Fleabass

[Rayman]

First impressions of the Fleabass are as follows....(these are [i]my opinions[/i], others may disagree).......

[u]Pros[/u]:

I like the design and colours offered, many don't, I do. Mine's the Blue/Orange "Water" bass.

[i]For me[/i], out of the box with no adjustments, the setup is great. I like a medium action, not too low so I can pound the strings if I want, but not too high so that I can back off and groove in comfort too. The bass came exactly how I like it.

It feels nice, good balance, plays well acoustically, slaps nicely, and there's little buzz. The frets feel fine to me, no sharp edges, and the nut's not bad.

Fit and finish, the neck fits the pocket very snuggly, no shoddy paintwork that I can see on the body anywhere and the knobs feel pretty dependable.

Cool gigbag with some nicely embroidered logos on the front, feels like around 10/15mm padding.

[u]Cons[/u]:

OK, so the tone is....unexciting shall we say, but only through the Tascam, I haven't had chance to play it through a rig yet. My favourite tone is with the tone pot set around halfway. It sounds more like a mid control than bass/treble though, maybe it is, I haven't read up on that yet. So there isn't a lot of top end sparkle, and the bottom end is lacking a bit.

Fit and finish, I've seen worse, as mentioned before the truss recess is poorly finished, and the rear control plate isn't the cleanest fit.





I like this bass, more than I thought. My wife bought it for me for Xmas, and I'm glad she did, I'm going to have fun with it. Upgrades will surely follow, firstly an EMG 35HZ, and maybe the EQ too, and I like brass nuts, so I'll have one of those too.

Is it going to rival the Sadowsky at gigs? No, but it'll certainly come out for a couple of tunes, and I'll be perfectly proud to use it.

I think these basses have had an unfair press on here. Some may be better than others, but the couple I've tried have been genuinely great. I think maybe they [i]are[/i] a bit expensive as I'd but them into the Epi Thunderbird, OLP Tony Levin kind of bracket (I've had both), and while I think the Thunderbird is a better bass for that money, I believe the Fleabass is not far behind, and [i]for me[/i] it's a better bass than the OLP was out of the box.

A brand new bass really shouldn't need obvious upgrades, especially at this price, but the Fleabass really does need a better pickup, the stock pup is pretty lifeless, but the rest of the instrument is great IMO.

I'm a 44 year old bloke with 30 years of playing on and off behind me, and I've owned/played a lot of decent gear, so I know what's good and what's crap. The Fleabass is not crap, but it needs further attention to detail and a keener price. If it was made in Japan maybe it'd be a cracking bass, but probably even more expensive. Get it [i]under[/i] £300 and it'd be a better option, and in fact I only paid a fraction over that for mine after looking around.

The Fleabass is not for everyone, but [i]it is [/i]for me, and I'm going to have fun with it, that's if I can prize it out of my daughters hands.

I'll give a few more details on sound and playability after I've rehearsed/gigged it.

Edited January 2, 2010 by Rayman

[OutToPlayJazz]

Nice balanced thoughts there, Rayman. I'm glad someone's found a good example, as the ones I tried were horrific. The quality issues apart, I liked the bass itself & the overall design was fresh and well thought out. If they were literally half the price I'd have a hunt for one of those seemingly elusive nice ones.

[MB1]

MB1.
+Twelvety Rich!
...Cant understand why Flea has put his name to a passive bass when for the larger part of his career hes played Active basses?.....Money Perhaps??

Edited December 28, 2009 by MB1

[ezbass]

[quote name='Rayman' post='694695' date='Dec 28 2009, 09:19 AM']OK, so the tone is....unexciting shall we say, but only through the Tascam,[/quote]

None of my basses sound particularly good through my Tascam so you definitely want to get it going through a good amp. If only Tascam could have used the Korg Pandora tone stack, it would be unbeatable.

Good balanced review of a bass that gets a fair amount of bad press due to it's celeb connection. I haven't played one so can't comment, but I do like the fact that they come in 2 sizes so that kids (or smaller people) can get to grips with our instrument without having to have a short scale Fender or Gibson and at a reasonable price too.

[quote name='Rayman' post='694695' date='Dec 28 2009, 09:19 AM']and I like brass nuts, so I'll have one of those too.[/quote]

Surely these come in pairs and will clang together when walking?

I'll get my coat.

[yorks5stringer]

No fleas on that review....

[Grand Wazoo]

A lot of shops are offering 50% off by the way, sorry to say I have tried them and I thought..... well best not say what I thought of them.

[basshead56]

[quote name='bass5' post='694876' date='Dec 28 2009, 03:01 PM']A lot of shops are offering 50% off by the way, sorry to say I have tried them and I thought..... well best not say what I thought of them.[/quote]

Which ones are offering 50% off?

[Beedster]

[quote name='ezbass' post='694832' date='Dec 28 2009, 01:22 PM']None of my basses sound particularly good through my Tascam[/quote]

Absolutely, you'll have no idea of the PUP's real tone until you give it a fair chance at volume.

C

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='basshead56' post='695036' date='Dec 28 2009, 06:41 PM']Which ones are offering 50% off?[/quote]

I got a newsletter from the Bass Centre last October saying they were offering them for a limited period at 50% off, but I see now that they brought the prices back up, however they are still selling them £90 cheaper than retail price [url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/fleabass-the-wild-one.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...e-wild-one.html[/url]

[Rayman]

Quick update....

