REVIEWED
FLEABASS Street Bass
A seriously funky starter bass from the Chili Peppers’ bassist, Flea…
Words: D.P. Wilson
Fleabass seem to offer a refreshingly different approach to the general idea of artist endorsement. Now it may not have escaped your attention that with a name like Fleabass the endorsee on this particular occasion is none other than Flea from legendary funk rockers The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The important difference is that rather than just allowing a major manufacturer to attach his name to an expensive signature instrument, Flea is in the position to be able to use his considerable experience and influence to improve the quality of instruments that are available to players on a budget and so he is actively involved in every aspect of the Street Bass’s development.
FLEABASS Street Bass
SRP £249.00
All prices include VAT CONT
ACT
Headline Music T:
W: 01223 874301
www.fleabass.com 26 3pickup
The Street Bass is also available in a range of suitably funky finishes: silver with a black scratchplate, black with a white scratchplate, white with a black scratchplate and baby blue with a white scratchplate. A bassist with Flea’s reputation wouldn’t put his name on anything that wasn’t deemed worthy but at the end of the day a budget bass is still a budget bass, so it is interesting to see how Fleabass has utilized Flea’s input to come up with an instrument that offers an acceptable level of playability and sound without straining those purse strings.
Street Level The Fleabass range currently consists of two models: the higher priced Touring Bass which is currently used live by Flea himself and the less expensive Street Bass that we are looking at here. Remembering when I first started playing bass, the quality of cheaper instruments was often somewhat lacking and at times was bad enough to actually put a less committed beginner off. So, with Flea prepared to put his name to it and promising quality results let’s take a look and see if the Street Bass offers something over the other budget basses out there. The first thing that strikes you
about the Street Bass is how damn funky it looks. It has a fairly standard offset double cutaway body and a four-a-side colour- matched headstock bearing the Fleabass logo and some nice cartoon graphics of a cheeky gapped toothed smile not unlike the man himself! The perfectly round scratchplate adds some sartorial elegance and instead of being held in place with screws it presumably must be attached to the instrument’s face with some kind of double sided tape. Don’t worry, though, whatever method they use to attach the scratchplate seems quite tough, and yes I did try to prize it off to no avail! The package is topped off with a decent quality gig bag, which looks better than the flimsy ones often supplied (if at all) with budget instruments. The one-piece maple neck is
apparently modeled after one of Flea’s own favourite vintage basses and the narrow nut width and slim neck would give me no reason to
doubt this. In fact, regardless of the price, this neck is a bit of a gem; the rosewood ‘board feels great and the satin finish on the back of the neck makes it super quick to boot! Our review bass also had a little bit of flame figuring going on too but this is probably luck of the draw. The machine heads work perfectly and do nothing to detract from the overall quality of the package. The body is a solid piece of Basswood, which sometimes has a reputation for being a bit cheap but there are some top-notch USA manufacturers that also use this timber and to be honest basswood is far more resonant than it is often given credit for. I’ve often found Basswood to have a lively sound with plenty of midrange; maybe a little less harmonically complex compared to, say, ash but a very stable and consistent timber, all the same. A single alnico humbucking
pickup is mounted within the circular scratchplate and is wired to a pair of passive volume and tone
This bass loves it when you knock seven shades of funk out of it!
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