Club Fbass (thread 13)

[Tom7]

Boring?! (Laughing). Hey, I say if you already live in Hawaii, why downgrade your lifestyle for your vacations!

Yeah, count me as a David Hughes fan as well. I think it is so interesting his wife plays bass... makes it a bit harder to be touring in the same band that way. :-(

 

[Tom7]

Yes, the string spacing is 19mm, the same as old school 4-string Fender Jazz basses. I play mostly 6-string basses, but sometimes it's 4- or 5-strings as well, so I really like the string spacing to be uniform. It allows me to change basses without butchering the first 60 seconds of every song stumbling around and getting use to my string spacing.

If this clip starts at the beginning, skip to 7:45 instead. I think it is so interesting that BN5s can get this very organic, very woody, almost upright sounding tone.

One thing I left out.......

The only thing I really had to adjust to was the string spacing, with the Fbass being a bit wider than my Ibby. But that didn't take too long.

 

[emjazz]

...and that right there is why I'd love to have an F Bass sans preamp. I think it sounds so good in passive mode. No need for the preamp at all.

 

[Baird6869]

Cool posts!

I finally pulled the LaBella white copper tapes off my fretless BN5 and strung it up with Fodera SS rounds. Neck wear be damned, I so love fretless basses with rounds! I just love this bass!

I am lucky enough to own a Fodera and a Ken Lawrence and my FBass is in the same league for sure.... plus they are within driving distance!

I agree with Tom's comment on the preamp though. It may be weird at first, but once you figure it out, it is hard to dial in a bad tone...

 

[Dave Hill]

I have yet to play a bass as versatile as my BN5.
I used to go for a hotter signal, and boost the preamp pretty good.
Now, I use an overdrive pedal pretty much always on, and it sounds better with subtle preamp boost.
Either way, the Fbass sounds awesome. The BN5 is the best freakin' bass ever!
VF series...meh.

 

[Tom7]

Cool posts!

I finally pulled the LaBella white copper tapes off my fretless BN5 and strung it up with Fodera SS rounds. Neck wear be damned, I so love fretless basses with rounds! I just love this bass!

I am lucky enough to own a Fodera and a Ken Lawrence and my FBass is in the same league for sure.... plus they are within driving distance!

I agree with Tom's comment on the preamp though. It may be weird at first, but once you figure it out, it is hard to dial in a bad tone...

Have you tried Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats yet? They are expensive but long lasting and can sound pretty close to round wounds. Also, have you tried half wounds? Half wounds are round wounds, but the outside of the string is flattened so there is less wear from the string while sounding round wound.

 

[Baird6869]

Have you tried Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats yet? They are expensive but long lasting and can sound pretty close to round wounds. Also, have you tried half wounds? Half wounds are round wounds, but the outside of the string is flattened so there is less wear from the string while sounding round wound.

I have. Just hate flats on anything other than a P. I am weird, I guess.

 

[Baird6869]

How do you folks generally set your preamps? Flat, boosted highs/lows, etc.?

 

[jim nolte]

Here's another clip -- only this BN5 has an ebony board.



I don't have a BN5 with an ebony fingerboard, but I have two BN6s with an ebony board:

That is one of the most beautiful 3 Tone Sunburst I've ever seen!! Jim

 

[jim nolte]

...and that right there is why I'd love to have an F Bass sans preamp. I think it sounds so good in passive mode. No need for the preamp at all.

The only time I play in active mode is when I'm playing in a band situation, mostly just to cut through the mix a little better by using the mid control. At home or recording it's passive all the way for me. Jim

 

[jim nolte]

How do you folks generally set your preamps? Flat, boosted highs/lows, etc.?

When playing live I'll have the bass up about half way, the treble will depend on how old my strings are, and the mid control will be my "cut through the mix control"depending on the room, volume of the band etc. One of the things about the layout I always liked was the main tone control, that it works both in passive and active, giving even more variations. And having played only a Jazz Bass for so many years, I've learned that just subtle differences in the V/V controls can add so much more diverse sounds than a simple pan pot. Hard to get a bad sound out of it even if I tried, except for the human part of it Jim

 

[bass08053]

When playing live I'll have the bass up about half way, the treble will depend on how old my strings are, and the mid control will be my "cut through the mix control"depending on the room, volume of the band etc. One of the things about the layout I always liked was the main tone control, that it works both in passive and active, giving even more variations. And having played only a Jazz Bass for so many years, I've learned that just subtle differences in the V/V controls can add so much more diverse sounds than a simple pan pot. Hard to get a bad sound out of it even if I tried, except for the human part of it Jim

+1 for "the treble will depend on how old my strings are." The FBass preamp keeps my dead strings "alive" forever. None of my other basses do it like my BN5.

 

[jim nolte]

+1 for "the treble will depend on how old my strings are." The FBass preamp keeps my dead strings "alive" forever. None of my other basses do it like my BN5.

I know it's an over used term, but after falling in love with the neck and the acoustic tone of the bass in the store, when I first plugged it in, it really was the "sound that was always in my head" experience. That woody sound that I always loved plus a whole palette of other colors available. And the only thing I knew about Fbass was that Bass Player review in early 2000, which after playing the bass I went home and re-read and went back the next day and bought it. I had originally gone to the store to buy a set of strings ! Probably the best impulse purchase I've ever made Jim

 

[Tom7]

At this very moment I'm listening to "Kathmandu" by David Hughes from his "Foreign Shores" album. It's a great tune with some really nice fretless bass playing, but it also has me thinking about some friends I have who are in Kathmandu right now.

