F-Bass BN5 Fretless

2000 model f bass bnf5 fretless
canadian handbuilt 5 string bass
alder body, maple neck w/ebony board
passive w/volume/volume/tone controls
bought this bass new in raleigh, nc
traditional 3 tone sunburst
after playing many other fretless basses including pedulla, roscoe,
warwick, fender, ibanez, zon i felt this was the bas for me. comes with a custom levy gigbag that has a nice large pocket for accessories.

indeed a quieter woody sound than others but that is a quality of this bass. played through ampegs br5 amp head and one 18" peavey subwoofer cabinet along side 1 hartke xl 4-10 and 1 hartke xl 15"
aluminum speakered cabinets and driven clean is comforting. add in
some octave and cathedral reverb this bass gets deep and filling.
definitely not a bright marcus miller slap axe but slapped controllably she can growl big. live i get many comments on its fullness and studio work it does the same. consistence is the word.

action is perfect for me. the neck allows freedom and long play without tiring the left hand, often pull it out of the gigbag and jump in on a set without tuning up without great difficulty. George's
workmanship is indeed excellent. definitely up ther with the best of them.

Solid is the word. have had this bass one year? now and play it most of the time. have no disagreements with this bass. it is a bit of a boutique type instrument and it hurts me more than it hurts the bass if i carelessly nick it. but so far it has needed no adjustments of any type for playability.

George Furlanetto builds them and is quite the friendly sort of guy.
is always quick to answer his emails and questions and queries i fire off to him. his warranty is lifetime against defects (i havent found any). looking forward to meeting him one day.

plaing music all my life. bass guitar for approximately 35 years. all
styles of music from folk to country to hard rock and now mostly gospel music for a large church in south carolina. 1500 members and a
200 voice choir. we record live and send cds throughout the world.
i also have a modulus quantum 6 string, fender jazz v mexican fretless, fender american jazz fretted v, fender jazz 4 60's, dean 6 edge fretless. they all have their own voice but this f bass is my favorite. compared it with pedulla, warwick, roscoe, ibanez, alembic,
ken smith, and others but it won me over and has not ket me down. it is the quietest of the bunch but thats why my amp has a volume knob.

* Made in '99,
* 5 string Alder body with Maple center taper and oil finish,
* 34'" three piece quarter-sawn Maple neck bolt-on,
* 28 " fret" Ebony fretboard,
* 2 passive hum-cancelling soapbar pickups covered in wood (grain matches the body),
* African blackwood knobs, and an Ebony bridge.

A very nice F-Bass preamp is available as an option; I think "passive" should have been the option, otherwise great features.

This is a bass made for those that like straight-up fretless sound -made for Jazz and Fusion. The "Mwah" sound is there in spades -just what your doctor ordered, but that's the only sound. I, however, would opt for the optional preamp. I like the sounds it would add to the .already great woody tone.

I played the bass through an Eden amp & Epifani 310 cab. The bass was quiet and responsive.

The bass was set-up perfectly at the factory and played like it. The fit and finish were what you should expect from a high-end bass. The neck was tight, the fretboard was of high quality, the oil finish felt satiny to the touch. The matching wood grain on the pickups was a nice touch too.

As far as I can tell, this bass will last through live gigging. I think most who will buy it will be playing Jazz or R&B, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for other types of music.

I've talked to George at length several times about his products. I intend to order a fretted 5 string from him, as I have no doubt he is a customer friendly kind of guy, and although the warranty has limits, he would work with you on any problems you have; he just wants bassist to play and enjoy his basses. I also plan to get a custom fretless in the future.

overall, I give this bass a 9; no 10 because it lacked the preamp. I have also played the fretted F-bass 5, and (in passive mode) I think it's what a pre-CBS Jazz V would have sounded like. In active mode, it's what the Jazz V wants to be.

alder body 5 string fretless with satin finish 2 jazz pickups passive electronics wooden bridge. bolt on neck black tuners 35' scale ash body maple neck

i really didn't find this bass too pleasing the sound is to lousy

the action was set up alright not the best

i would use this bass only as a back up,this bass's tone is too thin

no opinion

i think this bass sucks for $2000 i should of stayed with the best,,ALEMBIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! there is no other!!!!