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Killing it with only a Fretless Mexican Jazz?

#21
CaptainWally said:
80s new-wavish style rock : This is my wheelhouse, so I'm interested. Are these your own originals, or are you covering songs, as well? If the latter, while there is plenty of material that incorporates fretless into the music, e.g. Paul Young, Japan, Roxy Music, etc., my experience is that most of it is much better suited for fretted. Curious to know about your experiences.
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Mainly originals. My group, The Record Club is on Spotify--we are trying to find our sound between Steely Dan, The Style Council and Tears for Fears. The EP we made is not quite all of that. I also take inspiration from Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth album. And some Police songs, you can hear Sting playing a fretless. We also decided not to have a guitar player in our group because we couldn't find someone who was into Andy Summers, Johnny Marr and Nile Rogers at the same time.
 
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#23
meldrumandbass said:
Mainly originals. My group, The Record Club is on Spotify--we are trying to find our sound between Steely Dan, The Style Council and Tears for Fears. The EP we made is not quite all of that. I also take inspiration from Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth album. And some Police songs, you can hear Sting playing a fretless. We also decided not to have a guitar player in our group because we couldn't find someone who was into Andy Summers, Johnny Marr and Nile Rogers at the same time.
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Well, heck --- if it's originals, mwah it up, I say!

I have played in Smiths and Duran Duran tributes, and both would have been a nightmare with a fretless :)
 
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#26
Man. I want a fretless again. Please recommend something.

I really wish I had kept my lined Roscoe Century standard 4.

But I do prefer 20 "frets". I have tried a fretless Stingray, and I just couldn't make it sing with mwah. I would be interested in a Fender Jaco, but they are scarcer than hen's teeth these days. Does a MIM Jazz get decent mwah?

How does rosewood work as a mwah board?
 
#27
Fretless from 1976 to about 2015. I'm now learning how to play on frets without sounding like a car crash.
IMG_2496(1).jpg
 
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#28
CaptainWally said:
...
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How does rosewood work as a mwah board?
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Those three in my picture are R to L, Rosewood, Ebony and Pau Ferro. My experience is that they can all do the mwah thing equally well and that it mainly comes from the setup and then the hands. That said, the wood differences that I feel - and this is only my own perceptions - are:
Ebony (the Warwick) feels glassy and very hard and will mwah most readily.
Rosewood (the Eko) has a 'purchase' on the strings and feels very secure under the fingers but you have to work it to get the big mwah - it is somewhat 'all or nothing'.
PF (the StingRay) is a bit of both - it feels slick and secure but has the most controllable response - 'mwah on demand', if you will.

YMMV
 
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#31
meldrumandbass said:
New member to the Talk Bass community (although I have been a lurker for years). I was wondering if anyone else here plays fretless almost exclusively? I literally own one bass guitar (MIM Fretless Jazz) and my upright. I kind of think the only thing I can't do on my fretless is slap. Of course anyone can slap on a fretless, but as Marcus Miller has stated, fretted basses have that metallic "ring". And I agree.

I play mostly finger-funk, soul/r&b jazz and some 80s new-wavish style rock. I have lately been thinking of getting a Sire V7 4 string or I thought of getting a Sterling Sub 4 either would mainly be used for slap, which I don't do much of right now.

I am just wondering if any one has thoughts on this?
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Avoid speed bumps. Fretless it golden. You don't need slappery.
 
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#32
meldrumandbass said:
New member to the Talk Bass community (although I have been a lurker for years). I was wondering if anyone else here plays fretless almost exclusively? I literally own one bass guitar (MIM Fretless Jazz) and my upright. I kind of think the only thing I can't do on my fretless is slap. Of course anyone can slap on a fretless, but as Marcus Miller has stated, fretted basses have that metallic "ring". And I agree.

I play mostly finger-funk, soul/r&b jazz and some 80s new-wavish style rock. I have lately been thinking of getting a Sire V7 4 string or I thought of getting a Sterling Sub 4 either would mainly be used for slap, which I don't do much of right now.

