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A 6 sting bass....but fretless?

M

MartinB200

Oct 2, 2011
21
0
#1
Well after many years of browsing this forum I thought it was time to join!

I've been playing bass for 7 long years now, being on the 5 strings for 5 and the 6 for a year. I'm beyond happy with my 6 string but now after trying a fretless bass (only a 4 string) I'm quite curious to get one. (I'm trying before buying, or hoping to be able to!)

I would get a 5 string fretless, but I want to play all of my 6 string stuff too so it looks like I'm getting a 6 string just to keep me happy. Yes, I am a Primus and DT fan.

But my question is, what brand or company does good 6 string fretlesses? I can't seem to find any around, or not ones that cost about £3000! My ideal budget is £700 roughly though I am willing to expand on it. Can somebody on here help me find one?

Many thanks

Take care

- Martin
 
#2
Personally I believe a six string fretless bass is a tad bit too much. However if you really want one you're going to have to pay a large amount of money for it. Seeing how there is LOW demand and production of a six string fretless bass. The cheapest one I found (Simply by going to google shopping) is 1,000 USD which should be around your price range. Just know, and i'm sure you do, the cheaper you pay for a bass the lower quality it is. Also the selection of hardware and electronics is a tad bit limited on the six string side. For example i'm an avid EMG HZ pickup user and from my brief browsing I found that most of the six string fretless basses have stock pickups made by the guitar company itself. Which some companies have decent stock pickups (Schecter for example). As far as finding a retail one to "try before you buy" I don't know how it is where you live but where I live there are bass specialty stores (the one here is called low end). They have all kinds of random basses and brands i've never even herd of. If you don't have one near you I would suggest buying a used one from a local bassist or just testing your luck and ordering one. Either way good luck.
 
#4
Thankyou Kris for the detailed response! Well I'm a college student and hopefully beginning work soon so I should be able to expand into the grand range of basses. I'll have a browse for specialist bass stores too - see if there are any.

Also thankyou Shriky, I'm having a little browse now!
 
#5
I played 6 string almost exclusively for almost 10 years. And the fretless bug hit me, and I wanted to do that on a fretless 6 as well. Granted, that was in the 1990's. Back then there were a good deal of production 6 string basses to choose from. But still there were not a lot of production fretless 6 strings on the market.

What did I do? I found a fretted 6 string that I liked (a Tobias Toby Pro 6) and I had it professionally defretted. The luthier filled the fret slots with rosewood dust and wood glue, and left the fingerboard essentially as a lined, fretless 6 string. The bass cost about $1,000, and the defretting job was under $200. Going that route worked for me. So give it a shot. Find a 6 that you like as a fretted bass. If you like the feel and the tone of the instrument, then perhaps it would make a good fretless. Try to get similar tones on the fretted 6 that you might get on your fretless 4. Because frankly the pickings on fretless 6 string basses are a little slim right now.
 
#6
ShoeManiac said:
I played 6 string almost exclusively for almost 10 years. And the fretless bug hit me, and I wanted to do that on a fretless 6 as well. Granted, that was in the 1990's. Back then there were a good deal of production 6 string basses to choose from. But still there were not a lot of production fretless 6 strings on the market.

What did I do? I found a fretted 6 string that I liked (a Tobias Toby Pro 6) and I had it professionally defretted. The luthier filled the fret slots with rosewood dust and wood glue, and left the fingerboard essentially as a lined, fretless 6 string. The bass cost about $1,000, and the defretting job was under $200. Going that route worked for me. So give it a shot. Find a 6 that you like as a fretted bass. If you like the feel and the tone of the instrument, then perhaps it would make a good fretless. Try to get similar tones on the fretted 6 that you might get on your fretless 4. Because frankly the pickings on fretless 6 string basses are a little slim right now.
Click to expand...

I had a thought about doing that also to my Ibanez SR506. Do you know any specialist places I can send it off to for a fretless conversion? I sure wouldn't mind trying it but it's quite a big risk! Thanks for that good reply too - I think the fretless bug hits every 6 string bassist at one stage!
 
