first fretless recommendations?

[Smythe]

Hello people,

Lately I've been looking into getting my first fretless bass and was wondering what people would recommend? I have toyed about with them in some music stores and quite like them . Also, I think a fretless would compliment one of my cover bands for when we do an acoustic set.

I'm not looking to spend a lot as I'm more of a believer in trying a bass before i buy, yet they are few and far between where i'm situated and internet shopping is the best for bargains. this is why i dont want to spend a lot, preferably, no more than £500. The one that's at the top of my list the Squier Jazz Bass Fretless. I have played one of these before and didn't mind it at all for saying Im not the biggest of Fender fans (Yamaha, Lakland and Ibanez are my fave bass brands). I noticed i can snap one of these up under £300 and if its a keeper, i can modify it into hi spec instrument.

Does anyone have any experience with Fender MIM fretless? Ive noticed these are around £550 online which is probably the very maximum i'm looking at spending.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated,

Thanks

Smythe

[Black Coffee]

I had owned a MIM lined fretless jazz and it did exactly what it said on the tin.
I parted company with it for only £285 as it was fast becoming a furniture fixture so I reckon if you persisted in patience you could get something similar on ebay / gumtree maybe. Lot of bass for little money as the demand isnt as high as for fretted versions.
I don't play a lot of fretless so I will not dwell and waffle, I am sure someone else can add plenty to this for you.
Go lined fretless for the first one to find your feet on intonation; that's about the only other thing I would say.

[redstriper]

I like my Squier VMJ fretless very much and I have not felt any need to upgrade it.
The pick ups are good, the build quality fine and it sounds and feels great to me.
I am not impressed by Mex Fender standards and I sold mine in preference for a Squier.

[KiOgon]

I've had & sold a MiM P fretless, it was good enough but not inspiring. Soon after I sold it I developed a need (GAS) for another fretless & spent a long time looking & thinking. I contemplated a new 2012 USA standard Jazz & would vertainly have gone for it if it wasn't for the lack of colour choice - 3TS or Black.

It's been about a year since & I just got offered a bargain basement price Vintage Icon series Jaco fretless. All I've done is clean it up, Lemon oiled the fingerboard & fitted TI Jazz Flats. It has really impressed me, all the mwaaah & tones I imagined at the fraction of the price of a Fender. All of the hardware is Wilkinson, good quality stuff & no problems with the pick ups or electrics, no point in upgrading anything, it's all good, yes I'd say as good as Fender. The 'reliced' or roadworn imitation Jaco doesn't bother me, it's a bit rough IMO, but it's a budget bass! If you want to pay £2,600ish for a Fender signature Jaco I expect the finish is a lot better

I gave a lot of thought to the Squire FL Jazz & TBH the one thing that really put me off is the Ebanol (compressed paper & resin) fingerboard, at least the Vintage is real Rosewood, you can sand it, oil it, varnish/epoxy it if required, you can't do that with the Squire. I also don't rate the pick ups or electrics, so you could easily spend a lot upgrading them.

I would certainly recommend the Vintage from personal experience, leaving a nice bit of change out of your budget.

Cheerz,
John

[redstriper]

I played the Vintage and Squier side by side and I preferred the Squier for tone and feel.
The pick ups sound great, the electrics seem fine and I particularly like the ebanol board.

But that's me and we're all different

[pietruszka]

I was in exactly your position when thinking of dipping my toe in the fretless waters. I was going to buy a fretless cort, but then a friend reminded me that if I like fretless, I'd end up selling that and buying a more expensive one so why not just buy that one?
I did just that, I splashed out and got a second hand sandberg fretless basic and I'm pleased I did! It was only £580 and worth every penny.

If you live in the north east area you're welcome to pop round and have a try to see if you like fretless or not.
Get one, you won't look back!



Dan

[Cygnus x-1]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1354740265' post='1889951']
I've had & sold a MiM P fretless, it was good enough but not inspiring. Soon after I sold it I developed a need (GAS) for another fretless & spent a long time looking & thinking. I contemplated a new 2012 USA standard Jazz & would vertainly have gone for it if it wasn't for the lack of colour choice - 3TS or Black.

