HazBeen

Considering they get nothing but praise, good call to at least try one. Mega specs for the cash.

I’m going to give things some thought, something graphite would not be bad either

Indeed

That’s the one I was eyeing....

True! String spacing indeed is tight, I think 16.5mm, which is much smaller than my preferred 19mm. Altough on a fretless it isn’t as big a deal. Must admit the ESP/Ltd Bunny Brunel also looks awesome, if price quality ratio is similar to my 8 string (octave strings) Ltd, it should be awesome....

Also a good idea! Maruszcyks are very good value for money.

Ha ha, see my comment re the Bunny Brunel ESP.... basically a slight revamp of the Carvin. Very nice!

Thanks Tony, some very nice options..... indeed also the Status I owned a black (the cheaper one) Willis. Really light and very playable, but electronics were meh.... wonder if the 205 addresses the issues I had with the black one. Anyone ever try the ESP/LTD Bunny Brunel. On paper a lot to like but I know nobody that has ever tried one.

I have gotten back into fretless big time and since I play both 4 and 5 string basses, it would be nice to add a 5 string fretless brother/sister to my Status Electro fretless 4. Any thoughts on mid-priced (say between 1000-1500 quid) 5 string fretless basses? Lines preferred, but not mandatory. Mwah clearly a must and I prefer magnetic pickup tone over piezo. Help me collate some “potentials” please dear BC. Thanks.

I must admit I am finding it hard not to crack a joke here.

Since most artists do not land a record deal 1st try AND generally hone their skills in bands at school/uni etc. would it not be fair to say that any artist that becomes known and appreciated for their work has outshone the original band?

Bingo, I think he now has a 7 string fretless Thumb.

I have to disagree my friend. Tony F is most certainly the godfather of fretless in rock. But he is to metal what Sabbath is to Hard Rock. The bass players above are pretty much 100% fretless players, and have brought fretless into metal.

You will know Jeroen Paul Thesseling I imagine from his work with Obscura, check out his bass work for Pestilence. For my taste fretless sounds great in any style, certainly metal too.

They are rare but Les Paul basses come in 5s FYI

1 up from a 4, 1 down from a 6 ...... 😎

Funnily enough I have gone from 4 (my first 15 years) to 5 (for the last 13 years), to 6 (for a few years) and now mostly I am back to 4, although I do need a 5-er for some of my dep gigs and if I do not know what to expect I use take the 5. In all instances I like 18.5-20mm spacing (so like a TRB :)...) regardless if they are 4,5 or 6. Less feels "cramped" (not that it really impact my playing though, but the muscle memory is very much geared towards those spacings. Horses for courses right?

Excellent example of internet “truth”, amazing. We should get a BC crowd to visit his next gig...... Belfast 2night.

I had the softest volume ever yesterday.... dep gig in local bar, 60s and 70s blues rock. Volume had to remain low so the landlord had us all on in-ear, electronic drum kit....... apparently the sound in the audience was fine, but I could almost hear a penny drop on stage. I don’t think I will ever get used to the politically correct sound levels......

Exactly why I use a T16, but the OC2 boost mod is cheaper..... and works well.

There isn’t any Behringer hating going on in my opinion, I do see fierce defence of Behringer to a point where people stop seeing nuance.

Sad to hear this, but think positive....... this door closes (for an understandable reason, migraines zapp the fun out of life) but others are open or can opened. Just give yourself some time...... juices will flow again.

I think we can settle on this then: we shouldn’t exclude either. And we can certainly agree that a good bass player on cheaper gear will bet more out of his gear than a novice on hi-end stuff. Clearly it is what you do with it that is most important.

I do recall seeing a gut shot comparison somewhere when the T came out, certainly similar architecture but not the exact same so in that sense your comments are absolutely fair. I have actually owned both a pre 15 Sandberg and several Wicks, including Streamers. The comparison is not exactly on par as you cannot call a Berg or Wick better, or better priced than a Fender perse, but I see your angle. The bottomline point I guess I was trying to make is that we should also be happy and willing to buy “premium” or “boutique” as that is where the innovation happens. And we should welcome progress in design and approach. If that makes sense...