5 strings & fretlesses

[Count Bassy]

I had a bass for about 30 years, but have only been playing seriously for about the last two years. The thing is that I've always played a four string fretted instrument, and mostly a 32".

In my lesson a couple of weeks ago my teacher said, 'here. have a go on that', and handed me a 5 string stingray that he'd just bought. 'sh*t' I thought, that extra string is really going to throw me, the only time I'd tried 5 strings before was in a shop, at a time when I used to sweat like a pig if I thought anyone could hear me! It was a bit confusing a first, but, lo and behold, after a minute or two I was loving it. I ended up playing mostly in E playing up around the 5th fret, across the BEAD strings, with only the occasional foray to the G string, and only dropping below the 5th fet to get the extra 5 notes. It was really nice to be in E and still being able to drop below it, and nice to know that you had a two octave range almost within the span of your hand!

Rapid foward one week to my next lesson:

' Here try this' he says passing me another 5 string.

Had a quick jam around in E again, and when finished I said that it played really nicely, and had quite a different tone, and that the action was nice and low. I then looked my glasses off too look more closely and then, and only then, realised that I'd been playing a fretless. It was a lined fretless, with golden coloured lines, and what with that and the state of my eyes (and, it would seem, my ears) I had not noticed what I was playing!


Perhaps I'm old fashioned, but I'd always thought of myself as a died in the wool 4 string fretted man, but I now find myself GASing after a 5 string fretless (and its my birthday soon).

So the thing is, and what I'm leading up to is, I'm now looking for a five string fretless of some sort, and am looking for any suggestions.

I suspect that I'm looking for a lined one (one step at a time eh?), and I accept that its likely to be a 34". The one I tried had a musicman style pick up, and I've got to say that it sounded good, but I'm flexible on that.

I don't want to spend too much as A: I may decide that it's not for me after all and B: My standard of playing doesn't justify spending too much. I guess I could probably justify up to about £300 (i.e. 4 tanks of diesel).

So any ideas anyone?


Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

(oh dear I seem to have rambled on a bit - Again!)

Edited April 29, 2008 by Clive Thorne

[Mikey D]

As always, I would say the best value for money and sounding fretless 5 is the Ibanez GWB35.

A bit more than what you are looking for, but worth it.

[queenofthedepths]

[quote name='Mikey D' post='188340' date='Apr 29 2008, 07:19 PM']As always, I would say the best value for money and sounding fretless 5 is the Ibanez GWB35.

A bit more than what you are looking for, but worth it.[/quote]
+1 I was just about to say that myself!

[ironside1966]

Try a
Squier deluxe Jazz 5 string active bass
i have had mine for a few weeks, still very happy, alot of bass for little money

[BigRedX]

+1 on the GW35

[Galilee]

I played 4 string for about 20 years before I tried a 5, and now I wouldn't even look at a 4.

I still be scared of a 6 though....

[Mottlefeeder]

The Warwick wood sound is one most people either love or hate. However, the cheaper Rockbass series have a couple of fretless 5-stringers, and are conventional alder/maple/rosewood. They might be worth a look.

I think there is also a 5-string fretless Dean and an Aria in, or close to, your price range.

Another alternative that might be worth considering is to abandon the G-string and buy a 4-string fretless, tuned BEAD. That would give you more choice, and higher quality for the amount you want to spend.

[Count Bassy]

Thanks for your thoughts people.

The GBW35 looks like a good one, although at £508 from Thomann somewhat more than I was hoping. Anyone out there got one of these taht they don't want to keep??? (well you've got to ask). I'd quite lke the 16.5mm string spacing as well! I've only got small hands, so if that makes the neck narrow then so much the better.

The only squier jazz fives I can find on the net seem to be fretted - if there is a fretless one then thats got to be a strong contender.

I've looked at the Warwick fretless rock basses on Thomann, It doesn't say specifically in the description, but from the photos most of them seem to be unlined (except one which does appear to be lined, but the description is identical to the others). I've never played any form of Warwick, so I've no idea if i'd like them or not.


I have found, on the web, a Dean edge fretless fiver with lines, thats about £400, so probably also worthy of consideration. Am I right in thinking that Deans have a variable reputation?


Still looking into the Aria's




Looks like a trip to the shops in the offing!


Keep the ideas coming if you can think of any others.

Thanks.

