Club Fbass (thread 13)

[J.Wolf]

I found the sweetspot for my old BN's was to run the volumes at 85% instead of full up. Somehow that little bit of headroom on the onboard preamp gave me a little more of what I was looking for tonally, especially when it felt a bit too "hot". It made it a little tricky to balance the pickups, (vs diming them both) but usually resulted in a more pleasing tone, especially when I had some significant boost happening with the onboard eq. Just a thought

 

[Dave Hill]

My BN5 is not overly smooth or polite. I find it quite clear, but gritty. Haven't been using much of the on-board preamp lately, but I always run neck pu full on, bridge a hair down.

 

[J.Wolf]

I also found the stock strings to be aggressive/edgy, and had much better luck with XL's on mine. Or Sunbeams. or any other nickel plated rounds

 

[mngnt]

I found the sweetspot for my old BN's was to run the volumes at 85% instead of full up. Somehow that little bit of headroom on the onboard preamp gave me a little more of what I was looking for tonally, especially when it felt a bit too "hot". It made it a little tricky to balance the pickups, (vs diming them both) but usually resulted in a more pleasing tone, especially when I had some significant boost happening with the onboard eq. Just a thought

Wasn't directed at me, but that's interesting information, thanks.

I spent some time this weekend playing with my BN6, trying hum cancelling mode vs single coil, different pickup vols, etc, but I hadn't thought of not diming both volumes. One more variation to try!

These basses are so versatile it's amazing. I'm thinking of picking up a boost pedal just to even out the volume drop of "noise cancelling" mode. Has anyone done something similar and have input on a simple pedal?

 

[J.Wolf]

gain staging is a silent beast. Between your basses output, any pedals you have, your amps input gain, and its master volume, there's a LOT of opportunity to affect the tone feel of an instrument. When I brought back the basses output volume to 85%, I wasnt using pedals yet, so it was a little simpler equation, but even then, had to goose the input gain on the amp to make sure the rig was getting enough juice into its preamp.

As for boost pedals to even out the volume shifts, there are LOTS of options. Off the top of my head, the RMI clean boost is a GREAT option, as is the Empress Para EQ, which has a selectable boost when the EQ is on. If you dont use the EQ, its probably not worth it, but I swear by those things.

 

[Dave Hill]

I also found the stock strings to be aggressive/edgy, and had much better luck with XL's on mine. Or Sunbeams. or any other nickel plated rounds

I've been using Fbass strings for years. The fundamental is so great, and the string balance so even...
You may be right, though. They may have a bit more edge.

 

[Tom7]

First off, congrats on a fantastic and beautiful BN5! Your comments on aggressiveness are interesting, because whenever I review other basses, and I use my BN5 as a reference, I am always struck by how smooth the BN5 sounds in comparison. To be clear, are you talking about an aggressive tone only when you have one of the pickups solo'd? Does it sound aggressive with varying degrees of both pickups blended in?

That's one of the many great things about BNs: they really are both aggressive and smooth, depending on what you want — and the single coil / hum cancelling switch helps a lot with this.

For instance, check out the grit in these clips:







Of course their finger technique is creating that too, but the BN can keep up.

Here's a taste of smooth:

 

[BassJuju]

I played this bass a month or so ago and knew that I had found something special. It is 2012 model and in wonderful condition. I just took a couple of quick pics, but wanted to share and join the club. May I have a number?

 

[mngnt]

Oooooh that's nice!

 

[Baird6869]

I played this bass a month or so ago and knew that I had found something special. It is 2012 model and in wonderful condition. I just took a couple of quick pics, but wanted to share and join the club. May I have a number?

View attachment 1141881 View attachment 1141882

That looks great. Congrats!

My VF5 is amazing and I play it every chance I get.

I have yet to play a FBass that I didn't love. Even the 11lb-ers!

 

[BassJuju]

Thanks for the kind comments. A couple of thoughts on day 3 with this beauty... I need to work on chords and improv, she's a looker, and sounds better. It has great sustain and a wide variety of tones. I have never liked rounds, I think the ones on it D'addario XL's or NYXL's, and I am thinking about D'addario Half-Rounds for gauge similarity to the original set. Has anyone tried this combination before?

I am pretty sure I got lucky finding this one.

 

[MikeOnBass73]

Thanks for the kind comments. A couple of thoughts on day 3 with this beauty... I need to work on chords and improv, she's a looker, and sounds better. It has great sustain and a wide variety of tones. I have never liked rounds, I think the ones on it D'addario XL's or NYXL's, and I am thinking about D'addario Half-Rounds for gauge similarity to the original set. Has anyone tried this combination before?

I am pretty sure I got lucky finding this one.

Is this the used BN6 I saw online at guitarcenter.com? I was thinking of ordering it myself. These are great basses. They are actually made close by in Hamilton ( which is pretty much a suburb now of greater Toronto, Ontario. Canada).

 

[BassJuju]

Is this the used BN6 I saw online at guitarcenter.com? I was thinking of ordering it myself. These are great basses. They are actually made close by in Hamilton ( which is pretty much a suburb now of greater Toronto, Ontario. Canada).

That's the one... it's wonderful to play!

