three

A lot of people seem to be using (and enjoying) GSS Sumo and Baby Sumo amps - there's a link here:

https://www.guitarsoundsystems.com/gss-baby-sumo-ampxlite-bass-guitar-power-amp-c2x21844846 

I've seen and played a good number of these over the years but I haven't seen one in such condition for a very long time.  Looks like a centre-jointed two-piece ash body too.  These were quite a premium bass at the time of release.  Absolute bargain IMO

First, I'm not a great fan of the aesthetics of the JD 2, and I really don't care what JD plays or whether he writes his own parts.  That said, I do get a great deal of pleasure from hearing and watching JD play (alongside no small amount of envy).  Thanks @drTStingray for the link!

I think I borrowed one of these from a very generous bass-player for a gig in the late '80s.  I used it with the TE Series 6 amp that I'd just acquired.  It was one of the very best bass tones that I've ever achieved live (I think I was using a Status Series II).  The owner of the cab - in the audience on the night - went out and bought a TE head within a few days.  Everybody in the band agreed it was the best bass tone they'd heard.  I learned subsequently that a lot of that tone was down to that cab.  An absolute bargain in my opinion - a really solid cab with a lovely solid and very articulate tone.   

Sorry to hear this didn’t work out. Absolute bargain for somebody. In my opinion Viv Wilcock is producing some of the most useable/playable boutique basses in the UK/world. Simple but really smart design, excellent components/materials, superb craftwork and world-class finishing.  Playability is off the scale and tonal range is a real surprise. The most fun instrument I’ve tried - addictive!

Every fretless I’ve owned - a status graphite necked apart - had dead or dull spots at or close to where the OP describes. Frustrating but almost inevitable in my experience

Excellent ad with really helpful images!

What a lovely bass too - no use to me but looks superb

A really easy and friendly deal with Paul - he very kindly drove over to collect a bass.  Communications throughout were brilliant and payment was incredibly prompt.  Great to have a chance to meet and to talk bass.  An entirely upstanding and very knowledgeable member of our community - deal in absolute confidence

Just now, Bunion said:

Sale or not I’m intrigued as to what it might be. 
Put us out of our misery 😂🤣

Sorry, it's a Gillett

1 hour ago, lownote said:

You don't say why you are averse to playing fretless.  There's a substantial fretless community on here, some going with lined fretless, others like myself with unlined. It's much easier than you might think, and more rewarding - after all frets are just playing by numbers, which encourages a very mechanical style of playing, with no nuance or thoughtful input from you.  Not saying frets are rubbish - I'm contemplating getting a fretted fiver at this very moment simply because chordal work and playing 'up the dusty end' is very hard fretless -  just that you wouldn't have the problem if you settled into playing fretless.  And if the reason you don't like frewtless is the 'mwah' sound (which I hate), you can simply dial it out by increasing your relief and action height slightly.

Apologies, I really should have provided some further context.  I've been playing fretless for well over thirty years and enjoy it immensely - I won't be giving-up either, I have another fretless that meets my needs and that will remain fret-free.  The two basses for which I'm considering the addition of frets are both short-scale (30.75" and 31.5" respectively) and I much prefer to play fretted short-scales.  Indeed, I play fretted shorties almost all of the time, though weirdly (perhaps) prefer to play long-scale fretless.  There's something about the feel of a long-scale fretless that is just right for me, especially a graphite neck with an unlined phenolic board.  I don't use fret-lines on a fretless and play by listening/feel rather than watching what I'm doing (most of the time, at least).  In addition, I tend to play fretless seated - I struggle with long-scales on a strap and tend to suffer backache as a result of the extra stretch, even with a nicely balanced instrument.  

@Bunion Thanks -  I'm a fairly active member of the Alembic Club - I could put the bass up for a swap as you suggest, but the likelihood that somebody would have a small-bodied, short-scale SII with a similar spec to mine (in the UK) is pretty small I'd have thought.  I'm pretty sold on the SII electronics and pickups too - I have a SCD and whilst it sounds wonderful, it's not the same as the SII.

Some great ideas and advice here and again, thanks.  I'm erring on the side of selling the electro-acoustic but still weighing-up how to proceed with the Alembic.I'm off shopping next so some kitchen twine.  I have loads of cable ties too (small size) so I can give that a go, though the favourite so far is half round wire - plenty on Etsy. 

