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A key figure in the history of the electric guitar, Philip Kubicki worked alongside Roger Rossmeisl in the Fender R&D department, ushering in the Kingsman and Concert acoustic guitars, LTD and Montego archtops as well as the Thinline and Rosewood Telecasters before leaving in 1971 to pursue his own guitar projects, culminating in the Factor Bass.
First seen in the hands of John Taylor of Duran Duran on Saturday Night Live in 1985, the bass quickly found favor with luminaries such as Stu Hamm and Vail Johnson.
This particular example was made in January of 1993 (the last four digits of the erial number denote month and year) and was sold through the Bass Centre in London. Thank you to Carla Clark of Kubicki for the information.
The bass is in great condition. There are the inevitable marks to the finish though these are not extensive and overall the bass seems to have been very well cared for.
Made of 34 pieces of hard rock maple, the neck is designed to be stiffer to counteract the weight of the vibrating string and is glued perpendicular to the ebony fingerboard to provide some glue joint tension and thus resist twisting. The lacquer has worn comfortably and there are some minor signs of wear on the fingerboard. The string clip works well and really is the icing on the cake of this very versatile bass.
Hardware shows some very minor signs of corrosion but nothing too extensive. Tuning is done via a patented tuner/bridge module where the string is held in a ratcheted wheel with fine tuning done via the tuning knobs. Unsurprisingly these work very well.
Electrical everything is in great shape. The pickups are Kubicki designed humcancelling pickups that work both active and passive. As this is a Kubicki made bass, the active circuitry operates at 18v (those licenced by Fender between 1988 and 1991 utilised a 9v active circuit) A rotary control lets you select between two active modes and three passive with a mute function.
The guitar comes with its correct hardshell case.
Clear, articulate tone with plenty of scope for shaping in a package that instantly feels comfortable and familiar, there is nothing not to like about this bass. Its status is justified.
Not just for John Taylor wannabes, this is surely a must have for anyone serious about bass. Your tone demands it…
