wanting a fretless for lessless

I know a guy with a really nice Fender Japan fretless jazz bass for sale.

 

Fedex does fine work.

But there are plenty of good options in that price range. Check out the guitar center used site.

 

FWIW my one and only fretless is a 2014 MIM Fender Jazz with the "learner lines" (I'm a fretless noob, so I am allowed to say that ). It's actually the lightest Jazz bass that I have ever played or owned, the pickups are much better than my previous MIM's and overall I think it's very good value for money. Might fit your budget.

What kind of music do you play? What sound are you after? Pickups? Active/passive?

 

I'll never buy a new bass again, used is the way to go for sure.
Fretlines, that's a total oxymoron for me, visually and functionally. Side dots should be more than enough, play on those lines and you'll be off pitch 75% of the time. Ymmv
Try as many as you can, each one is as different as the next. You'll eventually find one that feels right.

 

The ESP LTD Vintage 214 FL is really quite impressive. Mine is better than Squier for about the same money and IMHO is nearly on par with MIM fender excepting some minor issues like some sloppy PG screws. Unfortunatley the it only comes unlined, though with dots at every fret. The more modern style b205 comes fretless and lined. I've not played one and it's a bit more $, but still less than $500.

All the usual suspects, Squire, Used MIM, Ibanez etc are all decent and worth looking at. I don't know that there are any you should deliberately pass on.

 

All I can recommend is play it before you buy it!
Flats on a fretted, not a fretless substitute. Though mellow and thumpy, it's missing the Mmwha!
I'd love to say "name brand X" makes the best! But it don't! it may be a $75 pawn shop,beat to hell, no name, made in Bali POS that tickles you! Get out and try em!
I will say, Japanese Fenders Rock! But so does Warwick, Hamer, and Carvin so try if you can

 

Definitely! Especially with a fretless.
A little fingerboard variation or warpage that might just be a few leveled frets becomes a more serious and potentially expensive issue on a fretless. As well as the general variability that is inherent in lower-cost instruments (or any instruments for that matter).

 

On my fretless, there are only side dots and they are at the fret position. I have a program that checks my intonation, and it is dead on at that spot, so I've wondered where this thing comes from to not play the lines? Is it that the lines are more guidelines and you'd be playing by eye instead of ear more with a lined fretless? My jazz instructor also has me play the lines (or just before, really). Anyway, sidebar there.

To answer your question, my best advice is to find a fretless that is the closest to the specs you like on your fretted bass so it won't feel as awkward. I learned fretted on a Warwick, but first tried fretless with a VM Squier precision. Different specs (and I can't play lined fretless apparently), so I struggled a bit with it. Since I liked it so much, I saved up a bit and got a nice fretless with the same specs as my Corvette 5, a Streamer fretless 5, and couldn't be happier.

I'm currently looking at the rockbass fretless streamer as a backup/practice bass to my MIG. Post 2009 rockbasses aren't as crap as the earlier ones, but I haven't grabbed one of the fretless yet, so I can't say how nice they are yet, but that's what I'm looking at.

 

If you have an old beater then you could just order a fretless bolt-on.

 

I know you mentioned Squier.. I just bought a vintage modified jazz (the older one with the Duncan Design pups) used on ebay for $200. I usually modify just about everything about a stock bass, but this is actually VERY usable as is. I bought it without much thought because of how cheap it was and I've been after a fretless jazz for a while because of Esperanza Spalding. I'm NOT disappointed at all. In fact, I'm selling a couple of my other basses to fund purchasing a P bass and Ray34 in Sunburst to match the Vintage Modified!

 

The squier vintage modified fretless that looks like the jaco bass is an AWESOME bass for the price. Squier is doing some great stuff and I've personally played that fretless a few times. I'm not into fretless but honestly I considered buying this one.great feel, strong sound really nothing bad about it and it's $279.00

 

I'm really biting my tongue, so I'll just say yes, mileages most definitely do vary.

And yes, the Squier VM fretless Jazz is tremendous value for the money, but play before you buy, quality varies.

 

Precisely! They are veritable crutches. The true note pattern resembles something more like a fanned fret bass, hardly any "fretline" should run truly perpendicular or straight across fingerboard. That would be great idea, fanned fretlines!

 

after he got a new bass, a friend of mine in high school used a soldering device of some sort to heat up the frets on his old squire P bass and then slid them right out of the neck once the glue melted. voila. instant fretless.

 

I know, I know... if the lines help someone, by all means.

 

Look for the entry level Gary Willis model