I never expected this bass to be such a joy

[micguy]

I have two fretless basses among many fretted ones. I find the fretless to be more "freeing" if that's really a word. If I make a mistake on a fretted bass everyone hears it because it's a half step off; if I miss the exact spot on a fretless very few people hear the difference. My fretless Epi EBO has many gigs on it.

Thump on,

One_Dude

yes, on a fretted bass, you’re occasionally a half step off. Oops. On a fretless, you are always a little bit out of tune. And you will still make half step errors just as often.

 

[vindibona1]

yes, on a fretted bass, you’re occasionally a half step off. Oops. On a fretless, you are always a little bit out of tune. And you will still make half step errors just as often.

Being *slightly* out of tune isn't necessarily a bad thing. It brings out character and a quality that seems to dissolve a bit when everything is perfect. Thie guy, below didn't really sing "in tune" but what he lacked in intonation he had in terms of musicality and presentation; something that made him VERY popular for more than one generation. I dare Taylor Swift to have as many followers in the next generation as this guy still has.

 

[Ellery]

I randomly had a chance to grab a fretless Warwick Streamer for a good price on CL and I’m so glad I jumped on it. Never had a concrete plan to start on fretless, but I took to it right away. All those years of muscle memory, it only took a little while to mimic what I was playing on my fretted basses. My first live show using it was a blast. I still play fretted but I do keep it in the rotation.

 

[BassicJazzy]

I randomly had a chance to grab a fretless Warwick Streamer for a good price on CL and I’m so glad I jumped on it. Never had a concrete plan to start on fretless, but I took to it right away. All those years of muscle memory, it only took a little while to mimic what I was playing on my fretted basses. My first live show using it was a blast. I still play fretted but I do keep it in the rotation.

You may find like me that you start reaching less and less for the fretted basses, once you get comfortable on the fretless?

 

[Watchootognbout]

There is a lot to say about the effects of different preamps. To an extent, the amount of electronic processing we go through to produce a sound makes them a bit less releveant, from preamp to preamp- unless you're super fussy and can have consistency.

My first 6 string was a Gio 206b with a 2 band preamp which I picked up for $100 (including deluxe case). I had a $10 Chinese preamp in my bin that I hadn't used on a previous fix-up job. After the installation, the sound was really really good. BTW... You would think that the "before" photo showed a USED bass. NO. It was a NEW *DEMO* that was BTS. The finish on some SR's are so thin that a fingernail scratching it could get down to raw wood. But you can see the extra knob on the "after" image. No one would know it didn't come that way. $10.

View attachment 7399669

That's why I never took to the Ibanez SR/Gio series.
I like dark natural woods.
But I noticed that the dark SR/Gio series"natural wood" Ibanez basses weren't actually "Natural"
They were stained lighter woods.
So many had patches where the stain wore off.

I avoided Ibanez until the BTB/EHB series pulled me in.

 

[BassicJazzy]

That's why I never took to the Ibanez SR/Gio series.
I like dark natural woods.
But I noticed that the dark SR/Gio series"natural wood" Ibanez basses weren't actually "Natural"
They were stained lighter woods.
So many had patches where the stain wore off.

I avoided Ibanez until the BTB/EHB series pulled me in.

Uh, not sure about that. I think that's actually more true of the Schectors I've seen. Most of those are stained - - I can see where the stain wears off on some used ones, on the neck and on body where forearm rubs against it. I can tell you my SR1350B Premium isn't stained, or if any part of it is, not by much. And the SR370EF has a gloss finish, probably poly. Some say it's thin but I'd say it's comparable to the finish on my Sire P5R. Anyway, here are the 2 SRs.

 

[Watchootognbout]

Uh, not sure about that. I think that's actually more true of the Schectors I've seen. Most of those are stained - - I can see where the stain wears off on some used ones, on the neck and on body where forearm rubs against it. I can tell you my SR1350B Premium isn't stained, or if any part of it is, not by much. And the SR370EF has a gloss finish, probably poly. Some say it's thin but I'd say it's comparable to the finish on my Sire P5R. Anyway, here are the 2 SRs.

Not yours.
You seem to have the premium series.
I mean the lower grade Ibby SR and Gios with plain brown stain.

I've seen too many pics on TB of these with thumb marks and slap finger marks wear the stain away.
This one has belt rash wear.

 

[Ellery]

You may find like me that you start reaching less and less for the fretted basses, once you get comfortable on the fretless?

To me they are different animals. I still love playing either.

 

[BassicJazzy]

Not yours.
You seem to have the premium series.
I mean the lower grade Ibby SR and Gios with plain brown stain.
View attachment 7400523

I've seen too many pics on TB of these with thumb marks and slap finger marks wear the stain away.
This one has belt rash wear.

Yeah, you are right about that. I think the older ones were made like that, although I do see purple heart in that neck which means it's not super old.

I don't think that's belt rash. I think that belly rash, someone sweated so much that their beer belly rubbed off the finish. Now that I thought of that I am trying hard to get that image out of my mind.