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BFR roasted maple on ash fretless stingray

J

Jonithen

Dec 3, 2012
626
903
Halloween Town, MA
#1
I have collapsed under the irresistible temptation of this gorgeous instrument.

Within minutes of seeing a post of this, I made the decision to go for it. Special thanks to Pete Dubaldo for making the order process so easy and for getting it delivered in short order.

Ok so this is a roasted maple neck with some really nice flaming, mounted on a nicely figured "swap ash" (;p) body.

The nut width is 1.75". Both the fingerboard and neck are glossed. I put in some long hours in over the weekend, and so far no sign of use under the ECB81 chromes I put on, hoping it holds up over time. When I start to notice any kind of wear I can worry about it then. The neck feel is great, no problems navigating over the finish and the shaping is very comfortable.

This is the lightest bass I have here, kitchen scale clocks in 7 lbs, 6-ish ounces. The balance is great, no dive whatsoever and even stays put on a slippery couch strap.

I'm really thrilled with this.
 

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#3
Nice!! I too caved on this instrument within minutes of seeing it. Though, I don't have mine in hand yet. I do plan on using D'addario pro steels on it, and hope that the neck wear won't be too severe. But the thought of round wounds on a hard poly finished fingerboard... That bright sound, that's why I bought it! Thanks for posting! Would love to hear a sound clip or two if you get around to it!
 
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#5
L. L. Elwood said:
Nice!! I too caved on this instrument within minutes of seeing it. Though, I don't have mine in hand yet. I do plan on using D'addario pro steels on it, and hope that the neck wear won't be too severe. But the thought of round wounds on a hard poly finished fingerboard... That bright sound, that's why I bought it! Thanks for posting! Would love to hear a sound clip or two if you get around to it!
Click to expand...

If I look really hard and turn in the light I can see the faintest hint of track marks from the chromes.
I do have an epoxied maple fretless that I was using stainless steel rotosound 66's on and it does show marks that you can also feel with a fingernail but I don't think it's impairing the performance in any meaningful way.

I've got some single chromes coming in that I got with the intention of balancing tension (105-80-60-45), but I also have some La Bella tapes...

I'll try to do some kind of a recording. Probably nothing too ambitious and I'm still in desperate need of figuring out how to work anything EQ - figured this would be a good motivation!
 
#10
sears said:
you just got this to get "likes" didn't you? I usually prefer solid finishes but this is a great look.
Click to expand...

Haha, no. I had been wanting another stingray but was having hesitations because every one I get with frets ended up clanky. While thinking about how I could go for a fretless stingray I saw a promo email come in for this baby. It lined up very nicely.

It's a cool bass, there weren't many people with them, and it seemed like some uncertainty of what you'd really be getting (nut width, is the figuring wild enough to screw with fretless play, etc).

I hear you on the solid finish. I'm slowly edging my way from black and maple. I still love the combo, but there's other options in the world.
 
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#12
Jonithen said:
Haha, no. I had been wanting another stingray but was having hesitations because every one I get with frets ended up clanky. While thinking about how I could go for a fretless stingray I saw a promo email come in for this baby. It lined up very nicely.

It's a cool bass, there weren't many people with them, and it seemed like some uncertainty of what you'd really be getting (nut width, is the figuring wild enough to screw with fretless play, etc).

I hear you on the solid finish. I'm slowly edging my way from black and maple. I still love the combo, but there's other options in the world.
Click to expand...

Yes Black and maple might be the sexiest combo ever. However, when I walked into GC and saw this beauty on the wall...well.
 
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#14
gorgeous piece! i/we can see what there is to like. congratulations on your new fretless instrument! :thumbsup:


Jonithen said:
When I start to notice any kind of wear I can worry about it then
Click to expand...
...or not! of course, you realize that any string type will put 'string marks' on a fingerboard: but they are string marks --- not to worry! ;)
 
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#20
I've had mine for several months, purchased from Music Store Live (a great online seller!). The lightest bass I've owned, my back and shoulders thank Sterling Ball. And about the most beautiful (but the pre-CBS Fender Jazz still gives me the shivers). The neck is museum quality, fantastic, hypnotic flame.

But the big questions are always the playability and the sound. The neck plays like the axe you've always wanted, effortless. The whole bass just has the Vibe.

The sound--the same, the fretless tone you've always wanted. Deep, rich, endless "mwah." This thing just sings. Not clanky like some fretless basses can get. But it has great definition, can be played on rock & blues with no problem.

I actually feel fortunate to own and play this great instrument.
 
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