police squad Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Unlined for me, looks way cooler because it looks different. A lined fretless looks fretted I have 3 at the moment The natural P-bass is a jap fender that I found for sale in Essex in 2009 for £500. It was mint (it's not now, its done quite a few gigs) The red one is a Bravewood body (alder) cheap EY guitar parts neck. It's awesome Ibanez MC940. Lovely it is. mwah to die for 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 4 minutes ago, chris_b said: Jaco ruined fretless for me. I was getting on just fine with my self de-fretted bass, then Jaco came along and showed what fretless could really do and moved the whole game so far out of my reach that I had to go back to frets!! Ah, the trick is to not try an imitate Jaco, something I find really easy to achieve! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 9 minutes ago, police squad said: Unlined for me, looks way cooler because it looks different. A lined fretless looks fretted I have 3 at the moment The natural P-bass is a jap fender that I found for sale in Essex in 2009 for £500. It was mint (it's not now, its done quite a few gigs) The red one is a Bravewood body (alder) cheap EY guitar parts neck. It's awesome Ibanez MC940. Lovely it is. mwah to die for The natural P with the maple board does look cool! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Boodang said: The natural P with the maple board does look cool! its a really good quality bass, as you would expect from Fender Japan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knirirr Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 4 hours ago, BlueMoon said: I have agree that the choice of unlined fretless basses from the more common manufacturers is quite limited. I grabbed a MIJ jazz from the early 90s. Inexpensive and plays nicely. I really wanted one in the 90s but couldn't find any at the time. Now I have one at last; nice to play, but not much output from the pickups. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueMoon Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, knirirr said: but not much output from the pickups. Agreed regarding pickups. I changed mine for Sadowsky (Dimarzio)'s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 4 hours ago, police squad said: Unlined for me, looks way cooler because it looks different. A lined fretless looks fretted I have 3 at the moment The natural P-bass is a jap fender that I found for sale in Essex in 2009 for £500. It was mint (it's not now, its done quite a few gigs) The red one is a Bravewood body (alder) cheap EY guitar parts neck. It's awesome Ibanez MC940. Lovely it is. mwah to die for A fretless Ibanez Musician is high on my list of wants. I have the Sting maple Precision with maple board, just need the fretless Ibanez Musician 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 6 hours ago, Grimalkin said: Jaco was Pino's and Franklin's biggest influence. The lines are there to allow someone to play in tune along the whole scale length of the board. The problem with unlined basses, is that woodpeckers tend to burrow in and build a nest above the twelfth fret. Nice an quiet up there. Pino has cited that James Jamerson was his biggest influence stemming from his love of Motown. Franklin's biggest influence being Jaco however is correct. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Prefer a scratch plate on any Jazz personally.....look unfinished otherwise but, that's my OCD probably. 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 50 minutes ago, Linus27 said: Pino has cited that James Jamerson was his biggest influence stemming from his love of Motown. Franklin's biggest influence being Jaco however is correct. I would say Pino made his name because of his fretless sound/lines. Jamerson had a fretless at one time but he didn't take to it at all. IIRC he nearly threw it against a wall while saying: "Don't let me play this piece of s*** again!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) Am I correct in thinking that Fender didn't commercially produce fretless until late '69, starting with Ps? Edited January 30, 2022 by iconic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 5 minutes ago, iconic said: Am I correct in thinking that Fender didn't commercially produce fretless until late '69, starting with Ps? Jamerson had something else, I can't remember if it was German. That experience is briefly written about in 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown.' Edited January 30, 2022 by Grimalkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 3 minutes ago, Grimalkin said: Jamerson had something else, I can't remember if it was German. That experience is briefly written about in 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown.' 😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 15 minutes ago, iconic said: Am I correct in thinking that Fender didn't commercially produce fretless until late '69, starting with Ps? Yes that's correct, Fender produced the fretless Precision first, I think it was 1970 or around them. It was unlined and available with either a rosewood or maple board. Fretless Jazz basses didn't come till much later, the 80's I think, maybe even later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Grimalkin said: I would say Pino made his name because of his fretless sound/lines. Jamerson had a fretless at one time but he didn't take to it at all. IIRC he nearly threw it against a wall while saying: "Don't let me play this piece of s*** again!" Yes, Pino is recognised mostly for his fretless playing but he states that Jamerson is his biggest influence and goes on to say that Motown, R&B and reggae was what he grew up listening to. Even his fretless lines are so heavily influenced by Jamerson if you listen to them. Edited January 30, 2022 by Linus27 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Just now, Linus27 said: It's true but Pino himself states that Jamerson is his biggest influence and goes on to say that Motown, R&B and reggae was what he grew up listening to. He should have been asked both fretted/fretless influences. I don't think Jamerson would have been his biggest fretless influence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Buy a lined Fretless, then close your eyes. Hey Presto: Unlined Fretless! 2 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) I've owned a few unlined in the past, Wal, MusicMan, whatever. It's when you want to play things up the board that things get tricky. Take John Giblin's parts in Kate Bush's 'Babooska'. I think trying to recreate that about 25 years ago on an unlined, convinced me that lines were the way to go. Edited January 30, 2022 by Grimalkin 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 7 minutes ago, Grimalkin said: He should have been asked both fretted/fretless influences. I don't think Jamerson would have been his biggest fretless influence. Well, you'll ever know, his most famous bassline after all is classically inspired so who knows where ones inspiration comes from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 (edited) 2 minutes ago, Linus27 said: Well, you'll ever know, his most famous bassline after all is classically inspired so who knows where ones inspiration comes from. "Stevie Wonder's left hand." That's what he said quite a few years ago. Some of the '80s lines sound like they have a synth influence. Edited January 30, 2022 by Grimalkin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimalkin Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 Pino brought fretless into the pop mainstream, I think it was Guy Pratt remarking about fretless that after Jaco, anytime you played fretless on just the back pickup everyone thought "Jaco!" You couldn't get away from it, still can't. Pino kept the presence of the sound, but rounded it out nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 I had a Westone Thunder 1A fretless - they are unlined and fabulous things. A Precision but not a Precision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 minute ago, Paul S said: I had a Westone Thunder 1A fretless - they are unlined and fabulous things. A Precision but not a Precision. Seen a few of those for sale on Ebay and been really tempted for a bit of retro fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Linus27 said: Seen a few of those for sale on Ebay and been really tempted for a bit of retro fun. My Westone Thunder... first bass I owned. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted January 30, 2022 Share Posted January 30, 2022 1 hour ago, Boodang said: My Westone Thunder... first bass I owned. That's gorgeous 😍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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