I am just wondering if any one has thoughts on this?
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One of my friends is among the most respected bass players in my city. He kills with a fretless MIM Jazz and his calendar is always filled. Haven't heard a bad word about him yet!

The Mexican line is solid in my experience. I think it'll make a reliable main, unless the slapped fretless sound bothers you.
 
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#33
meldrumandbass said:
Mainly originals. My group, The Record Club is on Spotify--we are trying to find our sound between Steely Dan, The Style Council and Tears for Fears. The EP we made is not quite all of that. I also take inspiration from Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth album. And some Police songs, you can hear Sting playing a fretless. We also decided not to have a guitar player in our group because we couldn't find someone who was into Andy Summers, Johnny Marr and Nile Rogers at the same time.
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GOOD band. Just checked you guys out. Some real talent there. Best of luck to you.
 
#34
My first instrument was cello, and I got a Fender Mustang Bass in 1977 to play in the middle school jazz band. The frets were always awkward for me, and a couple years later I learned about Jaco, and de-fretted the Fender. Haven't looked back. Today, my main instrument is upright, but I still love playing fretless electric.
 
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#35
meldrumandbass said:
New member to the Talk Bass community (although I have been a lurker for years). I was wondering if anyone else here plays fretless almost exclusively? I literally own one bass guitar (MIM Fretless Jazz) and my upright. I kind of think the only thing I can't do on my fretless is slap. Of course anyone can slap on a fretless, but as Marcus Miller has stated, fretted basses have that metallic "ring". And I agree.

I play mostly finger-funk, soul/r&b jazz and some 80s new-wavish style rock. I have lately been thinking of getting a Sire V7 4 string or I thought of getting a Sterling Sub 4 either would mainly be used for slap, which I don't do much of right now.

I am just wondering if any one has thoughts on this?
Click to expand...

Absolutely nothing wrong with a MIM Fender. I bought my son a MIM Jazz back in 1996. I did swap out the pickups when he got himself an AM Jazz 5 string and gave me the MIM Jazz back. Well, he is a bassist in the Marine Corp, and while he was in Iraq in 2004 he bought an MIA PJ and we swapped. He still has it and uses it quite frequently.
 
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#37
meldrumandbass said:
Mainly originals. My group, The Record Club is on Spotify--we are trying to find our sound between Steely Dan, The Style Council and Tears for Fears. The EP we made is not quite all of that. I also take inspiration from Thomas Dolby's The Flat Earth album. And some Police songs, you can hear Sting playing a fretless. We also decided not to have a guitar player in our group because we couldn't find someone who was into Andy Summers, Johnny Marr and Nile Rogers at the same time.
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Dude!... geez I wish I was where you are, those are my three goal posts for guitar at the mo! Even got me a Marr Jaguar (GREAT guitar). I'm in Australia.... oh well.
 
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#38
I'm not exclusive with fretless, but it's my primary instrument and I've played just about every gig and genre imaginable on fretless, including a lot of stuff that no one would know was fretless if they weren't told. Unless you really just want frets for something different, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
#39
meldrumandbass said:
New member to the Talk Bass community (although I have been a lurker for years). I was wondering if anyone else here plays fretless almost exclusively? I literally own one bass guitar (MIM Fretless Jazz) and my upright. I kind of think the only thing I can't do on my fretless is slap. Of course anyone can slap on a fretless, but as Marcus Miller has stated, fretted basses have that metallic "ring". And I agree.

I play mostly finger-funk, soul/r&b jazz and some 80s new-wavish style rock. I have lately been thinking of getting a Sire V7 4 string or I thought of getting a Sterling Sub 4 either would mainly be used for slap, which I don't do much of right now.

I am just wondering if any one has thoughts on this?
Click to expand...
I got a Mexican jazz too. It's a pretty killer bass.
20210526_003902.jpg


But, I also have a couple more. Four different strings, for different things.
 
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