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Douglas WEB-846 TG FL Fretless 6-String
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$175.98
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8.7
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Description:
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34" Scale
Flame Maple Top
Dual cutaway basswood body
5-Bolt Hard Rock Maple Neck with two adjustable truss rods
Rosewood fingerboard with position markers on the side of the fingerboard only
Two Active 2JB Pickups
Separate change battery compartment
Two band EQ plus volume and balance controls BB266 Bridge with String-Thru construction
Trans Green Finish
Width of the neck at the nut: 2 1/8" at the 24th fret 3 5/16"
Overall length 46 1/2"
Width at the widest point: 12 3/4", body thickness at the edge: 1 3/4"
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Author
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Grateful
Registered User
Registered: December 2007
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 2569
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Review Date: Wed January 23, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $179.95
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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It looks great, plays well and is very inexpensive
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Cons:
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Cheapy-feeling nut, sharp edges of fingerboard (easily remedied)
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First off, I am not a serious musician. I play somewhat-seriously with some other non-serious musicians at times, but it is a hobby, not what I do for a living. I play alot, just not in front of people, anymore. I was in a not-very-serious blues band for a couple of years some 10+ years ago.
I wanted something different from 20 years of playing traditional 4 stringers, and couldn't decide whether to get a 5-string, a 6-string or a fretless. So I got the Douglas 6-string fretless, figuring I could have a taste of everything. I read some reviews online that seemed to make it sound like this bass wouldn't be a total waste of money. I wasn't going to blow $1,000+ on a fretless sixer to see if I liked the format. Which it turns out I do. Very much. Enough on me. Now, about the guitar.
The purchase: I purchased from Rondo Music online, after peppering Kurt at Rondo with dumb questions for 3 weeks. He answered every question quickly and fully and with great patience. Kurt and Rondo get my absolute highest recommendation. The guitar arrived on schedule, intact and as promised. My next bass will be coming from there. I also purchased the 600 series padded gig bag for it at the same time.
The guitar: It's a really pretty guitar. It's a dark green, and just looks neat. It feels very solid, and with the exception of a cheapy-feeling (but perfectly functional) plastic nut, it seems to be well made (in China). Very tight.
The tuners are smooth and hold their tune, and the control pots (Volume, balance, treble, bass) actually influence the sound of the instrument. Put the balance forward, and it's punch city. Put it back and it's Mwah-town.
Strings lined up well over the pickups. A little better over the bridge pickup than the neck for the Low-B and High-C due to the strings tapering towards the nut.
As far as wide vs. tight finger spacing, this is my first 6-string, so I don't have a valid reference point for comparison. I don't even know where or what to measure. It is comfortable for me, which is of no help to you. I'm not a slapper, tapper or picker.
The neck has a great satin finish on it, and seemed to be straight enough right out of the box.
This is my first bass with Active Pickups on it, so I don't have a reference point for what changes would be noticed by upgrading the electronics. Many people seem to do that and some have strong opinions about it. I'll leave that easily-searchable topic to them.
It does seem to be a tad neck heavy, but a springy strap (Levy, Comfort Strap) fixes that. It's not an issue for me when I'm sitting.
Initial setup/mod #1: Get some strings when you get the bass. You will most likely neeed to change them straight away. The strings that shipped on it are OK, but they aren't great. They left my fingertips black from playing. There are endless discussions here on talkbass.com about which strings to use on a fretless. I went to Guitar Center and all they had was D'Addario Nickel Round Wound XL's (.32-.130 Long Scale), so that's what's on there for now. Once re-strung, I was able to set the action quickly and easily at the bridge.
Initial setup/mod #2: The edges of the fingerboard were very, very sharp. So sharp, in fact, that I actually got a little cut on my pinky from doing slides. All it took was 5 minutes and a little 180 grit sandpaper to round them off, followed by some 400 grit to finish it. Since I was changing strings anyway, I went ahead and did a quick, light sanding pass on the fretboard. Now it feels wonderful and plays great.