46 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

My suggestion would just be to sell them and buy fretted versions of the basses if possible. Getting fretless basses fretted is a lot of work, so will be expensive and pretty non reversable and it is not money you would ever get back selling them, so unless they are very rare, just getting fretted versions would be easier.

Thanks - I can certainly see the logic here!  Unfortunately, the electro acoustic is no longer in production, and a fretted version of the Alembic… well, you can imagine. I’m certainly in two minds here - having the solid body fretted is likely to be very expensive (as you suggest) and would probably reduce its value, though it would make it much more useable and I’ve not really considered selling

Sort of doing this.  I use a Warwick Hellborg PR40 preamp into the power section of an Agi DB750.  The Warwick, I'm told, is a bass optimised version of a Neve channel strip.  To me it sounds lovely.  Very nuanced and present with a kind of viscous element and a 'produced' sheen.  I've used a Pultec clone (Warm Audio EQP) too and that was lovely.  The only valve pre that I really liked - I'm not sure why I sold it.

9 hours ago, Dad3353 said:

If this is really just a trial, I'd suggest simply kitchen twine, knotted away from where the fretting hand passes. I'm not sure that any temporary 'bodge' will prove much, though. Fretting a fretless changes quite a lot, so one wonders if it's worth the time, trouble and cost compared to changing basses. If there's a bolt-on neck, a swap would be simple enough. A set or through neck would have to be darned good to be worth the risk. 

I'd not thought of kitchen twine but have been working through options on Etsy - the suggestions on here have been both welcome and highly creative with some very useful stimuli.  I agree re: time and trouble and have been down this route previously.  Fretting really does change a lot (one of the reasons that I'm considering the move - the changes would be positive for me) and some basses designed and built as a fretless don't really take kindly to being converted.  On top of this, one of the basses is a through-neck and the other set.  So, I'm being very cautious prior to any decision.  They're also both rare and expensive basses.  I've been playing one this morning - the electro-acoustic - and I may just sell it as it is (a very fine fretless).  The other I will hang onto either way, though I know that I'd play it much more as a fretted.  The tone and playability of the instrument is fabulous, though I have little call to play fretless and the bass is just too good to be sat in its case.  For the experiment, I'm erring towards half round wire and double-sided sticky tape as a starter and will update on results.  If the work goes ahead, I intend to ask Martin at the Gallery to undertake the job - it's really not a basic one and will involve removal of board edge lines, re-positioning of side LEDs, insertion of oval fretboard markers, and the fretting itself.  Martin is one of the very few people that I'd trust with the work.  Unfortunately, sending it to the original builder (Alembic) is prohibitively expensive.

Thanks again all for the suggestions!   

Some brilliant responses - thanks very much - that bass viol looks lovely. @PaulThePlug - excellent idea - both basses have adjustable nuts fortunately! Hmm, some form of hardened fabric… I’ll look into all ideas and update - thanks again

38 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

I saw a video on youtube of a stick on fretted board for violin, so a bass version may possibly exist

the violin version didn't really seem to help get good intonation interestingly

Hi and thanks very much for this - how intriguing.  I'll dig around on YouTube and take a look.  Weird on the intonation front too!

@NoRhino It might be helpful if you could post details of the model of bass (maybe an image) and what kind of strings you normally favour - rounds or flats and gauge etc?  Also, what kind of tone/sound you’re looking for.  I play short-scale almost exclusively and tend to use only two types of string as they meet my needs and ‘compliance’ preferences really well - both short, super light nickel rounds. Both fit on a variety of basses with different construction and hardware but good to see what you’re hoping to achieve on what bass (and I hope the short strings you ordered are doing the job!)

Well this question may be as ridiculous as the title sounds.  However does anybody know if it’s possible to source stick-on temporary frets?  I have two fretless basses - both lovely instruments but I know that they’d be far more likely to get played if they were fretted.  Before committing to having the basses modified (one a straightforward job, the other not), I’d like to try them with some temporary frets.  Any ideas from this incredibly imaginative and knowledgeable resource (and thanks in advance)?

