Hellzero

Great fretless sound, the way I love it. Reminds me that I still have a fretless Kramer 450B... a Mick KARN form of heritage (he had a Travis Bean).

Bestial Cluster is my favourite Mick KARN album. I've listened to it hundreds of times if not thousands...

Another important point is to listen to the other fretless players like the real pioneer that Percy JONES was and still is, or the terrific Mick KARN who was the greatest slider ever as it was part of his sound, or Jack BRUCE with his classical background and veena playing knowledge (amongst others), or any other non Jaco related players. These players are my main influences and the ones that decided me to play fretless instead of fretted bass. Even Jaco was impressed by Percy JONES... because he was there before him pushing the limits of the fretless bass to such a high level. Of course, don't forget Michael MANRING and Pino PALLADINO (with Paul YOUNG), both great Jaco fans. Again open your ears !

On the high end hi-fi side, I made some fantastic deals. One of the best was buying a complete (with the original external air pump) Forsell Air Reference CD Drive, aka the waffle iron, for 500 Euros, that wasn't working. According to the official repair shop the laser group was dead and they weren't produced anymore... An old Philips CDM laser NEVER dies. Took me 10 minutes to fix it as it was a stupid mechanical problem (sorry won't tell it as some "secrets" have to be kept). Sold it 10 days later on the good day through evilBay for 2500 Euros. The guy who bought it made a long travel on the same day to pick it up and was almost licking my feet for that bargain price, because at the time, they were reselling for at least 1000 Euros more...

I really started playing bass on a fretless some 35 years ago and I'm mainly a fretless player. I've been playing 4 to 8 strings fretlesses lined or unlined and it doesn't really matter to me, even if I prefer unlined as you'll always play with your ears and not with your eyes. Remember that you MUST set up the intonation on a fretless bass too. And that's were all the bullsh*t about the finger placement comes from. In fact, if your fretless bass intonation has been dead precisely set up, using the tip of your fingernail to be exactly at the first, or even better, the second octave, then you'll have to put your finger the way @fleabag explained. If it's been set up without taking into account this precisely way of doing it, then you'll end up putting your fingers where it's in ... tune. The explanations of @lownote12 are great, but just missing two points concerning the mwah as it comes also from the straightness and hardness of the fingerboard. It's funny, because yesterday evening, I was giving a little try (had a bike crash last Sunday and my left shoulder is in very poor condition since then and it will take at least 3 months to fully recover) to my basses and said to my wife : "Why the f*ck am I wasting my time with fretted basses, when I'm definitely a fretless player ?" Always told you was the answer. 🤣 Use a Peterson tuner when playing and check your intonation while playing to be sure you're perfectly in tune, then your ears will learn. Also use open strings when playing as you can retune your notes instantly (beware of natural harmonics...) Adding a chorus is also a fretless trick. Your vibrato must be horizontal, by moving slightly your finger, and not by bending the string : it's one way to see if you're in front of a "real" fretless player. And as I like to say : no frets, no limits ! Have fun and use your ears !

Another good deal was a Wal MkI 4 fretless bought for 1250 Euros, sold it twice and bought it back twice then I let it go in the wild. I also made loads of money during the 90's with vintage Fender's basses, guitars and amps. In fact, since the deal of the century with the L series 1965 Stratocaster and the 1972 Precision Bass, the money I'm using for my musical instruments is the same.

My best deal ever was a Fender Stratocaster L series from 1965 and a Fender Precision Bass from 1972 for ... 600 Euros. Yes, for the both of them as I had to buy both or there was no deal. No they weren't stolen instruments, simply a guy who was getting married and needed some cash very quickly. He didn't play anymore for years and both instruments needed some TLC as they had been painted in white with ... a brush over the original paint.

Are you an eagle ?

Looking at the battery connector, it has suffered from some battery leakage. Clean it with this tool that you can buy elsewhere (it's a glass fiber brush) : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/122200385603

Give Binky to @Hellzero !

Careful with @ped ego... 🤣

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Caig-DeOxit-Contact-Cleaner-Spray/dp/B00A2365BI

Deoxit, nothing is better.

Same price as a Fodera Anthony Jackson Presentation II Titanium 6.

I thought Ned Steinberger was a designer...

This, if you want to get rid of all noises, including bad earthing : https://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Aero_DBuzz.html Otherwise, as mentioned earlier, anything with Neutrik connectors and good quality cable like Cordial, Van Damme, Mogami and the likes.