Skinner Posted October 4, 2023 Share Posted October 4, 2023 (edited) SOLD. Zon Sonus 4 string fretless Bass, Ash body, composite neck, JJ bartolini pick ups and active circuit. Up for sale is a truly astounding bass made by Joe Zon. It is very light-weight, coming in at 7 lbs, 13 ounces (3.53 kilos) The body is centre-seam two-piece solid ash, ergonomic and comfortable as can be, with an exaggerated belly-cut and forearm bevel. It has two Bartolini J-bass pickups and a Bartolini active 2-band EQ on a stacked, center-detent pot, in addition to a master volume and master centre-detent pickup blend control. This bass is in really nice condition, with a couple very minor nicks on the headstock and the end of the fingerboard with a virtually unmarked body. The phenowood fingerboard has some tiny almost invisible scratching from playing, it is so hard that whichever strings are used there are no issues. Currently strung with some rather nice Optima gold round wounds (50 to 105), included will be the plush tgi soft case or a hiscox hard case if preferred. The Zon Sonus model from this period have carbon-fibre composite necks. This is what Zon says about their composite necks: “The object of using composites for our necks is to integrate the stability and performance of these materials in a manner that enhances the tonal characteristics, reliability, and consistency of our basses, without losing the warmth and personality. “Our basses’ necks are fabricated in our Redwood City, California, facility. The base material is carbon fibre, developed for the aerospace industry. Carbon fibre is rayon extruded under extreme heat and pressure, a process that changes its molecular structure on a subatomic level. Engineered to have the highest strength-to-weight ratio possible (it’s six times stronger than steel), it also has the highest coefficient of stiffness and the lowest thermal coefficient, offering great stability and strength under compression, as well as tension. “However, carbon fibre isn’t the only material we employ. Our proprietary “recipe” incorporates wood and other materials, which allows us to tune the necks so every instrument retains that organic and musical earthiness so pleasingly familiar to the ear. “Because the neck has a “flatter” frequency response, it has less effect on coloring the wood body’s tone, therefore letting its true voice come through. With the neck material being so dense, the bass is very “live” and responsive. This condition is a function of a faster attack whereby the note comes into focus almost immediately and then swells with richness. Consequently, the tone has more clarity and the notes exhibit improved detail, projection, sustain, and evenness in volume, all across the fingerboard. This definition is particularly beneficial in lowered tunings, where the notes are usually lost or muddy. Instead, lowered tunings retain their clarity and don’t hide in the mix of the other instruments. “While the concept of using this material for a neck may seem unfamiliar, the feel of our necks is not. Contoured after some of the classic shapes we’ve come to know and love, the profile of our necks feels very natural to the hand and all of them are extremely comfortable and easy to play. The action is fast and smooth, making them suitable for any playing technique. Graphite string nuts are installed for the string-to-string evenness of tone and durability they offer.” The scale length is 34", there are no neck or electronics issues at all. The instrument is in perfect playing condition. Collection preferred or could meet up somewhere within a 30 mile radius of Daventry. Edited October 10 by Skinner Sold 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingPrawn Posted October 5, 2023 Share Posted October 5, 2023 IMHO. Greatest fretless bass I’ve ever played. If I had the dollar I’d take this in a heartbeat. GLWTS 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers_Williamson Posted October 6, 2023 Share Posted October 6, 2023 What a fantastic bass. If only I were right handed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted October 6, 2023 Author Share Posted October 6, 2023 Thank you,I'm a lefty too, just learnt right handed instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 Have you got any pictures of the dots aside the neck ? It's weird but everytime people sell fretless basses they take a thousand pictures of everything but never of the side of the neck..(sorry for asking but I can't play on basses with dots instead of lines). Thanks ! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted October 11, 2023 Author Share Posted October 11, 2023 It has dots but no lines, I will add photos after I have got home. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1957 Posted October 11, 2023 Share Posted October 11, 2023 4 hours ago, Skinner said: It has dots but no lines, I will add photos after I have got home. I always think a fretless bass looks far cooler without lines. My Warwick has dots where the frets should be and its more logical instead of dots in between the frets if that makes sense.....l'll get my coat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatboter Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 My Zon has this sort of solution, ideal for me... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody1957 Posted October 12, 2023 Share Posted October 12, 2023 3 hours ago, wombatboter said: My Zon has this sort of solution, ideal for me... Perfect! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliusmonk Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 I think this was mine at some point… I remember you could see the wood a bit through the black finish? