Where to buy a lined fretless???

[Left Left Goose]

alright well ive decided to mod my squier and get a lined FL neck
i was looking at rondomusic and they only have the 30" scale

$100 is about my budget cause i just want to get my feet wet
i dont mind off brands or anything aslong as it is somewhat reliable


thanks

 

[Jo6Pak]

The lined, fretless MIM Js are decent for the money. They are less than $500 new and can be had from evilbay fairly regularly for less. That is what I started (fretless) on. I played fretless exclusively a few years back and owned a few different ones, including my first and only Alembic (Excel). Only the MIM Fender had lines. I moved away from the lines fairly quickly. That is not to say that I am/was exceptional on fretless, but the lines didn't actually seem help much. Lines or no lines, accuracy is very important. I am down just one now and it is a Carvin B4, ebony board, no lines and strung with nylon tapewounds. Suits me fine...

 

[Left Left Goose]

thanks for your help

i think i need the lines cause im still a noob at fretted bass so throwing me in the deep end might kill me

ill check ebay -any more suggestions?

 

[Jo6Pak]

I wasn't trying to steer you immediately into no lines, just keep in mind that once you get comfortable with fretless, moving away from the lines isn't as scary as you might imagine.

All of the ones I owned had top position markers (dots), so there was still a little something to get me in the ballpark. However, with fretless 'ballpark' isn't good enuff and virtually all of your practice time will be spent improving your intonation (hitting the desired note exactly where it lies). It ain't easy, but as we all know, practice makes perfect.

Another thing to be aware of (you already touched on it in your original post) is that fretless may not go over very well with your classic rock and punk bandmates.

 

[spade2you]

I'm not gonna start a lined vs. unlined debate. Try one, if it works, cool! If not, try the other config. Once you're comfortable, you'll probably stick with that configuration.

 

[Jo6Pak]

Its not a debate, just an exchange of information.

 

[vinxbass]

I bought the Squier FVM Fretless a while back and my buddy, who has a MIM Fretless, actually liked my bass more. He was quite surprised by the quality of the Squier's compared to the MIM Fenders, he was def in favor of the Squier; I thought it was a toss up which was better quality.

 

[DanGouge]

I found unlined easier to adapt to than I thought - so don't let it scare you. A cool side benefit of fretless for me was that I found it made me a better fretted player.

 

[Left Left Goose]

ok im still kinda confused i guess
whats the benefit of no lines? does it just make me THINK and FEEL the instrument more than just painting by numbers?
i hope its more than aesthetics

im now considering just buying a neck for my squier P
it would give me a more rock tone and i would be able to buy a main rock bass with the money saved

would it be better(easier, faster, cheaper, funner, educational) to buy a new neck or defret my current neck?
i like working with wood (get your mind out of the gutter) and so it seems like a fun project (ive got the time)

thanks

 

[spade2you]

ok im still kinda confused i guess
whats the benefit of no lines? does it just make me THINK and FEEL the instrument more than just painting by numbers?
i hope its more than aesthetics

im now considering just buying a neck for my squier P
it would give me a more rock tone and i would be able to buy a main rock bass with the money saved

would it be better(easier, faster, cheaper, funner, educational) to buy a new neck or defret my current neck?
i like working with wood (get your mind out of the gutter) and so it seems like a fun project (ive got the time)

thanks

The thing about fretless is that frets aren't 100% in tune. Lines are where the fret would be, thus, the line isn't 100% accurate to pitch. For me, it's hard to coordinate my eye, finger, and ear to pitch.

 

[Left Left Goose]

The thing about fretless is that frets aren't 100% in tune. Lines are where the fret would be, thus, the line isn't 100% accurate to pitch. For me, it's hard to coordinate my eye, finger, and ear to pitch.

wow i always figured as much ( sometimes i leave my tuner on when i played and it would read that some notes were WAY out of tune and i didnt really think anything of it)
ya learn soemthing new everyday

so if i kept my tuner on for the first few weeks to train my ear on an unlined would that help the learning curve?

thanks

 

[basspraiser]

i picked up a squier VM j fretless (the jaco sunburst i think) in GC today and BOY did it feel good!
maybe it was just that i was a flat string virgin and they were so new to me but whatever it was that board and those strings rattled my soul!
i was put off by a missing volume knob making it hard to get a tone i liked so i think ill steer clear of this model

ill get to my point before i get wood from thinking about it

what is a well built, well sounding, lined fretless for under lets say $450
i prefer used and dont mind modding too severely - i suck at wiring but between me and my bro it should be fairly simple

i play classic rock and punk (i know a FL with flats wont gimme that ROCKER tone but im trying something new )

thanks

Sounds like you found it......just find a Squire VM fretless in better shape.....I have played several and have A/B'd them a few times with Fender MIM basses....I liked the Squire every time....

