Kubicki Factor Drop D Mechanism Question

[shrinklizard]

Hi all,

I'm new to these parts on many levels. I'm primarily a 6 stringer and decided to mess around on bass. For as far back as I can remember seeing one, I always said that I would get a Kubicki bass when I could afford one. Well the opportunity presented itself recently and I pulled the trigger on an '89 Factor bass in white that has turned to a creamy light yellow. The bass is in good shape as it was actually used and not stored under a bed.

I'm really digging the tones and playability of the bass but my question centers around the drop D mechanism. Out of curiosity I checked the pitch of the D and the E with the lever dissengaged/engaged. I discovered that the pitch is off when moving between the D and the E. I've messed with the intonation but to no avail I cannot get perfect pitch between the two notes. Has anyone else experienced this? Does the drop mechanism really work so that the pitch is correct between the two notes?

TIA for any info.

Sherm

There's a lot of answers that don't really answer the issue. 30 year owner of one of Philip's own company issues. Here's my thoughts: Scientifically speaking, when you change the length of a string you are going to change it's center point........and all the frets before and after that point will be slightly out of position. Secondly and a little deeper.....how old is your bass? Has the spring that holds down the E behind the E end point lost some of it's spring? When you press the lever the E changes pitch so once again, scientifically your E tuning has a lot to do with the pressure the spring is applying to the string. I think Phil knew this all along and realized that when your throwing ultra low frequency thunder bombs out there, it's not so noticeable. When I do studio work I retune as needed. When I'm live I don't sweat the small stuff. Or you can tune between the two and always be a little out of tune. It's basic science but maybe some of the suggestions in string gauge will

Hi all,

I'm new to these parts on many levels. I'm primarily a 6 stringer and decided to mess around on bass. For as far back as I can remember seeing one, I always said that I would get a Kubicki bass when I could afford one. Well the opportunity presented itself recently and I pulled the trigger on an '89 Factor bass in white that has turned to a creamy light yellow. The bass is in good shape as it was actually used and not stored under a bed.

I'm really digging the tones and playability of the bass but my question centers around the drop D mechanism. Out of curiosity I checked the pitch of the D and the E with the lever dissengaged/engaged. I discovered that the pitch is off when moving between the D and the E. I've messed with the intonation but to no avail I cannot get perfect pitch between the two notes. Has anyone else experienced this? Does the drop mechanism really work so that the pitch is correct between the two notes?

TIA for any info.

Sherm

 

[shrinklizard]

The science here is that when you lengthen the string the center of the string (octave) changes position as do all the other fret's positions. (Think of short, Medium and Long scale basses). It's basic geometry. Secondly the spring that holds the E down will slowly lose strength and if you've notice while pressing on it....the pitch of E changes. Did Phil care? No. He figured that while your throwing low frequency thunder bombs at the audience they won't really notice and he's right. I retune when needed in the studio and when live I don't sweat the small stuff. If you play all night with the "drop down" than tune it to D! If most of your night uses E on the bottom than tune it to E or you can tune between the two (D and E) and always be out of tune slightly. Your call but you can't change the math. Still love ya Phil. Best bass I've ever played.

 

[BruceWane]

You know you're replying to an 11 year old thread, right?

 

[shrinklizard]

You know you're replying to an 11 year old thread, right?

Man fears time but time fears the great pyramid. I still own this bass and the info is still pertinent to other owners even if the original poster is no longer with us the basses are but thanks.