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Looking at a change in bass.

V

venymseven

Apr 15, 2008
7
0
#1
Hey everyone, I've been playing bass for about a year and I'd say I'm pretty proficient at it. Right now I own a Fender Active Deluxe Jazz Bass, and I can say I have absolutely no problem with it, I'm incredibly fortunate I invested in it with such little knowledge beforehand.

Recently I've been considering either buying a fretless bass or converting my J to a fretless. I absolutely love the fretless sound, I already use flatwounds with low action and I get annoyed with the resulting fret buzz. Ive messed around on fretlesses before, and I feel like I'm up to the challenge. If any of you guys have any advice as far as converting to fretless or a good fretless bass, preferably at or below $1k, I would definitely appreciate it.

Also, on a side note, has anyone had a chance to play the reissued Steve Harris signature P-Bass?
 
#2
Don't ruin that wonderful bass!
If money is an issue, the Squier Vintage Modified is a good fretless on the cheap.
With more dough, you hae plenty of options. Head to the nearest large large large store and have a field day!
Even if you love the fretless sound, I will guarantee you defretting you Deluxe is a bad idea, even if only for the decrease in resale value.
 
#3
Check out the classifieds here first. There have been some really great deals going on. As far as the fretless goes, some people end up liking it, and some not. Some people ONLY play fretless. You really have to learn to use your ears for tuning when you play them, so it's more challenging than a fretted bass in that way. You might want to pick up a cheap one to start with just to see if you really like it. The Squier Vintage Modified fretless is pretty popular here. And you can find them pretty cheaply.
 
#6
No experience with the Steve Harris P, but I don't see how it could possibly suck. It has a MIRROR PICKGUARD AND SPARKLY PAINT!!! OMG!!! Actually, I want one but have no funds for it.

As to the fretless question, I whole-heartedly recommend the Squier Vintage Modified Fretless. Its a cheap Jaco knock-off, but the ebanol fretboard is surprisingly good. I don't know if I've seen a single bad review and some of the good reviews are coming from players with otherwise very expensive gear. For under $300, not much of a risk.

The reason I suggest a Squier is you still aren't sure you want to spend a lot of time on a fretless, so don't make a huge investment out of it. If you get the Squier, and you like it, you can start saving for the fretless of your dreams (Tony Franklin P-bass for me). Otherwise, you will just have an inexpensive fretless lying around as a spare, which is cool if you want to have one handy without making it your main player.

EDIT: Looks like I am 3rd in line to the party, beaten by both Spambot and Eaglemoon.
 
#7
Thanks for the great quick advice from all* of you. Everyone else I've talked to has also agreed not to mess with my current bass. I do absolutely love it as it is. I will be home for spring break starting this friday, so I'm sure me and my mates will be in guitar center (I hope that doesn't anger anybody) quite a bit. I'll see what they have in stock as far as fretlesses go, I know the last time I checked there was a warwick fretless, I believe it was a corvette. Other than that I will look into the Squire, from what all that I've played so far I really do like Fender's, although I'd love for Traben to make a fretless. Anyway thanks again for the advice, after hearing that I think I've put to rest the idea of defretting mine.
 
#11
SpamBot said:
GC in and of itself is fine, just don't talk to any employees.
Everytime they try to tell you what to like, scream "Stranger Danger!!" and beat them with a bass.
Click to expand...

Haha yes I definitely know what you mean, the one guy who's advice i trust is a friend of a friend who doesn't play bass anyway and therefore doesn't try to pass on any unwanted advice.
 
#17
ya leave your j the way it is , its nice to have also a fretted bass as well a fretless

i played a warwick i cant remember the model but it was an awesome fretless i really liked it i believe it was bout 800$
 

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