Fretless search-4 string

[CTBassGuy]

...so I'm going to play the two and decide whether to keep just one or keep both...
...having one of each might be a good set up...

If the tone of them is right for you, having a fretted and fretless of the same model is very desirable, IMHO. My 2 Carvins have put all my other basses in standby status. They just feel and sound right with everything I play, as well as feeling the same; no adjustments in my playing style/mechanics necessary.

Keep ‘em both if you like them; especially if your wife already approved!

 

[Eilif]

I don't have any of the same bass but even though they look significantly different, all my gigging instruments are 35" 4 strings with a P width neck, including my fretless. I do think it makes things easier when switching between them especially on a gig when I bring the fretless.

 

[Eilif]

If the tone of them is right for you, having a fretted and fretless of the same model is very desirable, IMHO. My 2 Carvins have put all my other basses in standby status. They just feel and sound right with everything I play, as well as feeling the same; no adjustments in my playing style/mechanics necessary.

Keep ‘em both if you like them; especially if your wife already approved!

View attachment 3585119

Nice Carvins. An LB75F was my main player for several years.
Is it just the perspective or are the bass pups closer to the neck than traditional J positions?

 

[CTBassGuy]

Nice Carvins. An LB75F was my main player for several years.
Is it just the perspective or are the bass pups closer to the neck than traditional J positions?

I think it's the perspective and the fact that the fretboards are 24-fret length. My PRS Kestrel (22 Fret-length) is as close as I have to a traditional Jazz bass, so with the comparison, the pickups look like they are close to in line on the Carvin and PRS, with the Carvin maybe a bit further behind those of the PRS.

 

[Aidil]

Well, as it turns out, I like the sound of the Ibanez a lot and ordered the Fretted version of the same bass on Saturday. It arrives on Wed so I'm going to play the two and decide whether to keep just one or keep both.
The price is right so even if I keep both the total cost is still tolerable. And, knowing the tone of this bass is going to work well with our original music, having one of each might be a good set up.
My wife is supportive of the plan so it's all good!

That has been my GAS for quite some times. I like my fretted SRH Aerium a lot. Been gigging more with it in the last 2 years than my usual combo beater: a BTB Terra Firma for fretted jobs and an SRF Portamento for fretless jobs, so that I'm thinking of replacing the Portamento with a fretless SRH Aerium. Problem is, no fretless SRH is available locally.

 

[Biggbass]

So....after having both SRH500 4 string models in hand for a few days I'm really liking the fretted one. The fretless sounds great, of course, but it's so much easier to play the fretted one with precision intonation and get the same woody tone.
Gonna give it some more time...I have 45 days to make a final decision before my return window expires.
I also tried some foam under the strings at the bridge and it works great to reduce the sustain and give it some upright sounding thump.
Been playing both a few hours each day and finding them very comfortable playing basses. Lot's of bang for the buck with these basses.

 

[iunno]

I second the fretless Ric suggestion, they have a very woody, upright sort of tone.

I'm not too big on the Jaco tone either, Wals and L2000s are the best sounding fretlesses to my ears.

 

[Biggbass]

Update:

After about 10 days of playing the SRH500DE (the fretted model) and the 500F
(Fretless) in my project studio, running both direct and thru my '61 B15N, I took the
DE to band rehearsal last night.

Last night we ran thru our set for the band's upcoming CD Release party which will be this Sat night. The fretted DE was the only bass I took with me.

From my pre-rehearsal practice time I experimented with foam muting at the bridge and went with a small block of med/soft foam under the D-A-E strings, leaving the G string unmuted. To me, this gave the bass a very close approximation to the sound of an upright.

The result was: it sounded GREAT at rehearsal, mixed into the live band! I ran it thru my rehearsal rig - GK MB200 > Markbass 2x10. Nice compliments all around on the woody, upright sounding tone.

The foam was the icing on that cake and something I often use on my other basses. It deadens the strings on the Ibanez just enough to allow the upright-ish thump and a nice decay. I had the tone rolled off about 10% on the bass and most settings on the amp at 12 o'clock except for the bass adjust, which was at 2 o'clock.

There are 3 songs in our set where the Fretless would really shine but the fretted 500 worked fine. So I'm going to work with the fretless more to try to dial in the fingering intonation, which is my only drawback with it so far. But I'll take the DE to the gig, along with a backup yet to be decided on. If I'm confident with the F I'll take it, but otherwise my NYC Sadowsky JJ4 with tapes, which always sounds great.

All in all, the Ibanez was a really good choice for the music we play so a big thanks to everyone for all their suggestions on this quest.

This bass is extremely well made, fit and finish are flawless, action is perfect, sounds great, looks good, and is very light weight. Plus, without magnetic pickups it has a quiet signal. Both thumbs up!

 

[Biggbass]

First gig with the Ibanez basses last Sat night;
went straight into my V4B/2x12 and the sound was 100% what I was hoping for...
thump, short decay, full bottom end, note clarity...all good.
We played a 90 min concert set and I used the Fretless on 3 songs and the Fretted on everything else. I had the Sadowsky JJ4 on the stand just in cast but never touched it.
The SRH500 fit the music perfectly.
These basses are keepers and are going to get a lot of use.