Fretless Farida FJB - Prototype Finished!

[AndyTravis]

Hi guys, this is my first proper build diary.

It's been about 18 months in the making.

One day, I sat with a Squier Standard Jazz Bass, and a new to the UK Farida FJB-6 for an online comparison.

The (Cort made) Squiers are fantastic value for money with a decent set up, they are fantastic basses for the money.

There was something special about the FJB-6, for £230/£250 There isn't a J-Type bass can hold a candle to it. It even gives the Mexi Fenders a run for their money. Now i've played 30-40 of these, and they're all the same level of quality.

And as with most Fenderesque basses, they are rife for modding...

So I mulled a few ideas over and contacted Sam at Farida, and we banded a few ideas around about a Fretless version of the above, to sit around the same pricepoint as the Squier Vintage Modified Fretless bass, which is a seriously good bass for not a lot of money.

My initial Sketch, was just a few ideas we'd knocked around, making a serious players bass for under £400, so we sent it off.

The guys at Grand Reward/Farida in China loved the idea, and said they'd get their R&D team straight on it.


We waited...

Edited November 1, 2010 by AndyTravis

[AndyTravis]

So the final spec was...

2-Piece Ash Body
Flamed Maple Cap (not 10mm as drawn, just a thin 1mm laminate)
Maple Neck bolt-on
Ebony Fingeboard - Side fretline Markers to travel over the edge of the fingerboard, but not across - Maple Used.
Seymour Duncan pickups, Stacked.
Vol/Vol/Tone/Tone - Passive as opposed to the active i'd originally thought, some active Fretless basses can sound a bit odd, and a good passive bass can be run into a preamp should people wish, not as easy to make a bad preamp sound good.
Satin Burst finish
34" Scale
Chrome Hardware
Chunky bridge, Gotoh and Badass were mentioned, but would make the bass to expensive for what we were aiming at.

The idea originally was to have it in natural, but soon after the ideas inception, Jaco's 'Bass Of Doom' was ressurected sporting a flamed cap, and in some of the photos I thought it looked ace, and much better than just cloning the Squier, or Fender versions.

The first Burst arrived the same day as the CAD Fretboard designs, you can see the B.O.D. Photo in the background.

I replied and said I didn't want it to be a 'clone' just a nod at the Master. They agreed and off they went...

Edited October 27, 2010 by AndyTravis

[AndyTravis]

The next few months were quiet, we sent photos of fingerboard inlays, and sketches back and forth.

Then one day, Eric from Farida announces they've cracked it; a new CNC machine had allowed them to follow the inlay sketches to a tee.

The lines are helpful for most first time fretless players, but full time fretless playes want to see an expanse of bare wood.

Either way, it's nice to know where you're up to.

The fretlines wrap over the edge of the board, stopping between the E and A strings, and at the 12th fret, extend into the middle of the A and D strings, a simple visual guide to where you're up to.

We used Maple, as the white Styrene always looks like you've had your frets pulled out.

Edited November 1, 2010 by AndyTravis

[AndyTravis]

So, that was it for a couple of months, nothing.

The factory we're dealing with looks after 100's of brands, and in honesty, this was a labour of love rather than a 'let's take the frets out of this one', so we sat on our hands for a while, until a few days ago...

We chose 2 similar colours from their catalogue...

Light Sunbursts (LSB)
Amber Satin Sunburst (ASS - )

And i've just replied saying the LSB looks nicer.

But they are the bodies of the two working prototypes i'm going to be sent soon.

When i get them, i'll update this page, and it'd be ace to have some feedback/input before these go into production.

Pricewise we're aiming at sub £400, no idea as to what it will be exactly.

We're discussing a clear Bacchus-alike pickguard to stop the satin finish from wearing through.


Grand Reward is the factory is responsible for a good bit of the gear everyone loves, so these basses will be seriously good for the money. EDIT - Don't want to upset some of the bigger companies they make for, assuming they read the forums)


Let me know what you're thinking - I just thought it'd be interesting to see how a Major foactory works, as 'Build Diaries' are usually custom build, or self build; this is the other end of the spectrum.

Edited October 27, 2010 by AndyTravis

[AndyTravis]

Clear Pickguard they've done on a T-Type guitar...

This is what they're like, nothing for weeks, then loads of ideas all at once...

[malbass]

Love it! That neck looks awesome. I've never been too sure about the hacked off lower horn on these farida bodies but I reckon it looks the biz in that light sunburst colour scheme. Will be very interested to hear how this turns out.

