Hellzero

That Jools Holland and His Millionaires record is not the fretless Pino we all know playing these melodic lines, but just a Pino Palladino playing conventional bass on what sounds like a bad Elton John record. Sorry, but Jools Holland has recorded much better things than that. And concerning those known by the ones who know them Welsh musicians, I doubt Pino was as free as he was with Gary Numan or Paul Young, I mean that melodic fretless bass sound we all know (with or without the OC-2 octaver and CE-2 chorus).

As a Pino fretless player fan too, I never liked the Stingray fretless sound I was getting. I can come closer to his fretless sound with any bass, but a Stingray... That said, Pino was discovered by Gary Numan, listen to I, Assassin and you'll find that all Pino typical fretless sound is already there. Listen this, it may help you not buying a Stingray, but my Ibanez Affirma AFR A104F instead 🤣🤦🏻‍♂️ (that's not me playing) :

How is the one on the left tuned ?

Or even better, the original ones :

LeFay Waran, maybe. That's pointy.

I hope your wife opened the box to check that there's no damages to the NXT. You can put a clip on tuner on the headstock just under the B tuner, like this :

You should be able to control the amount of mwah with the pressure of your finger(s) on the string(s) and the dynamic of your "picking" finger(s)... It takes some time, but it's worth the hassle.

This is this quite well explained here, but not always linked to a bad shimming : https://hazeguitars.com/blog/neck-shimming-and-ski-jumps-the-latest-research

A true pro luthier (but those doing what is mentioned after are quite rare, sadly) will always make a frets dressing or fingerboard dressing under simulated strings tension, which is the only way to have a perfect neck allowing deliriously low action. That's also why the Plek machine gives such awesome results...

As it's buzzing at the higher frets, it may have the typical Fender neck heel raising. A luthier will fix in no time.

Got some pliers, got some old credit cards, got some super glue, got some boat varnish ? Go on, Jaco only needed these.

Calling @Dad3353 !

😉

6.35mm action at the 12th fret from the fingerboard means a real 5mm action at the 12th fret !?! 😱 We have to reconsider what a high action is and start talking in centimetres... Did Fender supply the arrows too, back in the mid 50's ?

Action depends very much on the quality of the frets fitting and dressing, quality of neck craftsmanship and the way you play. I have some basses with action going lower than 1mm at 12th fret under the E string without any buzzing, but those are fantastic luthiers masterpieces. My go to action goes from 1.5mm under the G string at 12th fret to 2mm under the E string at 12th fret. Then I lower this until the buzzing appears, if needed. That said a perfect nut height is also mandatory. I firstly set the relief to my taste (almost flat these days), then put all strings at exactly 1.5mm (use a 1.5mm Allen key to make the measurement as it's easier than a ruler) under themselves and the fret at the 12th position (also working for fretless) and then, starting from the highest string, I simply raise each saddle screw from 1/4 turn compared to the previous one, this way the strings follow the new neck radius and you'll go progressively from 1.5mm to 2mm. 😉 So D string saddle : + 1/4 turn. A string : + 1/2 turn. E string : + 3/4 turn (B string : + 1 full turn. C string : - 1/4 turn). That said a P-Bass sounds better with a higher action and pickup lowered compared to a J-Bass.

I understand totally the cautionary attitude, but after having set up really thousands of instruments, I never had a single problem with even two complete turns of the nut of a truss rod (tensioning it, not releasing the tension, of course). But, as there's always a but, I always sense the pressure and tension when doing this. If it becomes hard or starts making weird noises, I always stop and if it's a single action truss rod, before any attempt, I always put some graphite grease on the thread. That said, I've seen a luthier breaking a trussrod before my eyes by applying too much strength when it became harder to turn. Sh*t happens. In fact the truss rod almost always breaks at the thread, which is the most fragile place.

Removing the neck each time you need to adjust the truss rod means modifying the tension in the neck twice, so it's the most inaccurate way to do, for sure. The quarter turn a time then waiting a day and start again is a big myth, you can set up your truss rod immediately to the desired tension if it turns easily. I would do two things if I were you. First : remove the nut of the truss rod and put some graphite grease on the truss rod thread to allow it to move flawlessly. Second : go to a luthier and ask him to make an access to the truss rod (a little routing) at the heel end of the body. And you can set up your truss rod at the strings tension, there's no need to slack the strings before doing that as it will modify the overall neck tension and getting the issues you mention.

Same as @Frank Blank, I sold my two TC Electronic PolyTune Clip tuners when I bought my Peterson StroboClip HD clip on tuner. I senses the low B of my sixer EUB without any issue and is so precise. I also use the hyper super accurate Peterson StroboStomp HD in my small pedalboard or for setting up instruments.

You've found the perfect anti-guitarist amp : don't change a thing !

Fixed for you.

I can confirm that the easiest mass production necks to play are certainly Ibanez. So worth try some. The standard gauge on electric guitars is 10~46 (some call it medium or regular), so starting with this gauge or something close on an acoustic guitar is a good start. The Martin strings are really good for the price. Check the M170 set (10~47 which is considered extra light for acoustic guitars). And congratulations for starting playing a new instrument !

Aren't the pickups from Nordstrand ? No need for an upgrade there...