76 Fender P, bought new, routed right away for a DiMarzio. Wired stereo so I could switch with a Ric with the same cable. Still have it
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Where the Fretless Ps at?
- Thread starter Matthew_84
- Start date
Can you tell us how you sourced a TF neck? I would think that’s a tough get or do they they offer them a’la carte?
I had a Tony Franklin bass for years. I thought it was slightly too heavy and I never used the bridge pickup so I kept the neck and sold the body and got a lighter Nate Mendel (I prefer the red over the black Tony Franklin too).
I remember a couple years ago you could buy the TF necks individually for about $600 new on ebay and reverb.
I remember a couple years ago you could buy the TF necks individually for about $600 new on ebay and reverb.
After seeing some of the Ps here, I changed the pickguard on my sunburst from white to a dark tort and can’t believe how much better it looks. Now I want to play it!
I would have said that appearance doesn’t make much difference to me, but that would be incorrect.
I would have said that appearance doesn’t make much difference to me, but that would be incorrect.
Thank you! The guy who owns it calls it his workhorse. He's had it since the late 70s.
Someone put a preamp in it back then (Starr Guitars?) and it basically adds some different character to the sound. Checked that all over and cleaned up the wiring (they used duct tape, I replaced it with shrink tubing), but mainly, it just needed a good setup. He loves it again now! It's a nice, well used, lightweight example of one of these. The neck is nice and straight with plenty of adjustment, not maxed out at all. Not being much a fretless player myself, I just kept doing the main riffs from "You Can Call Me Al" on it when I tested it. It was a hoot!
The switch IS the preamp, but I honestly don't know what the modes are. One setting seems to be a treble boost, the other 2 sound "normal" with one just being a little more mid than the other. Middle could be bypass maybe?
Knobs are original passive controls to the bass.
Knobs are original passive controls to the bass.
NBD - Fender Tony Franklin fretless Precision Bass:
I have been gassing for a fretless P pretty hard for the last few months, but I haven’t seen anything worthwhile on local classifieds for a long time. I recently ordered a fretted P, and will eventually get a fretless neck for it, but I’m still looking for a fretless P just in case and they just do NOT show up - but of course, fretless Jazzes are plentiful. This leads to two conclusions:
1. Fretless Jazzes are more popular than fretless P basses so more were made; or
2. The logical reason, that the people that get their hands on a fretless P do not give it up, no matter the cost.
What are your thoughts?
Also, if you have experience, pics, or audio/video of fretless Ps, please feel free to share
Before conversion this was a very nice-playing MIM, as nice as any P I’ve played. During Covid I wanted to try fretless so I ordered a fretless Jazz neck from Fender. Strung it with Ernie Ball Cobalt flats. Turned out really nice! This is a great neck - I like it even better than the original.
Edit: I also changed the pup to a quarter pounder. This combination of pup, neck, and strings sounds and feels GREAT!