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='malbass' post='1002543' date='Oct 27 2010, 02:51 PM']Love it! That neck looks awesome. I've never been too sure about the hacked off lower horn on these farida bodies but I reckon it looks the biz in that light sunburst colour scheme. Will be very interested to hear how this turns out.[/quote]

The lower horn was reshaped when they started producing some 'vintage reissue type' basses and guitars for a major company , and to be fair, it reminds me of the Jaguar basses and looks a little bit like a Lakland DJ.

I think with no pickguard it looks ace. The clear pickguard would be a nice touch though.

More detail as I have it. May be early 2011.

[Matt Golgotha]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='1002553' date='Oct 27 2010, 02:58 PM']The lower horn was reshaped when they started producing some 'vintage reissue type' basses and guitars for a major company , and to be fair, it reminds me of the Jaguar basses and looks a little bit like a Lakland DJ.

I think with no pickguard it looks ace. The clear pickguard would be a nice touch though.

More detail as I have it. May be early 2011.[/quote]

I'm loving the flame on that body.

My Jazz has a clear pickguard over a 3ts and it looks awesome.

[AndyTravis]

Yeah, they have great stocks of flamed maple, they had some quilt Mahogany for a while, although i think it's all gone now.

[eude]

This is awesome dude, how'd you get on board with a project like this, you in the the business?
Really intrigued by these Farida's, they get a proper good write up from everyone, and I for one really like the Jaguaresqe lower horn.

Can't wait to see how this pans out.

Top work fella

Eude

[xilddx]

[quote name='eude' post='1003023' date='Oct 27 2010, 09:13 PM']This is awesome dude, how'd you get on board with a project like this, you in the the business?
Really intrigued by these Farida's, they get a proper good write up from everyone, and I for one really like the Jaguaresqe lower horn.

Can't wait to see how this pans out.

Top work fella

Eude[/quote]
This [i]is [/i]very intriguing and I have similar questions

I like the idea of submitting a design to a factory for a production model.

Really looking forward to seeing the results of this!

[AndyTravis]

The shop I work in is the company who looks after Farida in the UK; It's not Dawsons own brand (as is often misleadingly said), it's very much a Worldwide brand -Apart from America, they don't want to upset all the guys they make for out there.

It's shocking when you see the list of brands they actually make for, for some perspective, their own Farida brand is about 10% of their total output.

We stumbled across their acoustics at Frankfurt Musikmesse about 5 or 6 years ago, and a few of our lads and the buyers went crazy over a guitar called a D-52, we bought a small amount of their acoustics, and sold out soon after.

Their guitars get 4 or 5 star reviews every time they get put in for review with magazines. Which is nice.


But, in all honesty, their basses are Fender clones, competetively priced in a world of competetively priced Fender clones. They are often overlooked which is a shame, their FJB basses are really worth a look, as they sit head and shoulders above the vast majority.

This fretless was more of an experiment to see how hard it was to get a sketch turned into a bass. I thought working from an existing model would see a smooth start.

I think i'm going out to see them either in Frankfurt, or over in China eventually to meet Eric, their R&D guy to see what we can come up with.

So to answer the above questions, a bit of enthusiasm for a product you feel is worth believing in (rather than just a 'name'), a pen, a scan, an e-mail, and seeing eye to eye with someone who likes your idea...in China, who has the ability to work on your ideas.

I could have just said 'stop putting frets in these ones'. But you know, that'd be a bit boring.

We'll see how long it takes to get to the working prototype.

[AndyTravis]

Prototype 1 is done, and on it's way.

Looks fantastic, very happy with it.

Seymour Duncan STK-J1 pickups, classic stack, for a nice vintage sound, but silent operation.
And i'm really happy they carried through my 2 Vol/2 Tone control choice - Like a 62 stack knob, unstacked.

I'll let you know when it arrives.

[JakeBrownBass]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='1008245' date='Nov 1 2010, 10:08 AM']Prototype 1 is done, and on it's way.

Looks fantastic, very happy with it.

Seymour Duncan STK-J1 pickups, classic stack, for a nice vintage sound, but silent operation.
And i'm really happy they carried through my 2 Vol/2 Tone control choice - Like a 62 stack knob, unstacked.

I'll let you know when it arrives.[/quote]

That looks great.

[eude]

That looks awesome dude!

Eude

[AndyTravis]

Theoretically, should be a very good bass.

Hope i'm right.

If it is, i'm having a Fretted one made in 'Blue Shade' and selling everything else.

Again, these won't be expensive at all, owing to the Seymour Duncan pickups (Rather than the Duncan Designed) and use of ebony (Rather than Ebanol) it may be a bit more expensive than the Squier VM Fretless.