It's been about a year since & I just got offered a bargain basement price Vintage Icon series Jaco fretless. All I've done is clean it up, Lemon oiled the fingerboard & fitted TI Jazz Flats. It has really impressed me, all the mwaaah & tones I imagined at the fraction of the price of a Fender. All of the hardware is Wilkinson, good quality stuff & no problems with the pick ups or electrics, no point in upgrading anything, it's all good, yes I'd say as good as Fender. The 'reliced' or roadworn imitation Jaco doesn't bother me, it's a bit rough IMO, but it's a budget bass! If you want to pay £2,600ish for a Fender signature Jaco I expect the finish is a lot better

I gave a lot of thought to the Squire FL Jazz & TBH the one thing that really put me off is the Ebanol (compressed paper & resin) fingerboard, at least the Vintage is real Rosewood, you can sand it, oil it, varnish/epoxy it if required, you can't do that with the Squire. I also don't rate the pick ups or electrics, so you could easily spend a lot upgrading them.

[b]I would certainly recommend the Vintage from personal experience, leaving a nice bit of change out of your budget.[/b]

Cheerz,
John
[/quote]

+1, having owned a VMJ fretless before the Vintage Icon, I put a black scratchplate on my Icon.

[alyctes]

I have a second-hand Yamaha RBX200F I like very much. It cost me about £100.

[mep]

If you can find a 2nd hand Aria Pro 2 fretless then go for it. I really like mine. +1 on going lined to start. Years ago I had a MM Stingray 5 string fretless that was unlined. A beauty but a bit intimidating at first.

[Highfox]

Do you get on with the thinner jazz necks?
I had an old 80's de-fretted MIM Jazz that was a dog, (I bought it unseen) spent a fair bit on upgrades and was never happy with it.
Lots of good tips on here on what basses to look at. I'd actually recommend going for unlined, it's not that much harder to get about on imo, as with any fretless you have to use your ears a lot more when playing.
Get a good one and enjoy it!

[Pinball]

I was lucky enough to be offered a sonically nice Fender P as my first fretless and have not been tempted to look any further. Just make sure its a nice one and if possible try before you buy is my advice.

[muttley]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1354778358' post='1890202']
I'd actually recommend going for unlined, it's not that much harder to get about on imo, as with any fretless you have to use your ears a lot more when playing.
Get a good one and enjoy it!
[/quote]

I would agree with this. With lines, you'll be forever using them as a crutch. Without lines, you will rely on your ears and develop muscle memory. Much better in the long term. If it doesn't work out, you can always get a lined bass later, but at least give it a go first off .

[pietruszka]

[quote name='muttley' timestamp='1354784894' post='1890244']


I would agree with this. With lines, you'll be forever using them as a crutch. Without lines, you will rely on your ears and develop muscle memory. Much better in the long term. If it doesn't work out, you can always get a lined bass later, but at least give it a go first off .
[/quote]
I'd go with that to. I have fun when playing on the fly stuff with the band, you can't tap the next fret to tell them what the chord will be, you don't have any frets or facing markers! Hehehehehe!



Dan

[BigRedX]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the [url=http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/eb_page12.php?area_id=3&data_id=145&color=CL01&year=2012&cat_id=2&series_id=26]Ibanez GWB35[/url]. While a new one is outside the OP's budget a second hand one should be under £500. IMO it easily tumps both the Squier and the Vintage.

I've owned a Squier VMJ and if you like Fender-style basses it's a good instrument for the money. I personally liked the ebanol board both for feel and sound, but I suspect that it won't appeal to all. I've also tried the Vintage and completely hated it. Everyone's different though and the OP should try both (and the Ibanez) for himself before making any decisions.

BTW fretlines don't bother me either way. My main fretless is unlined, my secondary one is lined. The lines are useful for getting your fingers roughly into place, but you still need your ears and muscle-memory to fine tune the notes.

[pobrien_ie]

[quote name='bassman344' timestamp='1354737586' post='1889903']
I had owned a MIM lined fretless jazz and it did exactly what it said on the tin.
I parted company with it for only £285 as it was fast becoming a furniture fixture so I reckon if you persisted in patience you could get something similar on ebay / gumtree maybe. Lot of bass for little money as the demand isnt as high as for fretted versions.
I don't play a lot of fretless so I will not dwell and waffle, I am sure someone else can add plenty to this for you.
Go lined fretless for the first one to find your feet on intonation; that's about the only other thing I would say.
[/quote]

This. I went down the exact same route before I replaced it with an unlined Warwick Corvette, and 6 years later bought the jazz back for a short period. As bassman344 said, it does what it's supposed to and they can be picked up fairly cheaply these days.

