This Article Was Originally Published On: July 1st, 2014 #Issue 14.
The Company Line
My first introduction to George Furlanetto and F Bass was in the context of another review I did (for a different publication) back in 2007. That bass – a BN5 with a lovely buckeye top – made quite an impression. It struck me as esthetically unique, yet classy, and capable of delivering “modern” goods, but with undeniable vintage roots. Six and half years later, I’ve been privileged to get my hands on a number of George’s basses, and I have to say, that first impression still rings true.
George remains the patriarch of the F Bass family. More recently, his son, Marcel, has taken on a more involved role. Marcel has been hanging around the shop and working at a variety tasks for quite a while. He explains, “Back in 2004 (at the tender age of 16), I was jonesing for my first proper guitar and bass, so my dad suggested we build them together. I was over the moon, as I had always been obsessed with the construction of guitars and basses, their history/origin, and the tonal variation between wood species, hardware, and strings. It was at this point that he allowed me to get my hands dirty with F Basses … God bless him.” After obtaining his degree in business administration in 2010, Marcel has been focusing on sales, marketing, artist relations and customer support. If you’re conjuring up images of a plucky, two-man father-son team cranking out basses in the Great White North, I need to stop you right there. Yes, George and Marcel work closely together, and yes, F Bass, Inc. is, at its heart, a small company. However, the full F Bass team is closer to 10-strong (see the staff photo with the giveaway bass). This close-knit team is the key to F Bass’ success, as they are able to produce a goodly number of instruments each year (over 200), but quality control and customer service are still held to the highest standards.
F Bass offers five model lines: AC (Alain Caron Signature), ACC (Alain Caron Classic), BN (bolt-neck fretted), BNF (bolt-neck fretless), and VF (Vintage series). All models are available in 4, 5, or 6-string configurations, and numerous options are offered. For this review, we asked George and Marcel if we could check out one of their newest models, the VF4-P. This is a 4-string VF series bass with a single, split-coil (P-bass) pickup. We had talked about possibly reviewing a second model, and their most popular model – the BN5 – seemed like a good choice. As it turns out, I happen to own a 2008 BN5 (which I was inspired to order after that prior review), and it’s still in great shape (and up to current specs). Let’s check out these two basses in greater detail.
BN5: The Reference Standard
The funny thing about this bass is that it has already been involved in dozens of reviews in the pages of Bass Gear Magazine. As one of my “go-to” reference basses, it has provided a baseline for comparison for many other basses. In addition, it’s typically the first bass I grab when reviewing a new amp or cab, since I know what it can do, it is not overly colored (it doesn’t cover up what the other gear is bringing to the table), and it is wide-ranging, both in terms of tone and dynamics. But before I give away any more of the review, let’s take a look at the standard BN5 specs.
As the name implies, the BN series feature a bolt-on neck, made from 3-piece quarter-sawn maple, with 22 frets. The standard scale length is 34.5″. Why 34.5″? Marcel explains, “We designed our BN5s with the 34.5” scale, as it produces that extra bit of tension for clarity – most notably on the B string – making it much more useable and musical.” As a guy who has logged more gigs on a Gibson Thunderbird than any other bass, I am quite well-acquainted with this scale length, and I noticed it (and loved it) right away the first time I played a BN5. The fingerboard sports a compound radius (10″ to 16″), and the nut width is a very comfortable 1.75″. If you desire to deviate from these standard specs, F Bass has you covered. Available options include: 34″ scale length; 5-piece neck; 24 frets; Hipshot A-style, B-style or L plate steel bridge; bridge string spacing choices of 16mm, 17mm, 18mm, 19mm (standard) and 20mm; neck-through construction; and for you southpaws, left-handed construction.
Electronics are provided via two proprietary stacked humbucking pickups (with a coil-tap option) and a PEEQ Research 3-band, boost-only EQ. The BN5’s pickups are a hand-wound for F Bass by Jason Brown (also from Hamilton, Ontario), who has been winding these pickups for over twenty years, now. Gary Poplawski, of PEEQ Research, is another long-term friend and yet another Hamiltonian. According to George, “I asked Gary if he could make a by-passable, natural sounding preamp of the highest quality … and he pulled it off with flying colours. As a result, we’re boosting the natural tones the bass produces with total transparency. The Bass, Mid, and Treble controls are boost-only and are flat when totally rolled off (producing only the passive tone, no frequencies are being cut).”
If you throw six knobs on your typical bass, it’s going to look fairly busy. However, F Bass somehow manages to make it look very natural and unintimidating. In practice, those six knobs actually make a lot of sense, and are easy and straightforward to use. The three knobs closest to your fingers are volume, volume, passive tone; basically, a vintage J-bass setup. Volume/blend is also an option (for an upcharge). The passive tone control is push/pull for active/passive mode, and one of the volume knobs is push/pull for hum-cancelling/single-coil mode. The “lower” bank of three knobs controls the boost-only bass, mid, and treble controls. F Bass uses African blackwood for all of the knobs on the BN series (regardless of finish or top woods). Why this choice? George likes blackwood because it never splits. “It’s what clarinets and bassoons are made of. It also has a nice feel, and stands up to frequent use.”
