Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass Fretless Electric Bass Guitar - Opinions?

[wishface]

Is this a worthwhile guitar as a fretless?

They are sold with roundwound strings on an ebonol fingerboard. Is that wise? Will the roundwounds eat up the neck regardless? Flatwounds are nearly impossible to find and frankly I'd rather not bother with the expense if that's whats required.

Thanks

[sprocketflup]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1392544724' post='2369789']
Flatwounds are nearly impossible to find [/quote]

Really? Didn't know that.

[HowieBass]

Plenty of places to buy flatwounds from online and I can recommend Fender. They will sound different to roundwounds. The Ebonol board will mark a little from using roundwounds but will withstand wear much better than say rosewood and maybe better than ebony. Jaco had an epoxy coated rosewood fingerboard so it probably had a surface not unlike Ebonol. Jaco used roundwounds.

[miles'tone]

A while back I went out shopping for one of these and came home with a Vintage Icon "Jaco" fretless J. Nice rosewood fingerboard and the pickups and hardware were better than the Squier imo, felt a better quality instrument all round really.
Twas a bit cheaper than the Squier too.

[steve-bbb]

defniitely so

i bought a fretless vmJ on here - the neck was fairly marked from roundwounds so i rubbed it down to remove the marks and changed it from a high gloss ebonol finish to a nice semi-matt which has more of the lustre of a piece of wood and looks more natural imho

see earlier threads [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/215668-ebonol-neck-cleaning-marks-off/page__p__2190999__hl__ebonol__fromsearch__1#entry2190999"]here[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/203305-roundwound-scratches-on-fretless-ebonol"]here[/url]



the ebonol will mark with roundwounds but then so will rosewood - i think with the ebonol also it is down very much to your playing style - if you play fairly heavy with a pick then it will probably end up marking noticeably - if you play with fingers possibly less so - ive restrung mine with roundwound swingbass and no problems at all, some minor cosmetic marks on the neck but no deep gouges from the strings but then i am not a 'heavy' player and have a rather minimal/economical style so pressure is less of an issue - one thing that is a big no no with the ebonol is never bend the string as you would on a fretted bass or guitar, that will make a significant mark in the neck

also with the vmJ, i did try it with some black nylon flats to see how it would sound, the result was hardly any output! was very weak. as soon as i put some roundwounds on it began to sing beautifully, the seymour designed pups are quite big and have a failry meaty output for passive and respond very well to roundwounds and it produces this sort of tone quite nicely ...

[media]http://youtu.be/9H1ydlD4mQ0[/media]

Edited February 16, 2014 by steve-bbb

[iconic]

excellent bass, enjoy

[wishface]

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1392545326' post='2369798']
A while back I went out shopping for one of these and came home with a Vintage Icon "Jaco" fretless J. Nice rosewood fingerboard and the pickups and hardware were better than the Squier imo, felt a better quality instrument all round really.
Twas a bit cheaper than the Squier too.
[/quote]I have never seen those on sale, i wouldn't buy one online without being able to try it first.

[wishface]

I have heard even with roundwounds the neck should last many years without requiring attention (cosmetic preferences aside).

[dannybuoy]

I recommend the Status half-rounds for fretless, smooth as flats but with a bit more bite to them, cheap too!

[wishface]

The Squier in PMT Bristol has some wear as a display model to the freboard. I think I should ask for a discount.

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1392544724' post='2369789']
Is this a worthwhile guitar as a fretless?

They are sold with roundwound strings on an ebonol fingerboard. Is that wise? Will the roundwounds eat up the neck regardless? Flatwounds are nearly impossible to find and frankly I'd rather not bother with the expense if that's whats required.
[/quote]

It is a great bass. I didn't want a fretless but was wandering round Wunjo, was offered a play on it and bought it, I love it.
I played for quite a long time with roundwounds, but I fancied trying flats for a more japan sort of sound, even though a lot of people were saying not to.
I picked up some DR-Chromes off ebay as some said they were good (very easy to find flatwounds, I can get them in my local store, but didn't want the fender ones), and I do prefer them. Having said that it was still a good bass with roundwounds.
Yes, it did put small marks on the fingerboard, but I didn't really see that as much of a problem.

[wishface]

Why would they say not to? I thought flatwounds were the preference for fretless because they don't eat up the neck?

Some people have told me some models have a problem with raised frets/fretlines.