[ead]

My first fretless was a Yamaha RBX270 that I bought for very little on evilbay and upgrade once I decided fretless basses were for me. Had it for about 4 years so it must have been OK.

There are often similar things on the 'bay if you want to gamble a bit.

[Smythe]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1354796335' post='1890432']
I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/eb_page12.php?area_id=3&data_id=145&color=CL01&year=2012&cat_id=2&series_id=26"]Ibanez GWB35[/url].[/quote]

Ibanez were one of the first brands i looked at for the fretless, this model came to my attention but the price, one pickup and its aesthetics put me off (It has a look of a metal bass). I know i shouldnt judge a book by its cover.. With the Squier I'm not going to be spending a great whack on it, I have played one and enjoyed it and theres always the possibilty to easily modify if i feel it needs it..

[BigRedX]

I suppose it's all down to taste in the end. Personally I'd take the GWB35 over the Squier VMJ in a heartbeat. I owned a Squier for about 6 months. It was supposed to replace a cheap Wesley Acrylic bass that had been defretted. Even after fitting a new bridge, pre-amp and replacing the pickups I still preferred how the Wesley played and sounded.

[mr zed]

[quote]
With the Squier I'm not going to be spending a great whack on it, I have played one and enjoyed it and theres always the possibilty to easily modify if i feel it needs it..
[/quote]

Sounds like you've already made your mind up. Go for the Squier - it's a great bass for the money and you won't lose a Kings Ransom if you find that fretless isn't for you. They always seem to be in demand on the secondhand market. Even better, buy a good second hand one and if you decide to sell, you probably get back what you paid for it - the chance to try it out for free

Edited December 9, 2012 by mr zed

[KiOgon]

[quote name='Smythe' timestamp='1354735945' post='1889865']
I noticed i can snap one of these up under £300 and if its a keeper, i can modify it into hi spec instrument.

Smythe
[/quote]

If you want a 'hi spec instrument' buy one in the first place 2nd hand with your budget you'll get a lot higher spec than a Squier will ever be.

If you buy a Squier & throw money at it, it'll be a Squier you've spent money on, not a 'hi spec instrument'

You can't polish a turd - but you can roll it in glitter

[Wooks79]

[quote name='redstriper' timestamp='1354737982' post='1889911']
I like my Squier VMJ fretless very much and I have not felt any need to upgrade it.
The pick ups are good, the build quality fine and it sounds and feels great to me.
[/quote]

This is my experience of fretless, can't imagine I would ever need a different fretless for the amount I expect to play on one.

[wal4string]

Out of your price range I know, but, I bought an unlined fretless MM stingray 4 earlier this year. Being the kinda guy who likes to walk before I can run I replaced the neck with a Status Graphite lined fretless. Then traded the original neck for a fretted one, best of both worlds and within half an hour I could swap necks depending what I needed. Both necks work well and the Status neck is a dream to play and far better than the original . However I have now Descided to sell the bass and would be willing to sell with both necks for £900.00. To buy a replacement EB neck from Status would cost £286.00, however neck comes as a solid piece which means holes need to be drilled for the tuners, plus a set of original EB tuners are not cheap at around £100.00 a set. Hipshot D-Tuner and Stingray hard case included.

[Smythe]

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1354980439' post='1892587']
If you want a 'hi spec instrument' buy one in the first place 2nd hand with your budget you'll get a lot higher spec than a Squier will ever be.

If you buy a Squier & throw money at it, it'll be a Squier you've spent money on, not a 'hi spec instrument'

You can't polish a turd - but you can roll it in glitter
[/quote]

Whenever Ive played a Squier Ive always felt they were comfortable to play. To me, much more playable than Fenders, which i cant get comfortable with at all which is a shame as i like their tone, just dont like playing them, Warwick and Alembic are the same.

Edited December 8, 2012 by Smythe

[mentalextra]

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1354751497' post='1890130']
I have a second-hand Yamaha RBX200F I like very much. It cost me about £100.
[/quote]

I got one off gumtree for £20 because the guy had "spun" a pot. Very underrated instruments, which makes them a bargain. I would be interested in a more upmarket Yamaha!

[Smythe]

I really like yamaha basses, they are amngst the most playable i have tried. I have a Yamaha TRB1005J and its the best 5 string ive ever played. Its a shame they dont pay more attention to electronics they would be the complete bass brand otherwise...