franzbassist

[quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1466688173' post='3077903'] Looks beautiful and no doubt sounds it too, bet it weighs a ton! [/quote] Thanks, and thanks to the chambered body it actually weighs in at 8 3/4 lbs

Hello all I just wanted to share my new bass with you, a Sirius fretless, made by Xaver Tremel at Franz Bass Guitars in Bavaria. As many BC folk know, I play fretless almost exclusively, and have searched for many years to find "the one". I've come close a few times, most notably with a Veillette Archtop and the ACG Recurve I'm selling at the moment, but with this bass, I truly believe that my search is over The body is walnut, chambered and very slightly curved, with a "thermo" maple top. My understanding of the "thermo" process is the wood is heat treated, which apart from changing the colour also makes it respond in a way that is more typical of older wood (i.e. more resonant, better sustain). The through-neck is a nine piece combination of "thermo" ash, with walnut stripes and what look like maple stringers. The neck has an asymmetric profile (thinner on the treble side than the bass) and also features carbon fibre reinforcement. The fingerboard is ebony, radiused from 10" to 16" and extended (to what would be 32 "frets") all the way to the pickup, so it also makes a great ramp. Scale length is 34.5" I wasn't sure about the end of the fingerboard shape when looking at the pictures initially, as I'd have preferred to see the fingerboard either echo the pickup shape or just have a straight end, but it actually works really well. The hardware is all top notch: Gotoh tuners, and ETS 3D bridge with a lovely ebony-block to pass the strings through the body. The pickup is a Delano Xtender twin coil in line humbucker, with passive electronics of just volume, tone, and a switch to change the output between humbucker, single coil and parallel. In terms of ergonomics, the bass weighs 8 3/4 lbs, but balance is perfect. It's [i]beautifully[/i] put together, and finished in an oil wax finish that feels wonderfully tactile and organic. The carving is smooth, gentle curves, all executed perfectly; you can tell that Xaver trained as a cabinet maker! The neck is amazing. It's thin, front to back, and there are no dead spots anywhere. Every note rings out loud and true - the bass sings - and with the rigid neck and chambered body the sustain is wonderful. String spacing is set at 19mm, so there's load of space, but it can be adjusted up or down should you wish. The electronics are simple but effective. The tone control is useful at every position, unlike on some basses where anything less than "full up" results in a quacky sort of thump. The pickup switch also gives three very different flavours to the tone, so lots of variation on tap at the flick of a switch. Xaver's basses are not cheap, but the minute you hold one you know it's a piece of exquisite craftsmanship Gareth

[quote name='sumorabbit' timestamp='1466602603' post='3077153'] Ahh yes, you will be the chap with the 5 string blue BSX. I did watch your video a few times, it's where I saw the arm out the back and imagined it would be hard to get the neck to your shoulder for thumb position with the arm there? I think the rolling problem will be the kicker for me though, I have a knackered, tired and weak wrist that can't support a rolling bass with my thumb. Ta Paul [/quote] Yep, that's me, and yes, I'd agree it's not the easiest for thumb position.

Hi Paul I had a BSX for a few years - you may have seen my video review on eBay - and loved it to bits, but I would say it had the same rolling problem you describe, but only when digging in. That said, it sounded fantastic Cheers Gareth

Can you use both inputs at the same time?

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1466143131' post='3073591'] Och, now you're just showing off. That is amazingly beautiful. [/quote] Thanks, yes it is quite the looker. [quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1466169384' post='3073837'] Oh my! Is there an NBD thread for this that I've missed? [/quote] Not yet, but one will follow soon enough

Here's my new main squeeze

I feel your pain. I took Thursday off last week to wait for PF to deliver. They never turned up, and when I rang in the evening they said "drivers learning the route, didn't deliver 24 items"! I asked them to hold the bass at the depot, which they said they would. Next morning I check PF website nice and early.... "out for delivery"! So I ended up having to take two days off work due to PF's incompetence! Supportive rant over!

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1462184202' post='3040818'] Didn't you just sell one? [/quote] No, I had the version with eq, not just the power Something like this is what I'm after.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1464733416' post='3062096'] Ok - so I'm biased but BassGear is in Twyford which isn't very far from Hampshire at all and has a big range of amps and two demo rooms [/quote] I'm not biased, but would also recommend Bass Gear. Easier to get to as well!

Progress

Most excellent bang for the buck.

It'll do the job well enough, although I'm sure someone will be along to recommend linseed oil or some other in due course. I would imagine the board isn't so badly eaten up that it needs any remedial work yet.

I put my basses in Mono Sleeves. Plenty padded enough for the use you describe above. The Vertigo is a nice bag too and would probably fit behind the seats as well, but I think the M80 would be too wide. Great bags, very well made.

I have to say the Mk III body shape is pretty much the perfect design of any bass for me. That walnut in particular looks amazeballs

I've used Dunlops for years and never had a problem. I much prefer them to Schaller. Once saw a '68 Les Paul without straplocks hit the ground when it came off a strap. It wasn't pretty

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1463224187' post='3049685'] It's not terrible by any means. I wouldn't buy it, but I've heard an awful lot worse. [/quote] +1. I didn't like the SR at the time, but have come to appreciate them over the years, bit like Duran Duran..... I can see it going down a storm at gigs though.