TF Fretless Fender Precision

[Musicman20]

I know a few of you have owned or own one of these.

They seem quite rare and sound absolutely stunning through the demos.

Ive seen WoTs videos and it makes me want one even more.

My 'fund' for a custom (£2.5k plus) which I had in mind (please note not actually saved this yet, it was an estimate of my max amount for a bass to be purchased in 11 months for my 30th!) would definitely cover a new Fender Deluxe Jazz 5 as per the thread below, and would also provide a large chunk towards the fretless fund.

Ive always wanted a fretless, but I think a 4 would be enough, and I think id like the option of a P and a rear Jazz pickup sound.

They are also in the perfect colour combo.

GAS has hit big time. Good job my band is earning.

[Beedster]

You can't beat an ebony board, and much as I love the tone of a Precision fretless, the Jazz PUP does offer tonal options. I think the TF is extremely popular not because of any particular magic, but simply down to those two factors, certainly in comparison with the standard fretless Precision with rosewood board. Let's face it,
Fender are particularly unimaginative when it comes to non-traditional options (they still don't do a PJ in the US standard line, probably the only manufacturer from Squier to Sadowsky not to), so the TF stands out like a sore thumb. I've only played one briefly and it felt and played well, and owning a '71 with pretty much the same spec, I can certainly endorse the ebony/PJ thing.

However, are there better fretless basses in the same price range? F**k yeh! Are there better fretless Precisions in the same price range? Probably not

C

[BassBod]

What Beedster said. His PJ fretless comes form the days of modded Pbasses, when J's were rarer and more expensive. Where people went wrong was not having a thick ebony board, (or a hard coating) and having pickups that were not well matched. The TF is an example of a well modded Pbass, as is the Sadowsky Metro I got last week. A lot of UK luthiers could put something great together with those specs.

The Fender stock 70's version with only a P pickup and rosewood board does not do a Jaco.

[Clarky]

Gareth, I came very close to buying a TF fretless (GAK have one for £1300-ish) but ended up buying the 76 fretless P you see in my avatar. It is less versatile sonically (no J pup) but is an absolute delight. I'm even enjoying playing it more than my fretted 72 P (albeit it has the thrill of the new) ... such an organic sound for want of a better description.

Worth thinking about an old fretless Precision mate ... (I saw a 70s one go on eBay a few months back similar to mine for a bargain £900-odd - they are 'special interest' so you can get lucky with pricing - I paid somewhat more but then it was Vintage & Rare and I was happy to pay a bit extra for provenance guarantee etc).

Edited March 12, 2010 by Clarky

[Schnozzalee]

I think ebony fretless precision is possibly the best tone out there. Get the jazz pickup in the bridge just in case though, balls to cosmetics. Possibly get a five string and you'll have all bases covered, although the learning curve for me is a lil steep - you'll need the lines or you'll get lost.

[Musicman20]

Well im thinking of ordering the new Jazz 5 Deluxe (once reviews come out) and the Franklin Fretless in burst all at once and get a discount....thats quite a hefty order so i hope id get it cheaper.

Ill see what happens, but thanks for the comments guys...

I would go for a vintage 70s P fretless but id love that bridge Jazz pup

[EssentialTension]

The TF fretless is a very excellent bass.

I'd say its only weakness is the lack of the possibility of blending the pickups - the switching gives 100% P or 100% J or 50%/50% P/J but no inbetweens but this is not a major problem.

I'm strongly committed to the P pickup but letting the J in can sometimes really help with cutting through.

Edited March 13, 2010 by EssentialTension

[wateroftyne]

Great basses.. the two I've had were fab.

[Beedster]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='773403' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:15 AM']I'd say it's only weakness is the lack of the possibility of blending the pickups - the switching gives 100% P or 100% J or 50%/50% P/J but no inbetweens but this is not a major problem.[/quote]

Surely having both PUPs on all the time and simply varying volume on each does the same thing (I prefer two vols to one blend pot anyway)?

Or am I missing the point and the TF only has one volume control and one PUP selector switch, like my old Ibby PJ? If so, agreed, that is very poor design

C

Edited March 13, 2010 by Beedster

[Beedster]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='773415' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:38 AM']Great basses.. the two I've had were fab.[/quote]

But you got rid of both....

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='773403' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:15 AM']I'm strongly committed to the P pickup[/quote]
I genuinely love this phrase, and will immediately adopt it in relation to my P/J. Beautifully put!

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773424' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:48 AM']But you got rid of both....[/quote]
I did.

Still great basses, though.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773421' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:45 AM']Surely having both PUPs on all the time and simply varying volume on each does the same thing (I prefer two vols to one blend pot anyway)?

Or am I missing the point and [b]the TF only has one volume control and one PUP selector switch[/b], like my old Ibby PJ? If so, agreed, that is very poor design

C[/quote]
Correct, one pup selector, one volume, one tone. (And I would prefer two volumes to a blend control too.)

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773424' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:48 AM']But you got rid of both....[/quote]
WoT has got rid of a few other basses too.

But at least he let me have one of them.

[henry norton]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773285' date='Mar 13 2010, 12:40 AM']You can't beat an ebony board, and much as I love the tone of a Precision fretless, the Jazz PUP does offer tonal options. I think the TF is extremely popular not because of any particular magic, but simply down to those two factors, certainly in comparison with the standard fretless Precision with rosewood board. Let's face it,
Fender are particularly unimaginative when it comes to non-traditional options (they still don't do a PJ in the US standard line, probably the only manufacturer from Squier to Sadowsky not to), so the TF stands out like a sore thumb. I've only played one briefly and it felt and played well, and owning a '71 with pretty much the same spec, I can certainly endorse the ebony/PJ thing.

