5 strings fretless bass /2 humbuckers

[wraub]

Why not look for another Yamaha BB425 bass, and then have it made fretless?

I did exactly that with an unusual Ibanez 5 string... I looked for another, finally found one, and now I have fretted and fretless "twins".

 

[VSmolsky]

View attachment 3709444 the Sire m7 comes to mind. It comes in black (and blue and red!) if the natural look is not your thing

BADEDIT: ah, no fretlines. Hmm, might be able to find a used Warwick GPS fretless 5'er that fits

I realized that is very difficult to have all the features I want for 500€, maximum 600.
Fretless and 5 strings are the only really important things that I would not give up. If the fretboard has the fretlines, but the bass sounds good and it's comfortable to play, nevermind ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Cort B5FL would be ideal compromise between features and price, but finding one it's a needle in a haystack.


Among all the basses mentioned in this topic
- Ibanez SRF705
- Sire m7
- Conklin GT5
- Kingston Z5
- Warwick Rockbass $$ 5 FL
- Warwick Rockbass Streamer 5FL

what are the pros and cons of each? I figure, for example, that a Warwick Rockbass has a different personality compared to a Sire M7 or an Ibanez.

 

[Persona87]

I'm from Italy, Cort guitars and basses are quite usual here.
Budget, around 500€ max, even used. I could raise it to 600€ for a very appealing bass like the Ibanez SRF705.
This is not a entry level bass, but you spend more money in the buy-and-resell loop.




Found your topic!
N(ish)BD: Conklin GT5 Fretless

It has all the features I love on a fretless bass, even if I'd prefer a fingerboard without fret markers.
How much you paid it? I read it had some problems on PUs and electronics.

Conklin is a US custom shop company, but they had a Korean factory (Cort?) build a series of basses for them called Groove Tools. They were based on the US custom designs, but with some cheaper features. When I bought it, I got it heavily discounted because one of the pickups had no output, and the other pickup had very little output. It needed a new preamp (cracked board, IIRC), and one of the coils in the neck pickup was broken, so I had them install totally new electronics. I think I paid $250 for it? I see them occasionally on Reverb for between $500-700 in good condition, but I don't know what the availability/exchange rate is to Europe.

 

[funkinbottom]

I see it uses 2 Bartolini pickups, how good they are? How they compare to a set of EMG DC40 or EMG Hz?

Welcome to Talkbass.

I have basses with both those PU's, and prefer the Bartolini's over the EMG's. They seem to be more versatile. The Barts seem deeper and warmer, but can also be very aggressive if needed. They can go from an almost vintage sound to modern sound with a little EQ . Especially active, though they sound great passive as well. The EMG's on the other hand, to me anyway, seem to always have that more mid range attack that doesn't quite get me that old school warmth the Bart's can. Don't get me wrong, I think the the EMG's are a very good PU, but for my needs and taste, the Bartolini's check all the boxes.

 

[Ric5]

my 5 string fretless with humbuckers

 

[VSmolsky]

Today I found a good B-stock offer for a Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 5 strings BLK FL. 399€ including shipping. This bass, but in fretless version



Opinions? Yes or not?
Has anyone had a Warwick bass?