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Factor


lojo
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Do you mean a bass that he played on the X Factor, or the Kubicki Ex Factor bass he once used?
If you mean this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnHZ6LnEM-k
It looks like a Peavey Cirrus
If it's the Kubicki you're talking about, I've never played one but I'm sure chris2112 will be along shortly to fill you in - he's a big fan.

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I have owned several Kubicki basses, to include the Ex Factor, Factor and Key Factor. The Ex Factor has a 32" scale and by flicking a lever goes down to a full 36" scale D, the Factor is a 34" scale without the lever, and the Key Factor is 34" scale with regular tuning keys/head.

Phil Kubicki is known for his superbl necks. The ones on Kubicki's are perfectly between a classic P and J bass, super fast and comfortable. The 18V onboard electronics are extremely versatile, but do lean slightly toward "modern Fender:" sound, as Phil worked in the original Fender R&D shop from 1964 till the early 1980's. Phil now builds out of his shop in New Hampshire, USA.

One of the first and few basses that come standard with active and passive modes. I enjoyed mine more then most. They are exceptional for tapping and slapping, and you can also get some cool vintage tone out of them.

I just sold my last ones for $2000 USD. They can be found on eBay and on other forums for around $1400-$1900 USD regularly in very good condition.

The only thing I didn't really like about them was that in the passive mode there is a significant drop off in gain. Most active/passive switchable systems do this, but Phil's proprietary design for some reason goes down more then most. What I found was that I just used the hi-z input in my amp and kept the volume lower in actrive modes, so that when I needed to drop to passive mode I could turn the bass up and still maintain basic volume levels without having to run to the amp and do it there.

Hope that helps.

tom

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I've owned a Key Factor and an Ex Factor. Great gigging basses due to light weight, general ergonomics, super slim neck and a great 5 position pre-set sound switch.

My Ex Factor was my main gigging bass for a good few years, almost always played passive & swapping between the J & P type pre-sets depending on song.


They do pop up here pretty regularly and have plummeted like crazy in value from a few years ago. I'd budget around £700 - £800 for a nice one. Maybe a little less if it's got a lot of battle scars & a more if you find a really pristine one or something in a super rare colour :)

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  • 1 month later...

I just got a new one from Phil a couple of weeks ago. After some setup adjustment... plays like a dream and sounds incredible. Sold my Status Graphite Retroglide Kingbass for this. This one is also a little unique because instead of the standard Ebony fingerboard, I went for the laminated Maple fingerboard.

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[quote name='sirmoog' timestamp='1342376021' post='1733987']
I just got a new one from Phil a couple of weeks ago. After some setup adjustment... plays like a dream and sounds incredible. Sold my Status Graphite Retroglide Kingbass for this. This one is also a little unique because instead of the standard Ebony fingerboard, I went for the laminated Maple fingerboard.
[/quote]

So you've fixed it finally? Did my setup suggestions work for you?

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[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1342392719' post='1734340']
So you've fixed it finally? Did my setup suggestions work for you?
[/quote]

A little, I did manage to sort the neck out. It seemed a lot of the X-Factors have that same neck setup and Phil said that the neck has to have some undebow. So I spent time with the bridge saddles and the truss rod and it worked. Still not exactly like your setup but close enough. :D

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