Linus27

In that case, sell the fretless if its surplus to requirements and buy a fretted Precision.

If the neck is an original 78 fretless neck or an genuine original fretless neck then if you want to fret if then I will find you and make you eat goulash every day until you see sense 😆 Basically, if the neck is an original vintage fretless neck then no. If it isn't then crack on.

To improve your playing you need to listen to other bassists from genres you don't normally listen to and learn to play their bass lines. You need to be a sponge and soak up as much influence as possible. You don't need to become an expert in how to play other genres but just pick up how bassists from those genres approach writing bass lines. For example, if you play rock and listen to stuff like Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, AC/DC, Nirvana etc. then go listen to some reggae and start learning some Bob Marley tracks, or go and learn some early The Police tracks. I guarantee you'll learn something new that will start to come out in your playing. Just be open to all genres of music and listen to the bassists that are well known and regarded and listen to what they do. You don't have to like the music but as a musician, you need to be open to everything and as a musician, you never stop learning. The other thing to do is look at your bass lines and start the root an octave up to just add a bit of variety. For example, if you are doing a walking bass line starting on the A on the E string, then the C# and E on the A string and then the F# and A on the D string. Try starting by playing the A not on the E string but on the D string. So look at the notes you are playing on your bass lines and see if you can play any of the notes elsewhere. This will create a bit more variety and movement in your lines. Even better if you can slide up to a note or play one as a harmonic instead.

1. Timing - You need to lock in and be as tight as a midges derrière but still have the space for movement and expression. 2. Variety and Dynamics - You want a drummer who's going to add expression, personality and flourishes and not just play the same beat or groove for every song. 3. Musical Understanding - Despite all that is said and done, the drummer needs to serve the song first and foremost and not use it as his own platform to boost his ego. After all, that's what the guitarist is there for 😆

Very nice @MacDaddy I had one of these up to a few months ago and absolutely loved it. Probably the best Class D amp I've had the pleasure of owning. Had it a good few years and maybe did close to 100 gigs. Only sold it as I got myself a RM Evo II. Where did you get yours from as they are pretty rare these days? Not sure if you are aware but the front panel is interchangeable. I contacted Ashdown just before I sold mine and they had a Teal one left so I bought it. If you're interested then I'm happy to sell it on. Just drop me a PM if interested.

It's the only way to do it effectively, you try doing it with a Tesla, never looks the same as a good old Landy 🤣

I dropped the bass, I think once or twice and the paint in that area cracked. I'm actually amazed at how thick the paint was. So over time, the crack got bigger and bits kept snapping off until one big chunk just snapped off. So I've since rubbed the edges down so there's no longer a ridge to catch on anything. I'm kind of tempted to mask the area off and spray some hammarite over it but I'm kind of tempted to leave it as it is a proper battle scar.

So this is my main bass, I bought it new 34 years ago and has done well over a 1000 gigs and been on TV, tours, recorded albums and live radio sessions. All this damage is genuine and the bass I would say has not been cherished. It was also played for about 25 years with a heavy pick playing guitar punk pop so the heel has worn down but I did also wear a wrist band because if I didn't then I would end up with blisters on my wrist.

That's a rather cute looking fretless, do tell us more about it.

So you're telling me if I buy one of these basses, it doesn't come with the scew holes pre-drilled for the ashtray cover? Well that's me out then. It's bad enough having to plug my own lead in and turn the amp on. They'll be expecting me to play the damn thing next 😂

Paul Webb - Talk Talk. Four fantastic albums.

I'm liking this. I was listening to Jamiroquai as per the other thread but now I'm listening to these guys

Such a great story and even though I was never a big Jamiroquai fan, I do really like Stuart's playing and he is a fab bass player with awesome tone so pretty amazing you got to meet and hang out with your bass hero. I'm not sure how good I would be at holding it together if the same happened to me. I recognise Pino to boot so if I was playing fretless (I only play fretless) and he walked in then I think I would crumble.

I thought Marta was super talented but she did just disappear off the face of the earth. I hope she is still playing somewhere. Nicole Row from Panic at the Disco Hilary Woods from JJ72

Most of the Fender's I have bought have been bought secondhand but there have been a couple that I played new in a shop that were exceptional. The first was a Mexican Fender Jazz 60's re-issue from around 10 yeas ago. It was a gorgeous dark sunburst and the build quality was superb. The tone however was on another level and it was so nice that I bought it. I eventually sold it to somewhere on here in Scotland and I kind of regretted it. The other was the Mexican Fender FSR 70's Precision. It has an Ash body, maple neck, US 62 Vintage pickups and I believe US hardware. Again, it played and sounded phenomenal and I bought it and still have it now but with a maple fretless neck.

I once had an absolutely gorgeous Fender Mike Dirnt Precision is yellow that looked and sounded amazing. I got so many compliments from sound engineers and I adored the look of it. Probably close to one of the best looking basses I've owned. However, despite desperately wanting to love playing it, it was so heavy and the neck was so chunky that it just became hard work and tiresome to play and I grabbed my AVRI 75 Jazz instead. I still miss it now but even if I had it, I doubt I would play it.

Also the Mustang bass is a great bass and played by so many.

I do remember those Fender Jazz Bass Specials, they were gorgeous basses. Fender originally released the first fretless bass as a Precision with a maple or rosewood board in the 70's but I'd be happy with a Mexican or Japanese re-issue now. I actually have the Mexican Fender 70's FSR Precision which on its own is amazing but I got Shuker to make me a maple fretless neck for it and it is a thing of beauty

I'm really happy that Fender have released these, they look lovely but I do also get what people are saying about it being nothing new. My regret is Fender still haven't released or even offer an standard/vintage unlined fretless Precision or Jazz. Oh well, that is life.

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Beautiful, absolutely beautiful

That's so cool, please post a picture of the crackle red B20. Would love see it 😍

I think the first bass I bought was a Washburn Force ABT bass in red with the lighting crackle design on it. No idea what happened to it but I know I bought it from Andertons in the late 80's when they were in their original building. I've also has a couple of Washburn AB20 acoustic basses. They were great basses but to me were a bit pointless if not fretless. Here I am playing one in 1998 that belonged to John Payne from Asia in his studio whilst recording an album.