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A question or two for those with APB (or similar) instruments equipped with active F.G.I. pickups (red / white / ground wires)...
Has anybody swapped out the stock active harness for another preamp? If so, was there any significant change or improvement? I ran across a preamp in the classifieds which is compatible only with active pickups and wondering if this upgrade would be truly worthwhile.
I appreciate the consideration!
Riis
Has anybody swapped out the stock active harness for another preamp? If so, was there any significant change or improvement? I ran across a preamp in the classifieds which is compatible only with active pickups and wondering if this upgrade would be truly worthwhile.
I appreciate the consideration!
Riis
Hey there guys, I've had this bass for a while now and I know nothing about it. It was sold to me (for not much money) as a "90s Fernandes". I'd picked it up as I thought it might fit with a project I was working on that eventually didn't happen and I've done nothing with it. I've skimmed through this thread but not seen anything like it and gone through all the catalogues (thanks for those) and still come up dry.
If anyone can tell me anything about it, I'd be very grateful. It's got some dings and it's a little tatty but it plays nicely with a very slim neck and the pick-ups are very bright.
Cheers!
If anyone can tell me anything about it, I'd be very grateful. It's got some dings and it's a little tatty but it plays nicely with a very slim neck and the pick-ups are very bright.
Cheers!
Attachments
Really Cool Bass!! Looks like a posible custom, too bad you don't know the history on it. Looks like early 90's...my best guess.
Brilliant, thanks. 1986, eh? That explains why I didn't find it in any of the '90s catalogues!
Brilliant, thanks. 1986, eh? That explains why I didn't find it in any of the '90s catalogues!
The Graphite neck with phenolic fretboard is high end. I tried to convert the 120,000 Yen to USD for 1986. Maybe around $750 at 1986 exchange rate.
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Yeah, it's beginning to dawn on me that I might have ended up with more than I bargained on with this one. I'm not sure what I want to do with it yet but, TBH, it's surplus to requirement to me ATM.
Hmmm...no activity for a couple months.
I embrace an almost obsessive attraction for one model and one model alone: the APB 5. It does have its weak point and that's the stock preamp. It's not bad but the bridge pick-up is somewhat anemic although I'm not sure if the placement or pick-up loading are culpable. I was able to snag (2) Audere Classic modules and installed each...some variances (vol/vol vs vol/blend) but the mix being handled via the preamp on both. Here's the install w/ the 4 knob / 3 band: volume / volume / mid / stacked treble & bass:
The little white do-hickeys ("N") are required when mating with the proprietary active pick-ups. Overall, I'm more than pleased with the results as the mod "opened up" the response of both. IIRC, Fernandes uses the same control cavity on any number of models. I'd dare-say one could squeeze a 9v battery into the mix (w/ some spatial re-assignment!) if converting from passive to active or working w/o benefit of a dedicated battery box. Per manufacturer, there is no advantage to running the harness at 18v. The next install is volume / blend and will include a mid-freq switch...drill, baby, drill. To fulfill the ground requirements, you will have to install copper shielding.
Riis
I embrace an almost obsessive attraction for one model and one model alone: the APB 5. It does have its weak point and that's the stock preamp. It's not bad but the bridge pick-up is somewhat anemic although I'm not sure if the placement or pick-up loading are culpable. I was able to snag (2) Audere Classic modules and installed each...some variances (vol/vol vs vol/blend) but the mix being handled via the preamp on both. Here's the install w/ the 4 knob / 3 band: volume / volume / mid / stacked treble & bass:
The little white do-hickeys ("N") are required when mating with the proprietary active pick-ups. Overall, I'm more than pleased with the results as the mod "opened up" the response of both. IIRC, Fernandes uses the same control cavity on any number of models. I'd dare-say one could squeeze a 9v battery into the mix (w/ some spatial re-assignment!) if converting from passive to active or working w/o benefit of a dedicated battery box. Per manufacturer, there is no advantage to running the harness at 18v. The next install is volume / blend and will include a mid-freq switch...drill, baby, drill. To fulfill the ground requirements, you will have to install copper shielding.
Riis
I might be joining the club soon. I found a 24 fret, 32'' scale (?) Fernandes Revolver headless bass. From my reasearch (digging through catalogues and Japanese auction websites) this should be an frb-65hl, but I can't find that exact model in the catalogues so I don't know if it's made in Japan, what year it is from, etc. Any help in that regard would be great. The price also seems a bit high at 500€, from what I saw they sell domestically at around 30,000 Yen which would roughly be 280€ or something close to that. Obviously they are more scarce here so that might drive up the price, but it still seems a bit steep if they're not valued particularly highly in Japan.
I bought it, it was in much worse condition than I originally thought, so I'm glad that I inspected it beforehand. Going by the Japanese prices and also the faults I got the price down to 250.
The trussrod was very tight, but it did work in the end and neck relief is set properly now. Also the bridge pickup doesn't work, it's incredibly quiet compared to the neck pickup even when cranked all the way towards the strings. Besides that the bass was pretty filthy so I took everything apart and gave it a quick cleaning to get rid of the grime and most of the dirt.
And now, after reassembly (and new strings), it plays quite well. Fairly low action, straight neck, the neck pickup sounds massive and it's a great player. It probably fits inside a guitar gigbag without any problems and balances really nicely both sitting down and on a strap.
Again, from what I can tell this is a Fernandes frb65hl, 24 frets, 32'' medium scale. I think this'll be my new favorite travel and jamsession bass since transport will be a breeze and I'm really not worried about it getting any more scratches or dings. I still don't know what year it is from or anything else really (couldn't find it in the catalogues), so any info on that would be nice.
The trussrod was very tight, but it did work in the end and neck relief is set properly now. Also the bridge pickup doesn't work, it's incredibly quiet compared to the neck pickup even when cranked all the way towards the strings. Besides that the bass was pretty filthy so I took everything apart and gave it a quick cleaning to get rid of the grime and most of the dirt.
And now, after reassembly (and new strings), it plays quite well. Fairly low action, straight neck, the neck pickup sounds massive and it's a great player. It probably fits inside a guitar gigbag without any problems and balances really nicely both sitting down and on a strap.
Again, from what I can tell this is a Fernandes frb65hl, 24 frets, 32'' medium scale. I think this'll be my new favorite travel and jamsession bass since transport will be a breeze and I'm really not worried about it getting any more scratches or dings. I still don't know what year it is from or anything else really (couldn't find it in the catalogues), so any info on that would be nice.
Got this one out of Japan a few years ago for $250 USD First year of the Burny Jazz lawsuits 1974. It needed fretts ($27 and a pair of pullers). But other than that I would put it up against a mid 70's Fender all day long. Get bass but just like a 70's Fender it is heavy! See last pic for new frett shot.
I still really like it, comfortable and also fun to play. I almost always play sitting down, but could try to throw a strap on it sometime this week to test. It does have wider string spacing than I’m use to. I like 16.5mm usually. Cool for slapping though due to that wide spacing and with the pickup placement not near the neck.
I haven’t played any of those other models you mentioned, but you can hear it a little bit here. Not the flashiest example, but the only video I’ve used it in so far
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I been recently getting into these Japan lawsuit brand basses. I’m looking at buying one from japan.its a stone logo 80s p bass.white color with a maple fretboard. Can anyone tell me what the body wood is made from?
