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Thoughts on buying a Frankenstein Bass?

B

bampilot06

Jan 10, 2013
105
15
Virginia
#1
Started playing bass again recently after years of not playing. I think the last time I touched a bass was around 2015. Back in 2004 I had a custom MM stingray, transparent orange, and fretless. I fell in love the neck, and really enjoyed the freedom of not having frets. (I was a cello player first)

When I decided to start playing again, I knew I wanted another Stingray, specifically fretless. The cost of designing one has almost doubled since 2004 so I went with a Stingray Special. My thought process, I could order a fretless neck from Ernie and swap necks. They said no.

I enjoy the bass, sounds great, neck feels good, but I am still longing for a fretless bass. Getting another MM stingray at the moment is out of the question, but I found a pretty cool looking bass on FB.

Fender jazz body, Bartolini HR 4.6 preamp, Seymour Duncan QP pick ups, and a MM stingray fretless lined neck. It’s a 5 string, the neck was originally fretted but the person who put the bass together removed the frets and filled the area in. The bass looks good, and he builds his own basses. Judging from the pictures, and comments, his basses are top quality.

I’ve never bought a bass that has been built out of parts before. Just wanted to hear thoughts, experiences, should I stay away? Price is under 700.00

Thanks.
 
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#3
Micha84 said:
If there is no chance to play it first, leave it. What sounds cool on paper (and even looks good on fotos) may still turn out to be the most horrible DIY project gone wrong you have ever seen.
Click to expand...
I agree. If this was a known luthier, or something on the used market that had some providence, I'd be a lot more trusting. But you have no idea how the work was done, whether it was de-fretted properly, or what kind of issues he may have run into (and covered up) while cobbling it together.

If you get your hands on it and it plays well that's one thing, but it sounds like a gamble sight unseen, especially for someone who isn't in a position to throw money around buying gear just for the fun of unboxing it.
 
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#5
I wouldn't buy a defret without being able to play it first. There are too many bad defrets out there.

Last year I tried out a Sandberg California that had been defretted. It looked pretty nice from a distance. Up close it was easy to see that the fret slots had been filled with dyed epoxy because they were jagged and fuzzy from the not-particularly-clean fret pulling. And while the board had been epoxied and polished, it had not been faceted/hourglassed before finishing so positions near the nut choked out and action at the high end of the neck was too high. iirc they wanted $1200, which would have been a reasonable price if it still had its frets, but as-is it wasn't as good an instrument as the $450 Dean that was hanging next to it.
 
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#6
It sounds like you're mostly interested because it's a mm fretless neck. But it's a 5 string, so it isn't going to be much like your previous neck even is the defretting was done flawlessly. I wouldn't jump into all the unknowns for a neck that isn't going to be like the one you loved anyway. Nothing wrong with parts basses. I'd just look for one that had a factory fretless neck if I were going the parts bass route.
 
#7
Appreciate the responses. I would def try it out before buying, but it’s also relatively far away, so I have to take that into consideration. Untitled hit the nail on the head why I want it and also addressed the concern I had about it being a 5 string.
 

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#9
More than that parts bass, yeah, but much closer and still lots less than a real MM, and an excellent bass - Sire Z7 fretless:

www.sire-usa.com

Sire Marcus Miller Z7 5-String LH or FL

Blending Classic Elegance with Modern Performance The higher-tier variant in the new Z series, Sire Z7 is made for players looking for groovy humbucker sound. It features an Edgeless™ neck with the most requested stainless steel frets to match different preferences while keeping up with comfort...
www.sire-usa.com www.sire-usa.com
 
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#10
bholder said:
More than that parts bass, yeah, but much closer and still lots less than a real MM, and an excellent bass - Sire Z7 fretless:

www.sire-usa.com

Sire Marcus Miller Z7 5-String LH or FL

Blending Classic Elegance with Modern Performance The higher-tier variant in the new Z series, Sire Z7 is made for players looking for groovy humbucker sound. It features an Edgeless™ neck with the most requested stainless steel frets to match different preferences while keeping up with comfort...
www.sire-usa.com www.sire-usa.com
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, forgot about the sire! Killer basses.
 
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#11
ardgedee said:
I wouldn't buy a defret without being able to play it first. There are too many bad defrets out there.

Last year I tried out a Sandberg California that had been defretted. It looked pretty nice from a distance. Up close it was easy to see that the fret slots had been filled with dyed epoxy because they were jagged and fuzzy from the not-particularly-clean fret pulling. And while the board had been epoxied and polished, it had not been faceted/hourglassed before finishing so positions near the nut choked out and action at the high end of the neck was too high. iirc they wanted $1200, which would have been a reasonable price if it still had its frets, but as-is it wasn't as good an instrument as the $450 Dean that was hanging next to it.
Click to expand...
I feel this is the correct answer. I defretted many basses and done this same process as mentioned above and granted im not a luthier, but it's surprisingly harder to get right than most people think and really easy to hide a bad work with photos and not being able to inspect up close.
 
