I made an impulse buy last Friday -- a Fender standard (MIM) fretless jazz bass. I had never played a fretless until then and I'm really enjoying it. It sounds great with my Bassman 100t. First thing that needs to go is the white pickguard (I'm thinking black or tort). It has the stock Fender strings (SS flatwounds). I wouldn't mind a little brighter sound. So I'm looking for string suggestions. Nickel rounds? Tapewounds? Chromes?
For me, I use nickel rounds (ken smith burners).
Flats and tapes don't sound or feel good to me. What about you?
For brightness, rounds are the way to go. Now, stainless is rougher than nickel, but that may not make a difference on a bare fretboard - they both will wear into the fretboard eventually. But it depends on your technique and how often you play the instrument.
I recommend you use the same strings that you use for a fretted bass, since you know you like that sound. Just remember, a fretless will always be less bright because part of what makes a fretted bass bright is the frets themselves. That's why I use rounds for fretless: gotta have something bring on the brightness without those frets there.
Also: you should have a guitar tech or luthier in your rolodex. Over time, you'll need to have that fretboard sanded. That's life in fretless-land.
I have mine done every couple of years if I'm playing actively on the fretless. Haven't had to do it in over 5 now cuz the current gigs are for rock, and I use the fretless for mostly blues.
