I'm Thinking of a Fretless

[luciens]

Oh My God the battle of lines vs unlined continue... All I'll say is take a look at what the top fretless bassists use and let that inform your decision... In other words there is no shame at all going with lines.

Yeah, its a law of the universe that FL threads become the lined vs unlined debate, so don't let that get you down.

In my view, I only object to lines for mechanical reasons, which I've complained about at length elsewhere, and that's why I usually recommend unlined where possible. I don't object to having the lines available for visual reference; every little bit helps when it's available for you to use it. My jaco jazz bass is lined and I greatly appreciate the lines when I play it.

OTOH, the vast majority of my FL playing has been on unlined and it has its advantages and disadvantages too, playing-wise.

In other words, if you don't have a choice between lined and unlined, don't sweat it. Just get the bass if it's what you want and dog that sucker every night lines or not. Either one will work fine and you'll be able to make great music on either one.

L

 

[two fingers]

Verruh nas! Mind telling us about your preference for an unlined fingerboard?

It's nothing more than aesthetics. They simply look better to me. Nothing more to it than that.

 

[sonojono]

Oh My God the battle of lines vs unlined continue...

 

[Ric5]

I'm a P bass player for 50+ years and am thinking of buying my first fretless. The Player fretless looks good, but I wonder if something more would make me happier. The Jaco model will obviously mot make me play like him, but are there advantages to spending more money? A few Ibbies look pretty good too>

I bought a fretless neck and tried it on 3 different bodies

 

[PennyroyalWe]

Peavey made fretless Foundation basses, they're really nice, jazz bass like sounding And cheap as heck.

 

[SubHuman]

I wanted a fretless too so I looked for something inexpensive (cheap) but playable. I bought this off of reverb and uograded the pickups and replaced the black pickguard. The neck is freaky nice and unique so I got it for a decent price. I can mwah all day now. I like the headstock since it's one if a kind!

I definitely get 2nd looks on the bass!

 

[smo]

I'm a P bass player for 50+ years and am thinking of buying my first fretless.

Good for you. With that experience, the transition will be easy.
My advice,
Fretless instruments which are inherently strong in the mids sound better.

 

[selowitch]

Don't fail to include the Godin A4/A5 in your search:

 

[SubHuman]

I should add I found the transition fairly painless too! I play a little less flashy with the fretless.

 

[Matty Koff]

I agree with the folks saying buy used so you're less likely to take a hit if you decide over time it's not your cup of tea.

Also, do you own more than one P-bass? You could just buy a fretless neck if so.

 

[micguy]

Something you want to pay attention to is what the fingerboard is made of. On a fretless, it really does matter - a hard board (epoxied, poly finished, or ebonol) is a very different sound than a raw wood board.

Lines on the fingerboard? If you're seeing those, you're in a horrible hunched position. position markers on the side of the neck are very useful - lines on the fingerboard aren't as useful.

 

[zontar]

The Godins are nice--I would consider those & a the Ibanez SRH500F in any search if I were considering another fretless.

But I am very happy with my SR500F--Although I believe they don't make those anymore.
So unless you see a used one.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

This is terrible advice.

LOL

 

[B-Mac]

I'm a P bass player for 50+ years and am thinking of buying my first fretless. The Player fretless looks good, but I wonder if something more would make me happier. The Jaco model will obviously mot make me play like him, but are there advantages to spending more money? A few Ibbies look pretty good too>

Ibanez SRF700 Portamento Fretless is a great bass for under $1,000. Active, unlined, 2 MK-1 pups plus a Piezo in the saddle. Strongly urge you to try one out before you buy anything.
Plus I think it is gorgeous. I own one and love it.

[edit] I forgot....neck thru too

 

[SubHuman]

Yeah that's why I bought my Franken Bass. Now I know I can jam on a fretless I plan on buying a "real" fretless bass. I'll keep this one for a unique bass!

 

[luciens]

Ibanez SRF700 Portamento Fretless is a great bass for under $1,000. Active, unlined, 2 MK-1 pups plus a Piezo in the saddle. Strongly urge you to try one out before you buy anything.
Plus I think it is gorgeous. I own one and love it.
View attachment 3875199

You beat me to it.... I'm a Fender/G&L/Rickenbacker type of guy but one of these should be seriously considered. Ibanez makes these just superbly built basses that sound great and for just dirt cheap. Don't let the low price fool you, Ibanez has always been a dark horse and their basses are top notch.

Only reason I've never gotten one is they don't quiiite fit the kind of thing I tend to do. But that's the only reason; there's no bang/buck reason not to do an Ibanez for your main squeeze...

L

 

[sonojono]

Ibanez SRF700 Portamento Fretless is a great bass for under $1,000. Active, unlined, 2 MK-1 pups plus a Piezo in the saddle. Strongly urge you to try one out before you buy anything.
Plus I think it is gorgeous. I own one and love it.
View attachment 3875199

[edit] I forgot....neck thru too

I find their MK1 pickups to be weak in the mids but a good string change that emphasis on the mids should suffice

 

[Larry Mal]

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

I'll second this.

 

[B-Mac]

I find their MK1 pickups to be weak in the mids but a good string change that emphasis on the mids should suffice

I've heard people say that, but then that can always be compensated for on the AMP so I don't see that as a big issue. For the OP though, my main reason for this recommendation was the playability of this bass, sustain and the Piezo. Turning off the two magnetic pups allows just the use of the Piezo and only as passive rather than active and it gets closer to an upright tone.

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

Well let's see, I have had work done by the two best luthiers in our county. In fact Pros like Johnny Winter and the Garza brothers had work done by them. So the set up on my coverted fretless basses were flawless. Guess it just depends on who you know.

BTW I have 3 converted fretless basses. A Les Paul, a G&L 2000, a Spector NS2. They all play wonderful. And play as well as the one fretless I special ordered from Spector USA about three years ago.

And I also have a 3/4 double bass, and an EUB from Dean that plays well too. So Unlined is fine too. BTW Jaco's bass was a converted bass. Maybe folks don't know that.

So.... converting a fretted bass, just to lower cost and make sure that is something you want, seems like a good option in my book.

BTW here are pics of the Spector built in the USA shop for me. And it was a 6 month wait, and was well over a $7k pricetag. It was the first one they did a 9.5 inch radius fretboard.