it with these new finishes, I loved their translucent ones already, but these solid ones are really sharp too.
Stunned.
I popped a filter on the pic to get it to look a bit closer to what it looks like in person. The phone camera and room lighting don’t do it justice. The metal flake in the finish is subtle.
Again. Stunned.
I popped a filter on the pic to get it to look a bit closer to what it looks like in person. The phone camera and room lighting don’t do it justice. The metal flake in the finish is subtle.
Again. Stunned.
Wow. Gorgeous! I'm normally more a fan of FBass's natural wood and transparent finishes - but that is just gorgeous!
I really struggled with a few things about this purchase, and the finish was something I kept getting hung up on. I felt like for the price of a Deluxe I should get something with figuring and grain and maybe a fade. You know, proper coffee table stuff
That said, the grain on the fretboard is stunning and seems to scratch that itch (I want to get a good pic of the fretboard/neck from the side so you can see how they layer). I also happen to have a Volvo in this exact green and the color is something I really enjoy. I'll try to grab a picture of them side by side.
So curious about the Deluxe series, congrats on that one @monsterthompson !
I owe this guy a few coffees/beers/etc for his demo. It was quite helpful.
These guys are champs too.
I had my eyes on a BN5 standard forever. @Dave Hill was a strong advocate for the standard and I wasn’t sure if the Deluxe package was going to be something I’d really appreciate, or if I’d get distracted with the options. My initial impression…
I recently added a BN5 deluxe to my stable. Will post pics soon. I’m loving it! So versatile. My main sounds are the standard jazz with both pickups dialled in single coil as well as my “P bass sound” - neck humbucker soloed with coils in series. I haven’t found the parallel coil humbucking sound to really be able to replicate a MM - at least not to my ears. Maybe I have to tweak the EQ a bit.
But…to me it’s exactly what I wanted - a BN5 with a convincing P Bass option.
But…to me it’s exactly what I wanted - a BN5 with a convincing P Bass option.
Do you love it?!
The Deluxe is a little to, uh, Deluxe for me, lol. I like to keep it as simple as possible. Any tone tweeks that the Deluxe package can provide, I’ll just make elsewhere. Same as the Super P/Super J that Sadowsky offers.
But, I can appreciate it, and many folks seem to more as I’ve seen quite a few that have been purchased. Great that FBass keeps innovating and tweaking their design. Love my BN5!!!
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It’s still early in the exploration process but I think I can say that I love it. I’m definitely blown away by so much about it. The fit and finish seems to be perfect. The action is ridiculously low. For the size it feels lighter than I’d expect.
My comparison for “favorite” neck is my Sepector Euro 5 which has the same nut spacing, but 17mm bridge spacing and a neck that feels more round and less wide. I have an injury that makes flat necks uncomfortable/difficult to navigate. This is about as flat as I like.
The heart of the Deluxe/Standard comparison really is the electronics. I do have a BNF5 so I have an idea of the differences, despite the rounds/flats differences.
I think the Parallel humbucking setting for single pickup use is my favorite and it sounds lovely for the neck and the bridge, and dead silent. It’s probably going to be where I spend most of my time.
The single coil settings sound good for J style, but they aren’t the Standard sound. Not bad, just not that signature sound.
The Series mode didn’t immediately grab me, but I’m sure I’ll find a place for it in time. I did notice that in Series mode there is a noise floor that I find bothersome with my ambient playing when using only the neck/bridge. There might be a gain staging tweak I can make, but with my current settings the faint noise level can build up in long delays and reverbs. The Standard does this too when in hum canceling mode using only one pickup. It’s not something most players would ever notice. It can be managed by running both pickups or some EQ tweaks.
I can certainly appreciate the “less is more” approach when it comes to setting it and forgetting it. However, I’m glad I got the extra sound options with the Deluxe. My playing swings between Misfits songs and amorphous ambient drones, so I appreciate having one bass that feels/sounds comfortable across that spectrum.
Looking forward to those pics!
I’d agree that there isn’t a convincing MM sound in there that jumps out and grabs you. But I’ve had mine less than 24 hours
This is a great review, thanks for inspiring me to dig into mine again!
I have a Deluxe that I'm still exploring the tonal possibilities of, and I just haven't spent enough time with it to be able to quickly dial in exactly what I want at a gig. It can't do *everything* but it can get a LOT of different tones, and the preamp lends itself to a more "sophisticated" tonal palette, if that even makes sense, and spending time getting to know the instrument seems like a necessary step.
Wish mine didn't weigh 11lbs, but it's so well balanced that it almost doean't matter.
Yours really grabbed by eye when Donovan listed it on his site, the color is so interesting and unique (I love that color on a Volvo, too). Glad that it's found a great home! I know you've certainly thought long and hard about whether this ine would be a good fit for you.
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It does. My rig is such a contradiction. It’s the elegant and sophisticated F Bass sound, full of nuance and subtleties, running into some dirty, dirty pedals. Actually, as much as I like to crank the gain and fuzz things out, I really find a little clipping goes a long way and tend to dial things back most of the time.
I’ve become accustomed to how my Hilbish Sol Invictus pre/EQ works so I found myself adjusting there instead of the onboard pre. What I need to do is plug right into the DAW & headphones and start experimenting.
Also, tons of thanks to Donovan at Fretspot and Marcel at F Bass. They put up with a decent amount of pestering while I figured things out.
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