Kubicki club, part 2

[txhawaii]

Sorry if I wasn't clear - the FCS/Kubicki pre is 9v and that's what I have in my J & T-bird. In both basses I did have to create a specific rout for it. Any Kubicki Ex-Factor will fit one or two 9v batteries.

So those 18v preamps at the Kubicki site will slide into my Fender jazz but I'd have to route it for batteries, huh?

I like that Kubicki pop and growl but don't have the skill to route it for batteries. I remember my first bass was active and I got rid of it because I hated the battery issue. Maybe my opinion will change if I can make my jazz sound like a k but it would be a challenge.

 

[JIO]

So those 18v preamps at the Kubicki site will slide into my Fender jazz but I'd have to route it for batteries, huh?

I like that Kubicki pop and growl but don't have the skill to route it for batteries. I remember my first bass was active and I got rid of it because I hated the battery issue. Maybe my opinion will change if I can make my jazz sound like a k but it would be a challenge.

No, it needs a specific rout for the entire pre + batteries.

This is for the 9v system - an added rout would be needed for another battery -

 

[txhawaii]

No, it needs a specific rout.

View attachment 5243444
This is for the 9v system - an added rout would be needed for another battery -
View attachment 5243443 View attachment 5243445

YIKES CRIKEY WOAH

 

[JIO]

Fender/Kubicki 9v pre from an early '90s Jazz + ... pot spacing won't fit a standard Jazz control plate so it either has to have one fabricated or be used on a new un-routed body. I cut mine (above) from mirrored plastic, but will eventually cut it from an aluminum sheet and polish it. (thinner and looks better)

 

[Relsom]

So those 18v preamps at the Kubicki site will slide into my Fender jazz but I'd have to route it for batteries, huh?

I like that Kubicki pop and growl but don't have the skill to route it for batteries. I remember my first bass was active and I got rid of it because I hated the battery issue. Maybe my opinion will change if I can make my jazz sound like a k but it would be a challenge.

Or find yourself a Jazz Plus (not a Player Plus). Readymade with the 9v Kubicki preamp. I can't say whether or not it's got room for a 2nd battery if you wish to install an 18v system, but it's got one big control cover on the back, so that's promising. You'll find one in the $800~$1200 range.

 

[JIO]

Or find yourself a Jazz Plus (not a Player Plus). Readymade with the 9v Kubicki preamp. I can't say whether or not it's got room for a 2nd battery if you wish to install an 18v system, but it's got one big control cover on the back, so that's promising. You'll find one in the $800~$1200 range.

There is room for another battery (where the foam is)

 

[zuma]

@zuma don't you have a aria and a kubicki?

@zuma has played both in his yt videos. they sound awesome as does he.

Awwww shucks @txhawaii , thank you very much.

Yes indeed @ThomasTronics , I actually have 5 Arias and a Kubicki! If we're strictly talking John Taylor, then most definitely the Aria SB1000 tone is the sound of the earlier 80s stuff, especially the "woodsy" type of tones. From 1986 or so onward, the Kubicki pretty much took over. It's awesome to have both! I'm so lucky.

 

[txhawaii]

Or find yourself a Jazz Plus (not a Player Plus). Readymade with the 9v Kubicki preamp. I can't say whether or not it's got room for a 2nd battery if you wish to install an 18v system, but it's got one big control cover on the back, so that's promising. You'll find one in the $800~$1200 range.

is this the poor man's kubicki minus the drop d head?

 

[JIO]

is this the poor man's kubicki minus the drop d head?

No drop D but IMO sounds like an Ex-Factor. They were Fenders top-of-the-line bass then (aside from the FCS) and well made (in the US) Fender active Jazz basses. So no, not a "poor man's" Kubicki. A high-end US made Fender Jazz bass that sounds like a Kubicki.

 

[txhawaii]

curious about this...is there an outboard preamp that comes close to that distinct sound? I guess to really describe it is just a hot signal with the ability to boost the mids?

 

[txhawaii]

Awwww shucks @txhawaii , thank you very much.

Yes indeed @ThomasTronics , I actually have 5 Arias and a Kubicki! If we're strictly talking John Taylor, then most definitely the Aria SB1000 tone is the sound of the earlier 80s stuff, especially the "woodsy" type of tones. From 1986 or so onward, the Kubicki pretty much took over. It's awesome to have both! I'm so lucky.

I think it was about 1985 when Power Station played on SNL and JT came out with a black Kubicki. From that time, the new wave DD was done and they morphed into different sounds and the Kubicki lead the way. But that SB 1000 was the sound in all those early 80s hits. Again, another bass that just got way too expensive. Seems that sound is really in the active realm.

I found live concerts on YT and it seems he might have used it until the early 90s or so but he was also using different instruments. In some live versions of Ordinary World, he looks like he's playing a semi hollow bass.

 

[JIO]

curious about this...is there an outboard preamp that comes close to that distinct sound? I guess to really describe it is just a hot signal with the ability to boost the mids?

I guess you could find a comparative pre ... I have used a few different pre's but none of them sound like a Kubicki.

 

[JIO]

I think it was about 1985 when Power Station played on SNL and JT came out with a black Kubicki. From that time, the new wave DD was done and they morphed into different sounds and the Kubicki lead the way. But that SB 1000 was the sound in all those early 80s hits. Again, another bass that just got way too expensive. Seems that sound is really in the active realm.

I found live concerts on YT and it seems he might have used it until the early 90s or so but he was also using different instruments. In some live versions of Ordinary World, he looks like he's playing a semi hollow bass.