I took a punt on a Wilcock (Mullarkey) around a year ago - I loved the aesthetic but hadn’t played one. It was a revelation - playability is addictive and the tonal range is genuinely staggering (the power and versatility from a passive bass was a real surprise). Within a few hours it became - and remains - my most played bass.  I can’t really comment on the MM pickup but I’d be surprised if this wasn’t a ‘do everything’ instrument (at a rock bottom price IMO)

ARB covers in Tamworth are very good - a really well-made product.  The business is built around covers for studio equipment (I bought a pair of covers for monitors - a custom order made to my dimensions/specs) but I'm pretty sure that Gav, the owner, can provide whatever you need.  It's not a cheap option but the product is very impressive.  The site is here:

https://arbcovers.ecwid.com 

Thanks all for the lovely comments and mails.  The bass is now on hold - I'll update if there's any change

52 minutes ago, walshy said:

Probably the best P bass I’ve built. It really is amazing. Pick ups have been changed but it’s a real big hitting P. GLWTS, I’m half tempted to get it back 💙

You did a brilliant job on this one Walshy - if it was just four inches shorter, I'd be in!

I try to avoid hyperbole in ads but this really is a fabulous bass in every respect.  I acquired it recently from jay-syncro (fantastic deal) but it's just too long/big for me - as with any other Precision.  I only play short-scales and should have known that I wouldn't get on with a long-scale (I've had enough of them for this to be evident).

Jay-syncro's ad is here (and there's a link through to the original Walshy ad):

It's a Bass Monkey (Walshy) build and an extremely high vintage spec. as follows:

Hand-built lightweight swamp ash body 

Allparts licensed US Precision neck (quarter-sawn maple, 1.625" nut width and ebony board - lots of 'ping')

Nitro finish in LBP including MHS - finishing undertaken by Dave Wilson

Fender TV logo

Gotoh res-o-lite vintage reverse wind tuners

Badass II Bridge

Kent Armstrong vintage pickup

CTS pots and Switchcraft jack

Fender F neck plate

Weight 3.75kg

The bass is extremely well put together, and is built exclusively from premium parts and materials.  Condition is excellent with some light swirling in the nitro finish.  The Dave Wilson finish is superb as one would expect and the LPB is very vibrant.  The grain in the neck is lovely, though I should note that the some of the lacquer on the back of the neck is worn through up to around the fifth fret.  I actually rather like this effect and have had the lacquer taken back on previous Fender-type basses to reduce the potential for 'stickiness'.  The neck feels very slick indeed.  The bass sounds to me like a '70s P - a big round bottom-end but the potential for some aggression and clank with the tone wound up.  Playability is superb.   I had the bass set-up with 40-95 D'Addario Nickel rounds.  The set-up is excellent and the bass has an extremely low action.  I actually dropped the action a little when the bass came back from set-up as I play with a very light touch and stupidly low action (too low for almost anybody else).  As a result there's a bit of sizzle on the D at the 19th fret and on the E and A from around the 14th fret.  This could be removed with a slight adjustment of string height (indeed, I'll do this if any buyer would prefer).  The action will remain low.

I have a little over £800 in the bass in total but I'm willing to sell at £725.  I think this represents quite a bargain.  Please take a look at the images - jay-syncros are better than mine (I hope this is OK jay) but please ask if you want anything specific in terms of photographs - or any further details.

The bass can be collected from Manchester or if a buyer would prefer, I can pack the bass (in its included Thomann hard case - again, very good condition) and the buyer can organise a courier - at their own cost and risk, of course.  I can be around to hand over to couriers.       

I've just met up with Frank to take delivery of an absolutely beautiful bass - Frank took the very significant time and trouble to deliver the instrument to my door (and we live many hundreds of miles apart).  An absolute star - Frank genuinely couldn't have done anything more to make this the easiest possible transaction, or to ensure the safe arrival of the instrument.  He even provided it in one of the coolest cases imaginable.  One of Basschat's absolute finest - totally trustworthy and honest, and helpful beyond belief.  Thanks Franks - fabulous service, lovely to speak and a pity we couldn't talk for longer! 

17 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Vintage thread resurrection to share my early 80s Status brochure that I picked up from Wapping.

 

Thanks for posting - lovely to see this? Do you know the year? I’d have thought about ‘83. My SII is ‘85 and has different (black GMT) knobs and covered pole piece GMT covers. Same script logo

Hmm… Nantwich not too far