lownote Posted November 2, 2019 Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) I am attracted by Gary Willis's signature Ibanez fretless. That's because I KNOW if I buy one I'll instantly play as good as him. But also because I've a soft spot for blond natural wood bodies with black fittings. But I can't afford over a grand. Anyone with deep bass knowledge able to recommend a cheaper bass that does much the same job? I thought I knew the market pretty well but can't think of anything meself. The Cort Artisan B4 FL perhaps, but I've burned my fingers on Cort before... Edited November 2, 2019 by lownote12 Quote
OliverBlackman Posted November 2, 2019 Posted November 2, 2019 Get one of the used black ones on eBay at half the price and sand off the finish? Quote
ezbass Posted November 2, 2019 Posted November 2, 2019 6 hours ago, OliverBlackman said: Get one of the used black ones on eBay at half the price and sand off the finish? That’s what I did. The basswood underneath wasn’t great, but it wasn’t too bad either. Required lots and lots of sanding though. Quote
Hellzero Posted November 2, 2019 Posted November 2, 2019 It also has a narrow strings spacing, 16.5 mm, IIRC. This could be a problem, just like the machine heads which are a bit odd. I've been playing an early Cort B4 FL as a semi-pro for a few years (oops, just realised it was 20 years ago), and it was a really good bass. I alway got compliments about the sound I had, and sometimes on my playing. 😁 1 Quote
lownote Posted November 2, 2019 Author Posted November 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Hellzero said: I've been playing an early Cort B4 FL as a semi-pro for a few years (oops, just realised it was 20 years ago), and it was a really good bass. I alway got compliments about the sound I had, and sometimes on my playing. 😁 Thanks Hell0, that's worth knowing. Maybe I should get a Cort B4FL. It's just I do like a B string... Quote
Jazzjames Posted November 4, 2019 Posted November 4, 2019 B stock Gary Willis signature, if that price is a little better? https://m.thomann.de/intl/ibanez_gwb205_ntf_gary_willis_b_stock.htm?i11l=en_GB%3ADE.EUR%3AEUR Back in the day I got some basses defretted at the Gallery in Camden and Martin did a fantastic job. If you find a bass that has frets, but you wish it didn’t, I can recommend it. It wasn’t expensive, either. Quote
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