Hey guys
Figured I would post a review here since I have now had a chance to get the bass out to a handful of gigs/rehearsals and a recording session.
First things first. Cliff actually waited to send the bass to me until after the last winter storm rolled thru the midwest because he was worried it might be sitting out in the cold somewhere. He shipped it 2 day air and payed for the extra costs himself. Amazing care and customer service! It is nice to see he cares about the basses he builds so much... and the customer as well.
The bass arrived packaged perfectly. I literally pulled up to the house as the ups guy was dropping it off. The first thing i noticed was that this bass was almost perfect (and jaw dropping) right out of the box. It was in tune and all I needed to do was raise the g string saddle a hair. This was definitely different from when I got my fretted, which required a lot of truss rod/saddle tweaking to be comfortable for my setup taste. Unfortunately, this caused a few problems with my fretted as it is still settling in and the truss needs tweaking often.
I specifically asked Cliff to set the fretless up with low action and he asked for a measurement which I didn't give him. But using his telepathic powers he got the setup perfect right out of the box. I still haven't had to tweak anything.
This bass is absolutely gorgeous in person. Cliff nailed it. It is exactly as I imagined it would be. I will also say that Cliff threw in some very nice extras that I didn't ask for but Love!... including the purpleheart headstock plate on the back of the headstock, the gaboon ebony nut, the insane wood grain on the back and the thin ebony lines on the control and battery covers. The spanish cedar body is a nice contrast to the purple and black and the neck transition area is amazing. I cannot tell you how many compliments I have gotten on this bass already... everybody loves it. Design wise... everything is perfect.
Sound wise... this thing kills. This is the fretless sound i have dreamed of. It is the perfect partner to my fretted bass. The audere/nordstrand combo is the best! I went with a 3 band eq with a mid frequency selector switch instead of 4 band and couldn't be happier. The amount of usable tones on this bass is ridiculous. It can go from punchy as hell to smooth as butter. J bass to P bass to Modern sounding and more.
The only nitpicking I can do is that the side dot markers on the side of the neck are on the fret lines instead of in between... but i have gotten used to that already... and you shouldn't have to look at your fingerboard anyways. Also, the passive/active switch is reversed compared to my fretted bass. Other than that... PERFECT!
I must say I can seriously see myself playing only these two basses for the rest of my life. The two basses feel identical and I can switch from one to the other without having to make any conscious adjustments. They both feel and sound perfect. Playing these basses has really helped me in developing what I consider to be my own sound. Partnered with my Markbass stuff... I have never been more content with my tone. I have had two musicians in the last few days tell me that I have a "sound"... the ultimate compliment in my book. Also, I cannot say enough about how great Cliff is as a builder and as a business man. I am sure i will cave and order another one soon.
With all that being said....
Here are pictures. Soundclips to come soon.
First the rendering
Now the real thing
and the twins
Enjoy! I certainly am!
. All I can say is, that for me it´s exactly the opposite. Such a thin and smooth feeling neck; also I prefer the 19mm string spacing over my Stingray 17.5 mm (or whatever it is). 