Edited February 16, 2014 by wishface

[Woodinblack]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1392564769' post='2370054']
Why would they say not to? I thought flatwounds were the preference for fretless because they don't eat up the neck?
[/quote]

I was told flatwounds sounded dull and lifeless and you wouldn't get a decent sound out of a bass without roundwounds.

Turns out this was wrong, it sounds pretty nice to me.

[wishface]

I've decided against this guitar. I've tried a couple now and in the final analysis, the neck is too wide for me. On both guitars there have been a couple of dead spots on the G string. It might be best to save up and get something even better.

[SlapbassSteve]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1392652160' post='2371079']
I've decided against this guitar. I've tried a couple now and in the final analysis, the neck is too wide for me. On both guitars there have been a couple of dead spots on the G string. It might be best to save up and get something even better.
[/quote]

Better... ...or, dare I suggest it, cheaper?

http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_jb_40fl_sb.htm


There's a lot of love for Harley Benton stuff on here, and for a £108 bass it's nice to know the Wilkinson hardware alone on this would cost around £50-60 bought separately. For me the biggest problem with the Squier is the [s]plastic[/s] sorry, [i]ebanol [/i]fretboard, which to me lacks a lot of warmth and sounds a bit too 'snappy'. This bass would have comparable quality, an almost identical look if you dig the jaco thing, and would feel so much better to play and sound more like the real deal. Can't comment on neck width though as I've not tried the HB yet.


Far as flats go, it's a sound preference thing. I personally love the sound of rounds on a fretless and don't mind buffing the neck once in a while if it means getting the sound I like from it

[iconic]

[quote name='wishface' timestamp='1392652160' post='2371079']
I've decided against this guitar. I've tried a couple now and in the final analysis, the neck is too wide for me. On both guitars there have been a couple of dead spots on the G string. It might be dbest to save up and get something even better.
[/quote]

the necks on the vmjf are jazz width and quite shallow....if you need even thinner you may want to look for a geddy lee but i dont know if fretless are available?

[paul_5]

Surely [i]every[/i] bass is available as fretless…
[URL=http://s1221.photobucket.com/user/paul_510/media/745_prev_zps639aab57.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd471/paul_510/745_prev_zps639aab57.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[tom1946]

hahaha

[alyctes]

I had a VMJFL. It was fine, good value for the money, though mine had been fitted with a Badass II bridge which was definitely better than the BBOT.

The Harley Benton modern-style fretless I had before the Squier was not so good, but still worth having. It had a fretted-style nut, though I was too dim to understand why that was a problem till after I'd flogged it...

[WinterMute]

I had the same VMJ, put a Gotoh bridge and some wizard 84's on it and it sounded great, sold it here a while back.

The neck did mark up a bit with round wounds, (I use Swing Bass) but didn't seem to groove at all, just got a bit marked.

Very good bass for the money.

[Annoying Twit]

I played one of these, and I am now convinced by the ebanol fretboard. I thought it felt really nice.

[Telebass]

I have a VM Fretless Precision. Great bass. Don't use it much, though. The neck is so nice, I might just get it fretted!

[AttitudeCastle]

This thread is giving me mad GAS! I really want a jazz with a P neck, and a fretless to match.

Must. Resist. Need. New. Amp. And. Food.

[brensabre79]

Squaier VM range are great value IMO.

And on the subject of Ebanol, a number of high end fretless basses have ebanol fingerboards as standard because of its consistent sound and sustainability. So whilst technically it [i]is[/i] a plastic of sorts, it should not be considered inferior - just different.

@AttitudeCastle, I prefer a P with a Jazz neck, you see where I'm going here.... Sadly i must also resist as i just spunked the holiday fund on a Lakland D'oh!

[BigRedX]

I had a VMJ Fretless for a few months. If you get on with Fender-shaped basses it's no better or worse then any others and I actually thought it was much better than the similar Vintage branded fretless J bass. I couldn't get on with the overall shape design and balance of mine, so it eventually got sold and I bought a Pedulla Buzz instead.

However IMO the ebanol fingerboard is one of the better things about the Squier. IMO you should pick the strings to use on a fretless based on the sound you want, not because you think they might damage the bass. Round wound, half round, flat wound and tape wound strings all sound different (and more so on a fretless bass IME) and are not substitutes for each other. Besides IME any fingerboard damage is typically done by using the wrong kind of vibrato (side to side instead of along the string).

Edited May 6, 2014 by BigRedX