#13
UntitledProject said:
View attachment 7475539
Might look for something like this. Ibanez rs840 fretless. It's a factory fretless with an obvious nod to music man. It's passive with a series/parallel/coil tap. Very well made MIJ. Usually had for 6-700.
Click to expand...
That’s pretty sweet looking. Currently not seeing any of those available anywhere.

I was taking a pretty hard look at the Z7. There is a beautiful fretless one in Florida, but it was just a little too far for me to get to while I was down there at work.
Sweetwater still has some of the first gen fretless, but the first gen from my understanding the jazz pickup was too under powered. I also am not a fan of the available finish it’s the Only one to choose from.
Near me is a V7 fretless at a reasonable price. Looks pristine, and was pretty sure that’s what I was going to get before the parts bass popped up. Took a dive down the rabbit hole on the V7, seems like a love hate relationship. Some GC issues as well.

All of this led me to the V6 fretless. I like the modern look, the sand blast looks pretty awesome, and it’s supposed to be pretty light. Just never played one.

Anyways I am considering a lot.
 
#15
Have you considered getting the neck of your current bass defretted by someone who knows what they're doing? It would probably cost a lot less than buying a whole new bass and you already know you like the bass.
 
#16
It's so easy to find affordable basses these days that I would probably only buy a parts bass if it seemed like an extremely good deal or if it happened to have a combo of features I was specifically looking for that couldn't be replicated on a stock bass in my price range, and even then I would want to try it first to make sure it was actually in good shape and functioning correctly (particularly in terms of things like action and intonation).
 
#18
bampilot06 said:
Started playing bass again recently after years of not playing. I think the last time I touched a bass was around 2015. Back in 2004 I had a custom MM stingray, transparent orange, and fretless. I fell in love the neck, and really enjoyed the freedom of not having frets. (I was a cello player first)

When I decided to start playing again, I knew I wanted another Stingray, specifically fretless. The cost of designing one has almost doubled since 2004 so I went with a Stingray Special. My thought process, I could order a fretless neck from Ernie and swap necks. They said no.

I enjoy the bass, sounds great, neck feels good, but I am still longing for a fretless bass. Getting another MM stingray at the moment is out of the question, but I found a pretty cool looking bass on FB.

Fender jazz body, Bartolini HR 4.6 preamp, Seymour Duncan QP pick ups, and a MM stingray fretless lined neck. It’s a 5 string, the neck was originally fretted but the person who put the bass together removed the frets and filled the area in. The bass looks good, and he builds his own basses. Judging from the pictures, and comments, his basses are top quality.

I’ve never bought a bass that has been built out of parts before. Just wanted to hear thoughts, experiences, should I stay away? Price is under 700.00

Thanks.
Click to expand...
A parts bass all depends on the quality of the build, so if the seller seems competent you might be OK. One issue I see is it has Seymour Duncan QP pups. Those have a pronounced mid-scoop and will likely fall short of the Stingray sound you crave. Chances are you will need to swap the pickups, so factor that cost into the bass.
 
#19
tpaul said:
Also there's a fretless stingray neck on Reverb right now for $1,000. Seems like a lot for just a neck, but maybe they'd take a low
Click to expand...
tpaul said:
Have you considered getting the neck of your current bass defretted by someone who knows what they're doing? It would probably cost a lot less than buying a whole new bass and you already know you like the bass.
Click to expand...


I saw the neck on Reverb, a little more than I want to spend on just a neck.

As far as removing the frets, I don’t know anyone anymore that does that kind of work. I used to live down the street from Chis Bass Works. He did some work on my basses in the past, also designed some beautiful basses. Always thought I would get one of his. I drove by his house recently and it appears vacant. His FB doesn’t show any activity either.
 
#20
bampilot06 said:
Started playing bass again recently after years of not playing. I think the last time I touched a bass was around 2015. Back in 2004 I had a custom MM stingray, transparent orange, and fretless. I fell in love the neck, and really enjoyed the freedom of not having frets. (I was a cello player first)

When I decided to start playing again, I knew I wanted another Stingray, specifically fretless. The cost of designing one has almost doubled since 2004 so I went with a Stingray Special. My thought process, I could order a fretless neck from Ernie and swap necks. They said no.

I enjoy the bass, sounds great, neck feels good, but I am still longing for a fretless bass. Getting another MM stingray at the moment is out of the question, but I found a pretty cool looking bass on FB.

Fender jazz body, Bartolini HR 4.6 preamp, Seymour Duncan QP pick ups, and a MM stingray fretless lined neck. It’s a 5 string, the neck was originally fretted but the person who put the bass together removed the frets and filled the area in. The bass looks good, and he builds his own basses. Judging from the pictures, and comments, his basses are top quality.

I’ve never bought a bass that has been built out of parts before. Just wanted to hear thoughts, experiences, should I stay away? Price is under 700.00

Thanks.
Click to expand...
Could be a masterpiece or could be firewood. Gotta try before you buys. The components, if clean and functional, are worth $700 for sure.
 

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