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Fretless acoustic bass guitars

#21
I had my Tacoma Olympia de-freted, I filled the fret grooves, and put on a set of Fender tapewounds as an experiment, since I got a great deal on it. It sounds great! Really nice tone, even w/out amplification. I haven't lowered the action yet, because I considered selling it for a while (hard times) and wanted to leave that customization for the new owner. But even with the normal action it has some mwah and uprightish tones. You can find deals on these if you keep dredging.
 
#25
I have tried several acoustic basses (ranging in price from a couple of hundred to about a grand) and most just seemed "adequate" to me. none seemed to really "wow" me until last weekend.

I played a fretless Rick Turner 4 string....WOWSA!!! I was floored....the mwah was there but I was also able to coax a nice thumpy upright sound out of it....all in one nice neat, light, and beautiful package.....

I play 5 strings so I will probably end up trying to find a used 5 string.

not sure how good these are if you truly want to play un-amplified but what a sound!

I am hooked and on a mission now.....

good luck with your search!
 
#28
I heard back from a price enquiry from La Luthiere MF (Michael Fournier, I believe the luthier's name is?) and the price is pretty stiff on these acoustic basses that Alain Carron are using ($7000+). So for me, that's totally out of the question. :)

I've got my eyes hooked on eBay for some of those being mentioned here, and I have also learned that Boulder Creek are issuing a 5-string fretless acoustic in the near future. So that may very well be my best option (seeing that the price is approximately 1/10th of what MF wants for theirs). :)

Thanks for everyone's input. And if someone can answer bassplayer60 on his MF question... please do :)
 
#29
Stoll makes a nice, _huge_ fretless acoustic, probably out of your price range though (2500€, IIRC).

There's also the (even more expensive) Maruszczyk Svoboda: Invalid Link Removed

I'm sticking with my fretless electric and a chorus pedal...
 
#34
I had a Breedlove Atlas for a little bit. Crap. I recently picked up a Martin ABG. It's rosewood with spruce top...excellent Martin high-end quality. It's a fretless with an ebony fingerboard. In my opinion, it's the next best thing to an upright...although there's no way to even get even close to an upright tone other than an upright itself.

I have D'Addario Chromes on it...the lightest gauge. I think they're .45 - .95. They sound good but I'm thinking about looking into TI flats. I like a super light gauge flat anyway...I have the same D'Addarios on my fretted P Bass.

I used to play upright but got sick of the maintenance cost (mine was a late 18th century German carved 3/4) and the amount of time and effort it took to double. I also play acoustic and electric six-string guitar and some harmonica (diatonic and chromatic) so doing all that AND upright was just too much. Obviously playing fretless takes shedding time to be sure...but it's not as big of a leap from my P to my Martin as it was from my P to my upright.

The downside is that people are hesitant to play with me rather than an upright player. They say it's not the "right" sound...but a lot of the time (when you plug the thing into a PA and EQ it) it's not really the point. They just want someone standing there with an upright because they think it looks cool. Since I live in NYC and don't have a car, looking cool means hauling that beast on the subway. I found that people just weren't willing to pay enough or consistently enough to justify my lugging around the old doghouse.

The Martin is awesome and, while it clearly has it's own distinctive voice which is not an upright and not an electric bass guitar, it's unmistakeably an acoustic instrument in tone.

But if you want an ABG that sounds decent and is well constructed I'd say that the cheapest option is a Tacoma CB-10. Still, that doesn't touch my Martin for tone or construction. I would think a Taylor would be good. The Rob Allens are nice if you want to drop that much money...but while they sound good plugged in they aren't really playable as an acoustic instrument. My Martin projects loud enough that I can play with a couple of guitars and even a banjo or mandolin and be heard. And if I use a pick it's not even a question.

I know that the old Guilds are supposed to be good, but I've never been a short scale player. I also think that if you want a fretless ABG, a short scale bass would be very, very tough in terms of accurate intonation unless you had tiny Smurf hands. But those are pretty sweet. If I were going to pick up a fretted ABG I think I'd go for a Guild because the one thing that can be difficult with a full-scale ABG is having to stick your arm waaaaaay out to get that low F. But if you play in a seated position and with a more classical posture the reach isn't a problem.

Still...if you can find a really good ABG for under $1,500 I'd be surprised. Good quality acoustic instruments cost money. Period.
 
#37
Thanks for your input guys :-)

What's the deal with the Kala U-bass?

The Martin is maybe too expensive for me, but the new cheap Warwick Aliens could be an option. I recently was lucky enough to inherit an old dog house, though, so my acoustic needs are put on hold for a while. A Kala would be convenient, though. ;-)
 
#38
MrWalker said:
Thanks for your input guys :-)

What's the deal with the Kala U-bass?

The Martin is maybe too expensive for me, but the new cheap Warwick Aliens could be an option. I recently was lucky enough to inherit an old dog house, though, so my acoustic needs are put on hold for a while. A Kala would be convenient, though. ;-)
Click to expand...

If you haven't already checked it out, there's a whole cult, I mean club, growing for the u-bass, see this thread:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=672089
 

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