[Schnozzalee]

Thats my kinda bass!!! I'd take some sandpaper to the back of the neck but other than that living my dream

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='Schnozzalee' post='1008567' date='Nov 1 2010, 02:28 PM']Thats my kinda bass!!! I'd take some sandpaper to the back of the neck but other than that living my dream[/quote]


My original spec was 'satin back of neck' gloss peghead.

I'm fine with glossed necks, but things do get a little lost in translation sometimes.

I'll see how it feels, and pass it on.

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1008396' date='Nov 1 2010, 12:20 PM']That looks great.[/quote]

I'll let you know when i get it, and we can have a BC test run.

[gilmour]

looks great, but what happened to the ram I thought that was a really unique and novel feature in this price bracket.

[AndyTravis]

[quote name='gilmour' post='1008806' date='Nov 1 2010, 06:11 PM']looks great, but what happened to the ram I thought that was a really unique and novel feature in this price bracket.[/quote]

Again, think the guys wanted to get a working one to me. I agree totally with your point of view.

Much like the gloss headstock/satin neck issue, and the transparent pickguard - these issues will be fed back, and i'll see what they say.

With the price in mind, would everyone want a ramp, especially if it added another £25/35?

Also, if we decided to go with the clear pickguard it would be hard to do it, if you had the option to remove it, there would have to be some forem of recess to accomodate it.

I think the answer to that could be no pickguard, and optional ramp?

The Ramps seem to divide opinion enough as it is, and it kind of fell by the wayside while we concentrated on the guts of the project.

Bear in mind that this is a prototype, and before any shop sees it, there will be a fair few e-mails back and forth once i've played it, and a few of the local basschatters, and a few local pro's give it a good going over.

Stevie Williams (one of the Bass Day UK organisers, as well as one of the artists) will play it, and give feedback, as he's using one of Faridas acoustic basses at the minute.

Appreciate all the thoughts of the BassChat community though, as to be fair, we're the target audience.

[mart]

That prototype looks fantastic. I'm really not a Fender fan, but the flamed maple really sets that thing off beautifully.

I personally don't like the pickguard - it looks like a bit of Jaco left over from another project! So I'd go for no pickguard.

And definitely no ramp - I know it's contentious, but hey, I'm just stating my preference.

At this rate I can see I might be parting with some hard-earned and adding a J-style to my stable. I'm really impressed!

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='1008828' date='Nov 1 2010, 06:25 PM']Again, think the guys wanted to get a working one to me. I agree totally with your point of view.

Much like the gloss headstock/satin neck issue, and the transparent pickguard - these issues will be fed back, and i'll see what they say.

With the price in mind, would everyone want a ramp, especially if it added another £25/35?

Also, if we decided to go with the clear pickguard it would be hard to do it, if you had the option to remove it, there would have to be some forem of recess to accomodate it.

I think the answer to that could be no pickguard, and optional ramp?

The Ramps seem to divide opinion enough as it is, and it kind of fell by the wayside while we concentrated on the guts of the project.

Bear in mind that this is a prototype, and before any shop sees it, there will be a fair few e-mails back and forth once i've played it, and a few of the local basschatters, and a few local pro's give it a good going over.

Stevie Williams (one of the Bass Day UK organisers, as well as one of the artists) will play it, and give feedback, as he's using one of Faridas acoustic basses at the minute.

Appreciate all the thoughts of the BassChat community though, as to be fair, we're the target audience.[/quote]

[JakeBrownBass]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='1008574' date='Nov 1 2010, 02:39 PM']I'll let you know when i get it, and we can have a BC test run.[/quote]

Oh that'd be mint.

Please let us know.

[AndyTravis]

Looking at it then...

I think the basses chould ship with an un-attatched clear pickguard. Or i'll have some made, should it make it to the production stage.

And i'll be making a template for a Ramp anyhow, i'll be adding one for my own from a double bass fingerboard I have spare.

[eude]

As far as mass appeal goes mate, I'd leave the ramp idea well alone. I'm sure it would put off more people than it would attract. Folks who like ramps are usually no strangers to modding or custom basses, so putting one on wouldn't be a problem, however if having one on the bass effected the overall aesthetic when it was removed, some more traditionalists would look elsewhere.
I personally think the bass looks amazing as it is, and I really think it could be a bit of a Squier/MIM Fender killer. Going for a satin neck would be sensible if it was possible, as although this thing looks far better than it's competition, it'd probably be sensible for it to feel a little more familiar, as you don't often get a gloss neck with a Fenderesque bass.

Just my 2p

Eude