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted December 16, 2023 Share Posted December 16, 2023 On 04/10/2023 at 21:05, Skinner said: Zon Sonus 4 string fretless Bass, Ash body, composite neck, JJ bartolini pick ups and active circuit. Up for sale is a truly astounding bass made by Joe Zon. It is very light-weight, coming in at 7 lbs, 13 ounces (3.53 kilos) The body is centre-seam two-piece solid ash, ergonomic and comfortable as can be, with an exaggerated belly-cut and forearm bevel. It has two Bartolini J-bass pickups and a Bartolini active 2-band EQ on a stacked, center-detent pot, in addition to a master volume and master centre-detent pickup blend control. This bass is in really nice condition, with a couple very minor nicks on the headstock and the end of the fingerboard with a virtually unmarked body. The phenowood fingerboard has some tiny almost invisible scratching from playing, it is so hard that whichever strings are used there are no issues. Currently strung with some rather nice Optima gold round wounds (50 to 105), included will be the plush tgi soft case or a hiscox hard case if preferred. The Zon Sonus model from this period have carbon-fibre composite necks. This is what Zon says about their composite necks: “The object of using composites for our necks is to integrate the stability and performance of these materials in a manner that enhances the tonal characteristics, reliability, and consistency of our basses, without losing the warmth and personality. “Our basses’ necks are fabricated in our Redwood City, California, facility. The base material is carbon fibre, developed for the aerospace industry. Carbon fibre is rayon extruded under extreme heat and pressure, a process that changes its molecular structure on a subatomic level. Engineered to have the highest strength-to-weight ratio possible (it’s six times stronger than steel), it also has the highest coefficient of stiffness and the lowest thermal coefficient, offering great stability and strength under compression, as well as tension. “However, carbon fibre isn’t the only material we employ. Our proprietary “recipe” incorporates wood and other materials, which allows us to tune the necks so every instrument retains that organic and musical earthiness so pleasingly familiar to the ear. “Because the neck has a “flatter” frequency response, it has less effect on coloring the wood body’s tone, therefore letting its true voice come through. With the neck material being so dense, the bass is very “live” and responsive. This condition is a function of a faster attack whereby the note comes into focus almost immediately and then swells with richness. Consequently, the tone has more clarity and the notes exhibit improved detail, projection, sustain, and evenness in volume, all across the fingerboard. This definition is particularly beneficial in lowered tunings, where the notes are usually lost or muddy. Instead, lowered tunings retain their clarity and don’t hide in the mix of the other instruments. “While the concept of using this material for a neck may seem unfamiliar, the feel of our necks is not. Contoured after some of the classic shapes we’ve come to know and love, the profile of our necks feels very natural to the hand and all of them are extremely comfortable and easy to play. The action is fast and smooth, making them suitable for any playing technique. Graphite string nuts are installed for the string-to-string evenness of tone and durability they offer.” The scale length is 34", there are no neck or electronics issues at all. The instrument is in perfect playing condition. Collection preferred or could meet up somewhere within a 30 mile radius of Daventry. Are the dots on the ‘frets’? Or between as per a fretted bass? Si Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted December 16, 2023 Author Share Posted December 16, 2023 It has dots at the fret positions which I believe is how it's done when bass manufactured as a fretless. There are lines on the fingerboard just not high contrast, as far as I'm aware this is how they are made by zon with the phenowood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brother Jones Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 On 03/11/2023 at 13:27, juliusmonk said: I think this was mine at some point… I remember you could see the wood a bit through the black finish? I thought it was my old one too - but, from memory, mine had a mid-shift switch, and this one doesn't have the wood grain (which you could only see quite close up). We might be talking about the same bass. In any case, these are possibly the best fretless basses ever made IMHO (ACG being the others). have to confess I'm tempted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piers_Williamson Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 Have a bump on me. This is a gorgeous bass that needs a home! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted January 20 Author Share Posted January 20 Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gricko Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 PM sent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samuelcroberts Posted March 13 Share Posted March 13 I keep coming back to this... If I can sell a bass I currently have listed, I will have to give it a try! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 On 13/03/2024 at 22:08, samuelcroberts said: I keep coming back to this... You and me both haha. Fortunately for me, I don't need a fretless (and yes I've looked into whether it might be possible to fret this haha). Si 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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