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I'm Thinking of a Fretless

#81
To follow up on what I said earlier, I found an early 2000's Fender Standard Jazz Bass fretless that was pretty much garbage, this was when Fender wasn't even using different sized pickups in the neck and bass position.

So that thing was terrible, but later I read about how Fender made the Player series much better and so I bought one of those and it is a very good instrument in every way. Used, I got it for $325 or so, and it had been upgraded with a Hipshot bridge and drop tuner and so on. I later put on an aluminum pick guard and SCN pickups.

hkWdAiG.jpg


So, this was kind of a "proof of concept" to me to see how committed I am to the fretless bass.

Turns out I like it very much, and this is where I would be looking for a G&L fretless since I love G&L basses so much.

But, frankly, the Fender Player is so good that it's hard for me to imagine how I would really improve on it even with my beloved G&L, so I will be keeping this as my fretless Jazz. It's just that good.
 
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#83
Here's my fretlesses... fretlessi?... murder... gaggle... googleplex?

fingerboard wood doesn't matter, just use horizontal vibrato.

roundwounds on all of them, two are de-frets

in no particular order there's zircote, maple, rosewood, purpleheart, And superglue over rosewood.

248E4B26-A884-4389-9AF2-58BF2FA7E5A8.jpeg
 
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#84
I have the player fretless jazz. I have played the Jaco several times and it is really nice. The player needed a good pro settup but after that sounds great, easy to play (good price point if not sure if this will work for you) actually sounds similar to the Jaco which has better pickups, slighter larger guage flatwound strings reverse tuners. It seems to sound better and better (although maybe I am getting better at it over time).
 
#85
This has really been helpful. I intend a visit to our local Sam Ash and Guitar Center shops for a listen/feel.

Since I am a Fender PB guy, I would probably favor the Player, Tony Franklin and Jaco models. I have a customized 78 PB with two EMG pickups. It's boat anchor solid. I may find myself most comfortable with an FL that is similar. The SRF 700 looks pretty good too, but probably a different feel. I am looking forward to see if there are any (or any similar Ibanzez) that might pull me away.

Just a thought about lined versus lineless. If one of the issues with lined is how the fretboard might alter the sound, wouldn't those with dots and lines on the side do away with that objection? Then it comes down to ego (I can do this without lines) or appearance (it just lopks better with no aids, period) with a sprinkling of "learn the basics" thrown in, doesn't it? I don't have a dog in this fight because I don't know any better, but the "I can use the help sometimes" crowd is compelling. I don't play a lot any more (and certainly not to make a living), but I can see some benefit to side markings at least. I fly an airplane for fun. My instructor pilot would always say, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying." There would appear to be little shame in any aid that would produce either a better landing or a better bass line.
 
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#86
Larry Mal said:
I'll second this.
Click to expand...
Phoenix1 said:
This has really been helpful. I intend a visit to our local Sam Ash and Guitar Center shops for a listen/feel.

Since I am a Fender PB guy, I would probably favor the Player, Tony Franklin and Jaco models. I have a customized 78 PB with two EMG pickups. It's boat anchor solid. I may find myself most comfortable with an FL that is similar. The SRF 700 looks pretty good too, but probably a different feel. I am looking forward to see if there are any (or any similar Ibanzez) that might pull me away.

Just a thought about lined versus lineless. If one of the issues with lined is how the fretboard might alter the sound, wouldn't those with dots and lines on the side do away with that objection? Then it comes down to ego (I can do this without lines) or appearance (it just lopks better with no aids, period) with a sprinkling of "learn the basics" thrown in, doesn't it? I don't have a dog in this fight because I don't know any better, but the "I can use the help sometimes" crowd is compelling. I don't play a lot any more (and certainly not to make a living), but I can see some benefit to side markings at least. I fly an airplane for fun. My instructor pilot would always say, "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying." There would appear to be little shame in any aid that would produce either a better landing or a better bass line.
Click to expand...

IMO you are on the right track. I would say that I don't think that lines in the fingerboard have any noticable impact on tone, so don't worry about that aspect. I have nothing but respect for people that prefer unlined boards - but I hope they have really good intonation! It's especially scary in a context where you may not be able to hear yourself as well as you would like. But I applaud people that slay on unlined boards - I just wish there wasn't a small but vocal opposition to lines.
 
#87
Of the three fender fretless basses only the Tony Franklin is a p-bass (with bridge pickup also) The player and Jaco are J-basses if that means anything. I wouldn't 'fret' (sorry) about fret markings. I find them helpful both when starting and occasionally when I need to find my place, but you do learn to intone and find you can do either.
 
#88
I pulled the trigger a Ibanez SRF700 last week. I bought (ordered) it locally at a Guitar Center store mostly on faith. Nobody has any fretless models locally, but I think the neck structure and weight are the same as the SR500 which I did get to feel and play. I think it will be a good choice, but I specifically bought locally so that I may swap it out for for one of the other 3 p-bass models if I don't like it. I was a little disappointed that the sales rep either carelessly or intentionally misrepresented availability ("will have it sometime next week") but it will arrive sometime in August. I know some other places have availability via mail order, but I'm sucking it up and waiting.

Thanks once again for all the help.
 
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