FBass Alternatives for non trust fund people?

[BassVoyager25]

Heya Everyone,

I've been watching a metric boat load of bass videos and there's always a bass that sounds great to me and I finally tracked it down to an FBass made in Canada.

These are beautiful instruments that both sound and look great but unfortunately unobtainable for me due to price.

What, if any, alternatives would you suggest that are more in 3-2,000 (usd) range that may share some of these same qualities?

Not looking for fights, just honest opinions.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Fretted or fret less ?

 

[BassVoyager25]

Fretted, sorry.

 

[Core Creek]

Kiesel Icon. Lots of options, semi custom. Fits in your budget nicely. I happen to love their pickups and electronics but that can easily be changed out if you don't like them.

 

[Gervais Cote]

Great, fretted will be easier !

I'm a p bass dinosaur so just take it with a grain of salt but this summer I attended a fusion jazz show and the guy had a tremendous tone, punchy, cutting like a knife and a vibrato that was jaw dropping.

I wasn't able to get all the details but his bass was a very nice Ibanez with soap bar pickups. Funny enough, one week prior, I heard a sound test and this other guy was using a big F Bass and quite honestly, they both sounded very similar.

I'm not a fan of Ibanez because they make some low level/entry level instruments up to some very high end ones and I get confused with such offerings but when it sounds great, who cares ?

 

[BGroovy]

Bossa OB5

 

[jim nolte]

Been playing an Fbass BN5 for 25 years and they are wonderful basses, they use proprietary pick ups and pre- amp in the BN series and I don't think they sell them separately but they might, so it might be a challenge to get that sound, in the VF series they use both Aguilar and Alleva/ Coppola pick ups, what series did you like, the VF series definitely has a more Jazz Bass sound and I suppose could be replicated more easily than the BN series which IMHO is pretty unique.

 

[J Wilson]

There is always the alternative to watch for a carefully/barely used FBass. All basses depreciate, and/or there's always some Fender guy that decided to go off the reservation and buy himself a 'fancy' bass, only to go running back to mama and sell the 'fancy' one with very few miles on it, just wasn't what he expected.

IF you're not in a hurry, research what used F's change hands for, and take some months to watch for a used one that just might fit the bill.

 

[sleddogn]

as they're saying....F it

 

[31HZ]

I think that you could replicate the Fbass house sound via a Jazz-type bass with active electronics including midrange boost, perhaps sweepable to help dial it in. The F-bass sound is IMO best replicated via wide-bandwidth (or "Q") EQ controls -- it's less mid-scooped, less growly, and "smoother" overall than a Fender Jazz. Former TB member KJung long ago described the Fbass sound as "champagne Jazz Bass," iirc.

 

[Paul New]

BassMods

 

[JonathanPDX]

Heya Everyone,

I've been watching a metric boat load of bass videos and there's always a bass that sounds great to me and I finally tracked it down to an FBass made in Canada.

These are beautiful instruments that both sound and look great but unfortunately unobtainable for me due to price.

What, if any, alternatives would you suggest that are more in 3-2,000 (usd) range that may share some of these same qualities?

Not looking for fights, just honest opinions.

When you get into that range a lot of options open up in the boutique bass world. The big question is whether you are looking to have something custom built or watching the market for a used instrument that checks all your boxes. If you know exactly what you want then surfing around the classifieds and places like Reverb will show you tons of high-end custom instruments in your price range.

Personally, I've had two basses built by Chris Stambaugh and the quality and playability of them feels as good as the few F-basses I've played, though I'll admit I've never owned one. But he's far from the only luthier who builds stuff in that price range. More than anything, it comes down to the features and specs you want, and how exotic you want to go if the goal is a truly custom build.

Also, be careful judging tone by videos alone because there are just so many factors beyond the instrument itself. Hell, even your earbuds or computer speakers are unlikely to have the ability to truly reproduce the tone a bass will have through a live rig at stage volume. Between amp/speaker simulations, plugins, EQ, even how the file is compressed and uploaded, what you hear in a video may not sound like that instrument is going to sound when you plug it into your rig and put your hands on it. Really diving into what qualities you like about the tone, and then looking into how those F-bass videos achieve that tone, may also open up more options for you to find what you're looking for.

 

[emal]

Ian @ Rosche Custom Bass is awesome to work with

 

[pbass2]

when it sounds great, who cares ?

This. Plenty of options out there that won't bankrupt you. Then the rest is "in your hands". Oh, and, buy used.

 

[ProbablyTooLoud]

I've done probably a dozen builds here in that range just for fun.
Maruscyk Basses.

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[Lackey]

I'd say a MarkBass jazz type instrument would get you pretty close for far cheaper...

 

[mikeswals]

Yup, look for a used one.

 

[tb-player]

Save up and buy what you want. I know a lot of F Bass players who are not "trust fund" people.

 

[monsterthompson]

For those saying "buy used" please know that it has been years since you could find a used BN5 in the OP's $2,000-$3,000 range. Fretless BN5s are cheaper than fretted on the used market, and those rarely dip under $4k these days. You might see them down around $3,500 depending on condition and seller motivation. Fretted will be listed north of $4k.

I have a BN5 and it isn't the most distinctively unique sounding bass, but it does have something special. The preamp and pickups are in-house designs, which will be hard to mimic closely. The scale is 34.5" which is uncommon. The BN5 demos the OP has seen likely use the exposed core strings that are standard, and can be purchased by anyone. The wood choices can be copied.

I don't have another bass that sounds like it but, if I wanted to copy it I'd look for something with an ash body and maple neck. I'd go for a 35" scale. I'd look for two soap bar or modified J pickups with beefed up output. I'd get an preamp with a transparent 3-band EQ. I'd avoid anything with a strong signature sound like Barts or a Darkglass pre. Whatever I got, I'd slap a set of the F Bass strings on it.

 

[monsterthompson]

I just ran some filters on Sweetwater and for 35" ash & maple 5 strings the results were mostly Lakland Skyline 55 OS. The Music Force demos I checked didn't strike me as BN5 like and Music Force has several BN5 demos. I think the Barts in the Lakland are a big part of why the sound is different.

I'm curious what others will suggest.