TRADED ZON Legacy Elite Special Lined Fretless 5

TONE MONSTER! There aren't many basses that can cut through the dense mix of my 9-piece band, but this is one of them. Mwah for days, rich mids, round lows, sparkling highs. The B-string is unusually clear and piano-like, and harmonics ring with sustain. I am sure that this bass would be a BEAST in the studio. And the "Special" pickup spacing seems to especially flatter the fretless versions of Legacy Elites.

However -- and this is an increasingly important "however" for me, as I begin to pass well into middle-age -- I'm more comfortable on my other fretless basses -- the reach to the low end is a little longer than I'd like, and the relief is a touch higher than I'd prefer (right about at .030 according to my StewMac gauge). I'm used to my dead-flat, short-reach BNF5 and 534-24, and it's quite a change to go back-and-forth -- and I'm not ready to stop playing those. Last in, first out and all that. I'll be sorry to see it go.

The finish, ESPECIALLY on the fingerboard, is in surprisingly good shape. There's almost no wear on the fingerboard -- the finish that they use must be as hard as a rock (which would explain the propensity of Zon basses of this era to develop finish cracking). So, yes, as with so many Zons of this era, there are some finish cracks (EDIT: and a chip in one of the cracks described below): a spiral on the back of the neck between the nut and the 2nd fret with some hazing around it (EDIT: this crack leads into a small chip below the underside (treble side) of the headstock where it curves back into the neck profile, which I didn't see until I took some additional photos of the crack, see Post #5), and a fairly straight one from the edge of the control cavity to the underside near the serial number. (I can't feel the neck crack when I am playing.) Some light finish chipping at the headstock edges, and a few small dings along the edge of the body. Surprisingly there is no cracking at the neck joint!

There's a bit of scratching in the mid-range control pot, but it never affected the playability or the tone so I didn't pursue eliminating it with DeOxit etc. Strings are what came on it (I generally prefer more wrap around the posts!), maybe D'Addarios, and are tuned B-G, probably a .45-.130 set.

From a previous FS thread, here is a thorough video made of this bass and the tones available from it. It remains in similar condition as it was when the video was made.



Ships in what appears to be an unbranded Zon case. Note that the bass photographs more vividly "red" than it is in real life.

Copied from a previous FS thread:

"The string spacing is between 17.5 mm and 18 mm. It has a 34" scale and weighs 9 pounds, 9.2 ounces. It has a graphite neck (no truss rod) with the perfect amount of relief to nail the Zon fretless sound. The body looks to be Cocobolo. Pickups are custom Bartolini and the preamp is an active 3 band Zon ZP-1. ... If you were to have Joe Zon build this bass today it would cost in excess of $7K."

I'm inclined towards a sale but I might be up for a trade for another 5-string; I generally prefer 17-18mm spacing, 34" scale, mid-forward tones with a bit of growl, nice craftsmanship, good balance on a strap, low action, translucent finishes, not too much of a reach to the lowest frets.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to reach out if you have any particular questions or would like additional photos.

 

You know, if that was a fiver I would totally be interested. I recently picked up a 34" fretted Muck fiver, and not only is the tone quite good but it's the *most comfortable* bass I've ever played.

You should send me a few pics anyway (or post them in the Muckelroy thread), because it sounds like an awesome bass. Thanks for offering it as a trade.

 

I took some (very) close-up photos detailing the cracked finish and dings described above to share with an interested party, and in the interest of complete disclosure I am posting them here as well.

 

That video was a big part of why I bought it -- partly because it answered a lot of my questions, and partly because I knew that if the bass didn't work well for me (you never know until you play it) it could be helpful for the next buyer.

 

Trade pending.

 

Very tempting! I've got a trade for something else in the works, though.

Those are very nice looking, and I'm surprised to not already know more about them.