I think that is the source of your inquiry. Passive basses are very distinguishable/have been categorized as far as the major brands. (Fender/Gibson/Ric/ etc) But active basses are not as categorized. Maybe there is a YouTube comparison of active basses... I wouldn't be surprised if there was. But as each tweaks various parameters of tonal settings boosted by a 9 or 18v battery... that's a lot of different things to compare/contrast.

 

[Relsom]

is this the poor man's kubicki minus the drop d head?

I guess you could say that if the sound of the preamp was your only consideration. For me, if the D clasp were nonexistent I wouldn't be going out of my way for a Factor or Key Factor and be just as happy playing one of my Spectors, Rickenbackers, Peaveys, or other various FSOs. More importantly, I'd probably be a lot more comfortable around a 5 string since practically every extended range song I've had to perform over the last 10 years has been possible on the ExFactor.

 

[txhawaii]

I guess you could say that if the sound of the preamp was your only consideration. For me, if the D clasp were nonexistent I wouldn't be going out of my way for a Factor or Key Factor and be just as happy playing one of my Spectors, Rickenbackers, Peaveys, or other various FSOs. More importantly, I'd probably be a lot more comfortable around a 5 string since practically every extended range song I've had to perform over the last 10 years has been possible on the ExFactor.

a Kubicki splurge would be totally based on fashion and style...nothing more other than to channel my inner Duran Duran.

I think that is the source of your inquiry. Passive basses are very distinguishable/have been categorized as far as the major brands. (Fender/Gibson/Ric/ etc) But active basses are not as categorized. Maybe there is a YouTube comparison of active basses... I wouldn't be surprised if there was. But as each tweaks various parameters of tonal settings boosted by a 9 or 18v battery... that's a lot of different things to compare/contrast.

yes I think you are correct. all my basses are passive and I sometimes lean towards that pop and growl only an active bass can give. I used to wonder why I couldn't get my tone like Bernard Edwards and I just realized Music Mans are active.

 

[txhawaii]

I just realized Music Mans are active.

or is it music mens?

 

[txhawaii]

I think that is the source of your inquiry. Passive basses are very distinguishable/have been categorized as far as the major brands. (Fender/Gibson/Ric/ etc) But active basses are not as categorized. Maybe there is a YouTube comparison of active basses... I wouldn't be surprised if there was. But as each tweaks various parameters of tonal settings boosted by a 9 or 18v battery... that's a lot of different things to compare/contrast.

after thinking about this advice, I took my passive JPN Fender jazz (which has newish roundwounds) rolled the bridge and tone to full, took my zoom multi fx and found a preamp that allowed me to max out the low and hi mids, pushed the treble on my amp, and voila, instant Kubicki.

well....actually no...not that close to be honest but for what I was doing, it wasn't all that bad. my tone was was growly and bright with loads of snap and punch. I never thought to do this. I would often play my precision to capture this tone but its seems the bridge on a jazz is what does the trick.

I compared my tone to some of @zuma yt vids (I've watched for a very long time) and I would say it's a close proximation but far from the target of an actually Kubicki. as @Relsom pointed out, that fender jazz w the K preamp is the trick to a cheap(er) approximation.

 

[zuma]

after thinking about this advice, I took my passive JPN Fender jazz (which has newish roundwounds) rolled the bridge and tone to full, took my zoom multi fx and found a preamp that allowed me to max out the low and hi mids, pushed the treble on my amp, and voila, instant Kubicki.

well....actually no...not that close to be honest but for what I was doing, it wasn't all that bad. my tone was was growly and bright with loads of snap and punch. I never thought to do this. I would often play my precision to capture this tone but its seems the bridge on a jazz is what does the trick.

I compared my tone to some of @zuma yt vids (I've watched for a very long time) and I would say it's a close proximation but far from the target of an actually Kubicki. as @Relsom pointed out, that fender jazz w the K preamp is the trick to a cheap(er) approximation.

Hey! Where is that shirt of mine?

Thanks for watching @txhawaii ! Of course, it is incredibly fun to play along with our heroes, using their axe of choice at the time. However, if you were to tell me I could only bring ONE bass to the party, it would be a Fender Jazz. A single Jazz bass, with a Kubicki preamp that you could totally bypass, would be the ultimate workhorse. Only thing about a Jazz that is kind of a negative for me is the body size. I'm a smaller dude, and it's kinda big on me. Still, it was my one and only bass for nearly 10 years.

 

[JIO]

Hey! Where is that shirt of mine?

Thanks for watching @txhawaii ! Of course, it is incredibly fun to play along with our heroes, using their axe of choice at the time. However, if you were to tell me I could only bring ONE bass to the party, it would be a Fender Jazz. A single Jazz bass, with a Kubicki preamp that you could totally bypass, would be the ultimate workhorse. Only thing about a Jazz that is kind of a negative for me is the body size. I'm a smaller dude, and it's kinda big on me. Still, it was my one and only bass for nearly 10 years.

So have you tried an early '90s Jazz +? The body is a bit smaller than a standard Jazz.., not to be confused with the same era American Standard J that has the redefined body with longer upper horn.

Both are 34" scale with full 22 fret necks. (no heal ramp) The J+ has a smaller hs.

In this tracing - the black line is a standard J, the red is the A/S and the blue is the Jazz +.

 

[zuma]

That is a very helpful tracing @JIO ! I have not tried a Jazz +. Don't make me spend money man.

My main Jazz is a Fender '62 RI, made in Japan around 1997. I assume it would closely follow that black line.