The best fretless bass

[SteveCS]

I guess over the years I've had the good fortune to play and/or own some quite superb fretless basses. Some have sounded amazing; some felt like they could play themselves; some had perfect balance and some had looks to die for. Some ticked two or even three of these boxes, but only one ticked all four, and that was a 6-string RMI Hummingbird. The one I played actually had two of those Delano Xtender pickups and the piezo bridge, so no ramp:

 

[JazznFunk]

Tone-wise, the best fretless basses I've ever owned or played have been Laklands and Sadowskys. I have a very soft spot in my heart for old slab-body StingRay fretlesses like the new Pino Palladino signature model as well - they record so well. Very present, very full, and none of the harshness that some people note with fretted StingRays. The closest I've come to that model was when I owned a fretless 2-band USA-made SUB 'Ray in the mid/late 2000s. The slab bodied 'Rays aren't as comfortable ergonomically as some other basses, but the tradeoff for the tone is worth it.

 

[Salicete]

There is no “best,” but there is likely a best for you. Do the legwork and play as many as you can get your hands on. Buy the one that plays and feels the best in your price range.

I have a parts Fender Jazz fretless that I paid around $300 for that sounds and plays every bit as good as my Kubicki ExFactor fretless, for which I paid thousands.

Price isn’t always the hallmark of “The Best.”

 

[WG Plum]

Tone-wise, the best fretless basses I've ever owned or played have been Laklands and Sadowskys. I have a very soft spot in my heart for old slab-body StingRay fretlesses like the new Pino Palladino signature model as well - they record so well. Very present, very full, and none of the harshness that some people note with fretted StingRays. The closest I've come to that model was when I owned a fretless 2-band USA-made SUB 'Ray in the mid/late 2000s. The slab bodied 'Rays aren't as comfortable ergonomically as some other basses, but the tradeoff for the tone is worth it.

The Pino reissue fretless is wonderful.

 

[PNW Tony]

I have a fretless '86 MIJ Fender Jazz Bass Special and I love how it plays and sounds. It has the TBX tone control and it doesn't sound anything like any of my other P or J Basses. I had a fretless Warwick Corvette Standard for a while, but it didn't do much for me so I sold it.

 

[Gino t]

The advice to play as many as you can is solid but i checked stock at 2 specialty bass shops on West coast US, Seattle and Phoenix/Scottsdale, they have 1 fretless to try between them (the Seattle Thunder Road shop recently had about 5, iirc, but they must've sold.) Bass central in Fla seems to be well stocked.

I've bought a bunch of fretlesses used and returned almost all of them from GC, eating the shipping except a couple times i cried to the manager and he caved.

 

[walking Bass]

I think it depends on what you want in a fretless. I wanted as much mwwwaaaa as I could get. I played a Santa Cruz fretless and it was terrific. I learned that Rob Allen had started his own shop with the same views on bass making. He was in Santa Barbara at the time and i had friends who lived nearby, so I got try and then I bought. It's Koa MB-2 lined fretless. Light as a feather, simple to look at and satisfying to play. Over 20 years of happy fretless.

If I were to buy today, I likely get a Rob Allen Mouse since I tend to prefer short scale and the Mouse is 30, the MB-2 is 34.

 

[pb9717]

These three are in the classifieds if anyone is looking for a fantastic, sub $1000 fretless. 4 or 5. Take a look. Some of my best work on display here. My Warwick fretless is coming from Japan. I need to pony up some CC replacement funds.

 

[SunByrne]

Dang, I was out of town when this hit and I totally missed it. I think there's a great option that hasn't been brought up here, which is the Ibanez SRD900F. This is kind of the upgrade to the Portamento in that it's semi hollow (brilliant for the piezos and makes the bass super light) and has Nordstrand Big Breaks (basically the same thing as Big Splits) instead of the Barts. And IMO much prettier than the Portamento, here's mine:

Also available in a kind of blue burst if you don't like the red. The picture makes the lines on the fingerboard look more prominent than they are in real life. You have to be pretty close in pretty good light to see them. Hate the strat-style jack, though, so dumb.

The mix of piezos and Big Breaks and the extended fingerboard gives it a lot of versatility.

Though, of course, it doesn't sound like a StingRay; pretty much only a StingRay sounds like a StingRay. Someday I will probably fork out the ~$3k for a fretless EBMM StingRay. I had my G&L L-2000 de-fretted a couple years ago and that kind of does the job, though honestly it sounds more like a Sabre than a StingRay. Anyway, de-fretting is a good option, too.

 

[59jazz]

I have an Mm SR4 Fretless, but kinda diggin’ more on this one. TF sig neck, Bart classic pups & a ‘81 Yamaha P body.

 

[pb9717]

Just did a head to head with these two. This particular Sire has turned out to be an incredible instrument. The tone I’m getting out of it has been better than instruments costing twice as much. Everything I A/B it against always falls short. And with the John East J-tone preamp, it’s absolutely spectacular.

 

[MonetBass]

...is the one you put together yourself.

Now sporting these pickups:

 

[Ric Vice]

If we’re talking “has a very distinct sound” then the Godin LR Baggs Acoustibass is certainly one of the top contenders. It has a chambered body
With metal sympathetic tines placed under the bridge.