This is bass a bass that should be in production. It is the most versatile four string ever.
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Kubicki X Factor on SBL
- Thread starter Dr. Cheese
- Start date
This is bass a bass that should be in production. It is the most versatile four string ever.
It is! You can order a new one right now.
Cool! I had no idea that they are in production!
AFAIK, the design features remain virtually unchanged over the past 40+ years.
Riis
Not quite but it remains a fan favorite so why risk angry villagers with torches? Singularly the most comfortable bass I've ever played.
Riis
Only the 4-string Ex Factor. They no longer make the full-scale Factor nor any 5-strings.
That is the coolest model, IMO.
I picked up a Kubicki back when they were fairly common and gave it about a half hour test drive. I loved the sonic possibilities but couldn’t get next to the headless thing. It ultimately came down to needing to order strings any time I might need some that took it off my list of basses I wanted to try.
It was around that time I also tried a Fender Jazz plus with lace sensors and Kubicki peamp. I’ve still got the J Plus and even though I struggle to play it because of age related hand issues, it remains my favorite sounding bass ever.
It was around that time I also tried a Fender Jazz plus with lace sensors and Kubicki peamp. I’ve still got the J Plus and even though I struggle to play it because of age related hand issues, it remains my favorite sounding bass ever.
Just watched it this AM. Color not my cup of tea, but these were absolutely killer basses back in the Day, and if they are making them to the original specs, I am lusting after one. What's the actual street price (not that I an afford one anyway).
Kubicki's use regular strings. The ball goes at the headstock, and the other end wraps around the large tuning cog. No special strings needed.
Silly me, I was told they used double ball end strings by the shop minion who let me try one out.
If you really wanted a 34" factor I'm pretty sure they could make you one - they're all custom built so if they have any unfinished neck blanks they can make you one. It's the same bass, but without the extender, and the two mini-frets are extended to full width. You can retro-fit a factor neck to an existing body, and in fact I knew someone back in the day who bought a second neck and swapped them over. It's probably possible (though you'd be crazy to do it!) to have a skilled builder convert an ex-factor neck to factor.
But why bother... if you want a Kubicki then you want an ex-factor.
5 stings never existed as real Factors (other than two prototypes). There are a very small number of 5 string key factors, which have the same design but with regular tuning pegs. Only around 200 were ever made, and I'm not sure if that's 4 and 5's combined. They key factors were introduced in the mid 90's by which time Kubicki's were out of fashion, so sales were limited.
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No pricing on the website, just a contact form. I'm guessing it's a "if you have to ask, you can't afford it" kind of price structure.
Not sure I'd agree with that... The fiver seemed to me like a decent compromise of the (Ex-)Factor's ergonomics to fit five strings. A headless five would have been even nicer but I can get that committing to a five string version of their tuning bridge would require a whole lot more sales than Kubicki could reasonably expect.
(edit: On thinking about it, the tuning bridge shifts the picking and fretting areas pretty far to the left. Not that big a deal on 32" scale, but probably an issue on 34". Maybe it was better the way it was.)
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Some good information HERE from a couple years back on pricing….pretty much in line with what @IanStephenson said.
yes. that's EXACTLY what the key 5 is. The key 5's are lovely basses. Play great. If you need a 5 and want a Kubicki then they are the compromise that has to be made. Though I am suppressed that Phil released them, as he didn't do compromise.
It arrived last week and it's basically everything you'd expect. It's not quite an ex-factor but it's as close as you'll get.
It's a 5 string:
It's 9lb 13oz which feels fractionally heavier than an ex-factor (though I've heard stories that ex-factors from this era are also slightly heavier), and the 34" scale is a bit strange when you first pick it up and expect 32", but both of these things are inevitable in a 5 string, and are probably in line with most other basses, so not a problem at all. Just a slightly...
I more meant that giving up the extender, to get a 34" scale length was a strange choice. Why get a rare custom bass with a unique feature ( the extender) and then ask them to take it off so that your new bass is more like a regular bass!
There you go. If you have to ask, I can't afford it, at least.
The only innovation of the Kubicki headstock was adapting the string extensions used on double basses since 1880. You seldom see orchestra basses without them nowadays. I didn't bother watching the video, does he mention this?
