i've a question :
my factor is dating 08 1989...and if i reade the topic, someone say that it is a Fender period and not a Kubicki "alone" factory...cause 08 (after buying kubicki by fender shop).
But i've a 18 v preamp with 6 positions switch...
do you think that this one is a really factor "pre fender" and may be a final stock of kubicki period before new build with 9v Fender preamp.
My Factor 4 is from May '89 (also during the Fender licensing period) and it also has the 18v electronics. That just means both of our basses were made using parts that were left over from prior to the licensing agreement going into effect. They are properly Fender Custom Shop Kubickis, but essentially the same as pre-Fender instruments.
I honestly wouldn't worry about it very much. As I detailed in a prior post in this thread, I've had Kubicki basses from all periods of their manufacture and their differences were very subtle. I slightly prefer the early Fender era bass I have now to the "pre-Fender" Ex-Factor I owned some years ago. I think that the whole pre-Fender hype is mostly just that, hype, drummed up by those with pre-Fender basses who were trying to sell them by claiming they were far superior. I do think that the odds of getting a really great Kubicki are higher among the pre-and post Fender era basses, but just because they were made in smaller numbers and perhaps were made with a bit more attention, but it would still come down to the individual instrument. I also think the 18v. electronics are a bit more versatile, but the 9v. preamp sounds great too and the pickups are the same.
Perhaps it is one of the things we could try to accomplish with this thread is to put this whole preoccupation with where in respect to a licensing agreement a bass was made to rest. As far as I understand it was mainly entered into by Kubicki in order to make his basses more available, via Fender's vast network of retailers, during a period of really high demand for the instruments. Far too much has been made of that, in my opinion.
The "Kubicki Shootout" article (
http://mc2.freeservers.com/kubicki.htm) is a good read and has some useful information. Notice, however, that the author is basing his conclusions about whole "eras" of Kubickis from one or two samples of each. That is very, very poor science (not that the author was claiming a rigorous scientific method) and the results should be taken with a large grain of salt, so to speak. Had he had four other basses, his results could well have come out the opposite.
I am like you all, this bass is the most fantastic i played...i play also leduc bass (logabasss by french luthier) and this "french" bass is less powerfull and less confortable than the Ex Factor.
I have long admired Leduc basses--the "U-bass" fretless is especially stylish looking. It is nice to hear I am not missing out on something really special, although I would still like to try one some day. They are clearly Kubicki inspired. I would consider yourself very fortunate to have both.
By the way, if the color of your bass is like how it appears in the recent pictures, it is not Bahama green. See the last picture in my post above for the best representation of that color.
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