Linus27

Yes that's correct, Fender produced the fretless Precision first, I think it was 1970 or around them. It was unlined and available with either a rosewood or maple board. Fretless Jazz basses didn't come till much later, the 80's I think, maybe even later.

Pino has cited that James Jamerson was his biggest influence stemming from his love of Motown. Franklin's biggest influence being Jaco however is correct.

A fretless Ibanez Musician is high on my list of wants. I have the Sting maple Precision with maple board, just need the fretless Ibanez Musician 😁

Thanks Dave, I appreciate it 👍

Little video from last night's gig playing with the Tim Shez Band with some fretless goodness 😁

It is deeply frustrating but what's more frustrating is that Fender do make fretless basses, for example the Squire Jazz and Precision and the Mexican Fender Jazz but they are all lined. The only unlined bass they make is the Tony Franklin signature Precision which is over £2000. So it's not like they are not embracing the fretless bass but they are being incredibly lazy or naive to not cater for the player in the middle who wants a solid workhorse and have the option of an unlined board. Even having it as an option or the option of buying a separate neck from their store like you can with other components would be a start.

Oh dont get me started on this, absolutely boils my blood, partly because I physically can't buy a bass I want as it's not available and especially the whole lined fretless neck thing. I have no issue with people wanting to play a lined fretless bass but c'mon, at least give us the option. Fender back in the 70's released the fretless Precision and can you buy one now, nope, not unless you want a cheaper lined Squire or a super expensive high quality signature model. Absolutely nothing in between. How about Jazz basses, again, nope, not unless you want lined. I grew up listening to Pino, Sting, John Giblin (Kate Bush and Simple Minds), John Taylor (Duran Duran), Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), Paul Webb (Talk Talk), Tony Levin (Peter Gabriel), Mick Khan (Japan) to name a few and who all played unlined fretless basses. I adored their unlined fretless Fender Precisions, Stingray's, Wal's and Ibanez Musicians. I'd never even heard of Jaco until the late 90's and lined fretless basses were not even a thing. I gave up in the end and had my own necks made for my Fender's and bought a Stingray when one eventually became available. With the amount of special editions, remakes and models Fender churn out each year, I just wish they would make a bog standard US Jazz and Precision with an unlined fretless neck or at least make it an option to choose lined, unlined or fretted like a few other manufacturers offer. At least be brave and make an FSR fretless Jazz and Precision if you don't want to take too big a risk, just make sure the neck is unlined. I just think its incredibly lazy of Fender and I have predominantly played Fender's for the last 35 years. I'd love to give my money to Fender for an unlined standard fretless Jazz or Precision but sadly they don't make them and haven't for years so my money went to Ernie Ball. Rant over.

Thanks everyone, it seems apart from the looks which some don't like (I personally love the looks) there are no negative comments about this bass and all the comments on the sound of it is really positive. Definitely got to get myself one.

Has anyone got or played the Ibanez SHH500F fretless bass? I really like the look of them and think it might make a nice addition to my fretless Stingray, Jazz and Precision. The Piezo pickup will be something different to what I already have and from what I've read, they make a nice warm, round acoustic tone. Anyone got one and care to share their thoughts? Good basses, nice to play, sound, build quality etc.

45 - 100 here. I don't like going any lighter for the G string as I tend to find you lose a bit of oomph if you do.

Thank you, easily the best bass I have ever owned and played which is probably why I've kept it my entire bass life and it wont ever be leaving me 😁

This is my current lineup. The top one is a Fender Precision FSR 70's reissue with a custom Shuker maple fretless neck finished in high gloss. It's a replica of the one Sting used to play and is fantastic. For a Mexican Fender it is fabulous although the only thing left on it that's Mexican is the body and I've got no idea what wood they use. Pickups are US Vintage Fender, the pots have been changed and the neck is made by Shuker. Currently strung with Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats. In the middle is my 1986/87 ESP Series Jazz which was made at the Japanese Fender factory and is based on a 1966 Fender Jazz. It's basically a Japanese Fender Jazz and even the components are interchangeable. Even the original neck has exactly the same headstock and could of ended up with a Fender, ESP or Tokai decal on the headstock. This bass has seen all the action over 35 years from playing thousands of gigs, recording multiple albums, live radio and TV shows so it's pretty beaten up and sentimental. Its fitted with a set of Bartolini pickups which give it a smooth but dark sound and works great for fretless. Currently strung with either Rotosound or Elite Stadium rounds. The fretless neck is a custom one made by Shuker but I do have the original neck which is the nicest neck I have ever played so I may return it to it's original fretted status. It's high gloss and theres just something about Japanese basses that makes them very special. The bottom bass is my 2013 3EQ Ernie Ball Fretless Stingray which is new to me but seems to be working out. I'm not a fan of active basses but have always loved the Stingray and Pino is a big influence on me so I thought I'd give it a go. The neck is Pau Ferro which sounds quite nice, a little bit hard but does have a fantastic grain to it. I've done 2 gigs with it so far and I'm quite happy, its certainly comfortable to play, especially the neck but tonally its not as expressive as the Jazz. I think it's a keeper though. Currently strung with Rotosound rounds. I'd like to perhaps get one more bass but I'm not in any rush. I'm thinking either a Japanese Fender Jazz, either the Traditional 60's Fretless or a standard one and then get Shuker to make me a custom high gloss fretless neck. This could then replace my current fretless Jazz and I can return that to being fretted. I also like the look of the Ibanez SRH500F and as that has a Piezo pickup, it might be a nice alternative to some fretless tones.