[queenofthedepths]

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='188852' date='Apr 30 2008, 02:40 PM']The GBW35 looks like a good one, although at £508 from Thomann somewhat more than I was hoping. Anyone out there got one of these taht they don't want to keep??? (well you've got to ask)[/quote]
If you can find me a delicious replacement for not too much more than you're willing to pay me, I may be tempted :brow: :brow: :brow: Or did I just want an excuse to use that emoticon? Another suggestion worth considering is first of all getting a 5-string similar to your favourite bass and playing that for a while so you're certain it's a 5er you want and then get it de-fretted! When I first wanted to properly try fretless I basically did that

[3V17C]

heres a GWB for much cheaper than the Thomann price

[url="http://www.chamberlainmusic.com/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=GWB35"]http://www.chamberlainmusic.com/ProductDet...ProductID=GWB35[/url]

have seen them a few other places for nearer the £400 mark too, just takes a bit of rummaging around on google

peace

c

Edited April 30, 2008 by 3V17C

[Mikey D]

They come up on ebay quite frequently aswell, for a lot less. Maybe worth waiting and keeping an eye out.

[BigRedX]

Don't buy a Warwick without trying it first and preferably trying the actual one you're going to buy, they're probably the ultimate 'marmite' bass.

I wasn't that impressed by the Dean fretless - for me the GW35 was a much better bass.

[Count Bassy]

Thanks for that link 3V17C (are you related to R2D2?). Thats a much better price, although still beyond my original target. I'll have to get to try one out, and see if I can re adjust my idea of what I want to afford!

[Hit&Run]

[quote name='Clive Thorne' post='188852' date='Apr 30 2008, 02:40 PM']Am I right in thinking that Deans have a variable reputation?[/quote]
I've got a dean 5 string and it's really good. It's probably made in the same factory as most of the other far eastern basses. The 5 string Deans do have a 35" scale, which you may or may not want, given your familiarity with short scale basses. The electronics are alright as well for the price.


[quote name='BigRedX' post='188884' date='Apr 30 2008, 03:10 PM']I wasn't that impressed by the Dean fretless - for me the GW35 was a much better bass.[/quote]Am I the only person that think dean make alright basses? I suppose 'try before you buy' springs to mind, irrespective of which marque you go for.

On the subject of the squier active 5, you might be able to buy one and get it defretted for around the £300 mark, so that may be worth considering. The fact it doesn't have any fretboard position dots screams "defret me".

[BigRedX]

In many ways what bassists look for a fretless bass is even more personal than in a fretted one, especially since there's far fewer of them about. When I was originally looking for a cheap fretless to try out I tried every single bass I could get my hands on. While 5-string for me wasn't a requirement, it wasn't a put off either. The Dean was OK, but the GW35 was a significantly better bass IMO and worth far more than the price difference between the two. At the time, I ended up with a Squier VMJ because 5-strings weren't essential for me, but had they been it would have been the GW35.

[Kiwi]

[quote name='Mikey D' post='188340' date='Apr 29 2008, 07:19 PM']As always, I would say the best value for money and sounding fretless 5 is the Ibanez GWB35.[/quote]
It would be interesting to let you have a go on my [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/pedullapentabuzz.htm"]Pentabuzz[/url] sometime and see if you still hold that opinion , however even a used PB is a little out of the quoted budget. Still excellent value if you can snag one for less than £800.

I would agree with BigRedx, the construction and I would add that design of a fretless is even more critical because a good fretless sound relies that much more heavily on sustain and good, rigid construction.

[Mikey D]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='189132' date='Apr 30 2008, 07:14 PM']It would be interesting to let you have a go on my [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/pedullapentabuzz.htm"]Pentabuzz[/url] sometime and see if you still hold that opinion , however even a used PB is a little out of the quoted budget. Still excellent value if you can snag one for less than £800.

I would agree with BigRedx, the construction and I would add that design of a fretless is even more critical because a good fretless sound relies that much more heavily on sustain and good, rigid construction.[/quote]

I would love to, that bass (but in an ocean blue i think) was the bass I wanted most when I first started learning. To this day I still haven't played one.

[Funkydunc]

+1 for the Dean.
I have the Dean Edge 5 fretless which I got new a couple of years back for £275.
For the money you cant go wrong. Its better than the Yamaha RBX and Aria I had before
D
PS check the pic in my avatar

Edited May 7, 2008 by Funkydunc