#7
I don't think you need a specialist to do a job like this. Most luthiers who are capable of doing a GOOD fret job could probably tackle converting a fretted bass to fretless. If you know a decent repair person, ask them if they've ever done this sort of work. And if not, if they know someone that they can refer.
 
#8
My main bass a 6-fretless, but it probably is out of your price range.

zonvb6.jpg


You can order one new from Zon at less than $3k but expect to wait a year or more.

At your price range, consider defretting a bass as mentioned above. It's probably the only way to get a good 6-fretless at under $1000.

I'd personally recommend a SR506 or other cheaper level Ibanez and a defret (get a pro to do it if you are worried) - should get you in under $1000.

KrisWarrington said:
Personally I believe a six string fretless bass is a tad bit too much.
Click to expand...

Why? If the OP wants a 6-fretless than a 6-fretless is perfect for him. I need and use every single string on my 6-fretless, which I moved to from a 6-fretted.

KrisWarrington said:
Also the selection of hardware and electronics is a tad bit limited on the six string side. For example i'm an avid EMG HZ pickup user and from my brief browsing I found that most of the six string fretless basses have stock pickups made by the guitar company itself. Which some companies have decent stock pickups (Schecter for example).
Click to expand...

Most production 6 string basses imo have good enough hardware. Ibanez/Yamaha hardware for example is perfectly usable. Bartolinis pickups/preamps (korean licensed copies on the cheaper stuff, USA made on the expensive stuff) also are extremely common.
 
#10
Link Removed

Here is my six string fretless, I love it, plays beautifully, and sounds fantastic, cost me a grand total of £180.

Got it New from a German seller on Ebay, they shipped it to the UK for about £20, and it really dose play like a dream, All I had to do was adjust the action, but the Neck didn't need any set-up at all! It also comes in a natural finish, and I think they have some left... :hyper:

Link Removed

:( That's the sellers Ebay account, there is nothing up at the moment, but if you keep checking or msg them they may have some left, and or put them back up soon!

I am not affiliated with this seller in any way, I just really enjoy the bass I got from them!
 
#11
Well, there are much cheaper models, you don't need to go boutique. I don't know if any of these would interest you but here they are for your consideration :
Link Removed
There are four versions here at the bottom of the page.
 
#12
C.Linton said:
Well, there are much cheaper models, you don't need to go boutique. I don't know if any of these would interest you but here they are for your consideration :
Link Removed
There are four versions here at the bottom of the page.
Click to expand...

Those brice sixers look alot like mine, which makes sense, as I know the Douglas bass's are the same as my shine, and their made in the same factory as ibanez!

hxb406blackquiltfretless1.jpg
 
#15
Hey guyz...

I also bought one of the Infinity 6 Fretless (Blueburst) Basses off of eBay for £179.00 including postage, and the sound is truly amazing!!! I have owned 5 freless basses over the years (two of which were Jazz Basses) and this is the only one I instantly took to. It needed some setting up (the Bridge Saddles were way too high) but the sound is fantastic. Highly recommended - would give a lot of boutique basses a serious run for the money.... Here's a Sound Sample (THANX JACO!!!!)
 
#17
chipbasschao said:
Hey guyz...

I also bought one of the Infinity 6 Fretless (Blueburst) Basses off of eBay for £179.00 including postage, and the sound is truly amazing!!! I have owned 5 freless basses over the years (two of which were Jazz Basses) and this is the only one I instantly took to. It needed some setting up (the Bridge Saddles were way too high) but the sound is fantastic. Highly recommended - would give a lot of boutique basses a serious run for the money.... Here's a Sound Sample (THANX JACO!!!!)
Click to expand...

Glad you like it! I love mine, like I said the action needed adjusting also, but it truly plays and sounds great!
 
#18
Anyone knows some catalogue for these ones? Google won't help and I'm not looking for any Ibanez. Actually the only bass I have at the moment is Washburn T24 NM, but it will take some time to collect money for this one.
 

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