Do Fretless Exist without a Burst Finish?

[fdrcolorado]

Any bass can be refretted fretless, just take it to a good repair shop. You can go the other way, as well, fretless to fretted.

 

[Topkat13]

OMG.

 

[timmus]

I see this as the manufacturers are cheaping out and going with the most basic of finishes, again (this tends to be cyclical in nature). You know, the standard finish options: blue, red white, and sunburst.

I think the cheapening out has been going on since Fender started making instruments...Stories abound that Leo and Ford were buddies (and both "frugal" to say the least) and that Leo would buy his paint from Ford because Ford got a huge discount on paint because of how much he used building autos and he passed it on to Leo...When you look back, most guitar colors were automobile colors used at the time and the same type of paint as well.

It's been said that when Henry Ford started building cars, he said you can have them in any color you want, as long as it's black. It's a matter of economics. I'm sure that most mass producers of guitars know what will sell to the majority of buyers. Those that want something a bit more esoteric will pay the extra $$$ and get something a little, or a lot, more custom built. Fender does have the Custom Shop but they are up against folks like Kiesel and many others that, for about the same price, you can get almost anything your little heart desires. Even Fender's custom shop is somewhat limited.

 

[Artman]

You get a whole variety of different wood options, finishes, and inlays, as well as choice of neck width and profile, headstock shape, and number of positions.

Not to mention a straight neck that will remain straight.

 

[Ghastly]

Where'd you get that real gold leaf finish for that kind of dough (boomer term)?

I had the body custom milled, etc. and a gold leaf finish by Mattia Franchin, in Italy about 3 years ago. I believe the cost was around $350 ish plus shipping. Maybe more expensive now, but it's the best gold leaf job I've seen... no lines or obvious seams in the work. Worth every penny.

 

[WG Plum]

I am an early GenX. Millennial's and Boomers have forgotten about us.

And most of us GenXers prefer it that way. Happy to leave the intergenerational squabbling to others.

 

[bobdabilder]

Who knew a couple of flurries could cause such a pile up.

12 pages of butthurt

View attachment 4708831

 

[SteveCS]

...
Such as sunburst finishes.
...

Of course there are bursts and there are bursts. The 3-tone red/yellow/black 'target-burst' of '70s Fenders is, to me, the worst thing ever, yet to others they are the epitome of good taste and high style. On the other hand, the tobacco-burst on my Ray34 is, IMHO, one of the best bursts I have ever seen. It is the only burst bass I own, and is the only fretted bass I own...

 

[yberwaffe]

Sure. Between guitars, & now basses I've almost consistently gravitated towards Ibanez instruments as their necks almost universally feel right in my small hands, even on extended range instruments. Feel of an instrument is by far the most important parameter for me.

Sound, so long as its passable, is a secondary or tertiary thing. I'm not too hung up on specific hardware & it can be replaced with other pickups in the right form factor. Tones can always be massaged into sounding different with the right processing, though it is nice to have something that's perfect right out of the bass. It's really just a matter of it not sounding way out of wack / being able to be set up on the acoustic side of the instrument.

Inevitability I may end up with a mirror shiny burst-covered instrument because it has the right sound & feel for me, at a price I can afford. It's a balancing act really. If something feels & sounds amazing but looks hideous it's a real long think on if I want to put up with it or get it redone. If something looks amazing but feels & sounds awful, it's a no-go.

That all said- I made this thread because I've seen a lack of fretless basses being made today that aren't that, and it's really not my aesthetic preference. I'm riding off of having recently got an Ibanez EHB1005MS which really has it all- the playability, the balance & weight, the eclectic looks, a decent sound. In the fretted world there are so many options like this for someone to find an instrument that suits them but it just seems there's a dearth of aesthetic variety for fretless basses being made.

You bought an EHB1005MS but you claim to have small hands.
Thin neck, yes, but it's pretty long.
How does this work out for you ?

 

[arbiterusa]

Not that these were boomerburst in the first place, but they've been gussied up a bit with some spraycan treatment. And they were cheap: most expensive one was 300 bucks.

 

[lo_freq_geek]

I like to think so. This one was never 'burst.

 

[mrperkolator]

I like to think so. This one was never 'burst.View attachment 4708890

where did you get that gorgeous neck?

 

[yberwaffe]

i'm curious about how those two things are connected in your non-boomer experience(?)

Japanese whiskey gives me funny ideas, maybe OP had some of that.

 

[JRA]

Japanese whiskey gives me funny ideas

i don't ever recall having any "japanese whiskey" but it seems like an idea worth exploring!

 

[MVE]

Warmoth’s “trans-black” with masked faux binding.

 

[Texican]

12 pages of butthurt

View attachment 4708831

More like 13 pages that are mostly helpful and informative. I’m surprised this thread didn’t just fade away after 4 or 5 posts. Like I said early, credit to the boomers for still helping out. Daniel thought that Mr Miaggi was a fool for making him paint the fence, but that old man was still willing to help too.

 

[Tom Bomb]

It is written, it is more desirable to have a pretty picture than to have a sound source. The medium, not the message, is the right focus. And it is fun to kick up a stink where none exists, just for the sake of it, for a small but vociferous proportion of bystanders who are more than happy to help with the production of unnecessary stink.

And, seeking a fitting finish with gaudy, eye-catching, distressed or diseased proto-industrial, post apocalyptic, shabby chic, flat elements, how about "I love the airbrushed flaming doctored shades of napalm in the data stream." Hang the art. It'll take care of itself. This is the takeaway. Hold the bus.
​

 

[Paul New]

Look. If mods need to close the thread, then do so. But sincerely- while the demographic remarks were a little troll-y, yes, they were meant as a good faith jab meant to highlight that not many fretless basses are being made targeted at people my age. It was never meant to insult anybody and I'm sorry that people have been hurt by it. Intent & tone are hard to communicate in text.


Again like... It was just a bit of fun to highlight that young people aren't playing these (lovely sounding) instruments as much.

Of course your generation doesn't play fretless much. Fretless is hard work.

joke!

 

[9c1ny]

No bursts here, 1981 B.C. Rich Mockingbird, factory fretless

 

[Texican]

Of course your generation doesn't play fretless much. Fretless is hard work.

joke!

Easy there! I wholeheartedly believe that I am entitled to government-funded “mwah” and that poor intonation is a product of systemic bassism.