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Unfortunately it is a time thing, I had someone lined up, something else came through so I went for it, they backed out and the first guy ended up buying a bass this morning.. everything was about to work well LOL
What I want, likely won't be around tomorrow
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,406
- 9,854
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
I'm going on vacation this coming week, and will post when I get back. But this one will be on the block soon, if anyone is interested
Quick question! I’m sure this has already been discussed at length here but I couldn’t find it with a quick search.
I consulted a Kubicki Owners’ Manual I found online but that confused me even further. If position 1 of the rotary is Standby Mode, and position 6 is Passive with High Cut then which position is flat?
The manual says 2 is flat and 3 is mid boost, but 2 seems to have much more mids than 3.
A side note: I'm glad I decided to check the manual because I had no idea the tone knobs were boost only! Very interesting.
I consulted a Kubicki Owners’ Manual I found online but that confused me even further. If position 1 of the rotary is Standby Mode, and position 6 is Passive with High Cut then which position is flat?
The manual says 2 is flat and 3 is mid boost, but 2 seems to have much more mids than 3.
A side note: I'm glad I decided to check the manual because I had no idea the tone knobs were boost only! Very interesting.
You've hit upon what many of us believe is a faux pas in the manual. I have two thoughts. First, they reversed "mid boost" and "flat. Second, those positions are poorly worded to begin with. I could call position 2 "flat" and position 3 "mega bass boost".
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,406
- 9,854
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
Okay, more important discoveries. With any active bass I almost always set the EQs to the middle (flat) and then adjust as needed, and the Kubucki was no exception. I’ve been basically only using position 2 (mid boost) with the bass boosted half way center and treble cut half way from center.
I’ve been mostly happy with the tone, but the preamp didn’t behave the way I thought it should. Passive modes were MUCH quieter than active, to the point of being basically unusable without serious changes to my amp levels. Plus it always had a bit of a weird “pushed” kind of sound, as if I had a compressor on, or was running out of headroom or something. Very hard to describe. And position 3 was SUPER scooped sounding with massive amounts of bass, which was also a completely unusual tone for me.
Well upon reading that the EQ was BOOST ONLY I decided to turn them all the way down and start there. Holy moly, what an improvement! I’m now using position 3 and just very slightly boosting treble or bass as needed, but mostly leaving them at 0. No wonder the active modes were so much louder and pushed sounding. I was running it with the bass boosted 3/4 of the way up all the time!
I’m much happier with the tones available in the bass now. It was always good sounding, but now it’s excellent sounding.
I only bought this bass because it was such a good deal, fully expecting to sell it once I got it back up and running again. And despite never being happy with an active bass and always preferring more traditional designs, it’s become my number one player. The playability and ergonomics are just so dialed in and tone is incredibly consistent throughout the whole range of the bass.
Anyone else buy one thinking it was just kind of cool, and then it became your number one?
I’ve been mostly happy with the tone, but the preamp didn’t behave the way I thought it should. Passive modes were MUCH quieter than active, to the point of being basically unusable without serious changes to my amp levels. Plus it always had a bit of a weird “pushed” kind of sound, as if I had a compressor on, or was running out of headroom or something. Very hard to describe. And position 3 was SUPER scooped sounding with massive amounts of bass, which was also a completely unusual tone for me.
Well upon reading that the EQ was BOOST ONLY I decided to turn them all the way down and start there. Holy moly, what an improvement! I’m now using position 3 and just very slightly boosting treble or bass as needed, but mostly leaving them at 0. No wonder the active modes were so much louder and pushed sounding. I was running it with the bass boosted 3/4 of the way up all the time!
I’m much happier with the tones available in the bass now. It was always good sounding, but now it’s excellent sounding.
I only bought this bass because it was such a good deal, fully expecting to sell it once I got it back up and running again. And despite never being happy with an active bass and always preferring more traditional designs, it’s become my number one player. The playability and ergonomics are just so dialed in and tone is incredibly consistent throughout the whole range of the bass.
