I intend to purchase a frettless, 5 string bass and have a budget up £1000.00 ($1400.00) I am starting to research various options but I suspect there are many of you on this forum that already own one or two or... My question is, if you happen to own one and you absolutely love it, please can you tell me the make, model and any pros and cons of your instrument? Many thanks!
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Fretless 5 string help
- Thread starter markythesparky
- Start date
In that price range I highly recommend G&L. Excellent quality, playability and sound.
Thanks armybass, I'll definitely check out the G&L.
For a $100 more on the budget, you can get this Gary Willis signature bass:
Ibanez GWB205
Ibanez GWB205
Thanks Aidil. I really, really love the look of the 205 and already own a fretted Ibanez 5 string. However (in the UK) the best price I can purchase a 205 for is £1400.00 which is £400.00 ($550.00) higher than my budget allows.
Ibanez Portamento? I've been looking at this for a backup for my Alembic...
Looks really nice. Will see if I can try one out once lockdown eases. Definitely a contender. Cheers Jakeman!
I’ve been casually on that same quest for the last few years, and I finally pulled the trigger on a used German Corvette. I had basically made up my mind on the Gary Willis but then the Corvette came up at a great price. Sire made a good 5 string jazz fretless but recently discontinued.
I picked up an NS Designs CR5 Radius fretless for $1400 CAD on Talkbass. It's headless, but it takes standard long scale strings. With the black body and black unlined fingerboard it looks nice and stealthy ;-) They usually cost more than that, but keep your eyes open and you might find a deal. The one on the left is a Rob Allen Deep 4, and it definitely won't meet your budget.
Price differences between regions could be a bummer.
^ This ^
Neither have I the kind of budget for a Gary Willis signature bass, but I was very happy when Ibanez introduced the Portamento line around 6 or 7 years ago for roughly a half budget of Gary's. So, I rushed to get one when local distributor had it.
And for even more economical budget, I just recently got this Ibanez Aerium SRH505F:
Good thing about the Portamento and the Aerium lines, is that these were built with very strong thoughts of fretless elements in mind. Not just converting of their famous SR fretted model to fretlesses. I'm having a blast with these two.
Might be on the higher end of your budget - maybe a touch outside. But I have absolutely loved my used Stingray 5er. Cons? None so far. Pros? Fits any mix I've run into, plenty "punch", the feel is smooth and perfect to me, balance is great. I just love it.
![20210218_120522[1].jpg](https://www.talkbass.com/data/attachments/6536/6536848-703d75482533a1b5afe14c9e923eb332.jpg?hash=cD11SCUzob "20210218_120522[1].jpg")
If I weren't a lefty I would really want to try out some of the Ibanez stuff, even though that is probably above your budget.
I'm real happy with my ESP LTD. Looks and sounds gorgeous and well under your price point.
ESP LTD B-205SM Fretless Bass Guitar - Natural Satin
ESP LTD B-205SM Fretless Bass Guitar - Natural Satin
That's a steal, just got the same in 4 string. Extremely high quality build, quite impressed. Some very forward- thinking design going on with these.
I'll second this as I have one too. I did ditch the generic soap bars and put in a Nordstand Big Blade and Big single and sounds way better than a $550 bass should.
I recently had the same quandary with exactly the same budget. I determined that, for me, the Sadowsky MetroExpress, represented the best value at that price. Ultralight tuners, Sadowsky Bridge, Ebony fingerboard, bone nut (on the Fretless), strap locks included, Sadowsky single coils, a CNC copy of a Sadowsky neck and legit Sadowsky electronics, (I got the upgrade). To me, that can’t be beat until you just about double that price. I saw LowEndLobster’s review and his complaint about the electronics, plus I wanted the VTC so after talking with my dealer I decided that the 4-knob drop in plate upgrade would get me where I wanted to be. The Fretlesses are currently only offered in their sparkly black, which looks great. I’d prefer a blue, but we can’t get everything we want, lol. I don’t have mine in hand yet but it is on order. My dealer, Indiana Music Garage, just got a 4-string in that you can see on their website and on their Instagram. I asked Tim over there a question today and he said that, regarding the quality of the Fretless 4, that they are really taking the time to get it right and that he was impressed with the sound and playability. Warwick is the distributor so getting one in Europe should be no problem at all if you choose that route. Thomann has some available I think.
