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Recommend an Affordable Fretless

#21
Like others have already said, Squire VM Jazz or P bass. These will be four bangers, I haven't seen any Fivers, but will feel and play and sound great. Don't overlook that Sire, I stumbled on my Sire fretless by accident, bought it for a song and immediately sold two others to make room. Happy hunting.
 
#22
LostInSauce said:
I’ve been playing for a long while now and never really wanted a fretless. Two years ago I started playing in church and have been blown away by how many songs were recorded with a fretless or the songs would be perfect for a fretless.
So now I’m looking to dip my toe in the water. I’ve seen that ESP makes a mid-level fretless and so does Ibanez and I think I remember seeing a Squire fretless. These are unfamiliar waters to me since I’ve never really paid attention to them in the past.
Any mid-level fretless 5 strings out there you would recommend. Further, I’m not opposed to buying used if the fingerboard isn’t all chewed up.
Thanks All!!
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i'd recommend that you go out and play a few: it doesn't sound to me that you're 'all in' enough to get past your own doubts and ambivalence. save yourself some money and get some hands-on, first. if you come back to the thread with a need for help making a choice = the recommendations will mean more to you! good luck! :thumbsup:
 
#25
Any instrument, and more so a fretless bass, relies on a very sturdy neck. Then good pickups and a balanced body weight. ... I prefer hard surface fretboards, ebony is my preference then apoxy coated rosewood. ... $300 should buy you a very nice ebony fretless neck and then you can build from there. ...
 
#26
For contemporary Christian music, I'd gravitate towards Ibanez or similar basses with active electronics and modern tonality. The Squirrel VMs and similar basses nail the traditional fretless sounds, but most C.C. music is about as far away from a traditional sound as you can get.

I was able to fake the fretless runs that are common in CC music with a fretless simulator for years before I ripped the frets out of an Ibanez.
 
#27
unbridled said:
For contemporary Christian music, I'd gravitate towards Ibanez or similar basses with active electronics and modern tonality. The Squirrel VMs and similar basses nail the traditional fretless sounds, but most C.C. music is about as far away from a traditional sound as you can get.

I was able to fake the fretless runs that are common in CC music with a fretless simulator for years before I ripped the frets out of an Ibanez.
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True. I’ve been tweaking my Chorus pedal and favoring the rear pickup of my ibanez to “get in the neighborhood”.
 
#28
If I were in your boat and looking within your budget.... I'd buy a Squier VM and sit on the rest of the money.
If you really like the fretless thing after a bit... you can always start upgrading it.
I had a friend buy a fretted squier P bass and then changed out the pickups.... then the bridge... then the tuners... then got a new neck from warmoth. So many options for upgrades and such a low price to get it in the first place.
If you dont want to upgrade it... you can always get a good amount of your money back by selling it down the road and buying something else.
 
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#31
BassUrges said:
MIM Jazz fretless used to run about $600, I got mine for $450 “open box” a couple of years ag with no detectable wear. I see that the price is up and they no longer use rosewood; I don’t know if that makes any difference to you.
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That's a bummer. That is the bass I played for a few years before moving to upright. It was a great bass that was a lot more versatile than the squire shiny neck. You could make it sound like a standard bass or a fretless depending on how you played. The mwah effect is overrated and counterproductive for a lot of songs. If I was in the market, I'd buy one of these used again. They are always available as bass players try them and abandon them.
 
#36
arbiterusa said:
I play nothing but fretless and the best buy I have seen in years is the Squier VM series. You can get either the Jazz or Precision fretless, or with your budget, both.

Guitar Center has a few of the VM Jazz basses on the website used for $199. They are almost always in pretty much mint condition, because unless you make fretless a life choice, you're probably not going to play it that much.

Nice thing about the VM series in general is that all standard parts fit them, so if you want to upgrade the perfectly good pickups already in them, or anything else, it generally tends to be very plug and play.

I prefer the Squiers to the Fender MIM/MIJ/MIA fretlesses for one major reason: the fingerboard. The Squiers have ebonol fingerboards (a composite), same thing you'd find on a Pedulla, Status, Steinberger or any other high-end fretless. It's ideal. Hard as nails, I've played nothing but rounds on my Steinberger fretless for over thirty years now and I've got some minor scuff marks. That's it.

If you just don't do Fenders, I'm a big fan of the Cort B4FL, which is a great bass (I have four) and I'm seeing a brand new one on Reverb for $479 right now. Free shipping. The Ibanez Portamento series is made by the same people and they've got some nifty offerings. Both the Cort and Portamento basses are unlined, which, if you have not played fretless much before, might be a bit offputting.

Also should mention the MTD basses, very reasonable and if they made an unlined version I'd own a few of them. They don't, but they make a nice fretless, albeit with lines.

Really good time to be a fretless player. Most manufacturers are offering one, and with the exception of the Rogue MF/GC housebrand, which is awful, almost all of them are perfectly decent, playable instruments that will last for decades.

One major problem is that you're looking for a fretless fiver. Not many of those out there, not cheap ones anyway. Someone's got a fretless five Status in the classifieds for $1600 but that isn't cheap by any standards and it's way over your budget. My advice is go with a four and drop it to BEAD tuning, which is what I ended up doing.
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Wow, that’s a nice detailed post.

I for one do like defretted basses since it’s what I’m used to. Would love to have a hard jaco style coating on one though.

Another option may be to tune a tone lower (standard D) and get a hipshot. That will get you to C.
 
#37
bholder said:
A little on the pointy side was all I could think of, but like I said above, if the church is that stuffy about what bass you play...
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OK...you live and learn.

back to the topic - VMs have an ebonol fb, but it can be variable, so make sure you try before you buy. I think the MIM outclasses the Squier considerably in general everything. But then, I use TI flats.
 
#38
LostInSauce said:
I’ve been playing for a long while now and never really wanted a fretless. Two years ago I started playing in church and have been blown away by how many songs were recorded with a fretless or the songs would be perfect for a fretless.
So now I’m looking to dip my toe in the water. I’ve seen that ESP makes a mid-level fretless and so does Ibanez and I think I remember seeing a Squire fretless. These are unfamiliar waters to me since I’ve never really paid attention to them in the past.
Any mid-level fretless 5 strings out there you would recommend. Further, I’m not opposed to buying used if the fingerboard isn’t all chewed up.
Thanks All!!
Click to expand...
I just picked this up as a B stock refurb with one blemish. I love the tone and playability. $550. I'm happy.

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Ibanez SRH505 Bass Workshop Fretless Electric Bass, 5-String, Natural Brown
 
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#40
I have had an Ibanez GWB35 fretless five for several years. it came to me already missing the "ramp" or finger block, had round wounds on it (and resulting laterial striations on the fretboard) and the bridge was actually bent upwards I am guessing by king kong over tightening or slappity pop at some point. The electronics are super crunchy and weak. I says to myself I says "Self, now there's a project". Straightened the bridge plate, hope to pretty up the fretboard with steel wool, have a Bart upgrade in mind, all in good time. But today my question is : does anyone know if replacement ramps are available for these things or if not, what the dimensional specs on them are? I don't see much info out there and may have to make one.
 

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