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F Bass The Real Deal

In December I was able to get an F Bass BN5 that happened to be in stock at local dealer. While I’ve been fortunate to have owned several higher end basses, Fender Custom Shop, Ken Smith, USA Spector Custom Shop, all instruments that far exceed my skill, this was my first F Bass. I decided to take a drive out to Hamilton with my bass as I was a little nervous adjusting the bridge pick up after replacing the strings as it just felt a little tight lowering it and I didn’t want to damage the painted wooden cover.

I was greeted by Aleef who made my appointment and he was very welcoming and took my bass upstairs to the tech. Marcel came out to introduce himself and after a little talking about basses he offered to give me the full tour. I saw the infamous area where all the fingerboard woods where being kept and dried, met the passionate F Bass Team, saw where the necks were stored until they were dried to their strict requirements before being ready for use, and the paint booth. Marcel explained every step of the process and what goes into the passion of making a F Bass. The man himself came in George who also went and looked at my F Bass giving it a once over and made some adjustments and then signed the headstock upon my request. Upon returning my bass to me assured me everything was absolutely fine and it played incredible.

It was an experience unlike what I have ever had. My F Bass has taken on a whole different feeling when I pick it up. We are fortunate and blessed to have a builder of such incredible instruments in Canada who excel at taking care of their customers and treating them with such genuine care and interest. F Bass is indeed the real deal and well worth the wait. Because once you get it, it will be unlike anything else and made by and backed by the passionate F Bass team.

Just wanted to share this among the TalkBass community. In today’s day and age true customer service is getting harder to find let alone being able to reach out and speak with anyone. Marcel responds to emails personally with patience and appreciation. Marcel will carry the torch high on what his father has created with F Bass with passion and experience, and he will be there to take care these incredible instruments and their owners. Marcel described their instruments as heirloom pieces and that really resonates with me because that speaks to the quality and passion that goes into each one.
 
I’m so curious about those basses. Unfortunately, they’re typically much heavier than I prefer, so I haven’t been able to pull the trigger on one. I should probably just suck it up and order a custom build. I’ll still be playing bass in 18-24 months, right? Or maybe the right one will come along.

Sounds like a rewarding experience. Thanks for sharing!
 
I think it's wonderful to meet the makers of your instrument and find and that they are as warm-hearted and passionate about their products as you'd hope they'd be.


I found a similar experience at Alembic with the Wickersham family, who welcomed me and all of their customers warmly into their family.

The F basses are wonderful, well-built instruments and tickled you're having a great experience with a great axe

JW
 
Love to hear it. Every F I’ve heard has sounded amazing and I’ve heard nothing but stories like yours. Unfortunately I’m also in the lightweight camp due to a chronic shoulder injury and all the basses I end up being able to gig are 8.5lbs or less.

Some of the best sounding basses I’ve ever owned have been 9.5/10lbs though so maybe there’s something to it.
 
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Here it is!
IMG_5837.jpeg
 
Hey, so happy that you are loving your bass. I don't regret a single dollar that I spent for my custom AC5. Wonderful instrument and a real joy to play (and I'm not worthy of mine, either, haha). I love how Marcel told me when I picked mine up, that they are meant to play, not hidden at home, so use it. And I have. And I had the same experience as you. I drove out to Hamilton more than once, and Marcel and the team could not have been more accommodating. They all really love what they do and are very happy to help.

I'm a little surprised to hear that people think that they are that heavy. Certainly mine isn't. My AC5 is much lighter than my musicman 4 and no heavier than my 4-string jazz and franklin fenders.
 
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Hey, so happy that you are loving your bass. I don't regret a single dollar that I spent for my custom AC5. Wonderful instrument and a real joy to play (and I'm not worthy of mine, either, haha). I love how Marcel told me when I picked mine up, that they are meant to play, not hidden at home, so use it. And I have. And I had the same experience as you. I drove out to Hamilton more than once, and Marcel and the team could not have been more accommodating. They all really love what they do and are very happy to help.

I'm a little surprised to hear that people think that they are that heavy. Certainly mine isn't. My AC5 is much lighter than my musicman 4 and no heavier than my 4-string jazz and franklin fenders.
I think one of the reasons that they may feel lighter than other basses that are in the same weight class is that they have perfect balance on a strap, zero neck dive so no weight in you left hand, other than headless designs I have played very few basses that when I remove my hands the bass doesn’t move even at the steep angle I like to play at, I have a ‘99 BN5 that has a Swamp Ash body so have no experience with the newer Northen Ash models.
 
I think one of the reasons that they may feel lighter than other basses that are in the same weight class is that they have perfect balance on a strap, zero neck dive so no weight in you left hand, other than headless designs I have played very few basses that when I remove my hands the bass doesn’t move even at the steep angle I like to play at, I have a ‘99 BN5 that has a Swamp Ash body so have no experience with the newer Northen Ash models.
That's interesting. I would say that, of all the basses I own, the Franklin Fender fretless is the only one that is noticeably unbalanced. It's quite neck heavy, but still a joy to play.
 
Similar experience.

I purchased my first F Bass used February 2023. The seller was local to F Bass so I had him drop off the bass with Marcel for some nice upgrades.

I swapped out the chrome hardware to black hardware with some gold splashes. New bridge to take the string spacing to 17.5mm from the standard 19mm. Had two ramps built so I have even spacing across the entire range of the bass. Marcel and team did a spectacular job in matching the ramps to the top wood. Even though it was a used bass they treated me like I just purchased the top of the line new instrument. I can't describe how good and appreciated Marcel and team makes you feel. And their product quality is just off the charts.

This was the result: