The NAVIGATOR name comes from Marco De Virgiliis' passion towards the scientist Enrico Fermi and his place in the history of Physics. When Enrico Fermi heated the first atomic pile named CP-1, the US President was informed via a coded message advising him“The Italian Navigator has just landed in the new world”. Our Navigator F1 bass was born in honour of Enrico Fermi and his history.
For this instrument we designed an original body shape design refining the pickups and their position. We exclusively used spruce wood from Val Di Fiemme, to create an ultra light , ultra resonant and unique instrument. All our F1 range of instruments – inspired by Formula 1 – are premium instruments crafted using an artisanal manufacturing process, without any compromise in sound or quality.

KEY POINTS
> HI-QUALITY INSTRUMENTS, ARTISANAL MANUFACTURING PROCESS
With top-level construction, these instruments are not just a series of basses, they're another chapter that proudly shows Markbass quality. The care and attention to detail given to each bass is embedded in our artisanal process - referring to the Italian lute-making tradition - blended with the constant innovation and passion we bring to all our products.
> REMARKABLE SOUND ENHANCED BY MARKBASS ELECTRONICS/PICKUPS
The NAVIGATOR F1 bass provides a remarkable sound expected from a premium bass, enhanced by our proprietary Markbass electronics that provide the clearest frequencies for a truly powerful sound - simple, intuitive and effective even on extreme settings and without volume changes when switching from passive to active and vice-versa. The P and HB Markbass pickups,
and their position, were choosen to give large tonal options, from a P split coil punch to a fat tone of the humbucker at bridge, splittable in single coil for more J style tones and everything in-between.
> EXCLUSIVE VAL DI FIEMME SPRUCE BODY WITH ORIGINAL SHAPE DESIGN
For our NAVIGATOR F1 basses we exclusively use Val di Fiemme Spruce, not simply because it's available to us locally in Italy but because of it's unmatched characteristics which lead to truly unique instruments. We created an original body shape design, one that's ergonomic and balanced, with maximum access even at the highest frets. And even though it's not a standard industry
shape, it still maintains elements of familar styles most bassists will appreciate.
> LIGHTNESS AND TONE
On first holding a NAVIGATOR F1 bass, its lightness is immediately noticeable. Stradivari recognised the importance of Val di Fiemme Spruce not only for its beautiful resonance and elasticity for bowed instruments, but also because of how little it weighed. It will first leave you amazed by its lightness as soon as you hold the bass in your hands, and afterwards amazed once again when you play and listen to its distinctive sound - exceptional even when unplugged.
> MARKBASS HARDWARE: NO COMPROMISE!
Marco De Virgiliis' preferences along with the Markbass philosophy results in us always aiming to have our own original parts. This applies to the majority of the hardware featured on our instruments from tuners and bridges, to Mark Strings. Most of the hardware is original 'Made in Italy' parts, along with additional carefully selected top-quality parts on the market.