I decided to put my favourite strings on the Fleabass while doing the same to the Sadowsky, a nice new set of Super Slinkys. I also Lemon Oiled the fretboard, and once I'd gotten rid of a couple of layers of brown crap off the fingerboard, it's actually a very nicely playable fretboard indeed.

I must reiterate, the setup out of the box is spot on for me, I still haven't changed anything there at all, the saddles and action are spot on, so maybe [i]some[/i] of these basses actually [i]do[/i] get a decent setup before dispatch.

I won't lie though, the pickup is coming out at the earliest possible juncture, ie; next week, once the EMG arrives from Thomann. The stock pickup is very middy indeed, and if Flea's intension was to create a Stingray/Modulus type of [i]sound[/i] on a budget he's failed miserably. However, I still believe that with the addition of the EMG (I'll be keeping it passive for now) some decent pots and a brass nut it should be a cracking little bass.

I'll be rehearsing with it for the first time on Tuesday night, and I doubt the upgrades will be done before that, so I'll update the post again after anything significant occurs.

[Ancient Mariner]

The bass centre have a bunch of fleabasses for £289 as B stock (due to finish damage) if anyone's interested.

[url="http://www.basscentre.com/bass-guitars-amps-sale.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/bass-guitars-amps-sale.html[/url]

HTH

[Rayman]

A rehearsal with the Fleabass (before the upgrades) was enough to convince me not to use it for last nights gig. It was very middy and lacking any serious punch. The tone control did very little to make things any better.

Playability is really good with this bass, it's really only a tone issue now for me.

It's now with my tech having the upgrades done, I'll post again when it's finished.

[J3ster]

I've not played one myself, and I realise for yourself this was a present..

But for anyone else doing the same (unless it's a looks thing) if you put the price of the Bass together with the mods you are buying will it not come to a sum that would buy you a stock Bass you were happy with??

Edited January 10, 2010 by J3ster

[Rayman]

Yes of course, but then I've had basses worth a grand plus that I've modded too, in fact my Sadowsky is about to have a Vintage Tone Control fitted which is not standard either.

I think it would be a shame to write these Fleabasses off, when the addition of a decent pickup would improve them immensely. Maybe it'll all be a waste of time [i]and[/i] money, we'll see.

[J3ster]

I hope it's not a waste of time and you get an awsome Bass - I think the look of these Basses is intriguing and one that is a 'wolf in sheeps clothing' would be quite cool..

Would love to see a Mod one at a Bass bash come out the case and blow some socks off!!

[Rayman]

OK, so the mods are done,

EMG-35HZ, CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, and a sexy brass nut.

I won't hear it at volume until next weeks band rehearsal, but first impressions are very good post upgrade. Much punchier, more tonal options (although not a vast selection still), it's still quite middy but with more clarity at the top end.

Closer inspection since last post has revealed pretty poor quality tuners. They keep it in tune ok, but the casting isn't consistent leaving slightly different sized tops to the tuning posts, not ideal, they might get pimped to later down the line. Also I think the maple used for the neck is quite soft and will ding very easily, although the fretboard is now very nice to play. The finish on the [i]back[/i] of the headstock is frankly hopeless.

I still love this bass I really do. I love the design and colours as pointed out before, and the mods have made it a sensible backup to the Sadowsky for gigs on occasion, although the Precision will hold that job down most of the time. The mods were a necessity though, as in all honesty it was a very ordinary bass for the price tag out of the box, even though I was happy with the setup and general playability of it on first play.

I'll post again once I've rehearsed/gigged it for a proper sound analysis, and I'll post a couple of pics too.

[Rayman]

By the way, my tech who did the work for me, reckoned the stock electrics were very poor quality indeed. The entire contents of the control compartment, including the pickup, went in the bin.

[Guest johnzgerman]

sounds to me like most of the hardware and all the electronics need to be replaced to make this bass useable for anything, and now your saying the woods used are aslo substandard. doesnt sound like a very good bass to me.

[xilddx]

I'm afraid I'm starting to think the same way. I reckon Wayne (PunkDude) would be able to knock something up out of a £80 beater with a few upgrades and one of his spanky paint jobs, £200 all in and you'll have, essentially, a custom Fleabass which will look, sound and play better. I might try it myself and have a bit of fun

[Rayman]

Well, yes I guess you could say that. I feel that I'll have a decent bass at the end of it, but the longer I have it, the more I realize they really are over priced for what they are, and mr Balzary's vision is through cheap chinese made rose tinted spectacles somewhat.

Never the less, I'm having fun with the project, my daughter will inherit the bass eventually anyway, and she loves it.

It's only really going to be used for fun, for the odd gig, and for at home, so I won't be throwing much more money it's way now.

I can't see the Sadowsky being under threat from this bass.

[rasher80]

Who did the tech work for you Rayman?

[Rayman]

Steve Robinson "Manchester Guitar Tech" in Sale.

[rasher80]

Thought it might have been

[Rayman]

Notice the difference in the thickness of the top of the two posts, only one of them is thinner, the other three are the same.

[Rayman]

The finished bass. £309 for the bass, 50 EUR for the EMG from Thomann, CTS pots, Switchcraft jack and brass nut all fitted for £60.

I've had it cranked up at gig volume this morning, and I have to say it sounds awesome and plays absolutely great, and I still love how it looks. Very impressed with the EMG, it'll be ideal for my band in terms of punch, so I'm looking forward to gigging it.

As I say, I'll post after a gig and report on the tone etc then.