What was your first fretless bass?

[Smooth_bass88]

When I was 21, a '72 Jazz Bass, sunburst, maple board. Frets were pulled way before I got it. I think I paid under a grand for it.

 

[Mike Marshall]

After hearing Unorthodox Behaviour in the summer of '76 I took my 1973 7ender Telecastor® bass and ripped the frets out with some dikes (very gently) and went about learning all of Percy Jones' bass lines from the album.

I started playing bass in February 1971 with a mint condition late '60s 7ender Jazz Bass I got for $175. That bass got straight traded with a local bassist for the February '67 Rickenbacker 4005WB (Jetglo) that I had a gigged extensively with until I sold it in August 2011.

I got a Hagstrom that was given to Ralph Armstrong at the Hagstrom factory while he was on tour with Jean Luc Ponty. Unfortunately my fretted bass was stolen after a gig one night and I had to sell the Hagstrom It was very similar to a Jazz Bass this was back in 1980. I have not seen many like it since then.

 

[B-Mac]

Dean Exotica Quilt Ash (2015) A/E w/Aphex® Gloss Trans Black Fretless 34" MIC
(behind the fretted) Got it in 2016 as I figured muscle memory would work out 'easier' on FL since I had the same fretted bass. Both always out.

 

[coyote1]

What was your first fretless bass? And, how long were you playing bass by the time you lost the frets?

Warwick Corvette Standard 4. German bubinga. Got it used, but in nearly new condition. Gorgeous instrument, and had a great sound of its own. Unfortunately it did not have the sound I wanted in a fretless, so after many years of owning/playing it I sold it. On that item I made a handsome profit.

I'd been playing bass for more than 20 years before I found that instrument.

 

[carsbybigd]

What was your first fretless bass? And, how long were you playing bass by the time you lost the frets?

 

[WG Plum]

A '78 or '79 Musicman Sabre. I so miss that bass, I had no idea what I had at the time and I've never seen one like it for sale (black on black, rosewood board). I was barely into high school and was young and dumb and let it go. I don't even remember what I sold it to get.

 

[Chickenwheels]

I got my first bass in 1980, then my first fretless (a Fender Precision) about a year later. About three years after that (1984) I discovered Brand X and promptly ordered my first Wal fretless, which got stolen in 1985, so turned right around and ordered another Wal fretless built in Dec 1985 and I took delivery of it in January 1986. About 7 or 8 years later I had Pete (The Fish) at Wal make me a fretted neck for it, and I swap them out occasionally. I sold the Fender fretless Precision a couple of years after I got the Wal, and it seems that TB'er KoaFodera has found it somewhere and is presently in the process of buying it (as evident by the serial number he mentioned in a couple of other threads here on TB).
I still have the Wal, and I just recently put the fretless neck back on it after playing it fretted for about the past two years. As much as I like the Wal, I now wish I'd never sold the fretless Precision.

Pics?

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

An unlined Warwick Corvette 4-string, which was a bit of a departure as I'd been playing 7-string fretted. I'd been playing bass about six years at that point. I learned pretty quickly that as pretty as they are there were a lot of drawbacks to using an unlined.

 

[grimjim]

Ibanez sound gear. Not a great bass, had a neck that wanted to twist. Had only been playing for a couple of years. Sold it off.

Got the urge to try again so bought a German Warwick Corvette. Great guitar, played it for years until I did a Warmoth build. My absolute favorite as I got to spec everything myself.

 

[Queue]

I always chuckle when I hear/see someone speak of a "Fretless Precision" bass. Leo was so high on the fact that the frets allowed for precision (when compared to playing upright bass) that he named his creation the Precision Bass!

Don't flame me, I see the want and need for a fretless P bass, it just makes me giggle a bit.

 

[r_bnks]

Nothing yet unfortunately but I'd wrap my fingers around a Fender Tony Franklin or a fretless Spector.

 

[Jeff Scott]

First, and only, fretless. Plays great, sounds fantastic, but I rarely play it out, I've never been able to get my fretless skill above entry level. This thing is way too good for me. View attachment 5182183

In the '90s I had an '84 Alembic Exploiter that I had converted to fretless along with some other mods I did to it.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, I had a G&L SB1 that was 'fretless'...there were frets in it, but they were taken down to nothing. There was also a finish on the neck so you couldn't feel them. It was a pro job, could have come from the factory like that. Also had a Palatino upright that I got in a trade.
They're both gone.

I didn't want to put in the time needed to not suck and didn't see much use for them at my gigs. I would have been sliding and mwahing around all the time instead of being in the pocket. I'm also near a university with a pretty strong music program, so a lot of local guys play fretless and upright. And play them very well.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I got a Hagstrom that was given to Ralph Armstrong at the Hagstrom factory while he was on tour with Jean Luc Ponty. Unfortunately my fretted bass was stolen after a gig one night and I had to sell the Hagstrom It was very similar to a Jazz Bass this was back in 1980. I have not seen many like it since then.

I may have seen him playit with JLP, but the old memory bank's a bit fuzzy on the details. I do remember where, and the opening act, though, so some of it is still there.

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

1975 at Electric Lady studios in NYC. Just another session but the fretless worked great for the quasi-dub tracks we were doing.

 

[Stedkey]

What was your first fretless bass? And, how long were you playing bass by the time you lost the frets?

Boulder creek EBR-N5B acoustic. About 5 years of frets before that, and now I play both. (Decided to trade the Boulder Creek several years ago, regretted it ever since.)

 

[Auspuff]

What was your first fretless bass? And, how long were you playing bass by the time you lost the frets?

Here is my first, and so far, only fretless. From what I can tell, she's a 1989, MIJ. Purchased it, from a guy in a corner gas station parking lot (true story), and that was in 2019.

I actually started my fretless career, in high school, with the standup. Began playing the bass, seriously, in 1980 (you can do the math).

Can't believe I endured frets, for so long, and I am not going back.

 

[CryingBass]

Not mine, but very, very close. Mid-70's. Maple neck.

Had to sell it to eat in college!

 

[zombywoof5050]

Pics?

I only have very old pictures, and sorry about the poor quality of the pics.

Here is the only picture I have of my first Wal number W2318 (which was stolen and I'd love to recover it someday):
Link Removed

And here are some old pictures of my second Wal (which I still have) with both fretted and fretless necks:
Link Removed

I do have one very old polaroid with the fretless Fender Precision in the background that I may see if I can get scanned and uploaded sometime soon.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

What was your first fretless bass? And, how long were you playing bass by the time you lost the frets?

A rogue acoustic