franzbassist Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) I took delivery of a pair of Fender Tony Franklin basses from the US last week..... I must say I'm blown away by how good they are. The fit and finish is superb (the nitro finishes are [i]beautiful[/i]), they were perfectly set up straight out of the box, both balance well, and they have three terrific tones on tap just at the flick of the pickup selector switch. The fretless is 9.5lbs and is now wearing La Bella white nylons, whereas the fretted is 8.75lbs and will soon have Lakland or La Bella flats, but at the moment it has the stock Fender roundwounds. Very, very happy And here's one of my mini video reviews.... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxgf2gg6cQ4&feature=youtu.be[/media] Edited April 20, 2014 by walbassist Quote
iamtheelvy Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 These are really nice basses - look great and are really versatile! Quote
Myke Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 They must be the two nicest P basses I've ever seen! Quote
madshadows Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Lovely looking basses, sound great as well, congrats on getting them, happy non-identical twins John Quote
HowieBass Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Those two are STUNNING, you're not helping my Precision GAS much *sigh* Quote
Grand Wazoo Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Dave Swift rates them quite highly and he has a few of them too. Quote
franzbassist Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 [quote name='antnee' timestamp='1390410700' post='2345166'] Loving the orange one, beaut! [/quote] Yes, it looks orange in the picture and video but it's actually much more of a gold colour. Quote
Grangur Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 (edited) Real tasty!! Funnily enough, WRT the looks I'd be tempted to swap the necks. Surprising that the fretless is more weighty. Any idea why? Also... the sound of the fretless is darker and more sexy.. IMHO Is this down to the strings? Edited January 22, 2014 by Grangur Quote
EssentialTension Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Excellent Gareth. The only bass I've ever totally regretted selling is the Tony Franklin Fretless. So let that be a warning to you. By the way, how did the white nylons turn out? Quote
White Cloud Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 For me the best Fender bass on the market by a mile. Not only one but two...congratulations! Quote
Schnozzalee Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 The Fretless is my perfect bass - I want Quote
KiOgon Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 No! You don't want them cluttering up your space hand them over to me straight away & we'll say no more about them What a lovely couple Enjoy Quote
franzbassist Posted January 22, 2014 Author Posted January 22, 2014 [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1390414835' post='2345238'] WRT the looks I'd be tempted to swap the necks. Surprising that the fretless is more weighty. Any idea why? Also... the sound of the fretless is darker and more sexy.. IMHO Is this down to the strings? [/quote] [quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1390415524' post='2345248'] By the way, how did the white nylons turn out? [/quote] I am tempted to try swapping the necks as I agree the fretless would look great with that colour combination. Might even up the weight between the two as well. The white nylons are lovely strings. I've had black nylons on my Veillette since I got it and really grown to love their dark growl and low tension, so when the whites came out it was a no-brainer to try them. Quote
Roland Rock Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Gorgeous. A pickup selector like that is right up my street. I have a pickup pan on my bass, but only ever put it in those three positions anyway. I especially love the tone of the fretless on the neck pup. Quote
Guest Posted January 22, 2014 Posted January 22, 2014 Nice looking pair Gareth !! Well done matey. I'd be interested in your settings on the TH500 for these vids if you can remember how you had it. Cheers for now, Pete. Quote
franzbassist Posted January 23, 2014 Author Posted January 23, 2014 [quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1390432792' post='2345528'] I'd be interested in your settings on the TH500 for these vids if you can remember how you had it. [/quote] Hi Pete Good to hear from you! Gain: 11 Drive: 10 Bass: 11 Treble, Mid and Mid Freq all at noon Cheers Gareth Quote
Dingus Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Both those basses sound absolutely superb to me, Gareth. Classic Fender tones by the bucket load! Quote
visog Posted January 23, 2014 Posted January 23, 2014 Love a Fender P hot-rod... Gassing for this beaut... http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Sandberg_VM5_TB_VIB.html Quote
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