I've said that one day I'll own a pre-FCS Exfactor. Well, today's the day.#072 7 85.
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What kind of strings are on this?
Also can you post some pictures of the head stock. What's with the lights wood section?
Thanks! The funny thing is..... this one came about totally by accident. I've learned that the "Search All Of Craigslist" app often misses things and I resort to poking around in other cities CL within reasonable driving distance that I know have an active market. Lo and behold this one pops up about 3 hours away. Original owner. It's been sitting in the case since the early '90s. The guy claims the strings are the original... Bronze... so I kind of doubt it, but who am I to argue. They were old, crusty, tarnished, and stiff as bridge cables. I believed him at least that he hasn't touched it in years.... the relief was alarming enough to consider bailing on the whole deal.Congratulations!
Hot as hell at noon in a Dollar General parking lot, and I'm out there with my Preamp, tuner, and headphones plugged into the outlet in my truck bed hoping and praying that I can get the relief down without snapping the rod and conversely being forced to over pay $$$ then more $$$ for a trip to Mike Haney. Luckily, the threads were smooth and I was able to incrementally bring the relief down to without too much fuss. Crisis averted.
The preamp will need to be gone through. None of the pots are scratchy, but they're a little stiff and the non boosted active setting is inop. I get some undesirable pops when running through the selector settings. I'm confident that I can get it sorted out. If not, I have a couple of spare preamps, but I would rather keep the original.
The strings are bronze/gold colored with black silks on both ends and brass ball ends. The seller claims they were on it when he bought the bass new in '85. I'm not sure what you are referring to with the "light wood section". The side of the headstock by the clasp maybe?
A couple of headstock photos for you. Also, note that the control cavity is shaped differently and there's a conventional 1/4" stereo jack rather than the barrel jack normally used. Photos attached...
Attachments
what a great find. The strings you describe sound absolutely what those first year factors were equipped with.
No way! Really? In that case, "Free, to a good home....Genuine 1985 Kubicki OEM Bass Strings". Good Lord, I can't imagine trying to rescue these things. Great conversation piece though, eh.
Mike Haney has a few secret Un used ExFactors in his closet he showed me once and those were the same original factory installed strings. I could maybe look back through our conversations to see what brand they were. Can’t remember if he said or not.
They looked really posh on my new Kubicki but they were rough and not durable. I don't recall how they sounded, but I replaced them quickly. I never gave them a second thought and were it not for this thread I'd have forgotten.
I scrolled through our conversations and he just referred to them as “gold” colored. I’ve never tried them so. Pretty sure they’re using DR pure blues now.
Yeah, I've been using PBs as my go-to rounds for a few years now, so it was a welcome surprise to see the Kubicki strings as repackaged PBs. PB45s are the exact crossover other than the cut to length part, though I follow the 9" rule regardless.
This '85 ExFactor will get PB45-100s. I'm hoping that the slightly lighter E and A will bring out more of the D and G by comparison. If it works out, I'll gradually migrate all of mine to the 45-100 eventually.
Good gracious! What a find and what a rescue! That's about as "pre-FCS" as they get.
I got my '86 #223 from a store in St. Paul who got it in from the original owner. Those early ones are out there and sometimes you get lucky enough to find one that someone just held onto forever.
Amazing find. Grats!
That is in a very nice condition for such an early 'specimen'.
A purple Kubicki showed up on Reverb yesterday and promptly sold, anyone here snag it? I was in the "considering it" phase of buying it and missed out!
I've always played 5 string from the time I started 4.5 years ago but have started to dislike the B string lately, mostly b/c I don't like the way it sounds generally so I was thinking a Kubicki with the extender would be my thing.
I've always played 5 string from the time I started 4.5 years ago but have started to dislike the B string lately, mostly b/c I don't like the way it sounds generally so I was thinking a Kubicki with the extender would be my thing.
I’m STILL kicking myself for not buying one when they were still a new bass in the market, and could be had for only a little more than the Steinberger XP-2 I bought instead in 1986. In retrospect, the Drop D clamp alone should have swayed me, it’s a brilliant and simple solution for occasional drop D.
They come up from time to time. Some of the nicest looking ones changed hands recently.
That's my way of looking at it.
As far as that purpleburst on Reverb goes.....it wasn't me. I am purging more non-Kubickis to prep for my next one though. You never know when one will pop up.
I'm in 36" mode at least a half dozen times a gig. I have no desire for one without the clasp. The Eb even gets some action.
