- Fretless
- Y
This one is gonna leave a mark … 
FBB Fretless 6 string, 35" scale, Bartolini NTBT pre, Bartolini pickups, Gotoh tuners, Hipshot (?) bridge, Dunlop strap locks. Currently strung with LaBella black tapes. This is a very early example of FBB's work, bass #20 from 1998. I've owned the bass since 2003-ish, purchased it from then TBer John Chewning who had the bass built to his specs.
I bonded with this bass within 7 seconds after I had it in my hands. I had never owned anything that felt so natural to me, and to this date I still have not found another bass that even comes remotely close to this one. It's been on hundreds and hundreds of gigs (actually, probably well over a thousand dates, truth be told) and has never failed to perform flawlessly.
So why am I selling it? In 2019 I suffered a severe viral attack to my heart that left me with irreparable damage to my left ventricle. To shorten a long story, I can no longer play wider necked, heavier extended range basses, can't play DB anymore, either (and DB was my main deal for most of my professional life). Having these instruments hanging in my studio is frustrating/irritating/maddening, and since these is no "cure" for my limitations it's much easier to just shed them now rather than hanging on for no good purpose.
… enough of that sob story …
This bass was played hard and it shows, although from a distance it looks okay. But on close examination you'll see all of the gigging scars you'd expect to find on a nearly 20 year old bass that worked as much as this one did. IMO, the major issues are a broken nut (chip on the side at the C string), pots are a bit stiff but clean sounding, the wiring harness in the pocket is not a neat job at all (again, early work by FBB) but completely functional, and several dings in the body (all small, nothing gouged or splintered).
It's not a lightweight, unofficial scale weight is just about 11 pounds. It's crazy well balanced, I never noticed any weight issues at all but to be fair, I'm 6'5" and 240 pounds.
The neck is chunky, but in a good way if you're a fan of thicker necks. If you like super skinny, this is not the neck for you. The action is super low, the fastest playing neck I've ever owned. All things like truss rods and hardware are fully functional.
I have this priced low due to the wear and issues as described above. There is nothing on this bass that is anything more than a routine maintenance/repair, but I'm not going to put the time into it right now. I realize that this will be a harder sell, not too many players looking for a fretless 6 in the 1st place, so I'm prepared to wait a while,to get it sold.
If you are in the North Georgia (greater Atlanta) area give me a shout and we can get the bass in your hands for a spin. It's something special and if not for my physical limitations I would never be selling it for any reason. If you have any questions give a shout out. BTW, shipping will be added to the cost of the bass, actual shipping costs applied.
FBB Fretless 6 string, 35" scale, Bartolini NTBT pre, Bartolini pickups, Gotoh tuners, Hipshot (?) bridge, Dunlop strap locks. Currently strung with LaBella black tapes. This is a very early example of FBB's work, bass #20 from 1998. I've owned the bass since 2003-ish, purchased it from then TBer John Chewning who had the bass built to his specs.
I bonded with this bass within 7 seconds after I had it in my hands. I had never owned anything that felt so natural to me, and to this date I still have not found another bass that even comes remotely close to this one. It's been on hundreds and hundreds of gigs (actually, probably well over a thousand dates, truth be told) and has never failed to perform flawlessly.
So why am I selling it? In 2019 I suffered a severe viral attack to my heart that left me with irreparable damage to my left ventricle. To shorten a long story, I can no longer play wider necked, heavier extended range basses, can't play DB anymore, either (and DB was my main deal for most of my professional life). Having these instruments hanging in my studio is frustrating/irritating/maddening, and since these is no "cure" for my limitations it's much easier to just shed them now rather than hanging on for no good purpose.
… enough of that sob story …
This bass was played hard and it shows, although from a distance it looks okay. But on close examination you'll see all of the gigging scars you'd expect to find on a nearly 20 year old bass that worked as much as this one did. IMO, the major issues are a broken nut (chip on the side at the C string), pots are a bit stiff but clean sounding, the wiring harness in the pocket is not a neat job at all (again, early work by FBB) but completely functional, and several dings in the body (all small, nothing gouged or splintered).
It's not a lightweight, unofficial scale weight is just about 11 pounds. It's crazy well balanced, I never noticed any weight issues at all but to be fair, I'm 6'5" and 240 pounds.
The neck is chunky, but in a good way if you're a fan of thicker necks. If you like super skinny, this is not the neck for you. The action is super low, the fastest playing neck I've ever owned. All things like truss rods and hardware are fully functional.
I have this priced low due to the wear and issues as described above. There is nothing on this bass that is anything more than a routine maintenance/repair, but I'm not going to put the time into it right now. I realize that this will be a harder sell, not too many players looking for a fretless 6 in the 1st place, so I'm prepared to wait a while,to get it sold.
If you are in the North Georgia (greater Atlanta) area give me a shout and we can get the bass in your hands for a spin. It's something special and if not for my physical limitations I would never be selling it for any reason. If you have any questions give a shout out. BTW, shipping will be added to the cost of the bass, actual shipping costs applied.
