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Should I scrap my fretless project

Discussion in 'Basses [BG]' started by Matt Till, Jul 21, 2003.

  1. Jul 21, 2003 #1
    Matt Till

    Matt Till

    Jun 1, 2002
    Edinboro, PA
    Here's my story. I bought a 5 string, hated it, defretted it, repainted it, destroyed the pickups, ripped them out, then took all the paint off of it.

    Now I have a fretless bass without pickups.

    It's never had the mmmmwwaaahhh that I dream of in a fretless, I thought I was playing wrong or something.

    Today I walked into a music store and saw a P bass. I'd never played one. So I picked it up and started playing. I didn't even look at the fretboard to notice it's fretlessness. So I start playing and "WHA?!?!??" Fretless! And it sounded fantastic. I was unplugged and everything and the mwahh was mwahing like there was no mwahmorrow! I didn't plug it in out of fear that I would never leave/sell my soul for that bass.

    This makes me think, if I take this bass that needs new pickups to a pro, have them throw pickups in it, even the neck out a little more, set it up, etc. Do you think it will mwah as opposed to duhhhh like it has in the past?
     
  2. Jul 21, 2003 #2
    BASSnSAX

    BASSnSAX

    Jul 22, 2001
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Get the P-bass;)
     
  3. Jul 21, 2003 #3
    B'Aces High

    B'Aces High

    Jun 8, 2003
    Canada, North Bay ON
    P-bass = The best :D

    Well, IMO anyway :D
     
  4. Jul 21, 2003 #4
    Matt Till

    Matt Till

    Jun 1, 2002
    Edinboro, PA

    ha, can't believe I didn't see that coming.


    Afraid I'm 600 George Washingtons away from owning that beautiful bass. I swear, playing that bass, UNAMPED (which is nuts), was a multiple orgasm experience. :eek:
     
  5. Jul 21, 2003 #5
    jgsbass

    jgsbass

    May 28, 2003
    Floral Park, NY
    If your 5 string failed as a fretted and a fretless, its probably hundreds of dollars from sounding good. It might sound good after the work but since there's no guarantee, I'd think about that fretless P-bass. If a bass sounds good unplugged, it can always be made to sound good through an amp. Start seeking some financing.
     
  6. Jul 21, 2003 #6
    BASSnSAX

    BASSnSAX

    Jul 22, 2001
    Madison, Wisconsin

    If the bass sounds good unplugged, it should sound positively magical through an amp! That's my take on it. The P-bass, as visually simple as it is, is my main bass for nearly 1 1/2 years, the longest streak of any bass that I've owned. There's nothing quite like the sound of a P-bass...except maybe a P-bass through a BIG TUBE AMP!!! :bassist: Don't forget an Ampeg SVT to go with that P...;) :bag:
     
  7. Jul 21, 2003 #7
    IAMERICCOCHRANE

    IAMERICCOCHRANE

    Nov 29, 2002
    Arvada, Colorado
    Hope you cleaned your pants afterwords, you freak:spit: :D
     
  8. Jul 21, 2003 #8
    rdhbass

    rdhbass

    Jun 28, 2003
    Springfield, mo
    I've made a fretless out of a fretted before and I have just made a good playable bass out of parts so I will ask these things. 1) Did you level the board after you pulled the frets out?
    2)If it didn't the sound even as fretted, and you didn't like the way it played, did you try shimming the neck or altering the neck pocket? I have found in some basses the paint in the pocket was never leveled and the tilt in the neck is
    wrong, hence bad playability.
    3) If you don't want the neck, can u sell it to me? Thanks!!!
     
  9. Jul 23, 2003 #9
    Matt Till

    Matt Till

    Jun 1, 2002
    Edinboro, PA
    I might send you the neck, but it would be hard to ship. I dunno. I might wanna keep it and some day when I have cash to toss around get it fixed up by a pro.


    I might get a fretless someone else made first.


    That P-bass though. Unplugged it was magic. I almost wish I would have played it amplified, but I feared the results would be too beautiful. :eek:
     
  10. Jul 23, 2003 #10
    rdhbass

    rdhbass

    Jun 28, 2003
    Springfield, mo
    Which yamaha model was it? You need a luthier or someone with experience to give it tender loving care and put some pickups back in it, and tweak it. I would love to do this sort of work, but you don't live in my town. Personally all a P bass is is like a punchy humbucker. You probably need to find someone with some experience that has patience and don't wanna charge you an arm and a leg. Its probably the neck and all the factors:Setup/angle of the neck pocket, nut height, straightness of the neck, etc. I made a cheaper Ibanez 305 into a fretless and it was great. You probably aint getting the "M-wah" because when you take frets out, sometimes you gotta file down the grooves in the nut and adjust it to a fretless bass. Later and good luck.
    R.H.
    Living Strings Music.
     
  11. Jul 23, 2003 #11
    Matt Till

    Matt Till

    Jun 1, 2002
    Edinboro, PA
    Oh, it's not a Yamaha. The 5 string is a "bass collection's" bass.


    Yeah I've never heard of them either. :meh:
     
  12. Jul 23, 2003 #12
    By-Tor

    By-Tor

    Apr 13, 2000
    Sacramento, CA
    I say, stick with it.
    You will only gain experience from the it.
    Learn how to set it up and mod it to work.

    It will be a good learning experience.
    It may take some hard work, some patience and a some cash, but it would be worth it.

    Sounds like you only need pick-ups.
     
  13. Jul 23, 2003 #13
    Matt Till

    Matt Till

    Jun 1, 2002
    Edinboro, PA
    I have fixed the neck up a bit, and don't know how it sounds. I wish I had a pic of the body, it's a little beat. The holes for the pickups got a little destroyed. But I think humbucker pickups would be cool, and I'd need to cut a bigger hole in the body anyway. I dunno.
     
  14. Jul 23, 2003 #14
    tappel

    tappel

    May 31, 2003
    Long Island, NY
    As much as I love P basses, I think they're at their best when fretted. The best fretless sound, IMHO, comes from pickups closer to the bridge (think Jaco's J or Pino's MM).

    If you want to maximize the proverbial "mwah," just dial up that bridge pickup and pluck near the neck.

    Tom