Ben Jamin

That is funky!! Good competition as the Tye Zamora model has no Fender DNA, but looks like a pretty conventional set-up for a bass of it's type - whereas this Adrian Younge thing looks 100% Fender but is completely unconventional 😂

Really like the pick-guard as a mix of '52 P-bass and Marcus Miller Jazz! I could see it doing pretty well as a body/pick-up concept in a MIM model if they committed to either fretted/fretless and put a passive tone circuit in there instead, with a more regular set of finishes. Those pick-ups would work great for a warm fretless tone. But then that would just make it another boring Fender? Another thought, is there a good reason why we don't see more effects in basses? There are plenty of 9V or 18V active basses that only power a 3-band EQ. It'd be cool to see something like a compressor and SansAmp in a body, which everyone could find useful. Maybe even a tuner? Could even be clever with an XLR output and phantom power?

Looks like Fender CS are doing a limited run of an Adrian Younge signature bass, which has got to be one of the quirkiest designs I've seen for a while! Seems like it would be a bunch of fun to play, and clearly works for Adrian! But definitely a niche instrument! Jazz body with 50% fretted, 50% fretless jazz neck Precision middle pick-up Curtis Novak bisonic neck pick-up Built-in fuzz and tremolo effects https://www.fendercustomshop.com/basses/jazz-bass/limited-edition-masterbuilt-adrian-younge-jazz-bass/

Bought a Tech21 Bass FlyRig from Clarky. Great to deal with, thanks!

Thanks for the encouragement folks and sorry for the slow response! It's arrived and it's glorious! I haven't played a Jack Casady model before, the impedance switch is really neat! Plenty of sonic variety between that and the volume/tone/playing style. ` Hardware feels solid and the pickup sounds really punchy. Plenty of thump and warmth, with great resonance, but very articulate still. The satin finish looks great and it has a lovely vintage vibe. The neck feels really nice and I think I'm slowly getting used to the lack of frets! It sounds just like I'd hoped a fretless would, and neat touch that it ships with Chromes. Thanks loads for all of the tips, the muscle memory's there, just need to keep playing to get confident. Here's a short vid giving a spin after unboxing it at the office, using some open notes to get around! Please excuse the very timid left-hand technique 😂 https://www.instagram.com/p/DIwu7DRqQif/ I'll get some proper photos up shortly! Cheers!

Thanks! Just hope the ears don't disagree 😅

Wow that's much higher stakes than our home studio! Really nice bass line, can see why the fretless was the only one for that song. Going to have to pick up a chorus pedal now (and maybe some post-its)!

Thanks that's a very helpful mindset to go in with! It's pretty daunting as my band's in the process of recording right now, but I have no idea how soon I'll be able to play with reliable intonation! Also thanks for the excuse to check the Effects For Sale section 😂

Melodyne is a great and likely necessary shout 😅 Juggling all those scale lengths sounds like a feat! I'm not brave enough for upright yet, luckily everything I have is standard scale. Thanks for the fretting tip! Muscle memory is a beautiful thing, guessing it'll take a good bunch of playing to get cosy with it!

Got the last one from Andertons arriving on Tuesday 🥳 A wee bit nervous as it's my first fretless! Any tips??

Don't suppose this is still available?? I have a pal who would love this, I could collect in a couple weeks time??

I don't know about aggressive but I've always felt that the MFDs accentuate some nice punchy mids that always seem to fit well in a wall-of-sound kind of mix. Probably the pick-up placement as much as anything too, quite close together in the sweet spot of a Precision/Stingray. Would be interesting to compare it to a 55-02!

I got mine from here! They do pop up occasionally. I think Andertons used to stock more but it seems they just have the Tribute SB-2 in now. Heard good things about the Tribute series though, I think the hardware and electronics are the same as their USA series? Not sure if you can order from G&L? The CLF Research stuff looks great too.

+1 for the G&L Got to A/B my L2500 with a Lakland JO5 recently. They're both great. JO5 is super smooth, the G&L just has a gnarly mid-range that I love. I've had mine for about 13 years. The pre-amp and controls on the L2500 are super flexible if you take the time to get familiar. You can get some nice warm tones in passive/parallel mode and a bunch of power in series/active. And aside from the active switch (just an impedance boost and treble boost), the whole thing is passive, not dependent on batteries.

Grateful to have tried many weird and wonderful basses - owned a precision, a jazz and settled for a lovely USA G&L L2500 (going strong for 12 years)* - but have never held a Stingray! How much am I missing out?? *although secretly the bass I play most is a Sue Ryder P with flats 🙌