Jerry_B

I've owned a Spectrum DX since 1988. They're very solidly built and I very much like the pickup it has - it sounds marvellous! That said, they do tend to suffer from neck dive, so you'd have to take a chance with that.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1330363106' post='1556264'] You should only replace the bridge for cosmetic reasons. Any other differences will be imaginary. IMHO. [/quote] True. Mind you, brass can look nice.

Nice find!

If all goes to plan...

'Skinny Sweaty Man' - RHCP Or this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78ZVbw74OhU[/media] Although you may be a bit knackered after that one...

And it's being sold from 'Disneyland, USA'...

Instead of cola I use baking soda with white vinegar added to it. Leave it to soak for 2 days or so. Works like a charm, especially so if you scrub the bridge etc that's been in the solution with an old toothbrush. I've found that cola doesn't always nab bits where there may be dead skin, small amounts of rust, etc (i.e. crud) build-up, whereas the baking soda-white vinegar treatment does, especially if things are scrubbed afterwards.

Yeah, if you get one of KiOgon's, it's extremely easy to fit! I have 3 in different basses and they're great bits of kit and John's very nice to deal with. I'd echo what people say about bridges - keep the one you've got. The hi-mass ones don't make any difference. I'm having to use one at the moment as a stand-in and it makes absolutely no difference to tone, sustain, etc.. Save your money!

[quote name='Jigster' timestamp='1329813434' post='1547622'] hi guys has been an interesting read - i see the issue totally with the UNlined camp, but still unsure as to my natural abilities to intonate without lines - with an unlimited budget i'd go the unlined route and give it a shot. we'll see [/quote] Cool. From the get-go, don't get too obsessive about absolutely spot-on intonation. It tends to cramp the learning processes, IMHO. Just relax into it and slowly let your brain go into a slightly different bass playing gear After a while, it will satrt to feel like a natural way of thinking about playing, and then after that you don't really think about it at all and it boils down to feel, hearing, and muscle memory.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1329773240' post='1547216'] To me, this is exactly why lines make it easier. Playing a fretted bass, you can get away without perfect fingering without affecting the pitch. The lines on a lined fretless tell you exactly where to put your finger for correct intonation; you just have to get used to pitting your finger ON the line instead of behind it. I found, when I first picked up a fretless, that a root/octave stretch felt a bit further because you have to be right on the note. I really don't think that having a lined fretless has any detrimental effect on your technique. As I said before, you don't HAVE to look at the fretboard, and once you get used to a fretless you almost certainly won't very often, but it just might help you out to start with and help develop a more accurate muscle memory. [/quote] All true, of course. The point is really that the OP seemed somewhat daunted by the concept of an unlined fretless. Myself and others have tried in our own way to point out that going down the unlined route isn't at all tricky. Technique and trying to get absolute perfect pitch is a slightly different matter, as there may be a whole raft of seperate opinion about that WRT playing a fretless

It's just people expressing their personal preference and advice, remember - no need to take it the wrong way

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1329743517' post='1546558'] There's a lot of snobbery over the whole lined fretless thing - some people seem to think it's not a "real" fretless if it's got lines or you're cheating, or other such tedious bollocks. Go with whatever you're comfortable with. [/quote] Yep, definitely (to both points). But I think there's also a valid point to saying 'Don't worry about playing a lined one', which was a concern of the OP.

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1329741356' post='1546513'] Fret lines make a big difference to me as someone who looks at what their playing - check out Jaco on youtube and you will see he spends most of his time peering at his lined fingerboard. If you don't look, or if you are blind it makes no difference, but if you use your eyes, why not have the lines? I disagree with the stabiliser analogy and I don't see how fret lines can be misleading or distracting, particularly if you are used to a fretted bass. I've never heard of anyone selling a lined fretless bass in favour of an unlined one because they found it distracting. [/quote] It depends on whether your natural playing style is to play in the middle of a fret when playing a fretted bass. If you do that with a lined fretless, you may have problems. It's actually easier to have no lines and use the dot markers on the top of the neck telling you where the important 'frets' lie. That way you don't have to look over your bass neck slightly when playing. You just look at the dots, if you need to. I'm saying this simply because people can tend to have a certain amount of trepidation at the thought of no lines, which is undeserved. It can also tend to make you a bit anxious about playing to start with, which doesn't help. And from personal I tend to think it's a better exercise to chuck yourself in at the deep end and go for it. I started playing an unlined fretless about a year after I started playing bass, just to see if it was doable. It was. If I try to play lined fretlesses nowadays, it seems like too much hard work

