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Opinions on BEE

Sorry about the totally non-informative reply, but.....
wouldn't it be reasonable to compare it with the Fly Bass?
:)
Edit: I could use some input as well, as I am secretly concidering a Bee 6-string :ninja:
 
BassForLife said:
Who has played a Bee bass?
What would you compare it to?

I recently became a Bee owner. I've got a neck through ThunderBee. I've tried about four or five others and they're all different. Personally, I would compare mine to a Roscoe in sound. It really reminds me of Kim Stone's sound with the Rippingtons. (Though I understand he has switched to Fender these days. I could be wrong.)

The neck profile is very flat and different from a lot of other necks I've tried. For the ERB guys, I'd say give Bee some serious consideration.

I'm loaning my bass back to Fred for NAMM, so if you're there, go by his booth and check it out. Talk to Fred with your ideas. I'm sure he could offer some suggestions.

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I lived about 90 minutes away from Fred up until December, and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get around to trying to stop by the shop to give a couple a whirl.

That 7 string BassForLife posted is, in my opinion, the best looking Bee I've seen. If it had fanned frets, it might well be one of the best looking basses I've seen, period.
 
Brendan said:
I lived about 90 minutes away from Fred up until December, and I'm still kicking myself that I didn't get around to trying to stop by the shop to give a couple a whirl.
Oh man. How could you not find the time for that. Fred is such a nice guy too.

I tried the very first bass he sold. Some guy in St. Pete, FL had it. It was a worker bee and I was interested in the Queen. Oh well. His basses are so much more beautiful now than they were when he first started. I'm sure they play great from other people's posts.
 
hey all,

sorry I missed this post, but as the owner of 2 Bee ERB's I thought I out to chime in.

as angelopb put it, each bass is unique. I find that when working with a custom luthier it's best to work with him or her to come up with the sound you want.

in both cases with my basses, I knew what I was after tonally and had some ideas for woods, but Fred surprised me both times. wonderfully surprised me, I'll add!

here's my fretless...
8.jpg


on this one the surprises were the jatoba fingerboard and the Aero soapbar. I was after nice 'mwah' and a bit of growl. boy, did I get that! this bass is just unreal. I have never heard a fretless that sounds like it.

here's my fretted...
FM3.jpg


in this case I was after a super groove bass and Fred and I have dubbed it the Funk Machine because it succeeded so well. the surprises here were the body wood (a medium weight ash instead of the swamp ash I had suggested), the fretboard (bookmatched, stabilized, flame maple), and the pickup (a magnificent Delano MM style humbucker). I would probably compare the tone of this bass to a Music Man on steroids but with a degree of refinement (read 'nuance') that I have never heard come out of one of those.

like Eric, I have played several Bees and they are all unique tonally, visually, and in terms of character. each of these basses has a personality! Fred's necks are some of the thinnest and fastest you will find anywhere!!

hope that was some help,

from the belated lows,

Stew
 
Brendan said:
How do you like that Delano pickup? I've been eyeing them, since they make an MM style 6 string (and aren't Carvin).
oh, man...! it's easily one of the two best of its kind I've ever heard, the other being Carey Nordstrand's. yeah, I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone after that sound. it blows away any actual Music Man pickups I've heard!

from the deeply impressed lows,

Stew
 
There are a handful of great custom builders out there right now & Fred is one of them. I own 2 Bees, a MM style 5 & my main bass which is a single cut away 6. The 6 is the most flexible bass I've ever played because it's not only loud, but it can go from very clean & modern to dirty & funky. Plus, it's so comfortable, it practically plays itself.

Mark
AccuGroove & Bee = Bliss
marksbass11.2.03.jpg
 
Stewmc5222 said:
alright, I posted a new track to my MySpace page featuring the Funk Machine. it's full of clams, but it'll give you some idea of what this bass can do. I'm going to see if I can't get something a little tastier (and shorter) up in its place before the weekend is gone...

:eyebrow: :rollno: :scowl:

from the obviously tired lows,

Stew

Stew, where's your myspace page so I can here the new clip? Thanks.