Kubicki technical questions

[bigcatJC]

Hi! Longtime lurker and new member making his first post.

I'm thinking about buying a Kubicki Ex-Factor. I played one a few years ago and enjoyed the feel, sound, playability, etc, so I'm comfortable with that end of the it. I just have some tech/set-up questions for anyone who has any experience with Kubickis.

1. How often do you have to make adjustments to the truss rod? Keep in mind I live in the hot humid southeast US - plus my main instrument has a Moses neck which never needs adjusting. I admit I am spoiled in this regard.

2. How difficult is it to set the bridge for height and intonation? It looks like you have to remove the strings from the saddle to set both (Right or wrong?). Plus, it looks to me like the saddle has to be unlocked (Is that what the phillips screw is for?), then slid by hand (I'm used to a Fender-style set screw) and re-locked when it's in the right place for your intonation.

Thanks in advance for any insight and feel free to correct any false assumptions on my part.

 

[Eric Moesle]

I've owned two Kubicki's, one a pre-Fender, and one a Fender Custom Shop model. The pre-Fender was highly superior in both playability and sound to the Fender model. Try for one of those if you can. There should be a stamp on the back of the headstock that says "Fender Custom Shop" if its a Fender model. Also check Kubicki's web site for the actual serial numbers of the changeover.

As for truss rod adjustment, I only had to adjust it about twice a year, when the seasons changed drastically (spring and fall, here in Ohio). Truss rod adjustment is easiest on this instrument than any other, since its an open phillips screw at the end of the headstock. Takes all but 2 seconds to tweak. You could tinker with it daily on this instrument if you want.

The downside is that the bridge adjustment requires removing the string from the saddle. String height is adjusted by rotating the saddle itself, which is essentially a large screw with a string slot on the top. Moving it back and forth requires lossening and tightening a large phillips screw which resides under the string at the bridge, and that requires loosening the string and moving it out of the way to access the screw.

They're nice basses, but the 32" scale kinda wore at my nerves. Great for speed and ease of playing, not the greatest for string tension and low end tone, IMO. And it made it a bit more difficult to switch between different basses with my technique, going from 32" to 34" scales.