Anyone else buy one thinking it was just kind of cool, and then it became your number one?
I had an earlier one (S/N 3XX) which was not much more than a grand in '87. Cool but never became my #1. That being said, my quest has been a headless fiver with similar ergonomics and that has been a daunting task. I was lucky enough to speak to Phil Kubicki when he was still in Santa Barbara (...actually, I accidentally dialed his residence). I never fully bought into the 37 lam neck concept but it performed as promised: desired stiffness while removing / relocating deadspots. The proprietary preamp is a strange agent and ended-up in a later Fender Jazz platform. I would not add one as an upgrade to an existing bass.
Riis
For better or worse, I think of the passive modes as "backup only". Like you said, you need to re-dial your gain quite substantially. That said, I did have my battery clip fail a while back and (flat) passive mode sounded great. No complaints. For that second active mode with the huge bass, I like that for trying to cop that really deep Sublime bass tone, playing lightly along the end of the fretboard. Maybe even a little "Red, Red, Wine" too.
As to how useful the Kubicki is to me, let's put it this way. I keep it out of the case, right behind me 90% of the time.
Has anyone ever measured Kubicki pickups coil resistance or used magnetic paper to see the coil aperture? Does anyone know what kind of magnets are inside Kubicki pickups?
Hey everyone! My name is Blake and I am the arranger and music director of an 80s pop cover band, and we're shooting a video in late January. I know this is a long shot, but I'm hoping to find a good Samaritan who is willing to lend me an 80s bass to use as a prop for the shoot. Details can be found here. To anyone taking the time to take a look, I really appreciate it! 
80s video shoot prop hunt!
80s video shoot prop hunt!
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,603
- 222,071
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Just up on ebay. I played a salmon Ex-Factor in around '94 here in SF at Real Guitars. I would have bought it (under $1k) but I had just bought a black '86 ($750) at Black Market Music (long gone) and so I passed.
1986 Kubiki Factor Bass | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1986 Kubiki Factor Bass at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Nice! I wonder when the change over from '85 to early '86 happened. This one is dated 4/86 and has the newer control cover. I had seen some '86s with the old cover, but don't recall the date stamp. The earliest ones had a different cover, jack, preamp, and pickups, but you couldn't tell it from the front.Just up on ebay. I played a salmon Ex-Factor in around '94 here in SF at Real Guitars. I would have bought it (under $1k) but I had just bought a black '86 ($750) at Black Market Music (long gone) and so I passed.
1986 Kubiki Factor Bass | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1986 Kubiki Factor Bass at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,603
- 222,071
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
As happens, the early days tend to be a time of day-to-day development. I think my '86 was 6/86. I can't recall if mine had the printed bridge-plate or not. It's too bad someone did such a hack-job of touching up the paint, but it can be sanded off and re-buffed to gloss. Factor finishes were very thick so there's plenty of finish to work with.
Does anyone recall a posting detailing cap and resistor modifications to the 18v preamp? This new Talkbass format is nearly impossible to search for things buried in the thread. I copied it to text in July of 2023 but would like to read it in the forum to determine the context for which the modifications apply.
Thanks in advance!
Thanks in advance!
No, here's the text. Hope it posts. I cant remember the context and I'm not ready to bug Carla about it yet. I'd rather bug you guys.
alright...that didnt work. Lemme try it a different way... Here...
"It was around this time that I noticed that the description of the "9v" preamp used during the Fender Custom Shop period is different than the functions on my preamp. Mine was made in 1988 and is not an FCS. I got curious about the 9v preamp and emailed Carla at Kubicki. What I received was unexpected. She gave me some specific component substitutions that would change the characteristics of the 18v preamp.
C5 - Change to .01uf Mylar or Polyester 35v or > +/- 20% Tolerance
C7 - Remove and leave blank
C14 - Change to .0027uf . Mylar or Polyester 35v or > +/- 20% Tolerance
R20 - Change to 10k All resistors are 1/4 watt 5% carbon film
R25 - Change to 10k
R30 - Change to 100k "
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