 

[J.Wolf]

the piano player looks like Roger from Mad Men. that is all the useful info I have to contribute today, which is to say, none.

Wait, I'll add this: My BN's were always the perfect balance between smooth and "rough". Nice and round, but would grind quite nicely when you dug in, with considerably more dynamic range than a jazz bass. I never go for dirt in my sound, but I do like to hear a bass growl when I lean into it, and my BN6 was amazing at that. It reminded me of the reviews of the old Acura NSX when they came out. performance wise, it was dusting Ferraris and such. I was a car nerd back then, and I remember reading something about how the Acura was so well mannered and comfortable that it was a great daily driver (in comparison to exotic sports cars that were brash, uncomfortable and unpleasant to be in when going less than 100mph), but when you lean into it, it transforms into a total beast. Not a one trick pony like so many sports cars. So the analogy here is (in case anyone is still reading), the BN is very well mannered, and can be smooth and svelte, but when you need it to be a little ugly and cut through the mess, it seems to have it on tap, as a response to digging in a little more. Lots of basses don't seem to be able to capture that range of sounds, especially with just changes in hand position and attack. The BN's seem to do that VERY well, IMO.

 

[Dave Hill]

the piano player looks like Roger from Mad Men. that is all the useful info I have to contribute today, which is to say, none.

Wait, I'll add this: My BN's were always the perfect balance between smooth and "rough". Nice and round, but would grind quite nicely when you dug in, with considerably more dynamic range than a jazz bass. I never go for dirt in my sound, but I do like to hear a bass growl when I lean into it, and my BN6 was amazing at that. It reminded me of the reviews of the old Acura NSX when they came out. performance wise, it was dusting Ferraris and such. I was a car nerd back then, and I remember reading something about how the Acura was so well mannered and comfortable that it was a great daily driver (in comparison to exotic sports cars that were brash, uncomfortable and unpleasant to be in when going less than 100mph), but when you lean into it, it transforms into a total beast. Not a one trick pony like so many sports cars. So the analogy here is (in case anyone is still reading), the BN is very well mannered, and can be smooth and svelte, but when you need it to be a little ugly and cut through the mess, it seems to have it on tap, as a response to digging in a little more. Lots of basses don't seem to be able to capture that range of sounds, especially with just changes in hand position and attack. The BN's seem to do that VERY well, IMO.

Big +1.
All the players who say the BN's are "smooth" or "polite" should try digging in a bit.

 

[Baird6869]

I'm surprised at how much I am liking my VF5 over the BN5 I used to own.

I think the BN series basses are much cooler looking than the VF5's, but there is something about single coils with that preamp that just kills tonally. 10lbs be damned, this bass is seeing a lot of playing/gigging time!

 

[basses55]

One of the reasons it sounds like that is because of the weight in ash
BN pups are def rounder and smoother overall than pure singles when comparing directly, but one thing to note is that I believe David Hughes's sixer ( at least in that vid) had the older pup placement which is just a hair further back towards the bridge to accommodate the 24 fret model and have comfortable room for slapping...plus the the thinking was the tone might suit six string players. So that spec would increase growl a hair ...however the newer ( few years) placement is like the BN5 which has a slightly bigger rounder and smoother quality in pure 60s position. We've been really happy with the way they have been sounding too and there is still a lot of room to slap no problem. I believe Teymur Phell's BN6 and his brand new one are like this.
At any rate over the years you read and hear all different accounts on BN5 (mostly) and sixes, many feel it's a more refined and laid back Jazz type and love it for that...and a few don't agree and hear it a different way. I'm on the refined smoother side of the line for the fives but with older sixes it's a bit different imo. For those who may want to experiment or increase the growl response you can try a higher mass bridge like brass or steel.

 

[TolerancEJ]

I took a step toward my 2nd FBass on Friday, having submitted a price request for a build. I am thinking about a VFF6-PJ, a VF6 Fretless with a P/J Pickup configuration. Lake Placid Blue finish with a Tortoise Shell pick guard.

I also asked about the additional cost if I substitute a humbucker with single-coil mode for the J-pickup.

I'll post an update later when I hear back and choose to go ahead with the build.

 

[MikeOnBass73]

That's the one... it's wonderful to play!

I am a bit jealous. Is that a small scratch on the top horn or is it wood grain? The bass would look even better (to me) with gold hardware. Have fun with it.

 

[BassJuju]

I am a bit jealous. Is that a small scratch on the top horn or is it wood grain? The bass would look even better (to me) with gold hardware. Have fun with it.

It isn't wood grain, but it isn't a scratch either. There isn't any abrasion or dent on the surface. It's almost like someone was making notes with a sharpie and it touched the bass. Each time I clean the bass it get's a bit lighter, but I am not sure if it will ever come completely out.

I agree on the gold hardware and I am thinking about changing it, but Im still undecided.
**Edit** I changed my mind about the gold hardware. I agree it would have been cool to have built it that way... with gold frets. Since the frets are silver, I think the hardware would look odd. Dig me some gold hardware though.

The bass is a tremendous amount of fun to play. I will say that I never thought I'd own something this nice, but now I know I will never buy anything less. I was saving for a different fretless, but this one got in the way. I just may need to keep an eye out for another F Bass sans frets.