Best Fretless for the money

MTD kingston . Cost you under $500.

 

I'll second the Kingston.

The Brice Douglas 5-string is also a good one, if you can find one. It requires only a little upgrade investment to make it a very cool bass. I upgraded mine by having the cavities shielded and by replacing the stock pickups with Barts. Sounds/plays great!

 

I had a(fretless)Dean Edge 4 for awhile- very nice bass, & an INCREDIBLY nice bass for the money(I traded roughly $300 worth of stuff for it used). I have not played a 5-string version, & personally I prefer 34" scale- the 5 & 6 string Deans go 35"- but if the 5 is anything like the 4, it's worth checking out.

 

On the Dean....nice bass for any money and a bargain for what the Edge Fretless series sells for....I keep defaulting to it during shows, and currently play my Edge 4 fretless for 3 sets out of 4 every night.

That's over a $1200 G&L that I really enjoy as well.

Jay

 

I'll throw in the Ibanez Gary Willis GWB35 - if you're a fan of tighter string spacing, it's one hell of a player.

 

+1 ... just bought one and quality, materials and construction are excellent

 

Hey, ive heard good things about the edge 4 fretless.
Im thinking of going fretless.
Maybe a Warwick Rockbass Corvette Fretless 4?
Anyone got one/heard about them?

 

I wonder about the Rockbass line as well- it's gotten at least one good review in Bassplayer, IIRC. I don't much care for the ovangkol-necked(way too thick & chunky for my tastes)'wicks, but I imagine they could design a maple neck that felt nice. They are definitely cheap- I saw a(used)fretless Corvette at Bassnw.com last night for $399.

 

Can't forget about the SX basses aswell. Check out this beauty. Haven't played it but SX basses are well regarded around here and I own 2. I Highly recommend them.

CLICK

 

I'm playing a $200 Yamaha BB404F. I know it's a four string, but don't let prices fool you.

 

+100

 

played one two days ago, light bass, plays like butter, I really need to get me one of these things (fretlesses)

 

My first fretless was a Dean Edge 5. Do a search for my name and Dean for my posts on it. Summary: I loved it and would recommend it without hesitation.

 

also have the dean edge five and it is a very nice bass, I got it new an I love it only wish it had lines

 

PLays great, wenge neck, Bartolini MK-1 pickups/electronics ( think also on the Lakland Skyline basses as well).

Here is a very "rock and roll" pic of mine:

http://www.pbase.com/rickhodges/image/48351021

 

I had a Lakland 55-01 fretless 5 that was a dream to play, sounded great, and didn't need anything in the way of upgrades. I've seen them in the $500 range and that is a lot of bass for the $$. I went over to a fretless Zon 5, otherwise I'd still be playing it.