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NBD: Le Fay Schwarz 5

#23
Lazze said:
This week I got my new Le Fay. It's a Schwarz 5-string with sandwich ash body.
View attachment 4416787

This is an absolutely amazing instrument. I have had it for some days now and I just can't keep my hands from it. It is addictive both thanks to the mere tactile pleasure of playing it, and for the tone, which is characteristic but still extremely versatile.

This is the Schwarz 5 model, built late 2020, with sandwich ash body and neck+fretboard in padouk. It has got three single-coil pickups. The two at the bridge can be coupled as a humbucker (upper miniswitch). They are both active and passive (lower miniswitch). 2 volume knobs for the two pickup sets, active bass+treble, and then a passive treble cut that works in both modes. It has got their premium frets, which is very comfortable to play (the frets are rounded and placed perhaps half a millimeter into the fretboard, so to speak).

I like this bass so much that I yesterday had a talk with Rainer Dobbratz about ordering one more :). I also would like a Pulse 4 with maple neck and rosewood fretboard. The delivery time is at least a year, so we'll see next fall if I will part from this 5-string or keep both. I have a hunch how this will end though...

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Stunning!
 
#27
Lazze said:
I like this bass so much that I yesterday had a talk with Rainer Dobbratz about ordering one more :). I also would like a Pulse 4 with maple neck and rosewood fretboard. The delivery time is at least a year, so we'll see next fall if I will part from this 5-string or keep both. I have a hunch how this will end though...
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I know that feeling. I've had a talk with Le Fay a few days after I purchased my Karlsson 6.
I've put that off, however. Too happy with what I got to get another one; This will only lead to the situation where I'm standing in front of my bass wall, gig bag in hand, unable to decide which bass to take with me ;-)
 
#28
cnltb said:
Respect!!

Herr Schwarz is a nice bass!
Yours is very nice looking and...it's not black :)
And...No one builds better basses, in terms of craftmanship and attention to detail, than Lefay do. (Imho)
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Yes I agree, even though I actually did not chose the color and design myself. I first talked with Reiner Dobbratz about ordering a customized bass, but when I realized that the delivery time is more than a year I lost patience and started to look for either a used or an in-stock bass. This one I finally bought from station-music in Munich.

But now that I have it I like it more and more. I like the way the curved grains of the ash body kind of frames the pickup set.

I also like the feel of the padouk fretboard. I was a bit worried about that, because the only Le Fay I had tried had the rosewood fretboard.
 
#29
Lazze said:
Yes I agree, even though I actually did not chose the color and design myself. I first talked with Reiner Dobbratz about ordering a customized bass, but when I realized that the delivery time is more than a year I lost patience and started to look for either a used or an in-stock bass. This one I finally bought from station-music in Munich.

But now that I have it I like it more and more. I like the way the curved grains of the ash body kind of frames the pickup set.

I also like the feel of the padouk fretboard. I was a bit worried about that, because the only Le Fay I had tried had the rosewood fretboard.
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I didn't know there is a Station music in Munich.

Reiner is a fun guy but I guess it makes sense for a custom bass to take as long as you say it would given how busy i imagine they must be.

The fact that this 'Mr. Black' is actually quite blonde, is a bonus in my book as I don't think that black finishes tend to age all that well.

I take it that sound clips are in teh works? ;)
 
#30
Yes, the Munich guys are among their retailers or stockists or whatever it is called. Apparently, as everywhere else, the pandemic has made their waiting list even longer in Kiebitzreihe. It makes sense: if you are bored during lockdown, buy a Le Fay :)

We'll see about the clips, maybe when I have some more spare time.
 
#31
I`ve had no less than 3 Lefay`s over the last couple of years, and still have what I consider one of the best fretless ever made, a 5 string with stainless steel fretboard.
There`s not a single details on these instruments which isn`t thought through and optimized to perfection.
Enjoy it.
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