I'd say yes and no that it has changed over the 35 years I've been playing. I've always loved that rounded balanced P Bass tone, even if on some occasions I've never had that. My bass playing is pretty melodic so my natural tone is a 60's Jazz with rounds, so smoother and less bassy than a P Bass but also a bit thinner. Nowadays, I like to have more bottom end to fill the sound out although my playing is still just as melodic. I also play fretless and use an octave pedal a lot. I flick between a Stingray with rounds, a P Bass with Cobalt flats and a 60's Jazz with rounds. Some sounds really suit the attack of the Stingray, some songs really suit the warm bassy tone of the P Bass with flats and other songs really suit the articulate musical Jazz with the rounds.

So just an update, I turned the truss rod a quarter turn clockwise (looking at the truss rod face on) which seemed to tighten and it made things worse with most of the frets (or lack of as it's a fretless) and open strings buzzing. So I turned the truss rod anticlockwise a quarter and then a quarter again which felt like it was loosening and now no more buzzing on any of the frets and the bass plays beautifully. So I guess that as I had to loosen the truss rod for the Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats, they are actually a looser tension string over the Rotosound flats, even if under the hand they don't. With my new found confidence, I'd always thought the action on my fretless Stingray could do with being a little lower so I turned the truss rod wheel clockwise a quarter on it and it improved it so I gave it another quarter turn which improved it even further. Much lower action higher up the board and its playing much better than it did before.

I hadn't either which is why I asked the original question. I wondered if they were Japan or US only as they had so past me by I'd never even seen them advertised either on any music shops or discussed much. I love how they have kept the dots on the face of the fretboard to make it look like the bass was once fretted but has been converted to a fretless.

I did speak to the owner of this bass as he was on here and he did offer it to me when I was looking for a Fretless Stingray but alas my funds did not stretch that far. Its a gorgeous bass.

Ok that's cool, thanks Chris

How long is the turn around at the Bass Gallery to set up a bass?

So the buzzing is around A and B on the D string and E and F# on the A string.

No not yet, they are next on my list 👍

It is a bit puzzling but I was also recommended to try them and told they are lower tension after other flats I'd tried I couldn't get on with. So I'm just as confused as well 😂

Ok cool, thank you. I've just been playing some more and I'm just getting a little bit of buzzing mid neck on the A and D string. It's only very slight but it's there. Again that points at lower tension right if the neck is bowing that way?

Unless I'm getting my low tension and high tension definitions mixed up?? If the strings feel more taught, is harder to bend or move, is that higher tension? If the string is looser and can bend easier, is that lower tension? The Ernie Ball Cobalt Flat are more taught and harder to bend than the Rotosound Flats.

So I've just replaced my Rotosound 77 Flats 45 - 100 with a set of Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats 45 - 100 on my fretless Precision. Observations are that they are much higher tension and I can't bend the strings as much as I used to be able to with the Rotosounds. Still very playable but noticeably different. The Ernie Ball flats are also sitting much closer to the fretboard but they are not buzzing so I've not needed to adjust the height yet. I'm wondering that the higher tension is making them sit closer to the fretboard? What I do like is the tone. They sound lovely and a lot more zing, expression and mwah. Certainly not as deep sounding as the Rotosound flats which sometimes sounded a bit flat. So really happy with how they sound. One other thing I noticed is the Ernie Ball flats have that stickiness to them that has been mentioned in this thread. Hopefully that will go the more I play them. Early days but happy so far.

I'm waiting for the OC-5 to come back into stock as well. From researching a whole bunch of Octaver pedals, it seems the OC-5 is one of the best for tracking and nails the OC-2 tone. I recently got the EBS Octave pedal as well but I was really disappointed with it. It was really nice tonally but the tracking was terrible so it went back for a refund. I just hope the OC-5 becomes available again soon.