F Bass offers their own stainless steel, exposed-core strings (custom-wound by La Bella). This BN5 came equipped with the following gauges: .043″, .063″, .085″, .102″ and .128″. These exposed-core strings are standard fare on the BN’s, which of course begs the question of why exposed-core strings? Marcel Furlanetto responds, “The steel core of our custom-gauge string is completely exposed over the bridge saddle for maximum contact. This produces great clarity, clean fundamental, and piano-like sustain.” George adds, “We developed these strings at the same time as the basses, so they complement the basses very well. We also found the low B to be one of the best-sounding strings on the market, with excellent fundamentals high up the fretboard and with the exact tonality as the other strings in the set.” One other observation I will make is that they are exceptionally long-lasting strings, which seem to keep their “fresh” tone forever.
Pretty much all BN5’s have ash bodies, which at first, seems a bit odd. I mean, in the world of custom-built basses, aren’t you supposed to be able to pick your body woods? There are varying schools of thought on this topic, many of which have been expressed in the Bass Gear Magazine Luthiers Round Table column. George Furlanetto is from the camp which believes that by sticking to a formula of design and materials, consistency can be maintained in all the basses produced. Plus, he just likes ash as a body wood. “I prefer the solidity of the bottom end, and the strong fundamental that it offers. After all, that’s what bass is all about, isn’t it?” To further this strategy, the predominant fingerboard wood used is maple.
When I placed the order for my BN5, I stuck with the tried-and-true ash/maple combo, but with a couple of requests. Bucking the trend for increasingly lightweight swamp ash bodies, I asked for a nice, solid northern ash body. Not a total boat anchor, mind you, but something a little on the more dense side. In my personal experience, heavier, more dense ash bodies contribute to tighter lows, a bit more sustain, and better dynamics – at least when we are talking about solid-body, non-chambered instruments. My other request was for a birdseye maple fingerboard. Boy, did George deliver on that front!
VF4-P: The New Kid on the Block
So, after 35+ years of making world-class basses, F Bass finally makes its first P-bass. What took so long, and why now? George and Marcel reply, “At F Bass, we’re known for building highly spec’d instruments with many features, but we wanted to throw back to a simpler time, when selecting the finish and deciding when to put the bass down for the night were the only decisions you had to make. That being said, for those who want to tailor their VF-P, we provide options including maple or rosewood fingerboards, alder or ash-cored/alder bodies, varying string spacing, varying scale length, active or passive electronics, and any finish under the sun.”
If you are thinking, “But, Tom, I know I’ve seen older F Basses with split-coil pickups.” This is true. In fact, many of George’s early instruments had split-coil pickups, often in pairs and placed in more or less J-bass locations. When asked about these early split-coil pickups, George explains, “In the beginning, I made and wound them, but as production numbers increased, I could no longer keep up. I had Fralin make some before Jason took over. These were phased out by the early ’90s, when we evolved into single-coil stacks, which had more output, bigger tone, single-coil/humcancelling capabilities, more dynamics and better string-to-string balance. I occasionally require some split-coils to be made, either for repair, custom order, or the limited run of Alain Caron BN6 Replicas.”
This new pickup in the VF-P basses is most definitely a proper P-bass pickup, and it’s made by Aguilar. Marcel tells us why: “Our VF4-P is loaded with Aguilar’s AG 4P pickup. Our F Bass single coils produced more of a modern tone, with a greater frequency range and clarity, but we wanted a pickup that distanced the VF model from the BNs for a truly different flavour. Aguilar have created some of the best pickups we’ve heard in years, and we’re blown away by the accurate vintage reproduction of the P pickup – big, round tone, focused midrange, and grind when you really dig in. We also do our VFs in a Jazz or P/J pickup configuration with Aguilar’s AG J-HC.”
The VF series basses also sport a bolt-on neck, but the details differ significantly between the VF and BN necks. The VF’s use 1-piece (as opposed to 3-piece) maple, constructed to a 34″ scale (as opposed to 34.5″), with a 9″ to 14″ compound radius (as opposed to 10″ to 16”), and have 21 frets (as opposed to 22). The nut widths are the same, though. George and Marcel shared some more insight with regard to the neck on the VF-P: “We love that classic P-bass tone, but aren’t always keen on the original’s playability and super-chunky necks. Our standard neck carve is a slightly rounded V shape, which eliminates bulky shoulders, while still retaining neck mass for great tone. However, we can vary the carve to suit players’ preferred style (C, D, V and anything in between).”
