NBD: cheapo fretless 6-string

[Pings Bass]

"Douglas" brand. A coworker bought it off rondo some years back and quickly tired of it.

Fingerboard is a little sharp on the edges, but the playing surface is smooth and flat. Sounds way better than I expected, it's light, and it neck dives less than my L2500.

Straight neck, plays all right. Don't like the dead flats that are on it, but I'll live with em. The wood looks good,a straighter grain on the fingerboard than my mid 80s MiJ Fender fretless.

I'm developing an expensive cheap bass habbit.

 

[Pings Bass]

Jokes on me, I kinda like the flats, and this thing plays pretty damn good with a totally workable active dual-humbucker sound. Side dots are in the right place and it's almost intonated with medium action. I might see how low I can drop the action and get the high strings into tune with themselves tomorrow. Then I've got to figure out how to customize the head stock with my own waterslide decal.

Moar pics because that's what we're all here for, right?

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I had that same one but an earlier model with a different shaped headstock.
It was a good bass, but had some horrible neck dive. I really liked the neck on it - wide and flat.
I wonder if adding a pair of brand name pickups and preamp would be too much of an upgrade for the total package...

 

[JRA]

nice-looking 6-string ax! it's the bomb that it plays well. congratulations on your new instrument!

 

[Pings Bass]

It was a good bass, but had some horrible neck dive.

This one isn't too bad in the neck dive department. Not nearly as bad as my tribute L2500 with it's basswood body, chunky neck and cheap tuners.

This is well balanced in comparison, probably in part due to what looks like a brass bridge.

 

[Pings Bass]

I wonder if adding a pair of brand name pickups and preamp would be too much of an upgrade for the total package...

My first thought was to keep the wood and upgrade everything else. After spending an evening playing it, I'm not feeling that need. It sounds pretty good imo.

 

[dabbler]

My first thought was to keep the wood and upgrade everything else. After spending an evening playing it, I'm not feeling that need. It sounds pretty good imo.

I agree. And I have some of its relatives (2 Douglases on left, the right 2 are SXes):