SOLD Early-90s (?) Fernandes FRB-40, De-fretted, MIJ (PRICE LOWERED)

Hi all,

I've got a new 5'er coming in the mail, and I only have four wall hangers, so one's gotta go to free up some space! Up for sale is my early-90s Fernandes FRB. I believe it's an FRB-40, but as far as I know in this era the serial number and model number were just printed on a sticker on the back of the headstock.

I bought this bass in 2004-2005 and I've played it maybe a few times. I'm just not a fretless player - I'm not particularly precise or musical and I've never been involved in a project that necessitated a fretless.

So, the obvious stuff - At some point before I bought it, someone took the frets out and filled the fret lines with wood filler. In some inexplicable act of misplaced shame, they also sanded the headstock bare and scratched out the word "Fernandes" on the pickups. The bass is also pretty beat up, with lots of dents and dings as shown in the photos, picking scratches above the strings, as well as three strap button holes (???) in the upper horn.

That said, the neck is straight, the truss rod turns freely, it intonates very well to my ears, tuning stability is incredibly solid, and it sounds thunderous. It has the smallest, thinnest neck I have ever played - think Geddy jazz or Soundgear. It plays beautifully and I love the tone and neck so much so that I spent years tracking down a fretted version that's now one of my main four-strings.

34" scale, passive P/J, VVT (I think). Bathroom scale says 7.6 lbs (!!)

I realized I was taking the photos that I have at some point removed the strap buttons - those will be replaced with black Schaller buttons before shipping, and I have some factory-correct knobs on the way (I'll send you the tacky Q-Parts knobs I put on it when I was in high school, though!)

I am looking for $200 plus shipping to the continental US. Please be advised that shipping is QUITE expensive right now.

I don't have a case, but I think I have a crummy gig bag kicking around somewhere - I will have the bass professionally packed and ship fully insured via UPS regardless. I will make a deal for local buyers in the Portland, OR area and am willing to drive a reasonable distance.

I am not looking for bass trades since I'm trying to thin the herd but may be interested in interesting or useful pedals - Damnation Audio MBD-2, Empress Bass Compressor, etc.

More pictures and sound clips available on request, and I'm happy to answer any questions. I have limited feedback here but 100% over 20+ years on eBay, as well as on Reverb and a handful of other sites.

Thanks for looking!



NOTE: not a scuff on the upper part of the body, just ceiling light reflection.



EDIT: listed on Reverb 6/15. Would rather sell to a TB'er!

 

Thank you! The fretted version I have is still my main 4 for anything I do that doesn't require a P with flats. It really is a great instrument.

 

Ha! I can't believe I missed that comment. That rules. I haven't seen that but I might keep this bass around and see if I can make it work

 

Hi! Wow, so sorry I didn't see this - I think I've just been bumping the thread without really looking at it. The sustain is quite good and no dead spots that I can recall. I will plug it in, play around with it, and get back to you to make sure, it's been a while since I had it plugged in. I promise I'm usually quicker on the response front than this!

 

I'll get one up in the next day or two! No dead spots that I could find playing around last night - some very slight buzziness/wolfiness around the fourth fret area on the two lowest strings if you play really aggressively, which I do, but much cleaner if you back off and don't play like a big jerk.

 

Here you go!

First half is through a Neural DSP Darkglass with no distortion, second half is the same clip with no processing at all, just direct from the bass into a Scarlett 2i4.

 

Make me an offer, I want it to go to a good home.

 

Make me an offer - computer, A/V receiver, and air conditioner all went on the fritz for unrelated reasons this weekend and I've got bills a-plenty all of a sudden!

 

As shipping has continued to get more expensive since I listed this, I am very open to making a deal for local pickup in the pacific northwest.