Fender fretless jazz bass mim mods

[Cajuare]

Hi,
I just bought a fender fretless jazz bass mim.
I planning to do some modifications to it. (Pickups,preamp,bridge,strings,etc)

Which modifications do you recommend to get a nice fretless sound?

 

[Grissle]

Ok well you asked, ha ha.
My '01 Agave Blue MIM Fretless:
MODS:
- Gotoh Reverse Gear tuners
- Bone Nut
- Clay Dots on neck
- Neck narrowed down to 1.45 at nut
- Tort Pickguard
- Fender CS '60's pickups
- Vintage Stack Knob wiring, CTS etc
- Fender multi-detent stack knobs
- Fender Vintage threaded Bridge
- Fender Pickup covers
- RS TruBass 88 tapewound strings
And just lately switched to an older MIM Black Body. It is much lighter. I had to open up the bridge pup route a bit but it so much more comfy now.

Hey you asked...😃

 

[RobbieK]

I'd get some hum cancelling pickups, as fretless jazz basses sound great with the bridge pretty much solo (think Jaco).

If you go active, I'd suggest getting a preamp with a mid control. Fretless is all about the mids.

Listen carefully and critically to the bass unplugged in a quiet room. If it sounds a but mushy or lacking that woody tone, possibly think about the dimarzio J pickups. They really push the mid range thing as well.

The other (slightly less glamorous) thing to spend some $$ on, is a good set up from a reputable luthier. Getting the board perfectly radiused plus the action and relief perfect is critical on a fretless because so much of that tone is from the way the string sounds on the board.

 

[Grissle]

I'd get some hum cancelling pickups, as fretless jazz basses sound great with the bridge pretty much solo (think Jaco).

If you go active, I'd suggest getting a preamp with a mid control. Fretless is all about the mids.

Listen carefully and critically to the bass unplugged in a quiet room. If it sounds a but mushy or lacking that woody tone, possibly think about the dimarzio J pickups. They really push the mid range thing as well.

The other (slightly less glamorous) thing to spend some $$ on, is a good set up from a reputable luthier. Getting the board perfectly radiused plus the action and relief perfect is critical on a fretless because so much of that tone is from the way the string sounds on the board.

^^^Good advice here. However with my single coils AND Tapewounds even, my bass is virtually silent even with one pup rolled off its really pretty quiet. But I have a lot of experience with shielding witch makes a big difference. I like to use both the shielding paint plus foil for their different performance attributes.

 

[Cajuare]

Thanks guys for supporting.

What about pickups?
Which brand do you think helps to get a
Great fretless tone?

Preamps?

Bridge?

Strings?