I now own a sweet Lakland 44-02 lined fretless....I think it is more versatile than any J fretless I have tried....as for the lines, when it is in tune (which it stays in tune REALLY well - even when stored for a while)...I can play just behind the fretline and it is fairly "in tune"...I know this because I often "test it" (play with it hooked up to my tuner)...I am not sure if it is just the way it is set up, but it seems to be rather consistently in tune this way....

I like the lines...I know they are "training wheels" but I am not too proud to say that I like the "safety" they bring.....That being said, I TRULY admire people who can play unlined fretless basses well, I am just not one of them!!!

 

[basspraiser]

ok im still kinda confused i guess
whats the benefit of no lines? does it just make me THINK and FEEL the instrument more than just painting by numbers?
i hope its more than aesthetics

im now considering just buying a neck for my squier P
it would give me a more rock tone and i would be able to buy a main rock bass with the money saved

would it be better(easier, faster, cheaper, funner, educational) to buy a new neck or defret my current neck?
i like working with wood (get your mind out of the gutter) and so it seems like a fun project (ive got the time)

thanks

if you buy a new neck, you can convert it back to a fretted bass to sell it or if you simply "want to"...if you defret it, you have no option....I would say buy a new neck if you want to have a fretless P.

 

[Left Left Goose]

if you buy a new neck, you can convert it back to a fretted bass to sell it or if you simply "want to"...if you defret it, you have no option....I would say buy a new neck if you want to have a fretless P.

awesome thanks
now where/which one to buy
should i jsut check ebay?

 

[spade2you]

wow i always figured as much ( sometimes i leave my tuner on when i played and it would read that some notes were WAY out of tune and i didnt really think anything of it)
ya learn soemthing new everyday

so if i kept my tuner on for the first few weeks to train my ear on an unlined would that help the learning curve?

thanks

Tuners are a must. Always play ALL of your basses in tune and make sure that your fretted basses are intonated as best they can be. As for watching the tuner the whole time you play, it can help at times.

Hal Leonard's Fretless Bass would be a good primer. It has plenty of tunes, most aren't too difficult. The explanations and overviews are pretty good. It has bass tab in case you don't read music.

Regardless of which configuration you get, it's generally good to try finding your notes and fingering based on open strings and harmonics while trying to get the fingered note to resonate without dissonance.

Check out my myspace page. Prelude in G started out as an exercise to accurately find the fingered notes against harmonics.

 

[Left Left Goose]

i picked up a Hal Leonard with Ed Friedland as my first bass book and it worked for me but only covered a SMALL portion of what i wanted/expected it to cover - sure it was the VERY basics and it did help me a lot but it got me into the mind set of playing songs whihc lead me to a Tab rut that i still struggle with
i almost wish he had kept me on the standard music path (notation reading chords scales ect)
ill check it out but i think my teacher ( a LONG time upright player and LONG time FL player) will be able to customize it to me, if only he lived closer

thanks

 

[spade2you]

i picked up a Hal Leonard with Ed Friedland as my first bass book and it worked for me but only covered a SMALL portion of what i wanted/expected it to cover - sure it was the VERY basics and it did help me a lot but it got me into the mind set of playing songs whihc lead me to a Tab rut that i still struggle with
i almost wish he had kept me on the standard music path (notation reading chords scales ect)
ill check it out but i think my teacher ( a LONG time upright player and LONG time FL player) will be able to customize it to me, if only he lived closer

thanks

eh, there's a time for theory and a time for technique. The book Fretless Bass is more about technique. I recommend it for learning how to play the fretless bass. A book like Ed Friedland's Walking Bass Lines and Expanding Walking Bass Lines is a KILLER theory book!!!!!!1!

 

[Left Left Goose]

eh, there's a time for theory and a time for technique. The book Fretless Bass is more about technique. I recommend it for learning how to play the fretless bass. A book like Ed Friedland's Walking Bass Lines and Expanding Walking Bass Lines is a KILLER theory book!!!!!!1!

true - but i think i can pick up technique from my teacher
bah i should focus on getting a neck first
are those eden necks any good?

 

[Kael]

The only advantage to unlined is aesthetics. If the lines bug you, get an unlined bass. My first bass was an unlined fretless. I have no issue with playing unlined. I'll only buy lined now though. I frequently find myself in spots where I have inadequate monitoring, and those lines have saved my butt more times than I can count. As for the lines not being 100% accurate, that's completely true. They are pretty close however and it's easy to learn whether you should play on top of or slightly behind the line depending on where you are on the neck.

 

[Left Left Goose]

wow thanks
i dont think of looks EVER - its just not important to me
so lined it is - where to buy is next question
im fine with a cheap rosewood off brand neck aslong as its gonna last a while