PRODUCT REVIEW
Brown’s Guitar Factory
Fretted/Less 4-String Bass – Bolt-on Series
BY KEVIN BORDEN
John Brown, the brains behind Brown’s
Guitar Factory and a long-time Premier
Guitar columnist, recently released his
new bolt-on Fretted/Less bass at the 2007
Summer NAMM show. Based on the popular through-body neck designs, the premise of this bass is to provide the utmost in
versatility: a bass fretted from the nut to
the 12th fret and a fretless second octave
– except for the 23rd and 24th degrees,
which are fretted for funk-style slapping.
The Honeymoon
When I finally laid my eyes on the Fretted/
Less, my first impression was a Guild Pilot
meets a Gibson Victory. Showing the bass
off to four or five instrumentally-inclined
friends confirmed that I wasn’t crazy
– they all said the exact same thing. The
other thing we all agreed on was there are
two trends we’re noticing with boutique
bass luthiers: designs are pleasing from
most, but not all angles or they are a
direct Fender knock-off. The alder body on
this bass looks great from all angles and
definitely captures a modern appearance
without coming across as kitschy. Kudos to
John for a fresh design.
Picking it up, the first thing you’ll notice
is the impeccable fit and finish. The bass
tested was Brown’s NAMM demo bass, so
I expected some wear and tear. The thing
I didn’t expect was how good the finish
looked after hours of heavy use. The back
of the instrument is painted a very chic
piano black and it looks flawless. The top
– made of AAA flamed maple – has a yellowish stain that from two feet away looks
like old school Gibson, in a sort of korina/
TV finish way.
This bass is really a joy to examine, if only
to find a new appreciation for all of the
work that’s gone into the details. I was
very pleased with the way the painted
back stopped at the seam where the top
joined the body – it was executed with
amazing precision. The component routes
were impeccable and the electronics
were all perfectly trimmed and soldered.
The hardware – including an optional
Kahler 2410 bass tremolo tail, Hipshot UL
tuners and good ol’ Schaller strap locks
– was perfectly aligned, and the fretwork and setup on this thing was stellar.
Brown’s Guitar Factory has covered even
the smallest of appointments; the 9-volt
battery resides in a nylon bag in the body
cavity, the control cover is screwed into
brass inserts – not directly into the wood,
and it features a Neutrik locking input jack.
A terrific feature in the cavity is a dual-dip
switch, mounted to the PC board, that
lets you adjust the frequency response
four different ways (Center Frequency,
2. 1 khz, 3. 5 khz, 4. 5 khz, and 7.0 khz) so
you can choose the sound that’s right for
you. All of this was packed into a comfy
nine pounds.
The one thing I will say about this bass is
that it was not off the rack. Each bass is
finely tailored to your specifications and
you can expect a four to six month build
time. This Fretted/Less is available in a
variety of configurations; 5 and 6-string
options are available, along with a 35-inch
scale length. The bottom line is if you
can dream it, Brown’s will build it.
The Real World
Most bass builders model their necks
and hang position in one of two
manners: a) they emulate a Fender
or b) have their own creative positioning. Brown obviously went with option B
in designing the neck but in doing so did
something very interesting. The bass hangs
