Fretless Bass recommendations

Tom

yeas, I know Steve..but he's going to recommend something expensive.

Regards

Stephen

Although Fenders probably aren't the "best", they certainly represent the classic fretless. I would certainly consider them in your quest.

I've got a Steinberger, which plays very well and sounds quite good too. Its demeanor is that of the stereotypical gentle singing fretless. I picked it up for a couple hundred dollars on ebay.

I've also got an Ibanez SG that was defretted before I got it. It's got a much funkier appeal, and loves to be slapped. In many ways, it sounds like an old Rickenbaker (although I'm not sure that they ever made a fretless bass). I also got it on ebay, for about half as much as the Steinberger.

Last up is my favorite bass, although it isn't a fretless. It's an Alembic Epic, which I purchased used from a local shop for about US$1200. (I think it usually retails new for about 1.5-2 times that amount). If I could get a fretless version of that, then I would be in heaven. It plays like butter, and has a fantastically solid yet wonderfully delicate sound.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Stephen -

There's a lot of luck involved in finding the right fretless. I've had some real cheapies that have really sung and some pretty expensive ones (Stingrays mainly) that just haven't worked for me.

Mike is right about the Fender Jazz - it has that classic Jaco sound. You might want to consider finding a second hand Japanese one from a few years ago and having it defretted. Suggest you pass over Mexican ones.

Don't know about you, but while it doesn't look as posy, I like having lines on the board...

Tim

Yeah, that's right - all the Yammy fretlesses I've played (and I owned a BB3000 once) have been really good. With or without lines...

quote:

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Originally posted by ghunter:

As for lines, if you're playing fretless a lot of the intonation has to come from the feel on your fingers and the sound in your ears. IMO if you're using lines, you'll just create sloppy habits long-term. Besides, do you play looking onto the fretboard or on top of it where the dots are? Trust me, even if you find one with lines you'll want to ignore them very soon after you start playing it.

Graham

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I'm not sure that's supportable via the testimony of people who use fretlines - Jimmy Haslip, Jaco, Gary Willis, Mo Foster, Pino... all amazing fretless players, all using basses with fretlines on them, and as far as I can hear/see, not a sloppy habit between them, short or long-term...

Anecdotally, 'most' of the bassists I've heard playing unlined fretless have suspect intonation at least part of the time, and a higher proportion of the ones that use lines are in tune more of the time. Anecdotal, yes, but combined with my own experience, and the notion that you can never have too much help when it comes to playing in tune, I'd recommend lined fretless every time.

Steve

I know the pricing is WAAAAAAYYYY out of what you want, but look up the tasties on: www.pedulla.com

MMMMMMMMMMM. 5 string fretless in peacock blue.
VV nice.

I love my cheap Yamaha tho it's not fretless.

Joe90

Stephen

Fenders vary enormously. You may well you find a great one, but in my experience the average ones are far, far more common - an average Fender will be little better than your Yahama. A MusicMan (Stingray) might be a better bet, but be careful of getting a neck-heavy one (or just a heavy one), or a beat-up one. I've never been able to make a Stingray sound quite right either, but maybe that's just something about my "technique".

In my opinion, if you can stretch to it (and find one), nothing beats a fretless Wal (Listen to Percy Jones or John Giblin). Early Pro 1's sometimes come up on eBay/Loot for less than a grand and there's a very active Wal group on Yahoo that might be able to help you track one down.

If the Wal's out of reach I'd go for one of Rob Green's Status basses (www.status-graphite.com) - either with head or headless, graphite of not (again there's a useful Yahoo group).

Finally, I'd go for a Steinberger only of it's one of the fully carbon models (an L2 or XL2) and they're getting very expensive (if anybody out there has a fretless Steiny L2 or XL2 for sale please contact me!)

And finally again, fretlines (idiot frets) are just fine. One of the issues about fretless playing on the kind of dodgy gigs I do is hearing yourself well enough. No ammount of skill will help your intonation if you can't hear, and on those occasions lines are vital. I'm about to commission a new bass from Status and it'll have lines.

Hope that helps.
Phil

Stephen,

There's a great looking Wal custom fretless on ebay right now - item No. 3720877569. It'll cost significantly more than your budget, but if you can stretch that far, it'll undoubtedly be the last fretless bass you'll ever need.

Phil