Poll first fretless fiver

[Fishfacefour]

So I'm thinking of getting a fretless. I've been surprised how few five strings there are. Lots of nice squier, sire and ibanez 4 strings 5 string is more limited. 

Cast your vote and help me take the plunge. 

[pn_day]

I would try a couple before buying if you can.

 

I would personally choose Sire if you want a more traditional Fender-like approach, or Ibanez. I've not played either SR or GWB so can't comment on either I'm afraid. 

[ezbass]

I voted for the Gary Willis as I used to own one and it was very good indeed. That black strips off reasonably easily if it doesn't float your boat. The neck is really nice to play and those tuners are genius, if a little odd looking, although the ebanol will mark if using roundwounds (doesn't affect the playability, just cosmetic). Lightweight and balances well (those tuners again).

[TheGreek]

I had a Spectorcore but was pretty disappointed with it TBH.

 

Can't comment on the others.

 

I really did like my Yamaha TRB - traded for a fretted which is now "another fretted 5er in my rack" - even though it is a very nice bass. I'd seriously consider one of these and there are two on eBay (I believe).

[Fishfacefour]

Thanks, I've been kind of underwhelmed by the spectorcore videos I've seen, but the feedback seems generally good. 

 

Wish there were some nearby to try out, but Realistically won't make it out anytime soon. 

 

Can't find a yamaha on ebay other than from Japan, but it does look nice. 

 

I was thinking of trying a 4 string as they're more available but realised today how much I rely on 5 string patterns to avoid jumping about. 

[Russ]

The GWB35 plays brilliantly, but the electronics aren't great. The Bartolini Mk1 pickup is quite low output and the electronics only have bass and treble controls - IMHO, you really need a midrange control for fretless. Stick a replacement pickup and circuit in there and you're in good shape though. Or just get the SR375EF. 

 

The Sires are great value, especially with their electronics package. Just depends on whether you want to go down that more traditional J-bass route. 

[Rich]

14 hours ago, pn_day said:

I would try a couple before buying if you can.

 

I would personally choose Sire if you want a more traditional Fender-like approach, or Ibanez. 

I agree wholeheartedly with both these statements.

[lemmywinks]

There's a Warwick Corvette Proline with Nordstrand pickups and pre on Facebook for £750 I've been ogling this week.

[dclaassen]

On 28/02/2023 at 20:57, Fishfacefour said:

Thanks, I've been kind of underwhelmed by the spectorcore videos I've seen, but the feedback seems generally good. 

 

Wish there were some nearby to try out, but Realistically won't make it out anytime soon. 

 

Can't find a yamaha on ebay other than from Japan, but it does look nice. 

 

I was thinking of trying a 4 string as they're more available but realised today how much I rely on 5 string patterns to avoid jumping about. 

Where are you located? I’ve got a spectracore 5 er

[Fishfacefour]

 

22 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

Where are you located? I’ve got a spectracore 5 er

Cheers, I'm up in Glasgow 

[Fishfacefour]

23 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

There's a Warwick Corvette Proline with Nordstrand pickups and pre on Facebook for £750 I've been ogling this week.

I don't do Facebook so probably missing out on loads of deals. 

That's a bit too pricey for me at the moment. 

[tauzero]

If an Ibanez SRF705 should pop up, that would be well worth going for.

[WinterMute]

You could do worse than this Lakland on the marketplace I think...

 

 

 

[Fishfacefour]

1 hour ago, WinterMute said:

You could do worse than this Lakland on the marketplace I think...

 

 

 

Yep already on it... 

[lidl e]

@nilorius

[tom5string]

Moin,

 

a short note from Gemany:

I do play SpectorCore a lot (which I luckily could buy from UK when the Pound was weak and short before brexit where no taxes applied). The only thing I have to complain about is the 35'' neck, I am used to standard 34''. Everything else: wowsa, for way below 1k how could they build such a nice instrument. The neck is slim and fast, soundwise I like the possibilities to blend between creramic and magnetic PU. The piezo is way too bright, so the toneblend is almost closed for this one. It has a certain voice I like, sits in the band and always delivers somehwere between uprigtish and modern. You will not achieve Michale Manring zing, nor Jaco staccato but that was never my goal. An exremely musical instrument. Plus it is ridiciously light - and still perfectly balanced.

 

The GWB - I tried the budget version and found it to feel cheap, that one was just not talking to me. And the extremely narrow string-spacing is a no-go for me. Also the expensive ones I tried (GWB-1) - the feeling is better, string-spacing still too narrow for my fingers.

 

I think, your choice should be based on your band-context and the sounds you want to achieve. Plus - as said above - try and play some different instruments to get a feel.

 

Have fun!

 

Tom

[BreadBin]

If one is merely dipping a toe in fretless waters a good budget option is the Harley Benton Progressive - surprisingly decent and compares favourably with much more expensive instruments. 

[Fishfacefour]

I ordered a Sire V7 that popped up on bass direct yesterday. It should arrive today! Hopefully it will survive the cold weather on its journey. 

[fleabag]

Too late, i was about to say that the Yam TRB's are 35" scale, just in case. But alas...

[dclaassen]

On 04/03/2023 at 08:53, tom5string said:

Moin,

 

a short note from Gemany:

I do play SpectorCore a lot (which I luckily could buy from UK when the Pound was weak and short before brexit where no taxes applied). The only thing I have to complain about is the 35'' neck, I am used to standard 34''. Everything else: wowsa, for way below 1k how could they build such a nice instrument. The neck is slim and fast, soundwise I like the possibilities to blend between creramic and magnetic PU. The piezo is way too bright, so the toneblend is almost closed for this one. It has a certain voice I like, sits in the band and always delivers somehwere between uprigtish and modern. You will not achieve Michale Manring zing, nor Jaco staccato but that was never my goal. An exremely musical instrument. Plus it is ridiciously light - and still perfectly balanced.

 

The GWB - I tried the budget version and found it to feel cheap, that one was just not talking to me. And the extremely narrow string-spacing is a no-go for me. Also the expensive ones I tried (GWB-1) - the feeling is better, string-spacing still too narrow for my fingers.

 

I think, your choice should be based on your band-context and the sounds you want to achieve. Plus - as said above - try and play some different instruments to get a feel.

 

Have fun!

 

Tom

I also have a Spectracore. What strings are you using? Mine came to me with LaBella low tension flats…love the feel but not the tone…

[tom5string]

6 hours ago, dclaassen said:

What strings are you using?

 

I never tried flats on it, would be interesting to check .... but then, if you don't like it probably not 🙂.

 

D'Addario  EXL220-5

 

Cheers,

Tom