F Bass Studio 5

[bassjamm]

Hi all,

I thought it's about time i got round to giving some views on some of the gear i own. Starting with my old faithfull

Spec:
F Bass 'Studio' 5
Black Ceruse finish
Solid swamp ash body
34.5" scale
3 piece maple neck
Maple Fingerboard
20 Mandolin frets
Black Headstock with 2 over 3 tuners
Birdseye maple top to back of headstock
Hipshot Bridge
19mm string spacing
F Bass 3 band EQ (volume, volume with single coil/humbucker, tone with active/passive, bass, mid, treble - eq boost only)
F Bass matching top Humbucker pickups with single coil function

I've owned this bass since about June 2006, in which time i've got to know it quite well and put it's through it's paces. The bass was made in late 2003/early 2004.

Quality:
Quite simply phenominal build quality. George pays extreme attention to detail, from pick covers that match the ceruse finish grain, to rear routing plate covers that also match the grain, ebony knobs, the birdseye maply rear headstock facing...you name it, the bass has build quality stamped all over it. The construction is very solid too, i've never felt i'm putting it under too much stress or strain, never found it to be too flimsy...and never found a thing i don't like about it really. As for the quality of the electronics, these too are quite staggering, the pre-amp section offers a huge variety of tones, especially with the ability to go passive, on to run it single coil or humbuckers etc. And the pickups are spot on too...the electronics as a whole are faultless in my opinion. I love the tone control, and the whole vol/vol/tone thing, not having a master volume and blend doesn't bother me at all.

Sound:
This is where it gets interesting. The sound is quite simply, beautiful, it's so smooth and polite, a true gem in the studio. As some of you may know, i've considering selling this, but after a recent trip to the studio, the tech's have re-assured me that doing this would be criminal...and having the time to hear it through the studio set-up, i was just sat there playing away, listening to the sweetness of the notes as they sang through!!! I'd say the bass is probably the most versitile i've played. I can get the whole Jazz bass sound without and problems, i matched my old USA Jazz '99's sound exactly, but i can also get that full sound by having both pickups on full, or by using it in the humbucking mode. I tend to run it in single coil for that jazz bass honk, the tone rolled back so it's about 45% on, with the neck pickup on about 60%, the bridge on full. Total Jazz bass glory...then i have the treble on about 50%, the mid 85%, and bass about 65%. It's just a very polite and extremely butter smooth in every way. The low end, right down to the B, whilst being absolutely huge, is very tight, but smooth, so extremely usable, and the highs sing through with beautiful clarity, no harshness whatsoever, the mids are punchy and bit a bit of bite, but nothing like Ari's old Atelier Z. I can't say it pulls of the vintage jazz bass sound all that well, but i'm not bothered by that. I've used it as my main gigging bass since i got it too. It's served me well in my 4 piece soul/acid jazz/funk group, it really filled the pocket there, but i'm struggling with it in my 7 piece all out funk band, it doesn't cut through quite as much as i'd like. Whether it's my amp or what, i don't know...but i've steered towards using my fretless of late live. As for other gigs...Jazz gigs are a new experience with this beast, it sits so beautiful in the bass role, walking sounds smooth with both pickups on full, the tone rolled off...step up to do a solo and it just sings through, unbelievable! Slap tone - well, many say these are some of the best slappers about, i personnally quite like it for slapping, and whilst i'm not much of a slapper, i do agree it does a good job, nothing like Kiwi's Celindar update 4, but it holds it's own right...check out some of Alain Caron's slap on F files!

F Bass interaction:
George is a real pleasure to deal with in every way. I've had a few conversations via e-mail about the bass, and he's really nice to deal with...i went about getting a quite for a custom job once, he's a shrewd business man, but sticks to his guns and maintains the F Bass quality through his customer service!

Niggles:
I'm a bit upset that i'm not getting on with it in my 7 piece band at the moment, it's such an awesome instrument, it feels wrong leaving it at home to do a gig. I'm working with it to see what i can do though, so we'll see. Sometimes wish the spacing was narrower, but it is by no means hard to get around! It's not too light, you know you've got it on, but i'd rather this as you can feel the quality in every repsect! Could do with the action lower, guess that just a case of the good old tools out at fingers crossed

Pro's:
The small mandolin frets are a wicked touch, i love them. You can really pull off some cool fingerstyle funk licks, and some cool vibrator slides! It's a very forgiving bass in my opinion, but then again, i've got to know it quite well. When i first played it, i was far less experienced and didn't really know what i was doing, i've learnt to work well with it now though and you can really get some great stuff out of it. I can honestly say, whatever i've thrown at it, it's come back with not just a pleasing result, but as if to say 'is that all you got'. I've put it through it's passes in the studio, and i now know why the model is named 'studio' 5 because this things belongs in the studio. I prefer it in there as opposed to on stage, it's a but too polite for funk and r'n'b sometimes...it's not rude enough, doesn't have enough 'balls' as it were, but i respect that of it. Take it on a functions gig, jazz, soul, smaller acid jazz/funk gigs, and it shows why it's worth in excess of £1400...it's wicked!

So, safe to say i love the bad boy...just wish it'd fit in my current funk band a little better, but i'm not going to dwell on that too much.

I don't really think that there's too much else that can be said really. If any of you have any questions, or want to come and have a go on it, just leave a message on here, or send me a pm.

Hope this has helped in some way or another.

Thanks
Jamie