Summary: This obviously isn't a bass meant to be compared against basses made by hand out of exotic rainforest woods harvested in South America every 7 years during the autumnal equinox under the supervision of native shaman writhing in a psychotropic trance while summoning cosmic JuJu. It is, however, a fantastic bass for those who want to dip their metaphorical toe into unexplored musical waters. It has enabled me to wander around in areas I once thought to be out-of-reach due to cost. I don't need all the high-end stuff out of an insrument that Professional Musicians do, so this fits the bill perfectly. I will say that it is the best $179 I have ever spent musically (unless one of those JuJu basses suddenly turns up cheap).
So now that I have my Douglas 6-string fretless, am I suddenly going to rake in millions by unleashing the bass solo that saves the world? Probably not. But plunking down $179 to open a new world of bass tones and all I have to do is change strings and run a piece of sandpaper over the fingerboard? That I can do.
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Carvin #149/Ampeg #877/5 String #90/Ergo #33/L.O.G. #266/Chi-Love #3/California Bassists #65
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kencasino
Registered User
Registered: April 2008
Location: palominas, arizona
Posts: 394
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Review Date: Tue July 8, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $179.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Price, support, looks, sounds
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Cons:
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sharpness of fingerboard edge, pickup alignment
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I have played a fretless before (1971 precision). The neck never would come into true, causing a rattle in a couple of places. I gave up after a couple of months and Fender traded me a J.
I play a Peavey TL-5 and I love it. WHen I saw this one advertised, I couldn't resist it.
I checked out all the reviews on the net before ordering and it was overwhelmingly positively received. It required no adjustment of the neck right out of the box. The only problem I had was that the fingerboard was too sharp so, as others have done, I sanded the edge down.
The C & G strings are not quite lined up over the fingerboard pickup, however it is close enough so that the sound is not noticeably affected.
I play through a BOSS ME-20B effects unit. I was able to achieve sounds that I could not duplicate with my Peavey. The Douglas was "hotter" and brighter than the peavey played without any effects.
I am having a little problem integrating the C string into my playing, as it starts to not sound like a bass up there and I am not used to having that available.
I have started a project to add wood pickup covers, and Jade knobs, which I will post the pictures of when I am done.
My bottom line on this review is that something that I got on a lark will be a great asset to my playing. I am presently playing it on 14 songs of our set list.
For the price, I cannot imagine a better purchase for any bass player who wants to go to 6 or fretless
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Peavey TL-5, Vestax 5-string,SWR SM400S into Markbass 15
http://rowdyjohnsonband.com
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boodakon
Registered User
Registered: September 2009
Location: San Diego,CA
Posts: 54
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Review Date: Sat June 12, 2010
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $169.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Great economy bass
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Cons:
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needs some work to be playable
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I bought the 5 string version of this model on Ebay. I've been playing for 21yrs and play on Ibanez and Warwick these days. I've pretty much found my sound on fretted, but wanted to add a fretless to the arsenal without breaking the bank.
Right out of the box, this bass is not playable. The saddles where set to the lowest and the action was still ridiculously high. The action was so bad that I had to shim the neck, file down the saddles and file down the nut slightly. The strings that came with it where starting to eat up the fretboard in the little bit of playing it got before I completed this work. Strings were changed out for some D'Addario Chrome flats and it's bringing that mwah out big time. Once the setup was completed, it played like a bass worth at least twice the price.
The rest of the bass...solid construction, decent pups, pretty solid machine heads and light weight.
Sound quality...great output and is capable of some versatile tones. Whether you're seeking mid-rangy, warm or fat-bottomed end, you can find it all at the tone controls on the bass. Plays great without effects - if you add some reverb, it sounds like a recording. Although, I still don't intend on using this with my band, it just doesn't cut through like my Warwick thumb does.
To wrap up....this in an excellent bass for the money. I would definitely buy again knowing this. However, do know, this will need some work before its playable. But what can you ask for at this price!!
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"Base not your joy upon the gifts of others, for what is given can be taken away" - Type O
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