Sambrook

My experience with TI flats is that they really don't like a strong break angle. Tried them on more than one bass, and they sounded soulless...

But to answer your question more specifically, I have had 3 Prosebasses, a Wishbass, a defretted Conklin 7 string, an LTD defretted 6 string, a Squier Jaco copy, a Shuker Jazz, a Precision, a Westone Thunder, a G&L L2000, an Eastwood eub, a Cort B4, and a few others I can't remember. Of those, I would recommend the Westone, the G&L, and any Prosebass you can lay your hands on. My three keepers are the Portamento, a Marusczcyk Elwood, and a sublime Firecreek ( piezo only, no controls). Happy hunting!

I don't think I have any real wisdom to impart, I just learnt over time what I did and didn't want in a bass. This is what I came up with : mahogany body, plain fingerboard (ebony or rosewood) with sidelines and dots, reasonably chunky neck, passive, preferably semi hollow or chambered, and with a piezo bridge. The Portamento ticked nearly all those boxes (I keep forgetting it's active as I only ever use the treble knob like a passive tone cut). Altogether it is just so versatile and playable. I got it from a shop where the owner was a former Ibanez endorsee, and he was very taken with it, indeed. If they ever combined it with the new Aerium semi hollow, I think it would be unbeatable. But everybody is different, and as all the posts seem to suggest, you have to find what works for you...

Hi Al, I've had plenty of fretless basses, and I try to play ONLY fretless now, so I use them for everything. I like Steve Bailey's approach:'you don't HAVE to play it like a fretless'. The Portamento is so versatile - front pup sounds just like a Precision, back pup just like a Jazz, both together are tone heaven, and the piezo - played with the thumb over the second octave and tone halfway off sounds just like a dB (to my ears anyway). I just experimented with strings to get to tapes. Tried Rotosound Trubass and hated them. The labellas have the ideal compromise for me - smooth like flats, but with the steel core growl. I only got a five string cos I knew the four would be too narrow for me. I string it E-C, and the top C sounds like a classical guitar on the piezo (a bit). Hope that's covered your questions. The Portamento definitely works, but for me, part of the learning curve was buying, trying, and selling many fretless basses to find what I did and didn't want. Enjoy your search!

I have the Portamento 5 string, strung with Labella black nylon tapewound, and it's an absolute winner. The Bartolinis really pick up the growl of the steel core, and the piezo brings out the best of the tape aspect. I think they are a fantastic bass

That's a good idea, thanks

Hope this is clear enough...

In adjusting intonation on my Ibanez Ergodyne, I've cleverly managed to break off the piezo wire where it joins the underside of the saddle. Does anybody know what to use to reattach the wire? I had a quick go with solder, but that doesn't seem to be the thing. Thanks in advance for any and all advice. Cheers, Sean

I started unlined (just dots) and was all at sea. Changed to lined and VERY slowly improved. After a good while, I found I was spending way too much time visually checking my intonation, not trusting my ears. Unlined a la Portamento ended up being a great compromise. Scott Devine made the point somewhere that if you have good hand position, your intonation will be good also. I've found that to be true.