Ibanez SRH505F, bought in 2021, had the fretboard sanded and coated in polyurethane.
2005 Fender American Deluxe Fretless Jazz, bought in 2007.
2012 Fender Tony Franklin Precision, signed by The Man himself!
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Show Your Fretless
- Thread starter GreyBeard
- Start date
Ibanez SRH505F, bought in 2021, had the fretboard sanded and coated in polyurethane.
2005 Fender American Deluxe Fretless Jazz, bought in 2007.
2012 Fender Tony Franklin Precision, signed by The Man himself!
Marleaux Consat 5... plays like a dream, sounds as good!
Some real exquisite instruments in here.
I'm not going to post a picture for fear of a lynching.... however here is the story of my fretless:
I was bassist in a band at boarding school (UK) in the mid-late 70's and had a cheap P-bass imitation which I smashed during our final concert.
At the same time, for my woodwork project, I had decided to build a Gibson Explorer fretless (...and to this day, such an instrument has never been made by Gibson!) - because I just loved how Allen Collins looked on stage with his lead Explorer... and the fact that fretting a neck seemed a bit beyond my skills at that age. I took a black and white picture of Collins from the NME and sneaking into the staffroom one evening, illegally used the photocopier to enlarge that picture over and over until it looked to be 'about the right size'. No actual measurements were taken and with a very grainy, blurred outline image - built it (with my only artisitic flourish to slightly elongate the hockey stick headstock). Took the guts out of my old smashed up P-Bass along with the neck-bridge measurement - and made something that actually worked...!
Now here comes my problem.... This was 1978, the Skynyrd plane crash was fresh in our minds, The Dukes of Hazzard were on tv and I decided, as a dedication to Lynyrd Skynyrd, to paint the body red with a confederate flag. I played it extensively in South Africa in a rock band there through the early 80's (re-wired with Seymour Duncans - straight to the jack plug, no tone or volume nonsesne...!) and since the mid-90's it has hung on the wall in my office.
Subsequently I bought an Epiphone Explorer bass (out of curiosity) and the dimensions of my home build are so almost exactly right that I was amazed my youthful ingenuity (viewed from 40 years down the line)...
It is still used in practice sessions and on a few recordings down the years, but because of the nostalgia attached, I can't bring myself to repaint it, as that's the way I built it in 1978.
My concience and desire to live a happy life means that it never goes out in public and is destined to live on my office wall for the rest of time...
I'm not going to post a picture for fear of a lynching.... however here is the story of my fretless:
I was bassist in a band at boarding school (UK) in the mid-late 70's and had a cheap P-bass imitation which I smashed during our final concert.
At the same time, for my woodwork project, I had decided to build a Gibson Explorer fretless (...and to this day, such an instrument has never been made by Gibson!) - because I just loved how Allen Collins looked on stage with his lead Explorer... and the fact that fretting a neck seemed a bit beyond my skills at that age. I took a black and white picture of Collins from the NME and sneaking into the staffroom one evening, illegally used the photocopier to enlarge that picture over and over until it looked to be 'about the right size'. No actual measurements were taken and with a very grainy, blurred outline image - built it (with my only artisitic flourish to slightly elongate the hockey stick headstock). Took the guts out of my old smashed up P-Bass along with the neck-bridge measurement - and made something that actually worked...!
Now here comes my problem.... This was 1978, the Skynyrd plane crash was fresh in our minds, The Dukes of Hazzard were on tv and I decided, as a dedication to Lynyrd Skynyrd, to paint the body red with a confederate flag. I played it extensively in South Africa in a rock band there through the early 80's (re-wired with Seymour Duncans - straight to the jack plug, no tone or volume nonsesne...!) and since the mid-90's it has hung on the wall in my office.
Subsequently I bought an Epiphone Explorer bass (out of curiosity) and the dimensions of my home build are so almost exactly right that I was amazed my youthful ingenuity (viewed from 40 years down the line)...
It is still used in practice sessions and on a few recordings down the years, but because of the nostalgia attached, I can't bring myself to repaint it, as that's the way I built it in 1978.
My concience and desire to live a happy life means that it never goes out in public and is destined to live on my office wall for the rest of time...
I, for one, would LOVE to see this. It came from a different time and place. It's an object with a cool history and no ill-will or intent. I think it's a shame that you feel it has to be banished from society because it doesn't fit today's sensibilities, which are as fleeting as morning dew here in NM (we usually don't have any dew, and it's gone by sun-up).
Oh come on, you can't tell this story and not post a picture!
Before the new knobs.
After the new knobs.
Here it is with the new pickups too.
After the new knobs.
Here it is with the new pickups too.
- Just an old StingRay with a cut up pick guard and a 35” Moses f’less neck. Priceless
