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Tony Franklin Fretless

9c1ny

9c1ny

Supporting Member
Dec 28, 2008
2,055
6,033
#1
I've been into bass since I was 14, am 44 now, never owned a Fender, never been a big fan, not even a fan of bolt on's.
That being said I just ordered a Lake Placid Blue fretless.
Don't know what it is about it but man what a pretty bass. Anyone here have any complaints with them?
How's the fit and finish?
I got my Sweetwater rep to knock a couple hundred off it and throw in a set of LaBella flats.
Pretty stoked to play around with it
 
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#6
I have a LPB and a sunburst. It's easier to just list the negatives, because the good stuff that I love just goes on for miles and miles.

Only two negatives:
My LPB has a defective fingerboard (milled thinner in the middle for some reason). I didn't discover it until it was already a used bass. Fortunately, I work around it with the washer-under-the-TR-nut trick that allows slightly overtightening the truss rod. Hopefully it'll stay that way for the remainder of its life without the rod breaking, etc.

My Sunburst one also had a defective fingerboard, with a hump in the board at the heel, such that the A and D strings were unplayable unless the action was a mile high. I discovered it when it was still new, but I accepted the bass anyway because this was a simple fix with a 9 1/2" radius beam. No problems after the hump was sanded down and a little "fall away" was added to the heel of the fingerboard.

Neck dive. Oh lord, the neck dive..... it's atrocious, there's no other way to say it.

But that's it on the negatives, and hopefully you won't experience the QC issues I had at all. The Tony Franklin is the dirtiest, freak-nastiest sounding P bass ever made and I'm sure you'll love it.

L

IMG_9508.jpg
 
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#8
80jazz said:
I have access to a 1987 Jazz Bass Special fretless which colored my thoughts on a PJ Fender fretless.

I take it these are a cut above those?
Click to expand...

Yeah, the Tony Franklin is a signature instrument, so it's really well made. Except for the QC issues on mine, but those are more quality control rather than statements about the general level of its quality.

Another nice thing is the cheezy old-school nitro finish. My Sunburst is already starting to get finish checking and chipping around some of the edges of the body, so it will "relic" just like a real 70's P bass with the old timey cheezy nitro finishes. If I gigged with it, it would look absolutely amazing probably in only a few years....

PS: it doesn't sound quite like a fretless Jazz, though it's pretty close with both PU's on. And on the bridge PU it's indistinguishable from a FL Jazz with high-output PUs for obvious reasons. It's a slightly different sound, but if you need a Jazz bass-with-both-PUs tone, its pretty close.

L
 
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#9
I have owned a LOT of Fenders and a few stock fretless Precisions but I gotta say...this Tony Franklin fretless is easily the best of the bunch! It is it's own thing and takes a little while to really get into and once you do...wow. I was never one to play mostly one bass (unless I was THAT kind of broke) but I really have a difficult time playing anything else. Easily one of the best production basses made anywhere. Enjoy~
 
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#10
I have a 2020 Tobacco Sunburst that is my primary instrument. I have one complaint, but not really, if you play with an anchored thumb there is no comfortable place to anchor

I have a No Mod thumb rest on it to solve that problem.

I don't like rounds on a fretless for several reasons. A set of Fender flats solved that. They also make the drop D tuner work much more consistent.
 
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#11
luciens said:
I have a LPB and a sunburst. It's easier to just list the negatives, because the good stuff that I love just goes on for miles and miles.

Only two negatives:
My LPB has a defective fingerboard (milled thinner in the middle for some reason). I didn't discover it until it was already a used bass. Fortunately, I work around it with the washer-under-the-TR-nut trick that allows slightly overtightening the truss rod. Hopefully it'll stay that way for the remainder of its life without the rod breaking, etc.

My Sunburst one also had a defective fingerboard, with a hump in the board at the heel, such that the A and D strings were unplayable unless the action was a mile high. I discovered it when it was still new, but I accepted the bass anyway because this was a simple fix with a 9 1/2" radius beam. No problems after the hump was sanded down and a little "fall away" was added to the heel of the fingerboard.

Neck dive. Oh lord, the neck dive..... it's atrocious, there's no other way to say it.

But that's it on the negatives, and hopefully you won't experience the QC issues I had at all. The Tony Franklin is the dirtiest, freak-nastiest sounding P bass ever made and I'm sure you'll love it.

L

View attachment 4404866
Click to expand...

The neck dive is really surprising to hear. How light are they? The only P I had that would neck dive was probably under 7 pounds.
 
#15
DiabolusInMusic said:
The neck dive is really surprising to hear. How light are they? The only P I had that would neck dive was probably under 7 pounds.
Click to expand...

Mine are in the 9lb range, like most other Fender P basses. But as someone mentioned, it's the Hipshot D-tuner, as well as the traditional depleted Plutonium Fender tuners that add all the tonnage to the headstock. The additional weight does null out all the Fender dead spots pretty good, though.

But they're worth it to me, though, so I just play mine seated and sitting on the strap to keep from having to hold onto the neck. Since I'm not gigging I can just sit on my butt and get away with it.

If I did have to gig them tho, the tuners would have to be replaced with something lighter like Gotoh ultralights, etc.

L
 
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#16
Yes. Neck diver. And I had a badly cut nut, and a chip in the paint near the rear strap button. Sweetwater didn’t notice either issue, and I could have returned it, but once I set it up…. What a great sounding bass! I didn’t want to let it go. That says a lot.

So I’d say, buy one wherever you can find one. SW inspections/ setup aren’t what they used to be, and these days they seem to be last to get any inventory, and clueless about future deliveries. I was a big fan of theirs, and have bought 7-8 basses from them, but no more. Just buy the first one you can catch.
 
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#17
I didnt continue to pursue fretless, spent my time on other areas. Maybe sacrilege, but I did replace the neck with a new American Pro neck fretted and love the bass. Ok more sacrilege I put in an Arcane 65 Experience P pickup as well. Love the bass even more. I also put a Hipshot vintage bridge on.... a zero mod thumb rest, it came with the pickup cover:) . Done and really happy with it. Maybe its not a TF anymore. Nevermind.

20210913_210447_resizedSMall.jpg
 
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#19
DiabolusInMusic said:
The neck dive is really surprising to hear. How light are they? The only P I had that would neck dive was probably under 7 pounds.
Click to expand...


I think the it's something to do with the Hipshot Drop D tuner, mine has a bit of neck dive too but nothing crazy but I use wide neck straps so it doesn't bother me. I don't think they're especially light but they are the best playing and sounding fretless basses I have ever owned or tried. I'm not crazy about lake placid blue so got the sunburst which I really like. I also had another volume control and a side jack put in.
 
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