What do you look for in a fretless bass?

[fretlessman71]

So a student's parents contacted me and told me they wanted to buy him a 6-string fretless that would last him most of a career. (Yeah, he's worthy, don't worry. )

I've been polling him about it for a while, but being young still, he may not be considering all of the factors necessary when choosing a really nice bass (most of his comments end with "Well, it's not as cool as my Carvin").

I'm doing my best to point him in the right direction and get him a bass that will feel and sound like it matches his personality, but I also wonder what YOU fine folk look for in a bass of this nature. So, if you would...

...what do you deem necessary in a 6er fretless? (Ought to be a good fun discussion, too!)

[giacomini]

no frets?










sorry, had to do it

[Mark Wilson]

Originally Posted by giacomini

no frets?










sorry, had to do it

How do you look for something that isn't there?!

#mindblown

[giacomini]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

How do you look for something that isn't there?!

#mindblown

OK, I got bit by MW...



[/derail]

[Mark Wilson]

Anyway, in a fretless, I look for the same thing I do in a regular fretted bass.

easy playability, weight, how it holds it's tuning, intonation, EVEN PLAYABILITY especially on fretless.

basically, it's got to feel good, and sound good.

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

So a student's parents contacted me and told me they wanted to buy him a 6-string fretless that would last him most of a career. (Yeah, he's worthy, don't worry. )

I've been polling him about it for a while, but being young still, he may not be considering all of the factors necessary when choosing a really nice bass (most of his comments end with "Well, it's not as cool as my Carvin").

I'm doing my best to point him in the right direction and get him a bass that will feel and sound like it matches his personality, but I also wonder what YOU fine folk look for in a bass of this nature. So, if you would...

...what do you deem necessary in a 6er fretless? (Ought to be a good fun discussion, too!)

Good playability, tone, and mechanical reliability.

[Kael]

Two pickups mandatory. However overdone the Jaco bridge pickup thing may be, it is still a standard fretless tone that will be needed from time to time. Basses with just the bridge option are too one trick pony for my tastes. No offense to stingray lovers, but they will always sound like a stingray which doesn't work for every application I encounter.

I'd look for a great tone minus active electronics. Active is fine, but I'd completely ignore the preamp when considering a bass. Preamps are easily replaced. Fixing a bass with crappy passive tone, that's not as easily done.

The most important thing would be what sort of ergonomics your student is wanting. For me, 34" scale is mandatory as is a FULL 19mm string spacing at the bridge. Doesn't matter how great a MTD might be, bridge spacing is too tight and the scale length is wrong for me. Just won't fly. If he is already playing a Carvin 5'er or 6er, then chances are he is comfy with tight spacing.

The bass I'd snag if I had the good fortune to have someone offer me my choice would be a Pedulla Hexabuzz wide. Might not be the best choice for him though.

[P. Aaron]

In a fretless, I would look for it to have as woody-as close as an upright's tonal characteristics as it can. If the instrument can do that through most rigs, that's probably what I would look for. YMMV

Then, you need a good rig to bring that tone out...in any situation.

[Diogenes]

Originally Posted by Mark Wilson

How do you look for something that isn't there?!

#mindblown

The same way you check that you didn't **** your pants.

[JTE]

Just like a fretted bass. First, it's got to sound great without tweaking. That means the sound's gotta be in the wood. After that test, it's got to feel comfortable. Not feel perfect, because I can adapt as long as it's in a comfortable range- and that range is a lot wider than many people have the patience to explore. I alternate between a 35" scale 5 string with a wide and flat fingerboard, 34" scale with a 1.75" nut and traditional 7.25" radius, 34" with a 10" radius and narrower neck, and guitars with various nut widths, scales, and radii, and an 18" Ashbory. So "feel" is important, but sound always trumps feel.

Then it's got to be mechanically reliable without too much futzing around. Given my preference for low action on fretless, that means a reliable and easily accessible truss rod nut. While I have no problems with the traditional Fender truss rod at the heel, I wouldn't want that on my fretless. An ebony board, or something as hard is important to me for fretless because I've had a rosewood that I eventually had to replace (well, it took most of 15 years, but the stainless rounds eventually did cause enough wear to have to replace it). I also like the sound of ebony boards for fretless.

Then it'd come down to the individual bass. How does THIS chunk of wood and metal sound in MY hands when I play it?

John

[line6man]

Durable fingerboard materials.

[eddododo]

I'd like to suggest that he play it unplugged first.
If you are lucky enough to live in an area where he can try alot of high-level basses, then I would have to say that when he plays the one he wants it should stick out, like my Roscoe did.

[ehque]

My vinny 6 should be everything I look for in a fretless with nothing extra.

Lightweight, good balance, stable neck, hard fingerboard, versatile electronics.

[millsbass5]

Quote:"Pedulla Hexabuzz"-Kael

AMEN!! I'm STILL kickin' myself in the ass for not pickin' up a Buzz 4 that I came across back in the late 80's. Can you say "mmmwwwhaaaa"?

[unclejane]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

So a student's parents contacted me and told me they wanted to buy him a 6-string fretless that would last him most of a career. (Yeah, he's worthy, don't worry. )

I've been polling him about it for a while, but being young still, he may not be considering all of the factors necessary when choosing a really nice bass (most of his comments end with "Well, it's not as cool as my Carvin").

I'm doing my best to point him in the right direction and get him a bass that will feel and sound like it matches his personality, but I also wonder what YOU fine folk look for in a bass of this nature. So, if you would...

...what do you deem necessary in a 6er fretless? (Ought to be a good fun discussion, too!)

I was actually going to suggest exactly that as a good example of what I look for in a 6 string FL - the Carvin

The biggest issues for me with "ERBs" (Extended Range Basses) is balance. The necks are larger and heavier and a lot of ERB's are mostly just modified versions of the 4string models - the heavier necks really make neck-dive a big problem on many of these. It's usually so bad the instrument is simply unplayable on the strap, which drastically reduces its usefulness.

That's the main thing I look for, everything else is pretty much gravy to me.

So, it just so happens the Carvin Bunny Brunel 6 addresses the balance issue. I have one (BB76F) and it's well balanced on the strap and reasonably easy to play standing up (tho oddly enough, the lower cutaway is too far back so it's _not_ balanced when resting it on your leg).

The Steve Bailey 6 string from Fender is supposedly well balanced also, but it's significantly more expensive than the Carvin. But it still looks like a fine bass to me (if indeed it's got good balance)...

LS

[lowfreqman]

A Roscoe with diamondwood fingerboard (very durable) and Bartolini electronics. Roscoe has done 34" scale and 19 mm spacing at the bridge for an upcharge. These basses are very comfortable to wear and are so easy to play.

[LaklandBass]

Id say look for a versatile bass soundwise.... like another said here... more than one pickup. Otherwise Id make sure that the scale length and string spacing are within his comfort zone.
The first names that come to mind for a high quality 6 string fretless would be Modulus, Zon, MTD.