[quote name='Jigster' timestamp='1329685457' post='1545993'] interesting advice on the lines guys - i guess it seems a little daunting to go from no frets to nothing!! Unsure about the whole intonating issue without some sort of assistance [/quote] A lined one won't really be any easier. Unlined, you have the dots on the important frets, which is all you have to remember. If you can play a fretted bass without having to look at it all of the time when playing, you should be able to get the hang of having no lines. IMHO lines just get in the way, and - as has been pointed out - once you get to grips with the concept they'll become irrelevant. Misleading/distracting even. Then you'd have to go out and buy and unlined and have to sell off the lined one

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1329666455' post='1545525'] Wow that is a really nice looking fretless. I love the Jazz too by the way I have a Jazz fretless and a fretted one too! I still have not even played a P yet. If they look as good as yours then I may do yet! Can you post a recording? [/quote] Cheers :-D I don't have anything to record with, unfortunately. If you've heard a Pbass with an 'Original' series pup in it, that'd give you a fairly good idea. Just mix in a dose of mahogany-based warmth. That makes a difference, compared to the rosewood of my Jazz and the laquered maple of my Maya. Not huge amounts, but it's there nonetheless.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1329662921' post='1545470'] Lovely job. I've been contemplating doing something like this for some time now. Need to check funds first & maybe buy a bit at a time. [/quote] Yeah, I went down the piecemeal route. I couldn't afford to buy everything at once. The only annoying part of the whole process was to have tiny bits be wrong just when everything seemed to be all ready to go ;-) I imagine that I'll still want to tweak it once in a while as I wear it in, but for now it all seems fine and was definitely worth doing.

Well, I bit the bullet again and put on the Chromes last night (they're ECB81s - .045 to .100). Depsite forgetting that when they're new they're very zingy and a bit inflexible, after a few hours playing that settled in. Playing the bass for a few hours solid has convinced me totally that this is just the right bass for me. Compared to my other fretlesses, it's just ticking more boxes. The Maya's very nice, but maybe not as solid all round in terms of tone because of the maple fingerboard. The Jazz is maybe a little slicker as it has such a skinny shallow neck profile, but try as I might I can't really buy into the Jazz tone. It just seems a little reedy compared to the chunkiness of a Pbass. Anyway, pretty much all good so far then! When the proper scratchplate turns up I'm going to see if I can put a shim down the side of the neck pocket, as the neck is still slightly skewed. This doesn't effect tone or playability but I just like things to be 'just so'

Yep, Peavey seems to be the better bet, in general. They're so solidly built that they should stand up to whatever gets (perhaps literally) thrown at them.

Not 300W (it's 200), but maybe worth a look... [url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-MB115-Combo~ID~13155.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-MB115-Combo~ID~13155.asp[/url]

Cheers chaps! Once it's finally all done and dusted I''ll post some better pics. Having played it for another hour or so, it's definitely growing on me! It just feels like a very solid bass. The only other one I have that feels like that is my T-40 ;-)

Here it is alongside my other fretlesses. What's it like to play? Seems pretty marvellous so far, even with some old strings. The neck is just perfect! The ebony fingerboard really gives a nice flavour to the tone. Overall, the bass isn't heavy and is easy to play. The neck seems pretty fast. I put in a slight amount of relief and there are no dead spots. All the electrics seem fine, so I don't think I'll need to add any extra shielding bar some on the back of the scratchplate. Once the new scratchplate turns up and goes on, I'll put on the Chromes and give the bass a proper test run I'm going to be gigging with it so I need to make sure is stands up to prolonged playing.

Here's how it all looks once it's together. Tasty, I reckon ;-) That said, the scratchplate is just a stand-in for now until the MIM one turns up. The fit isn't ideal. The strings are some LaBellas, also a stand-in - D'Addario Chromes of a slightly lower guage will be going on in time.

Sooo... well, I decided to bite bullet and work around the current batch of problems (i.e. waiting for the last bits to arrive in the post). I've also decided to put on a hi-mass Gotoh-like bridge (this comes from an ESP P/J I have in bits). Here's some pics of me setting up the bridge area, a shot of the bridge in place with the KiOgon Industries wiring kit on board (note the PIO cap), and then a shot of the whole lot waiting for other bits to get attached (strings, knobs, etc).

I have a MIJ fretless Jazz, a Maya fretless Precision, and a Squier P/J. I'm also building a FrankenFender fretless Precision at the mo'.

I wouldn't worry about tiny cosmetic quibbles such as that gap between the neck heel and the scratchplate. No-one will be able to tell!