However, are there better fretless basses in the same price range? F**k yeh! Are there better fretless Precisions in the same price range? Probably not

C[/quote]
+1 on that. For 1300 quid you could get a luthier made Precision or for allot less you could put one together using Warmoth parts or suchlike. I know there's nothing quite like having the 'Fender US' transfer on the headstock, but there are allot of other options out there that'll give you better hardware, better pickups and more usable controls.

Having said that, if it could [i]only[/i] be a US Fender, the TF is about the closest there is for me.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='773403' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:15 AM']I'm strongly committed to the P pickup[/quote]
[quote name='BottomEndian' post='773429' date='Mar 13 2010, 10:02 AM']I genuinely love this phrase, and will immediately adopt it in relation to my P/J. Beautifully put![/quote]
Thanks.

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='henry norton' post='773445' date='Mar 13 2010, 10:21 AM']+1 on that. For 1300 quid you could get a luthier made Precision or for allot less you could put one together using Warmoth parts or suchlike. I know there's nothing quite like having the 'Fender US' transfer on the headstock, but there are allot of other options out there that'll give you better hardware, better pickups and more usable controls.

Having said that, if it could [i]only[/i] be a US Fender, the TF is about the closest there is for me.[/quote]
FWIW, the fit'n'finish on the TF is excellent. The pickups and circuit are custom, too. It's a cut above standard 'production line' stuff, IMO.

[Beedster]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='773442' date='Mar 13 2010, 10:19 AM']Correct, one pup selector, one volume, one tone. (And I would prefer two volumes to a blend control too.)[/quote]

Ah, the downside of the signature bass concept, might work for Tony F but sure limits the options for everyone else? Blend pots are OK, two vols even better, and two vols and a selector switch better still. I think Fender got the wrong combination here?

C

[wateroftyne]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773484' date='Mar 13 2010, 11:03 AM']Ah, the downside of the signature bass concept, might work for Tony F but sure limits the options for everyone else? Blend pots are OK, two vols even better, and two vols and a selector switch better still. I think Fender got the wrong combination here?

C[/quote]
Yep, I think it's agreed that that's the TF's only real flaw.

It's nice that the J pup is buffered so it's still nice and hefty when solo'd.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='henry norton' post='773445' date='Mar 13 2010, 10:21 AM']+1 on that. For 1300 quid you could get a luthier made Precision or for allot less you could put one together using Warmoth parts or suchlike. I know there's nothing quite like having the 'Fender US' transfer on the headstock, but there are allot of other options out there that'll give you better hardware, better pickups and more usable controls.

Having said that, if it could [i]only[/i] be a US Fender, the TF is about the closest there is for me.[/quote]

I think its just that the TF ticks all the boxes, and despite the fact I could get one made, Id probably not have the good resale value the TF seems to hold. I am unfortunately a Fender fanboy haha.

The finish is nitro I do believe, and the spec is different from the standards, plus it has that lovely ebony board. This is what attracts me.


[quote name='wateroftyne' post='773450' date='Mar 13 2010, 10:29 AM']FWIW, the fit'n'finish on the TF is excellent. The pickups and circuit are custom, too. It's a cut above standard 'production line' stuff, IMO.[/quote]

The overall look of the instrument is great. How does the nitro wear?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='773488' date='Mar 13 2010, 11:06 AM']Yep, I think it's agreed that that's the TF's only real flaw.

It's nice that the J pup is buffered so it's still nice and hefty when solo'd.[/quote]


The J pup sounds massive on your vids and the TF demo vids. I know the selector is a bit odd, but the tone is bloomin spot on.

Basically, I want to be able to have a Precision/Ebony fretless, but with the nice j pickup....so I think this might be a good choice.

What other options are there around the £1200-1300 mark with similar spec?

Eg P pup, j pup, nitro burst. ebony, drop d tuner?

[Beedster]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='773869' date='Mar 13 2010, 08:50 PM']I think its just that the TF ticks all the boxes, and despite the fact I could get one made, Id probably not have the good resale value the TF seems to hold. I am unfortunately a Fender fanboy haha.

The finish is nitro I do believe, and the spec is different from the standards, plus it has that lovely ebony board. This is what attracts me.




The overall look of the instrument is great. How does the nitro wear?




The J pup sounds massive on your vids and the TF demo vids. I know the selector is a bit odd, but the tone is bloomin spot on.

Basically, I want to be able to have a Precision/Ebony fretless, but with the nice j pickup....so I think this might be a good choice.

What other options are there around the £1200-1300 mark with similar spec?

Eg P pup, j pup, nitro burst. ebony, drop d tuner?[/quote]

I think the TF has your name on it

[mike13]

I've had 2 JB fretless, and a PJ could never get the sound I wanted to hear,now I have a Bass Collection early 90's model with Alembic PJ Activators sounds great so close to an upright

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='773869' date='Mar 13 2010, 08:50 PM']What other options are there around the £1200-1300 mark with similar spec?[/quote]

I built a fretless precison from a sunburst alder Brandoni body which seems to be identical in every way to my 1990 MIJ '62 reissue Fender P. It has a beautiful quartersawn maple neck also from Brandoni with thick ebony unlined board (with a cheeky 70's style 'P' logo), Kent Armstrong Pickup, hipshot late-60s style lollypop tuners and some fender bits & bobs. It plays really well and sounds marvelous - apart from my dodgy intonation. I think it cost around £450 all-in to build, so maybe that could be an option? It wouldn't be too much hassle to get the body routed for a jazz pickup professionally and of course the pickups could be wired any way you like.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Beedster' post='773900' date='Mar 13 2010, 09:20 PM']I think the TF has your name on it [/quote]

+1 hahaha

[Legion]

I seem to have a busy day today - I'll chime in later