I used to have an SR375 F (older version with the CAP pickups), and it was one of my favorite fretless basses. I got it super cheap and it had an excellent tone and played great. I regret selling it
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Ibanez fretless basses
- Thread starter Cory rich40
- Start date
I have been fortunate to have had a good deal of experience with fretless bass in general. We all have our preferences, but for this I'll stick to Ibanez.
Ibanez makes, in my opinion, just about the best basses quality wise in their price point. this was not always the case, the 90's and 2000's were not IMO.
I'm a 6 string guy and found the SRF706 to be really great except for the narrow string spacing (again my preference). I did however switch the pickups to Aguilar becuase Barts do nothing for me (again my preference) and put better Gotoh tuners on it (the stock tuners are cheap and don't stay in tune well). This improved things greatly. I love the extended range of the fingerboard if nothing but for looks and plucking over the board which I like to do occasionally. But it's too narrow for me and it's about to be moved on.
I converted a SRSC806 and it's a beast, especially with Aguilar pickups and better tuners. It has an 18mm string spacing.
Converting a favorite fretted bass is always a viable option, especially in a world where fretless is rare.
I used to own the semi-hollow SRH500F. It's a fine instrument with a very specific tone. If you like that tone (almost upright quality without the fullness) then it's great. But they don't make it in a 6.
I have played the Gary Willis GWB205. Great quality. It's very much his tone and great if you want that.
Price points can be deceiving, especially when it comes to brands. A $4000 new Fender boggles my mind, but thats just me. (a $1000 Fender boggles the mind but thats another discussion). Ibanez IMO makes superior basses in the word of factory instruments at all the price points. A good luthier can set it up and convert it if you wish into a fantastic playing machine for the money.
Ibanez makes, in my opinion, just about the best basses quality wise in their price point. this was not always the case, the 90's and 2000's were not IMO.
I'm a 6 string guy and found the SRF706 to be really great except for the narrow string spacing (again my preference). I did however switch the pickups to Aguilar becuase Barts do nothing for me (again my preference) and put better Gotoh tuners on it (the stock tuners are cheap and don't stay in tune well). This improved things greatly. I love the extended range of the fingerboard if nothing but for looks and plucking over the board which I like to do occasionally. But it's too narrow for me and it's about to be moved on.
I converted a SRSC806 and it's a beast, especially with Aguilar pickups and better tuners. It has an 18mm string spacing.
Converting a favorite fretted bass is always a viable option, especially in a world where fretless is rare.
I used to own the semi-hollow SRH500F. It's a fine instrument with a very specific tone. If you like that tone (almost upright quality without the fullness) then it's great. But they don't make it in a 6.
I have played the Gary Willis GWB205. Great quality. It's very much his tone and great if you want that.
Price points can be deceiving, especially when it comes to brands. A $4000 new Fender boggles my mind, but thats just me. (a $1000 Fender boggles the mind but thats another discussion). Ibanez IMO makes superior basses in the word of factory instruments at all the price points. A good luthier can set it up and convert it if you wish into a fantastic playing machine for the money.
I recently acquired a Warwick Corvette Standard fretless and I love it - I think the heft gives it a great sound & sustain. I also have an Ibanez SRH500F which I am about to let go to help pay for the three Warwicks I've bought in the last few months. The Ibanez SRH500F has a nice acoustic-electric sound that's just a little too smooth for my needs, but it would sit well in a jazz or prog-folk combo. Plus, it's light (being chambered) and those amazing SR necks can't be beat.
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I recently got an Ibanez SRH500F from Guitar Center. As y'all know it has a very light action and is laid out nicely. My one problem with it is that I can't get away from the Jaco-like "mwah" sound. That's cool and all but I mostly play in straight ahead jazz groups and that fusion-esque sound isn't quite right. String-wise I've played the D'Addario Chromes it came with and just switched to LaBella tapewound strings, but neither seems to produce a tone similar to a generic upright bass. Any suggestions?
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I put D'Addario Black Nylon Tapes on mine, and I set the action a little higher for more control over the mwah; if you play lighter, and change up where you pluck, it's more thumpy. But if you dig in, you can dial up more of the mwah.
I'll try out your recommendation for the D'Addario tapewound strings after I give the LaBella strings a bit more time. Thanks for the suggestion.
The top contributor to that tone is low string action. Raise the bridge saddles and increase the neck relief and you'll get less "mwah".
You may also find the D'As feel tighter, which may account for less mwah and a more percussive sound. When I switched my Hofner 500/1 from the D'A BNTW to equivalent Labellas, the tension was definitely lower, such that at first I kept pulling the strings off the bridge saddles (I'm heavy-handed LOL). But that may depend on exactly which Labellas. The ones I put on my Hofner were 50-100.
I have two SRs, one with D'addario black tapes (fretted) and one with D'addario XL Chrome flats. The tapes have significantly less tension than the flats, and are very easily bent. Also very percussive, you have to dial up the bass and watch out for fingernail noise from the plucking fingers. The chromes are very stiff which allows for a low set-up on the fretless with controllable mwah. The Chromes give a pure, bright sound with no string noise. I do not think I would like to swap those strings between the two basses, each seems appropriate for the platform it is installed on. Here are the two basses.
Attachments
Yes, it is ebony. I can‘t remember that 1980 ebonol or other materials beside rosewood were used.
This is the very reason i love tapes on my kit Jazz bass, I can do so much more with the right hand depending on the ratio of meat to fingernail!
Yeah, you don't need a flanger or envelop filter when you have those strings. I can easily out-flange a flanger with just nails.
I have been gathering information on the SRH-500f as planning on buying one again soon. Having my regrets on selling this less than a year ago. Not looking for that mwah sound either as I play mostly jazz and am a former upright player.. Planning on going with La Bella flat wounds, using some kind of mute, and using more of an upright bass technique using the side of the index finger. There is a video on You Tube from Ybra Music with his take on how to get more of an upright sound and playing example of jazz standards. Low action should help lessen mwah too.
Two points for you to note based on your comments here. First, the 500 only has a piezo pickup so will have a more acoustic sounding tone by nature. Your plucking technique and choice of strings can indeed influence that tone, and you perhaps want to consider tapes as an option, which would give you even more of an acoustic sound. Second, lowering the action will increase the mwah, not decrease it. Mwah is the strings vibrating against the board, and you can increase it with a lower action, or by plucking closer to the neck, or by plucking more vigorously. The piezo pickup will not amplify and sustain the mwah as much as would a magnetic pickup, or use of round wound strings.
I agree. After messing around with my recently acquired Ibanez SRH505F I'm fairly happy with the sound. This includes minimizing the "mwah" sound. I have the 5 string version but I've added a high C string instead of the low B. Can anyone actually hear those low Bs and Cs? Anyway I did raise the action a bit via the truss rod. I also bought a set of LaBella tapewound strings for a 6 string bass in the Normal gauge. I don't use the low B string but the normal gauge feels good to me and less like spaghetti noodles.
