Okay, don't just blow past "5 string fretless Kubicki" and not post deets and pics!
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East Tennessee Talkbass
- Thread starter Michael Vee
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All right, Richard, you know the drill: Pics, or it Ain't Is. Is bringing a bass into ETTB like bringing a baby into the world?
A fretless, 5-string, Kubicki?? You are a collector of rare birds.. we want to see this 'un.
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Oh, that reminds me! I ended up using a two-finger banjo technique to play some of those - especially Voulez Vous. Thumb and fingers. Was great to have a tool to apply!
The MD decided to take it because the singer had trouble with the timing. It was a nice little riff, but I didn't get to play it.
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Update: Just made a deal this morning for a black Kubicki Key Factor 5 fretted. Same seller.
Wow. You're cornering the ET market on Kubicki's!
I wanted one of these so badly back in the 80s. Morrell music store in Kingsport had a four string Kubicki they took in trade, but it was such a garish lime color and had so many heavy dings and gouges, I wasn't interested. Now I wish I had just bought it and refinished it later.
I wanted one of these so badly back in the 80s. Morrell music store in Kingsport had a four string Kubicki they took in trade, but it was such a garish lime color and had so many heavy dings and gouges, I wasn't interested. Now I wish I had just bought it and refinished it later.
I have a friend and fellow bassist here in Motown who has two early Ex Factors and I’ve always wanted one, but I don’t play fours. Missed several good deals on fives because I was convinced the string spacing was too tight and it wouldn’t get played. I began to obsess a little more over the past couple of years. When I found the fretless, I thought the price was acceptable so I pulled the trigger. The seller actually offered the fretted bass at a much better price after the sale of the fretless was completed, so I agreed. Truthfully, I will likely offer one of them for sale. The fretless is in much better condition than the fretted. The fretless, I would classify as collector grade and the fretted as player grade. Not even sure what the year is on the fretted bass yet, but I do know that it was made by Kubicki and not Fender, so it will be post ‘93. Fender never made Kubicki fives and the Fender version of the preamp was 9V, the Kubicki is 18V.
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Way too many basses in my house, but that black Factor five is pushing reason away.....
Voulez Vous was hard to play at specified tempo with the double notes on top of the disco bounce! Whew.. I wish I'd known about the banjo technique!
Sorry you didn't get to do Name of the Game. I'm sure it was not missed in the performances, though. There were a number of songs that could be omitted and it wouldn't affect much at all. In both productions I played, the singer had trouble with the timing on NOTG at the beginning when it's just voice and bass. Same thing your production ran into. It's not obvious how to vocally phrase it and keep the time. Both singers wanted to sing it rubato! In the first production, we pulled the bass part out at the beginning and she sang it the way she wanted, then we kicked in the instruments for the first chorus. The second show, the drummer added a hi-hat quarter-note tick to keep it together. Or just delete the song, like your M.D. did. Whatever works!
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Just saying hello. New to the forum, in Crossville TN
Thanks, glad you like it- but it’s not a flip top, it’s a BSC 115. Same box as a BSC 310, but with a 15 and an 8 with the coaxial horn. It was only offered briefly; I don’t think they made very many.
Thanks for clarifying. I didn't know that Demeter made that 15-8 cabinet. The real fliptop currently offered looks great, but is a bit pricey.Did you get the 15-8 new from Demeter? How much did those go for?
Your other amp gear is nice, also. What's your bass?
Your other amp gear is nice, also. What's your bass?
There’s a story that goes with that. I was living in California. Our drummer signed us up for a “freebie” to play a birthday party for a friend. The party was at Jim Demeter’s house. I had never heard of him back then. As we were scoping out the setup the day before the gig, I was awed by all the gear sitting around. I asked good questions, and Jim liked me. He said, “just bring your bass, I’ll have a rig for you.” I played that night through a rack of old prototype gear, all tubes including the power amp. The speakers were a 115 and a 310. Of course, I was hooked…
Jim invited me to come out the next week and try things out. He had six rigs set up, all old and some owned by famous people. My favorite tone was the 201 preamp through a tube power amp and the 115. He said they weren’t actually going to build the 115, and steered me to a 310. I finally talked him into selling me a 115, and he built one for me along with a 201 preamp. I couldn’t afford his tube power amp, but he said any good mosfet would work, as “the tone is made in the preamp anyway.” I saw the 115s later in his catalog, but only briefly- less than a year.
I use my SVT 6 power amp section; it’s mosfets with tube drivers. My basses are a 2000 American Jazz, the retro version with nitrocellulose lacquer. I also have the first bass I ever bought; a 1977 American P-bass. Both have had Bartolini pickups added. My sons worked at Bartolini and the owner let them hand-wind me a custom set for Christmas one year, but that’s another story…
Frank, tell us about Jim Demeter's famous barn, where the Demeter shop is located. Also, does Jim own a vineyard and winery?
What a great opportunity you had to try out the Demeter gear!
What a great opportunity you had to try out the Demeter gear!
I just remembered to wish all my East Tennessee Talkbass brethren happy holidays! Or at least happy new year!
I was definitely in the right place at the right time. It must have been 2007 or 2008. It wasn’t just Demeter gear- he had some Ampeg and Eden stuff too. He really wanted to find out what I liked. The barn is where the party was, and where my band played. Jim had roasted a whole pig luau style, and it was delicious! At that time, the front area of the barn was cleared out and open for the party- I’m guessing it looks more like a warehouse normally. The manufacturing is in the back. It had a bit of a “clean room” feel. Jim was serious about quality, and every stage is tested and inspected before it moves on. He spent hours with me showing off the facility, teaching me about tube amps and figuring out the best equipment fit for my style of playing. I was humbled; I felt it was much more attention than I deserved. The barn had a great “feel.” I could tell that the people working there understood that they were doing something special. Jim played me a couple of tracks from an old band he had played in and recorded with. They had a minor hit in years gone by. It’s bizarre that this place was a ten minute drive from my house, and I had no idea it existed.
I don’t know if he has a vineyard and winery now. He had the acreage for it. At that time he was dabbling in winemaking. There were a couple of barrels aging in the barn while we were there. We sampled them, and I thought at the time that he was onto something. Lots of fabulous wines are grown and made in that region.
