I'm Thinking of a Fretless

There are a lot of great fretless basses out there, most not by companies such as 7ender. Don't be in a rush to make a hasty purchase.

 

It’s hard to go wrong with Ibanez SR basses, best value for the money I say. You won’t match that Jaco sound, but they are generally quite versatile and easy to play.

 

Yeah, nothing makes me sound like Jaco. But then again, my wife won't let me leave the house with a headband so that just means Jaco and I set out on different paths, all's well that ends well.
Fretless will be a fun step for you. It's honestly the same, just play your fingers a little higher. You've been playing a long time so you'll probably adapt really quickly because you already know how to move flat or sharp. Usually the shops don't have any or many to try but do what you can to put your hands on a few. The Players are a good deal and the Ibanez have really comfy necks. Good luck. And yes, you can spend as much as you want but you don't need to.

 

I recently got this. It's ridiculously awesome.

 

If you find a good deal on a fretless, do it by all means.

But another option is, find a good used fretted bass, and bring it to a local luthier. Have them pull the frets, fill the gaps, smooth it all down, and readjust the neck and intonation.

I have a few basses that were converted, and they play great. And easier to do than many think. The last one I had done is a Spector NS2a. It's got active EMG pups, and a EMG BTS preamp operating at 18 volts. The local guy pulled the frets, filled with binding material, and smoothed it all down and only charged me $65. Plays great. And put on a new set of Roto Nylon Wrapped strings that I furnished. Oh yeah, he also sanded to finish off the back of the neck, and I sealed it with a few coats of rubbed Danish Oil. She plays like butter.

Here are pics of that Spector

 

Here is a former bass of mine, a Zon 5/1 that was an early custom version of this model that Joe made for me.





This is my current fretless bass, a Martin Keith Elfin 5 that I bought from Martin at the 2010 NAMM Show. Wonderful bass!!!



If you have the June 2010 issue of Bass Player, there is a review of it in there.

 

Dean made a great basic fretless 4, active / battery, for chump change. love mine.
if you can quiet the hum a Peavey T-20 is better than some Fenders

 

If you are already a P bass player, the Tony Franklin P is worth more than what they charge for them.

 

That ebony is flawless.

 

I'd recommend getting something with two pickups, for tonal variety. I'd also recommend lines.

Lot of amazing production basses out there. I'm a big fan of my Carvin fretlesses, the Ibanez Gary Willis is amazing if you like 5s with narrow spacing. I'm sure they have awesome 4 string SRs in fretless as well.

 

I recommend the Fender Player Series fretless Jazz Bass. They well made, get classic fretless tones, and are $699 street.

 

I wanted to try a fretless a few years ago but really didn't have the budget for one. Spotted a Squier Vintage Modified fretless Precision for what amounted to chump change and ordered it sight unseen. I've had a blast with it. Build quality was very good, and it plays easily. And it always gets good reviews from fellow players when I use it, most commenting on how good it sounds. Just my 2 cents. YMMV.

 

Buy used. Check it out. If it works upgrade, if not, little money lost.

 

It was a little more than I wanted to spend. But I'm so glad I did it. That bass is really something.

 

Don’t overlook Carvin, either.

Here’s my LB76f.

 

Beautiful!

 

I had a no line fretless and I tended to drift off key. Your ear is supposed to correct this, mine was suspect. Gave it to a teenager and he loved it. Old ears will have a problem with drifting young ears will not have this problem.

Something to think about. But, everyone should have at least one fretless in their past.

 

I'm a fan of unlined ebony, with active/passive option. Here's my custom made fretless.