Freshman FJ2 - Archtop Guitar

It’s not often that a new piece of kit arrives on my desk and I’m really impressed – no, I mean seriously impressed. Freshman is a company known for its attention to detail and an almost obsessive approach to getting it right, and this FJ2 is typical of the brand. With timbers sourced in Canada and elsewhere, the FJ2 (pictured right) has been manufactured in China, but not just at any factory.

These guys certainly know their business and they definitely turned up and tuned in for the FJ2! This guitar really looks the business, with clean, smooth lacquering on the solid flame maple top, back and sides.

It has 20 frets on a rosewood board and comes with mother of pearl parallelogram markers and a slightly wider than normal nut width of 46mm, which makes it a more comfortable player for those of us with larger hands. The maple neck is a 3 piece and feels very much like that of a Gibson, having a similar profile. While the Kluson influenced tulip head tuners also reflect the Gibson style. The Lyre brass tailpiece is standard generic Chinese – shame. And I would have preferred to see a standard adjustable rosewood bridge rather than the slightly out-of-sorts tune-o-matic.
 
But the beauty of this instrument is surely in its sound. Helped by a three piece neck dovetailed into the body and scalloped parallel bracing, the acoustic sound is both warm and mellow with an excellent response, together with plenty of resonance and exceptional sustain. And that’s even before you’ve plugged in the two ’buckers. Plugged in, both the neck and bridge pickups are voiced to complement the tonal characteristics of the instrument, giving a silky, rich tone with plenty of character and depth; dig in, and you can really make this instrument speak.  For more info go to www.freshmanguitars.co.uk

Bassix Newtech  - Upright Bass

This is truly space age stuff. Based on the “stick” bass, this new upright is about as cool as it gets. Made out of modern composite materials and using a revolutionary harmonic generator system, the instrument comes in three separate sections: the body, the end pin and the quarter “shadow” profile. Setting up the bass couldn’t be easier and can be done in a matter of seconds by feeding the endpin through the hole in the profile and then attaching it by means of a sturdy screw and rolled nylon nut to the back of the body, before finally attaching the profile section, once again to the back of the body, by means of a second screw and nut system. And in the playing position, it’s surprising how natural it all feels with the preformed ‘horn’ placed perfectly for the octave.

Being made entirely from composite materials means that there is no movement or physical variation when climatic conditions change – a real bonus where temperature and humidity are an issue. The harmonic generator is set in a small acoustic chamber behind the fingerboard with volume, bass and treble settings, so that the player can adjust the levels to their own sonic preference. The adjustable bridge sits above two piezo pickups, with a jack socket set just below at the bottom of the fingerboard.

Fitted with Presto nylon wound strings, it was surprising how close our sample instrument got to sounding like a traditional string bass with the volume set on full and the treble setting slightly higher than the bass. I was also amazed by the amount of sustain that could be achieved.

It would seem like the perfect instrument for the bass guitar player who’s looking for a completely different sound and the challenge of an upright. That said, I can see seasoned string bassists looking at the lightweight and compact nature of the instrument, the surprisingly “true” sound and thinking – that will do nicely! For more go to www.bassix.net

Humes & Berg Mutes

Jazzwise sampled two of the trumpet mutes from the stonelined collection of this American maker. First to the bell was the 111C Wah-Wah Copper Mute. A well-made, robust product, it was nonetheless a heavy weight in mute terms and on our trumpet, made it particularly bell heavy. However, this copper mute has plenty of body in the sound and is very clear and clean. With the plunger in, it produces a hard, tight sound. With the plunger out it is immediately more loose and mellow. The Mica Mute (104), is altogether a simpler, more matter of fact model. Again, the build quality is excellent.

The sound is very bright and clear and you can almost hear the stonelining’s distinctive edge. This mute is seriously loud! It might be the sort of mute you’d use if you were playing trumpet in a big band and needed to be able to hear yourself, as the mute is fitted with a deflector that bounces the sound back to the player. Mute sounds are as always down to personal sonic preferences and I would suggest giving the website a quick scan to view the full range. Quality wise though, these are top notch – and you’ re not going to require a second mortgage!  For more go to www.humes-berg.com

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