PHILIP KUBICKI FACTOR 4-STRING ELECTRIC BASS GUITAR – USED 1989

Description

This instrument is in Good-Condition and showing wear and use. 

Philip Kubicki worked for Fender before starting his own shop in Santa Barbara in 1973. He is the man who built George Harrison’s legendary rosewood Telecaster. Factor bases are his brainchild, and are a lasting contribution to the evolution of the electric bass.

Kubicki Factor basses were introduced in 1985, and were quickly adopted by John Taylor and Stu Hamm. The Factor basses were innovative, both in their appearance and their sound.

Most obviously, these are headless basses. The bridge/tuner assembly is integrated into the end of the body, instead of being bolted to the top. The bridge is very different than the Steinberger system, in that the strings (normal strings, not double-ball strings) wrap around large drums, which provide a mechanical advantage so the tuning knobs are much easier to turn. Steinberger bridges use claws with narrow threads that are prone to wear due to the high stresses placed on them. I have never seen a worn-out Kubicki bridge.

The bodies are ergonomically contoured, and are very nicely balanced. A nice touch is the location of the output jack, which is next to the bridge. This makes it difficult to accidentally pull it out, and the bass fits nicely in a stand without the cable hanging up.

The necks are amazing, with a nut width that falls somewhere in between the Precision and Jazz bass profiles. They are crafted of 34 laminated pieces of maple with an ebony fretboard. I have yet to see one that warped or twisted. There is a conventional truss road that is accessed at the headstock, so you can adjust it while watching the relief. There are different necks for the standard Factor bass (34-inch scale, and the Ex-Factor, which has a 32-inch scale, and a clever detuner lever for a 36-inch scale E/D string.

The controls: two stacked pots (volume/pan, treble/bass boost), and a rotary selector switch with three passive, two active and one standby playing position.

We inspect each and every instrument we ship out for maximum playability. We adjust the action and adjust intonation when needed. If you would like a specific adjustment, just add it to your order notes and we would be happy to adjust to your liking. 

Serial Number: 1608 07 89

Case or Gig Bag Not Included

Important information if shipping outside of the USA:

Please note: To help insure the future availability of certain materials used in the construction of this instrument, additional fees and/or documentation may be required when shipping this item outside of the USA. This is due to the CITES treaty, which regulates international trade of certain materials like rosewood, abalone, and pearl. If you purchase this item to be shipped outside of the USA, we’ll determine whether the regulations apply to your order, and will contact you with more information if necessary