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Kubicki club?

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#161
I finally got a chance to play mine in a large hall---Ram's Head Live in Baltimore. It was absolutely thunderous! Here's some pictures:

RamsHeadLive-2shrink.png


RamsHeadLive-4shrink.png
 
#162
Man that's pretty. Is it flamed mahogany?

Last night I finally put my old fretted neck back on. I've had a fretless neck on it since getting it back from Phil, he made the 2 interchangeable. 20 minutes later and I'm ready to rock. I raised all 4 saddles 1 turn higher and it perfectly accomodates the fret height. I am so damn pleased with myself, it's rare that these schemes work out so well!
 
#163
emblymouse said:
Man that's pretty. Is it flamed mahogany?

Last night I finally put my old fretted neck back on. I've had a fretless neck on it since getting it back from Phil, he made the 2 interchangeable. 20 minutes later and I'm ready to rock. I raised all 4 saddles 1 turn higher and it perfectly accomodates the fret height. I am so damn pleased with myself, it's rare that these schemes work out so well!
Click to expand...

Yup---Flamed Honduran Mahogany---only the fifth one ever built by Phil.
 
#165
attachment.jpg

My first kubicki - bought in about 91. My main/only real bass for about 15 years. It's an 89 FCS. Despite some peoples opinions, the early FCS have 18V electronics and are really no different to the pre-fenders.

Then one day I found this:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
'88 pre-fender. I can't find a photo of it, but it must have taken some damage in a previous life as these a black "pickguard" under the control area. Feels a bit more "rock" than the Fenders, which seem a bit more refined.

Gotta have a fretless:
attachment.jpg

This is a late fender, and DOES lack the quality of the others. Nice bass, but has the 9v electronics, which CAN get a good sound, but don't ALWAYS sound GREAT like the 18v's.


And most recently:
IMG_5674.jpg

Another 89FCS, but one of the very first batch. The necks are made in batches, so some of the early fenders like this were made from pre-fender parts, so there's no FCS logo on the back. This is a little beat up, but it's the bass that goes to gigs... It's got Status GroundWounds on which give it a more conventional sound that works great.


In response to the volume/battery issue: the 18v's are supposed to last about 1000 hours. I replace mine every year or so just for the sake of it. The active settings aren't LOUD - about the same as a regular passive bass. The settings are for TONE not volume. Active 1 is my friend!!!! The Passive settings are MUCH lower - probably the biggest (only) flaw in the design. The Passive settings can sound good, but the volume from them is so much less than the active settings you can't switch between them.

Ian
 
#166
IanStephenson said:
In response to the volume/battery issue: the 18v's are supposed to last about 1000 hours. I replace mine every year or so just for the sake of it. The active settings aren't LOUD - about the same as a regular passive bass. The settings are for TONE not volume. Active 1 is my friend!!!! The Passive settings are MUCH lower - probably the biggest (only) flaw in the design. The Passive settings can sound good, but the volume from them is so much less than the active settings you can't switch between them.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info, Ian. We needed to hear from someone who has a whole stable of different Kubis to compare, like you. I'm glad to know that there's no real flaw in my one-and-only Kubi. I just expected the volume to be louder than it is, but it's perfectly fine... Especially with an outboard boost of some kind.

I wonder if Phil's ever considered a six string Factor...
Click to expand...
 
#167
TimWilson said:
I wonder if Phil's ever considered a six string Factor...
Click to expand...

I'm sure he's considered it... but it 'aint going to happen.

During the Fender era they started work on a 5 string - spent something like $500,000 developing it, and made ONE working prototype. Apparently Phil still has it, so there is ONE 5 string factor.

The main show stopper was the setup costs to put a 5 string Kubicki bridge into production. That's why there can be a 5 string key-factor. I doubt you could fit 6 machine-heads on a key factor (which if course has a standard bridge, so is much cheaper to develop).
 
#169
Sorry for the blatent advertisement, but I want to ask you all to go to this page: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

To vote for my RRFC band, Roadkill. I would really appreciate your help in getting myself and "bandmates" to the RRFC in London this November. Top 3 vote getters get a shot. Please vote by the end of the day tomorrow, Sept 21.

I am not playing one of my Gibson's (I only brought two this day). I had my RD Artist with me, ready to play some AC/DC numbers, since Chris Slade was one of the "counselors", but we ended up doing a Beatles, a Cream, and a Kinks number. Anyway, my Kubicki seemed better suited for these. I had never played it in a hall before and was quite thrilled with its thunderous sound!

If you don't know what the RRFC is, go to www.rockcamp.com to find out. I went to Baltimore, threw together the three songs in about 3 hours total, jammed a blues number with Eliot Easton, and some other short sessions with Kip Winger and Mark Slaughter, and played at Ram's Head Live that night. It was a lot jammed into one day----but it was fun!

Thanks for indulging an old guy! Cheers.
 
#170
TimWilson said:
Whoa... What's THIS???

http://cgi.ebay.com/Philip-Kubicki-...0974&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177#ebayphotohosting
Click to expand...

A far east knock off copy. Despite what the ad says, they're not licensed, and the few people who've played them have expressed severe doubt's about the quality - particularly of the bridge. Even if it was officially licensed/decent at that price you could get a FCS or maybe even a real one.

Phil did consider a mass produced licensed version, but it never got past the discussion or maybe prototype stage.

The "Blasters" are the most common - most obviously distinguished by the upside-down headstock, which is just dump. I think there are a couple of other similar fakes out there too...
 
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#172
I have #291 made in June of 1986. I sent Philip Kubicki a photo of it a few years back and he said it was 1 of about 20 he painted in that color scheme. It's not a burst, it's deep red with a solid darker maroon center. It has a pink undercoat that shows through on the Factor logo.

Kubicki.jpg
 
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#178
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#180
Come on... for $1100 you can join the party. That's a bass that'll cost you $3500 new! Resale on a new Kubicki sucks, which means you can get one of the best basses out there for a bargain. You know you want it...
 
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