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Fretless Basses

#41
cosmicevan said:
i've been thinking about trading my modulus Q5 fretted for a fretless Q5...i'd imagine that the fretless modulus would be somewhat like the zon, but does anyone have any direct feedback on a freless modulus? will the tone be too hi-fi for a fretless?
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I have a Modulus Q6 fretless. Pretty bright but a WIDE variety of tomnes are available. Switched from roundwounds to tapewond flats and back a couple times. Wide variety of tones available. Smooth playing, accurate in the higher frets, and hardly ever needs tuning.
 
#42
guys...i'm looking for a nice fretless too... i want to play jazz and mellow songs with it... i tried godin a5 fretless 2 days ago and i love it so much,, but the low b is bit floppy,, so the a4 is nice:hyper: ,,
btw i'm looking for under $1500:ninja:
 
#43
vAns-826- said:
guys...i'm looking for a nice fretless too... i want to play jazz and mellow songs with it... i tried godin a5 fretless 2 days ago and i love it so much,, but the low b is bit floppy,, so the a4 is nice:hyper: ,,
btw i'm looking for under $1500:ninja:
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Looking for a 5 or a 4? The Schecter Stiletto Studio-5 is a pretty good 5 (35" scale) in the $650 range... Otherwise, a MIM Jazz, MIJ Jazz, Deans Edge or Rhapsody, and many others will do. Try MF or eBay and search on "fretless bass". (Then you'll know why I have so many basses. :-)
 
#44
cosmicevan said:
i've been thinking about trading my modulus Q5 fretted for a fretless Q5...i'd imagine that the fretless modulus would be somewhat like the zon, but does anyone have any direct feedback on a freless modulus? will the tone be too hi-fi for a fretless?
Click to expand...
I would imagine this would be a great instrument. I don't know whether by "hi-fi" you mean "clear" or "scooped", but to me a great fretless tone has to have a lot of clarity to show up the nuances of the instrument and your playing. The phrase "too hi-fi" doesn't apply to a fretless for me! I'm thinking of players like Pino and also Percy Jones on his Wal with Brand X. That's great fretless clarity for you.

Anyway, Wals aside for a moment as they're so hard to get hold of, there are some great graphite neck fretlesses out there, such as Zon, Status, not to mention the SR4 and Jazz basses mentioned earlier in the thread. I haven't played a fretless Modulus but I bet they're awesome.
 
#45
Zon makes really nice fretlesses; however, they are a bit more expensive than the bass you mentioned, unless you can find a good deal on a used one. I also really like fretless Warwicks, and as said before, you can get one of those at a reasonable price. If you can afford one, a Zon may be worth it, but definitely check out the Warwicks.
 
#46
I've never owned one of those super fancy fretless basses, but I have owned a fretless Fender, Kubicki and Carvin. They were all pretty nice but were sold off eventually for some reason or another. But the one I am sticking with which blows those away is my Steinberger Synapse. The sound on that thing, which includes a piezo pickup is just amazing. There is a little extra high end in there, and the way the piezo picks up the extra nuances that I just love it. The best fretless I've ever owned. Yeah, I've got my Wishbasses too. For $300 - $400 you get a pretty nice and unique fretless that really sounds great. They are not meant for everybody and they do have their problems, but they're fun. Good for a "2nd" fretless at least.
 
#47
Here's my USA JO. I walked the bass over to the Pedulla factory at lunch when I dropped it off for him to convert it to fretless. I have Bartolini 9j's in it and I love them. The bass is dead quiet. I love single coils in a fretted jazz (my fretted is a Marcus Miller 4 that's been modified. Original bridge, pickups, and pre are gone. Now it's vol vol tone tone bypass, string thru Fender deluxe bridge, and a set of Jason Lollar single coils), but I'm hooked on the barts.
 
#48
This thing is still blowin' me away. It's actually been desiged as a fretless, not just a fretted bass with the wire pulled out. The tone and playablity are just unbelievable, second to none.

P1010045.jpg
 
#50
:confused:

Most companies make a fretless model by simply making the neck with no frets, with no thought into anything else. My point was that the BNF5 has a different body shape, wood, neck, p'up location, etc., specifically tailored around being a fretless instrument.
 
#52
Dave Hill said:
This thing is still blowin' me away. It's actually been desiged as a fretless, not just a fretted bass with the wire pulled out. The tone and playablity are just unbelievable, second to none.

P1010045.jpg
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Very nice. The all-black finish makes it look very elegant.

F Bass is reputed to make a great fretless. I have a neighbor who worships and adores his...

MM
 
#55
One thing to watch out for in lined fretless basses - sometimes they just use fretted necks with inlay instead of frets to make the lines, and the dots on the top of the neck are in the wrong place. On a fretless bass, the dots should be where the 3rd, 5th, etc. frets would be, not between them and the fret below, where they are on a fretted bass.
 
#56
ggunn said:
One thing to watch out for in lined fretless basses - sometimes they just use fretted necks with inlay instead of frets to make the lines, and the dots on the top of the neck are in the wrong place. On a fretless bass, the dots should be where the 3rd, 5th, etc. frets would be, not between them and the fret below, where they are on a fretted bass.
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I understand why large-scale manufacturers do this, but I have no idea why custom builders still do this. I've had to make special note in both of the custom fretlesses I've ordered to have the dots placed directly below the fretlines.
 
#57
dantheman347 said:
What fretless basses do you guys like the best? I am looking at buying the Fender Marcus Miller fretless but I dont know. I prefer active and I like the fenders but what do you guys suggest?
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If you can hack the bux, Zon... definitely Zon. They're nothing short of magical. Just listen to Michael Manring sometime.
 
#59
BassDudeSA said:
I've never owned one of those super fancy fretless basses, but I have owned a fretless Fender, Kubicki and Carvin. They were all pretty nice but were sold off eventually for some reason or another. But the one I am sticking with which blows those away is my Steinberger Synapse. The sound on that thing, which includes a piezo pickup is just amazing. There is a little extra high end in there, and the way the piezo picks up the extra nuances that I just love it. The best fretless I've ever owned. Yeah, I've got my Wishbasses too. For $300 - $400 you get a pretty nice and unique fretless that really sounds great. They are not meant for everybody and they do have their problems, but they're fun. Good for a "2nd" fretless at least.
Click to expand...
i was curious re: the steinberger. very cool (though my thumb w/ alembics gets the wood sound...but that tight little stein body...:bassist: )
 

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