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Low priced fretless?

#22
Jut a head's up, a decent playing fretless is much more difficult to produce than a decent playing fretted. You pretty much have to spend $1000~ to get a decent playing fretless out of the box. Every Squier VM fretless, for example, will need the board levelled and the nut cut, at minimum, just to be made playable. That is, of course, unless you want a silly high action that makes the bass difficult to play and really doesn't sound like a fretless.
 
#30
DiabolusInMusic said:
Jut a head's up, a decent playing fretless is much more difficult to produce than a decent playing fretted. You pretty much have to spend $1000~ to get a decent playing fretless out of the box. Every Squier VM fretless, for example, will need the board levelled and the nut cut, at minimum, just to be made playable. That is, of course, unless you want a silly high action that makes the bass difficult to play and really doesn't sound like a fretless.
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I have a hard time believing this. I guess it's subjective but people say the same things about nice guitars and basses even though there are tons of solid budget options... Here's 1 from Rondo for only 315$
hxb2406naturalquiltfl1.jpg
hxb2406naturalquiltfl3.jpg


Personally I think 300$ for a solid bass that probably just needs some nice strings and a decent set up is a great deal, paying over 2x as much even if it's considerably nicer doesn't seem too worth it unless you have plenty of money to blow.

I would rather get a solid budget instrument and spend the extra $ upgrading and customizing it over time, I see people buy super expensive fancy instruments only to mod them regardless which seems kind of silly to me. Pretty much defeats the purpose in some ways. I have seen many a fancy old bass modded to the point of being unrecognizable in some ways, then sellers try and sell then like they are in great stock condition...
 
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#32
The SX Ursa 3 Alder fretless is awesome. The only problem I have with them is the Alder is often only available in black and I wanted a 3 tone Sunburst so I am converting a fretted to a fretless using an SX fretless replacement neck.

The ash version really should have a different model designation as the body style is very different. The Alder is a Precision style body with PJ pickups the ash is a jazz style body with PJ pickups. I'm not a big fan of Ash bases as every one of them I have come across is miserably heavy perhaps that's just the ones I have come across.

One thing I would mention with just about any bottom price base and most mid-price bases even is they are not going to be shielded you are either going to just suck it up and deal with the buzz or get a shielding job done on your instrument.
 
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#33
My squier vm could certainly benefit from having the fretboard levelled, but the only problem spots I notice are above the twelfth fret (so to speak) on the E string. That's not a deal breaker for me at all. The action is comparable right now to where my other basses have been.

I got a Rogue fretless in a trade and that thing was unplayable. By which I mean to say, the frustration wasn't worth the enjoyment I did get out of it. Unless you get one for free, which I practically did, it's not worth it.
 
#35
I'll add another vote for Rondo. I have a fretted 5 string Brice, and a fretless 5 string Douglas (my avatar pic), and both are very nice basses, not even just for the price.

My Douglas did come with horrible strings. The B string was DOA. A new set of strings, and that was fixed. I would have replaced them anyway because it came strung with flats, and I wanted mwah.

DiabolusInMusic said:
You pretty much have to spend $1000~ to get a decent playing fretless out of the box.
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Maybe it's just because I haven't played a $1000+ fretless bass, and don't know what I'm missing, but I would have to disagree with this. My Douglas plays fine, and the action is right where I want it. I can't see anything wrong with the fingerboard either. I would hope a bass that cost $1000+ would play even better, but that often isn't the case either.
 
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#38
Pretty much all been said already - SX / Rondo the obvious initial choice, I understand Harvey Benton to be similar (from UK?), and the Wishbass suggestions too, nothing like 'em out there anywhere. Not everyone's cup of tea, either love them or hate them, it seems, but those of us who love them love them lots and lots. :)
 
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#39
tlite said:
Anyone tried this?

Vintage ICON V74MRJP
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I had one. It was a fine bass for not that much money. It had a more solid feel than the Squier Vintage Jazz FL, which I have also owned. They are both good - ICON feels a bit more substantial, and was certainly heavier. I liked the thinner neck of the Squier more. I got rid of both because I'm one of those guys (mentioned earlier) with bad intonation that much prefers an unlined board. I also have an SX in the house that I got for my son (3/4 size) and it's also definitely worth the money. All these basses are good basses for a beginner.
 
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#40
bholder said:
Pretty much all been said already - SX / Rondo the obvious initial choice, I understand Harvey Benton to be similar (from UK?), and the Wishbass suggestions too, nothing like 'em out there anywhere. Not everyone's cup of tea, either love them or hate them, it seems, but those of us who love them love them lots and lots. :)
Click to expand...

I still really want to get a wishbass eventually, some of the ones he lists on ebay seem like solid deals for how beautiful and unique they are. I wish more had 2 pickups but many have super long scales with very little room anyways drool

Also someone has probably said it already but used is always a good option. The used fretless market is no doubt smaller but there are probably some good deals in the lower and high price ranges if you look around locally and online.

Or you could always physically de fret a random cheap decent bass, but I really love the look of a nice thick frettless neck. They seem like a ton of fun to play.
 

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