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Which fretless "starter" bass do you like best?

Gbass75

Gbass75

May 20, 2009
1,343
948
Berkeley, California
#1
I've always played basses with frets; but, I've got the bug to try my hand at fretless...

With that in mind, I figured I'd throw this one out for discussion...

Given the following four to choose from; which budget fretless do you favor... and, why?

Squier VM fretless Precision

Squier VM fretless Jazz

Eastwood EUB (Ampeg knock-off)

Warwick Fretless Corvette Std w/J-style pups

Again... which would YOU choose? ...and, why THAT over the others?

I'm primarily a P-Bass player; so, I think I know which would be MY choice... but, hey! ...change my mind!!!

;-)
 
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#2
I like being able to move the blend between bridge and neck pickups. I find myself adjusting that more than the tone knobs to get different sounds.
Just my $0.02.
 
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#7
I wanted a fretless P/J, so I bought an SX, put a Mighty Mite fretless neck on it, and upgraded the pickups to Dimarzio Areas. I put it together to "just try out" fretless; I didn't want to spend too much to only find fretless wasn't my thing. Little did I know what an awesome player it would be -- I'm blown away by that bass every time I play it. The Mighty Mite neck is really killer, serious bang for the buck on that one.
 
#9
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Peavey T-20FL. (The one in the pic had a busted tuning machine, that's why the A string looks all wiggly)
 
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#10
I can't comment on anything but the Squier VM Jazz fretless. I recommend them highly both in stock form as a starter fretless and as a platform for modification. The only original part now is the body and I'm so happy with it I put my Pentabuzz up for consignment to pay for a Victor Bailey Jazz V I just picked up. The Pedulla just wasn't getting played anymore.
 
#12
My Yamaha BB200.
It's a nice P-Bass clone. I upgraded the pickup
with a Fender P and put LaBella tape wounds on it.
For Sale if your interested.
IMHO a good rule of thumb for your first fretless is
don't spend too much. A lot of guys try them but don't
stay with them.
 
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#14
i bought a Squier VM Jazz Fretless when they were initially released, figuring i'd give it a go....it took me a bit of searching to find a great one (some had necks that were a bit -shall we say- uneven ?), but once i found one i haven't looked back...
Since then, a fretless 5 string has become my primary instrument, and i rarely play fretted now.
 
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#15
George Mann said:
The Warwick! Once you play it, you will forget that the others even existed.
Click to expand...
I concur. There was a Warwick exactly as you describe at my local GC for a while that I should have bought but didn't. It had great fretless tone and the neck felt really nice, something I don't usually feel about Warwicks.

Or, you can just have that 4001V63 turned into a fretless bass, that would be pretty cool. :smug:
 
#16
I bought the Squier VM Jazz fretless on a whim when it first came out, and instantly knew fretless jazzes were right for me and haven't played fretted (for more than a few minutes) since. It was a great bass right off the showroom wall, but as is my habit I gave myself reasons to replace one part at a time until today I don't have a single remaining original piece of it (took a couple of years to get to that point). I would not hesitate to recommend.

I also owned the Eastwood EUB for a few months. Loved the look, liked the neckfeel, didn't care for the tone or the way it hung on the strap.
 
#18
The first and only fretless i actually bought is a Mexican fender jazz. I had tried several before ever buying one and the jazz was actually the easiest to play mainly because it has fret lines. I considered buying a squire but the thing that always has kept me away from squire is actually that if you look hard enough you can find Mexican fenders used for the same costs. I got mine used for $300 and it looked like it had never been played.
 
#19
I own an LTD B-50FL with P/J pickups and "active tone boost" preamp. The neck is very thin, with a lined Ebonol fingerboard, and it plays very well...electronics are a little on the wimpy side without the tone boost fully engaged, though. I paid $199 USD out the door.
 
#20
I'd get the Precision! Fretless J basses have been done to death. I have two 70's fretless Precisions that I love. I don't own the fretless VM P but I do have a fretted VM Precision that is a great bass.
 

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