Which fretless sounds closest to an upright?

I have limited experience in the fretless category, but IMHO the bass you're probably looking for is a Godin A4 or A5 fretless. It has that hollow body /upright tone and just sounds plain [email protected]##.

 

Ashbory.

 

The Ashbory does sound very close BUT the 18" scale makes it tough to play.

The Godin is a much better bet; I have used it very successfully for upright gigs .

If you have more dough the Turner Rennaisance or the Rob Allen basses are also very good.

To make your Jazz sound more like an upright, skip the pickup and bridge mods. Just read this article:

http://archive.bassplayer.com/trenches/thumb.shtml

 

Also try a Rob Allen bass.

http://www.roballenguitars.com/

 

All you have to do is pluck on the fingerboard...its not about the bass...I can get my fretted Rick to sound alot like a standup and if it was fretless, it would probably sound exactly like one.

 

I have an MIM Fretless with flatwound stings. Although you can't ever get the exact sound of an Upright, I am pretty satisfied. There was a fretless shotout on BP mag awhile back that came to the same conclusion.

 

I don't know the brand of this bass, but i was watching a performance on TV one time, and I was listening to the bass line, i sincerely thought it was an upright bass. When a bass solo came and the shot of the bassist came up, I was surprised to see an acoustic fretless bass. IT was absolutely amazing.

-T

 

anything with nylon wound strings (the black ones), i got them on my p-bass fretless, very nice indeed
very thumpy and upright like!

*Si*

 

I agree with every thing said here. I have this really crappy archtop bass (maxitone heard of them?), and I pulled the frets out and did the putty trick. If I valued the bass enough, I would put flats on it, but now it has a set of old rounds, Playing at the 14th fret, and turning the trebble down, I get excelent upright-emulation. If it had flats it would only sound better. The truss rod adjustment nut is stripped off, perhaps if I get a new one, I could adjust the action, thats the only reason its my bastard bass hands hurt from playing too long. Its a 30" scale, so I suppose that helps with the thuddy short sustain sound. Ashbury bass sucks!!! I could deal if it had a body that was somewhat comfortable, I just cant understand strapping on a lap steel and playing it. DO they expect you to keep a bottle of KY jelly inthe case to do slides on those rubber strings?

 

KY Jelly - NO

Talcum Powder - YES

 

Well, only an upright really sounds like an upright. You can get a pretty good sound from a solid body electric using the tips listed in other posts. I would add:

• raise the action so that the mwhaa is muted a bit
• use the neck pick up only and lower it if it is "hot"

That being said, some of the new acoustic/electric bass guitars (Godin, Rob Allen, Turner Renaissance) don't require any tweaking to get closer to the sound. This search thread may have some interesting reading for you.

 

I've played the Rob Allen many many many times...
It's a great bass.

However, I don't think it has any characteristics of an upright, except possibly in feel.

It's very growly (which most uprights aren't) and is very subtle at the same time.

 

You may want to think about a Zeta Crossover bass, which is a "mini" electric upright bass with a 34 inch string lenth. The link you can try is
http://www.zetamusic.com/products/display.asp?id=44

Good luck!

 

Well, looky here, gorgeous Rob Allen fretless, if I play fretless, I would try one of these

Da link

http://www.guitarboutique.com/bass10.html

gorgeous bass!!!!!!!

 

I've already posted regarding them.
They don't sound like uprights at all.
They're very growly yet subtle.

I have yet to hear a growly upright.

The only characteristic an upright and the Rob Allen could possibly have in common would be the feel. They certainly aren't alike as far as tone goes.

 

The Takamine B10 sounds a lot like an upright. It's constructed a lot like an upright and costs $3000+. Beautiful acoustic archtop with a big arched upright style neck (can be bowed and has a floor spike).