Love those basses, one of my favorite Fender basses of all time...unfortunately it's only a 4 string.
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Gig-worthy Fretless 5, Under $1000?
- Thread starter lowendmafia
- Start date
I love Ibanez! I'm working on getting the SRH505F. Planning to change the strings to tapewound. Not quite the same range as the 705 you mentioned seeing as how it only has a piezo pickup and the slightly more than standard fretboard versusthe 705F's extended fretboard with Bartolini neck and bridge active pickups, but I'm greatly looking forward to seeing what kind of sweet fretless sounds I can get from it.
To best help people we sometimes have to assess their needs or desires to help find them a match so we ask questions. There are a lot of basses out there and your OP only really mentioned the Gary Willis and later the finger ramp as things you specifically liked beyond 5 string or fretless.
All anybody was trying to ask is - do you have a particular pickup configuration you prefer? Body style? Since you're a fan of the Tony Franklin fretless P, you seem to be open to the Idea of P-bass. I've personally been gassing for a Fretless Jazz V and under a grand is about my budget on any instrument currently. I'd love a fretless Sire V7 but from what I can tell the side dots are the only thing visible on the side of the neck and they're between the lines on the fretboard. (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on the side dots) Might not matter to you as much. But I'm also gassing for a yamaha broadbass, and a $1700 headless multiscale ibanez that I won't be obtaining anytime soon as well.
There are some people who have no qualms gigging with a Squier, where there are others that wouldn't be caught dead on stage with Squier on the headstock, even if the bass was perfectly capable of doing the job. Knowing how much that matters to you narrows down the search for basses to suggest.
Anyway, this is no kind of personal attack, but I'd say be more patient with people offering to help when you post a question like this on TB. You were a little harsh on JRA and he was just trying to get more info to help you figure out what you want is all.
Forgive the folks jumping to his defense, and again good luck with your search.
*Slow clap* seriously awesome man. That is the kind of instrument that makes careers!
...ahhh, my apologies, I missed the 5-string part of your original post.
I've previously owned a fender jazz (Mexican) and a sterling by musicman ray34cafl. They both sounded pretty good but for me there was some comfort/ergonomic issues. The 4 string jazz neck is just too small for my hand. I have a 5 string jazz and don't have problems with that neck but the 4 string necks are way smaller. The sterling by musicman didn't have a forearm cutaway and I know a lot of people don't have a problem with that but it was uncomfortable for me. But along with those issues I also wanted a 5 string as that's mostly what I play aside from my acoustic bass. if you're looking more so for a 5 string fretless there aren't a ton of options under a grand. The Gary Willis basses are pretty good but the nicer ones are well over a grand. I think the gwb35 is the only one under a grand. I'm leaning towards eventually doing a 5 string fender/warmoth parts build but high end warwicks are getting super cheap on the used market so if one pops up and I have the cash at the time I might bite.
Just scan Reverb or the TB classifieds and look for something used. Fortunately for you fretless basses tend to have a lower resale value and you can get quite the bargain. I've seen some absolute steals over the years.
Here is the problem, and if you hang around TB long enough, you know what I'm saying. If I were to have asked the question and said "I'm absolutely opposed to bass brand X, someone would come on and try to turn the thread into a fight about whether or not that is a good brand or how is "gigable." I get it, you can play shows with anything, but at my level there's a big difference between pro gear and non-pro gear. I'll give you a couple of examples:
My wife and I were at a bar last night and the guitar player in the band was using a Line 6 Variax and a Pod XT live. This sounded absolutely horrible and while the audience members couldn't decipher that's what sounded bad they definitely knew they were watching an amateur performance.
Furthermore, not to pick on Line 6 (I use a Helix every show), I fired a back up guitar player last year because he refused to upgrade his gear from the XT 500 and a cheap Stratocaster. The guy had talent, but his cheap gear was making my band sound worse. So the idea that anything can be gigable just isn't true.
My wife and I were at a bar last night and the guitar player in the band was using a Line 6 Variax and a Pod XT live. This sounded absolutely horrible and while the audience members couldn't decipher that's what sounded bad they definitely knew they were watching an amateur performance.
Furthermore, not to pick on Line 6 (I use a Helix every show), I fired a back up guitar player last year because he refused to upgrade his gear from the XT 500 and a cheap Stratocaster. The guy had talent, but his cheap gear was making my band sound worse. So the idea that anything can be gigable just isn't true.
Warwick Rockbass. They actually make quite a nice fretless.
There are some cheaper basses that can do the job, but when you can pick up a used Fender American P or Jazz for $800-900, we're not talking french horn or bassoon money. And I'll not even think of orchestral stringed instruments.
Then it seems like 'at your level' you wouldn't have even needed to make this post in the first place.
Actually, I've received quite a bit of really good information and suggestions. Like the Bunny Brunel ESP, I wasn't even aware of that bass until today. Thanks though.
For YOUR needs and sonic tastes, which is precisely what a couple people were trying to figure out
Personally if it came down to a Fender P-bass, or a Squier P-bass, or a Yamaha P-bass or etc etc.. I feel like I'd be able to make due with any of them, although I might notice a difference in build quality. Friend has a Peavey Milestone jazz that feels and sounds as good as any MIM Fender I've ever played and you can find them for dirt cheap.
With your budget.. I think this thing looks awful yummy.
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The Gary Willis and the SRF705 are probably the most readily available under a grand new.
I've also looked at the Ibanez BTB45F but wasn't a fan personally of bartolini MK1's and haven't experienced the BH2's. Still.. I'd love to get one of these in my hands to see how it feels and sounds personally.
Other than that there's Sire and Warmoth afaik. The big retailers don't have a huge selection of 5 string fretless basses.
I've been studying w/ Gary Willis for a few years now, and have gotten to ask him a lot about the design of his bass. Understanding that helped me get the most out of my GWB1005 and GWB205. If you end up going that route there are a few setup tips that come in handy as well as how to dial in a tone that works for you.
Do you have any cool fretless tones that you're trying to get in the ballpark of?
Do you have any cool fretless tones that you're trying to get in the ballpark of?
Hi @Seedpicker: I don't want to hijack or derail @lowendmafia's thread, but this has been exactly my thought - the SRH505F with tapewounds, in an attempt to get the most upright-like tone from a non-upright.
My usual project is a "classic rock" covers band but I've been offered additional regular work with a small group (1xguitar, piano, bass and drums) backing a well-known local female vocalist who does cabaret/torch songs/ballads, and having watched them with their out-going bass player I felt the upright sound would really suit them.
So, yeah, very interested to hear from anyone who's tried tapes on the 505F. Or even on the 4 string SRHF500F.
That's so rad... I studied under 2 guys who he taught, one being Todd Johnson. If I get one, can I hit you up for that info?
Thanks
Thanks
