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The Fretless Club

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I have a 4 string warwick corvette standard fretless, and it's a massive upgrade from my used $120 squier-P fretted...

I would post pics of the bass, but I'm on my friend's computer right now, so I'll post one later.

I am SO glad that I went to the fretless, when I get a steadier income and save my money, I'll get a Pedulla Hexabuzz.
 
4 string Mark II models...

hear them of Hang Gliding and Claranoid, on myspace
 

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Hello. I've been playing fretless a long time and I love it. I have no frets. My fave (jazzy trio and big band gigs mostly) is my Godin A4. It growls and blossoms so cool. I have a beautiful G&L 5 string fretless which I've been thinking about letting go. No fret lines. I have no lines on my fretless basses. So what number am I in the fretless club? I play upright too, but never fretless and upright on the same gig.

Ken

Awesome bass! You're #4.

While fretless basses are so much easier to play when they have the fret lines on them (I'd be soooooo lost without mine) they look so much cooler when they don't.

A 5 string fretless would be cool too. Then you could do some Mark Egan. If you've never heard of him, I reccomend checking him out. A good song to start with would be "Spirals" off the album "As We Speak"
 
Count me in please...

Here are the 3 I use most often:

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Pedulla Buzz upgraded with an East/ACG filter pre-amp. This is my main bass these days.

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Gus G3 - AFAIK the only fretless Gus in existence. Darker and weightier tone than the Buzz but doesn't quite cut through on the higher notes so not so suitable for my current band.

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Lightwave Sabre A. I also have a fretted neck for this but I can't ever see myself fitting it. Nice and light but with lots of real bass due to the Lightwave system. My noodling bass.

I also have a Sei Flambouyant 5-string fretless on order. Current ETA summer 2008. At the moment it's a collection of pieces of wood some of which have been glued to others...
 
I know these lines caused Martin some hassle and a lot of work :D. The fretlines are a real big deal to me and we bounced some ideas back and forward. I'm so pleased with how they've turned out. Nice that they come over the top edge as seen in the first photo. Not to everyones taste but they most certainly are mine - and it's my bass so there :spit:
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I've never seen fretlines like this before; I think they are cool. Was this your idea?
 
I have an '89 Fender Jazz Fretless!
JazzBasses1.jpg

(Pictured with my '62 RI Jazz)

I'm Tom the 7th (my dad is Tom the 6th, grandpa was Tom the 5th, etc.) and I have 7 children. Yes, you read that right; it isn't a typo.

So 7 has kinda been my number all my life, but I am happy to give up club #7 to such a great fretless bass. I have a fretless Jazz too, that I filed the frets down on when I was 17 years old. That's the bass I'll probably be buried with ... when I am 107! ;-)
 
Count me in please...

Here are the 3 I use most often:

DSC01444.gif

Pedulla Buzz upgraded with an East/ACG filter pre-amp. This is my main bass these days.

DSC01425.gif

Gus G3 - AFAIK the only fretless Gus in existence. Darker and weightier tone than the Buzz but doesn't quite cut through on the higher notes so not so suitable for my current band.

DSC01392.gif

Lightwave Sabre A. I also have a fretted neck for this but I can't ever see myself fitting it. Nice and light but with lots of real bass due to the Lightwave system. My noodling bass.

I also have a Sei Flambouyant 5-string fretless on order. Current ETA summer 2008. At the moment it's a collection of pieces of wood some of which have been glued to others...

Love 'em! I probably would own a Hexabuzz today if I could have found what I was looking for at the time. The other two are cool looking as well, and I've always been curious about Lightwave.
 
I currently own two fretless basses (oddly enough, they are two out of the three basses I don't have photos of).

The first is a Carvin AC40F, which is really awesome, but I also don't really need. I thought it would be pretty cool to emulate an upright sound, but I am, at heart, a heavy rock player, and that tone just doesn't fit.

the second, which I just picked up yesterday is one of the new Squire vintage Modified fretless Jazz basses. After trying one out in a local GC I just had to have it, especially after I checked its distorted tone. This bass was made for overdrive and slapping. The action is atrocious though, with the bridge saddles raised up almost to their limit, I definitely need to fix that when I put new strings on it.
 
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