Bass Culture

[quote name='roman_sub' timestamp='1495038473' post='3300776'] thanks. Apparently this was a factory fretless from Sandberg...! [/quote] I think 'factory fretless' generally involves the bass starting life as a fretted and being de-fretted in the factory before it sees the light of day. I gather it's cheaper than setting up aspects of production for what will inevitably be minimal numbers of fretless basses in the first place. It's also why FF basses tend to have their dots between the fret lines. I'd guess this is usually the case with larger operations where most aspects of production are batched or uniform.

Ah, a new addition to the Cheshire Massive - welcome!

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1492877491' post='3283849'] I had a Zoot fretless years ago, had a graphite neck on it, which is what attracted me to it. I mostly remember that it had an unbelievably heavy body. [/quote] If it was the blue one, Chris, I think I may have sold it to you. The bass above is a much more reasonable - lighter, in fact, than I thought it was going to turn out. I think Mike's down-sized his bodies a bit recently.

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1492845394' post='3283560'] I like the fret lines - quite subtle. [/quote] In truth, having played fretless for 35 years - sometimes exclusively - I shouldn't actually [i]need[/i] fret lines. I do find they give me a sense of security though! And yes, these are quite discreet. I think they're the same wood as the body - a type of mahogany.

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1492681917' post='3282224'] Some great recent additions to this thread - keep them coming! [/quote] Thanks for the reminder, Rumple. A new sibling for my fretted Zoot in post #6 - my new Zoot fretless MS. This is quite possibly the 'best' bass I have owned in nearly 40 years of playing: [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/Zoot%20Fretless/IMGP6669_zpst1lnfmmo.jpg.html"][/url] It plays and sounds every bit as fantastically as it looks.

Took delivery of this on Good Friday and have only put it down since to sleep and drool. Will do a review on it in due course but for the time being I'll just leave this here for you: [url="http://s120.photobucket.com/user/Myrtle2014/media/Zoot%20Custom/Zoot%20Fretless/IMGP6669_zpst1lnfmmo.jpg.html"][/url]

My first fretless was a lined Aria SB900. Sold it and went through several years of various unlined fretlesses before ending up again with a lined fretless, which I just feel much more comfortable on. Don't really know why, perhaps simply because it's what I learned on. One thing though is that lined fretless basses tend to have the lines placed where the fret would be - which, because of the idiosyncracies of the tempered scale, is not precisely where the note is located. Higher up the neck the note is located incrementally further behind the fret. We're not talking inches, obviously ( ) but even though I prefer a lined neck I'm kidding myself really if I think it's because I'm in tune on the line.

Can't believe I'm the first to post! Nathan's just bought my Zoom B3 off me and he couldn't have been easier to deal with - top men. Buy/sell with absolute confidence.

Same as PauBass - Owen had my Korg tuner off me and I found him great to deal with. Top BC-er and a pleasure to deal with.

The Bowzer's 'Station to Station'. Not many notes and great, great tone.