About 8 hours after the earthquakes, they sent an email letting us know they are okay, but they still have not been able to get out and return home yet.

I've never been, but I hope one day to see it in person so I just won't know it by the news video they've been showing this week.

Anyway, earlier I wrote that you cannot "roll off" tones, but you can roll off treble. It's interesting in fact that you can roll back treble, then use the preamp boost to turn up the treble. When the strings are new, I do that to reduce finger noise on the strings and to keep my bass from sounding to bright while still keeping it articulate.

Also, I loved the Fbass preamp on my VF5, but it was alder + rosewood = 60s positions on the pickups. Maybe I'd feel different if it were a 70s configured bass. I have an outboard Sadowsky preamp which I use on a passive bass I have, and I like the Sadowsky pre a lot.

 

[jim nolte]

At this very moment I'm listening to "Kathmandu" by David Hughes from his "Foreign Shores" album. It's a great tune with some really nice fretless bass playing, but it also has me thinking about some friends I have who are in Kathmandu right now.

About 8 hours after the earthquakes, they sent an email letting us know they are okay, but they still have not been able to get out and return home yet.

I've never been, but I hope one day to see it in person so I just won't know it by the news video they've been showing this week.

Anyway, earlier I wrote that you cannot "roll off" tones, but you can roll off treble. It's interesting in fact that you can roll back treble, then use the preamp boost to turn up the treble. When the strings are new, I do that to reduce finger noise on the strings and to keep my bass from sounding to bright while still keeping it articulate.

Also, I loved the Fbass preamp on my VF5, but it was alder + rosewood = 60s positions on the pickups. Maybe I'd feel different if it were a 70s configured bass. I have an outboard Sadowsky preamp which I use on a passive bass I have, and I like the Sadowsky pre a lot.

Tom, do you know if the outboard Fbass pre is still available ? The biggest earthquake I ever felt was the Loma Pretta earthquake in 1989, here in the Santa Cruz area which was a 7.0. I can only imagine what an over 8 would be like, we have been having a lot of little ones in NorCal lately. Jim

 

[metalstorm]

At this very moment I'm listening to "Kathmandu" by David Hughes from his "Foreign Shores" album. It's a great tune with some really nice fretless bass playing, but it also has me thinking about some friends I have who are in Kathmandu right now.

About 8 hours after the earthquakes, they sent an email letting us know they are okay, but they still have not been able to get out and return home yet.

I've never been, but I hope one day to see it in person so I just won't know it by the news video they've been showing this week.

Anyway, earlier I wrote that you cannot "roll off" tones, but you can roll off treble. It's interesting in fact that you can roll back treble, then use the preamp boost to turn up the treble. When the strings are new, I do that to reduce finger noise on the strings and to keep my bass from sounding to bright while still keeping it articulate.

Also, I loved the Fbass preamp on my VF5, but it was alder + rosewood = 60s positions on the pickups. Maybe I'd feel different if it were a 70s configured bass. I have an outboard Sadowsky preamp which I use on a passive bass I have, and I like the Sadowsky pre a lot.

Yeah I think its more to do with the two band vs three band. I find the mid control adds some fatness but also makes it a bit muddy. All of these things I notice are very subtle, and I am super detail oriented about sound.

 

[Tom7]

Yeah I think its more to do with the two band vs three band. I find the mid control adds some fatness but also makes it a bit muddy. All of these things I notice are very subtle, and I am super detail oriented about sound.

No, I think you have a point. Different preamps push around different frequencies.

I had a Fodera Yin Yang Deluxe for years (alder body, maple fingerboard, p-pickup, j-pickup), and played it in passive mode most of the time because I really didn't like the Pope preamp -- at least I thought I didn't. Now I have an ash + maple + 70s configured Fodera, and I ADORE the Pope preamp on that bass.

 

[judeix808]

Hawaii had a 7.2(?) back in 1975, IIRC, when I was 7 or 8 years old. I remember, even at that age, how impressive that felt.

Back in 2006, I was awaken, at first, because I felt my legs shaking, which I thought was a bit strange. But then I heard the rumble, followed by the building shaking pretty good. It was a 6.1 quake.

Oddly enough, I completely slept through a 6.7 which occurred about 10 minutes earlier. Go figure.

 

[Tom7]

Laughing. As a lifelong Alaskan, I've felt earthquakes all my life. They are a great reminder that we are just tenants here on earth, and should be nicer to the landlord! ;-)

At any rate, it's a long story, but I'm seriously thinking about getting this BN6:

 

[judeix808]

So, the F Bass that my friend let me borrow for the week will be going back to him. Being that this is/was my first experience with a "boutique" bass, I can see why some professionals, enthusiasts, and hobbyists (serious and perhaps not so serious) who can afford it move toward this direction.

While my Ibby Prestige still feels like "home", there are things I felt and heard in the F Bass that were definitely pluses over even a high end production instrument. I would love to see what a 4 stringer would feel like, being that my current GAS is for a 4 string Fender Jazz. (I've been playing around with a Squier Affinity the last couple of days also at the music store I help at 1-2x a week, and I must say it's quite comfortable)

I'm glad I got to "test drive" this bass. Perhaps one day I'll be fortunate enough to come to this thread and say, "may I have a number please". That's the plan anyway.

In the mean time, I'll just drop in and drool over everyone else's F Basses.