VF series basses can be ordered as a straight-up P-bass, a P/J, or a J-bass (with your choice of ’60s or ’70s spacing for the bridge pickup). Other options include choice of bridge (Hipshot A-style, B-style, or L-plate steel bridge), multiple ramp options, neck pickup cover, thumbrest, volume/volume or volume/blend (for 2-pickup models), and fully passive, versus the same 3-band PEEQ EQ featured in the BN5. Our test VF4-P was equipped with a lightweight alder body, maple fingerboard, Hipshot bent plate steel bridge (20mm spacing), Gotoh 20:1 tuners, a single Aguilar AG 4P-60 pickup and no preamp. Since the body is alder, our VF4-P shipped with DR Nickel Lo-Riders (.045 to .105 gauge). Ash-bodied VF’s typically get DR Marcus Miller stainless steel strings. If you choose a 5-string VF, then it will ship with a .120 gauge B string (nickel or stainless). F Bass has these custom-made by DR “for better fundamentals.”
At first glance, the VF series body bears a family resemblance to the BN and AC lines, but with a definite vintage twist. George/Marcel explain, “Our VF body shape is closer to the Fender body shape, so those Fender-exclusive-players can feel right at home. They hang similarly and are carved similarly. However, we round the edges a touch more for comfort and curve the treble horn outwards for those who prefer playing in the seated position.” Relative to the BN5’s body, the VF4-P is more compact, a bit thicker through the upper horn and has more moderate carves.
Esthetically Speaking
People use a variety of terms of endearment when describing inanimate objects, and I have to admit that the term which always comes to mind when I try and describe the F Bass esthetic is “sexy.” Before you judge me too harshly, hold one in your hands, check it out from every angle, play your favorite lick, and tell me I’m wrong. In the world of custom basses, if you stay too true to vintage cues, you are accused of making “Fender clones.” But if you diverge too far from the comfortable, established classics, you risk being pigeon-holed as “modern,” or your designs come across as unapproachable, or abstract. Across their varied model lines (which I think of as variations on a theme), F Bass has struck an amazing balance of innovation, art, and those “comfortable old shoes.”
At the time that I ordered the BN5, I was driving myself nuts drooling over all the fancy top wood options and finishes. But I found my eyes really popping out every time I looked at one of their blue basses. There’s blue, and then there’s blue, and believe me, F Bass knows blue! In addition, they have several treatments and finish options which draw out the beauty of the natural grain of the wood. The enhanced-grain blue finish just clicks with that killer birdseye maple board, and the look is completed by the black hardware and blackwood knobs. The wood pickup covers and the wood control cavity cover are hand-matched to the top and back, respectively. That is an awesome touch.
The BN5 body style has curves and carves all over the place, with a sculpted, “muscular” look. That upper horn, with its organic curves, is perhaps my favorite in the industry. It’s a tad on the long side, extending past the 11th fret. This moves 1st position back just a bit towards your body, and helps to make the 34.5″ scale feel more natural. The bottom strap button is also moved up from the centerline of the body, and is placed close to the B string side of the bridge, facilitating a very comfortable position when played on a strap. When playing in the seated position, you will appreciate the curve of the lower horn, which balances the bass nicely on your left leg. The VF4-P shares this lower horn curve, though the top horn extends only to just past the 12th fret. The belly cut and forearm contour on both basses also greatly enhance playing comfort.
The Bottom Line
George Furlanetto and F Bass have been among the elite group of top luthiers on the planet for years, and for good reason. These two basses highlight the vision and purpose, as well as the artistry, behind F Bass and its creations. In addition, George’s basses have exhibited exceptional stability and road-worthiness over the years. The expanding range of basses offered means that, more than ever, F Bass has something to offer just about any player. If you are interested in picking up your first custom-made bass, or if you are shopping for another horse to add to the stable, F Bass is a mandatory addition to your short list.
BN5 In-hand
| Features: | 4 |
| Tonal Flexibility: | 4.5 |
| Ease of Use: | 4 |
| Aesthetics: | 5 |
| Ergonomics: | 4.5 |
| Tone: | 5 |
| Value: | 4 |
In-hand Score 4.43average
TONE-O-METER:
Old school roots, with refinement, and modern capabilities. This BN5 is smooth as silk, but also defined, dynamic and powerful. A very versatile instrument.
VF4-P In-hand
| Features: | 3.5 |
| Tonal Flexibility: | 4 |
| Ease of Use: | 5 |
| Aesthetics: | 4.5 |
| Ergonomics: | 4.5 |
| Tone: | 4.5 |
| Value: | 4 |
In-hand Score 4.29average
TONE-O-METER:
The VF4-P is undoubtedly a P-bass at heart, but with enhanced clarity and playability. It goes from clean and clear to split-coil bark with ease. Smooth when you want it to be, but aggressive when you dig in.
