Jerry_B

Surely part of Jac's sound is the Jazz bass, and (IIRC) the predominance of bridge pickup use? One wonders if he'd get the same sound from a fretless Precision...

It depends on what I'm playing and what's needed. I tend to prefer using a plectrum, but with my fretless I sometimes go over to playing it with my fingers if the need arises (which is once in a while).

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1301400' date='Jul 12 2011, 06:31 PM']He should listen to some bauhaus / love & rockets - David J has his own sound.[/quote] True. He inspired to have a go at playing a fretless. As did Glenn Campling.

Are you going to replace the nut, or file it down a bit?

I'd never even heard of Jaco til I started visiting this forum, this despite playing a fretless on and off for 20 years. Sounds to me like Jeff hasn't listened to enough fretless players outside of jazz circles...

I bought some Pyramid Golds from someone here. The sleeves they came in had 'Made in West Germany' printed on them. They worked just fine

I tried some ER20s for the first time this week at a practice. Very good! I could still pick out enough from the general loudness of what's being played to be able to do my job as a bass player, and they were still comfortable after several hours of use. Yes, the little stalk things are funny, but I don't really care about anyone who wants to stare at my ears during a gig. My good looks/ugliness should be enough of a distraction

[quote name='henry norton' post='1287327' date='Jun 30 2011, 09:14 AM']The review on BGM a couple of months ago was very good. It's difficult to find a double cutaway, semi solid, short scale bass anywhere this side of some nasty, cheap fleabay offerings or having to go for a used Starfire/Rivoli/EB-2.[/quote] There's [url="http://www.dipintoguitars.com/product.php?id=11"]DiPinto basses[/url], although they're not double cutaway. The Hagstroms look great - just a shame they're short-scale.

It'd be interesting to see which is more popular too - lined or unlined (unlined for me)...?

[quote name='Wil' post='1286413' date='Jun 29 2011, 01:51 PM']I wouldn't use a fretless in my band either, as much as I like them. For fast rock/punk the attack of the note on a fretted bass just fits better IMO. I've tried with both a fretless Warwick in an indie rock band years ago, and a fretless P more recently, and it detracted more than it added to the sound.[/quote] Well, it depends. Did you try some compression or overdrive? Did you use a plectrum? I ask as you can still get some nice attack out of a fretless without too much hassle.

I'd go for Wizard Thumpers if I had a fretless Precision.

Fretless is the only bass I play nowadays, predominantly played with a plectrum. I use it for the band I'm in and it's my first 'go to' option, despite having a couple of other nice fretted basses. I have a fretless Jazz, but am thinking of seeing if I can fit the neck onto an LTD Vintage-204 P/J, just to compare and contrast

[quote name='tom1946' post='1284417' date='Jun 27 2011, 05:59 PM']I have a white Retrovibe that looks like an Aerodyne, obscene output for the money and very easy to play.[/quote] I don't think RV sells them any more tho'? They seemed like a nice bit of kit.

I wonder if the GT suffers from neck dive - the DX does, which is it's only vice.

I bet that sounds great! Those chunky pickups in certain Westones are really good. Nice to see one in that colour - I think my Spectrum DX was the same originally, but I've not seen photos of one.

I use flats on mine too. I sometimes wonder whether the bass was designed more for finger rather than plectrum playing. As I favour the latter, the BB414 can sound very full-on. That's okay for some situations, but not others. But maybe that's because I've never been sold on it's tone control, which doesn't seem very smooth in it's transitions. That said, it's still one of the better cheap basses. The fit and finish and overall build quality is very very good indeed.

Maybe it depends on whether you play with fingers or a plectrum. With the latter (as is the case with me 80% of the time), the tone control is useful for taking of a certain amount of edge from the overall tone. The reason I like P/J or Jazz basses is because you can also use the bridge pup to work with this. It gives you some nice options about how much contrast is in the tone in terms of sharpness.

[quote name='dc2009' post='1280983' date='Jun 24 2011, 01:47 PM']Yamaha's are solid but IMO the sound is always a bit flat and weak, [...][/quote] Really? I'd say the 'problem' (if you can call it that) I have with my BB414 is that the pickups are very hot and quite barky. I have to tame it down tone-wise a little to control it In general I'd say the BB414 is probably one of the better made, cheaper basses. Squiers are okay if you get a good one but the fit and finish of the BB414 is [i]waaaaay[/i] ahead of them IMHO.

[quote name='BottomE' post='1280121' date='Jun 23 2011, 08:32 PM']I think you nailed it. The dots on the neck of the fretless are placed where the fret would be. On my other basses they are in the centre. Amazing what a difference in perception that makes.[/quote] Yep! I've not played a lined fretless for many years, so I dunno if they still have the dots on the top of the neck in the same place as a fretted bass. The whole dots thing can be a bit confusing when you go over to playing an unlined fretless but are trying to use some of the same visual clues.

That must be one of the ugliest things I've ever seen...

Buy a fretless neck and put it on a bass that you already have and like. Doesn't take much to swap 'em around - mind you, it's not really an on-stage option...

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1280005' date='Jun 23 2011, 06:59 PM']One of my Tele's came with a satin finish, but a fair bit of playing made it go glossy fast. Also found the same if polishing new gun-stocks with WD40.[/quote] Yeah, but I like the amber tones of a glossy bass neck. My fretless Fender Jazz has one and I've always like the look of it That pale look of many modern necks just isn't my cup of tea, unless the headstock is painted.

[quote name='BottomE' post='1280077' date='Jun 23 2011, 08:07 PM']Thanks chaps. It has dots on top of the neck in the usual places but i never realised i was so reliant on the fret markers on the fingerboard If "someone" wanted to put temporary fret markers on the fingerboard how would they do it?[/quote] It can be a bit confusing as those dots on some fretless basses are on the place where the fret would be - on others, it's in the middle of the fret (if frets were there). Stick with it though. It will get easier. After a while you get used to the dots. And after a while after that, your fingers and brain sync up and you'll wonder why you found it so tricky to start with