BassBod

Whoppers indeed!

Fair 'nuff....but not Jack Bruce. I've heard some howlers from him, up front and personal. He's still one if my all time favourite musicians, and a real inspiration..but not for his fretless intonation. I always thought he started playing fretless with the Dan Armstrong in the mid 70's? First one I heard was Alphonso Johnson in pre-jack Weather Report. He had sound all of his own.

I think a missing part of the discussion is amplification and its early limitations. Early EUB's existed in the big band days before the second world war, but the low power amps and speakers didn't cope with the low frequencies. Jaco wouldn't have been Jaco without the two very new Acoustic 360 stacks (and the bright Rotosound strings). The clarity/intonation thing is very significant for a successful fretless sound to work. I remember reading years ago that Bill Wyman was using a de-fretted bass in the mid 60's - but I've never heard a Stones track from that time when you'd notice, it could be double bass, could be a hollow body?

I'll be sorting it out later today....at last!

The answer is in the name Precision bass. Jaco wasn't the first electric fretless player, but probably the first you'd want to listen to! As previously said, Leo was marketing bass to guitarists who could double up, so adding frets and easy intonation made sense. Taking the frets out again appealed to far less players and took much longer to catch on. By the time Jaco was well known Fender was a very big operation and far less in touch, so I guess they just didn't see it as a valuable market. Out of interest - I've not seen many fretless Alembics from the mid-late 70's - and they were a small (rich) customer focussed bass company.

Some are better than others. The Mo Clifton is as close as I've found (shut your eyes and everything is in the same place) but it has a solid body, so there is a longer sustain to notes, and a bit less of a thump. Having said that, it makes a very good alternative for loud or small gigs where an acoustic just isn't going to work. String choice makes a difference - modern "gut-like" strings can help an electric sound more thumpy and less fretless, and the same is true of pickups (although a bit less).

Don't get hung up on the "acoustic" thing..I'd suggest a good semi-type electric, with flats or black plastic strings, with a good preamp/DI (Samsamp, Aguilar etc). Epiphone J.C or Fender Coronada (?) would do the job best - fairly pricey, but better instruments than cheap acoustics, and can be used in many other situations.

The CUB is a great little thing, and will do what you want into phones or speakers. It is barely useful outside the house, which is a shame. Not quite enough volume for all but the most intimate gigs. I use a Cafe Walter headphone amp when I need to learn stuff without disturbing the family..not cheap but gets the job done very well.

That should do it. The preamp is is very important to get the fullest sound - the Baggs should do the job well.. Enjoy!

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1391534435' post='2358276'] And down to two... [/quote] Nice basses, but that's quite a drastic change of direction! All shiny new Fender. The fretted one bears an unsettling resemblance to my first bass - a truly crude Kay P bass copy, from around 1981 (now on ebay as vintage classics, it seems..for four times the original price).

Congratulations there Jimmy!

Thats just daft…like the Kay Pbass copies that are put up for £200. A fool and his money etc etc etc

Stage 2 studios in Newbridge...

But I wouldn't spend £500 on a Wal…been there, done that…felt the weight (twice).

Just hang in there, one will pop up at a good price. I've had a borrowed one here for a few weeks now, and I've used it on a gig or two. I like it, reminds me of a Wal Pro/Precision but I wouldn't spend real money to get one..£350 would be my limit for a good condition example. Good condition in this case would have to include the many finish cracks all over the body, obviously!

I've done a few straight swaps with people here - it works fine. Only thing is to be sure of the relative values of instruments /amps etc. Doesn't have to be set in stone..but you have to know what something is worth to you. Use the feedback pages and do some research if necessary. Its usually worth it.

If its a bits, then DiMarzio..in cream for a statement or black for understated. Was a common improvement at the time and they still sound great (not as overblown as some descriptions would suggest).

Plugging into the effects return should be a lot quieter than plugging into the front and putting the gain half way up. Sounds like something wrong in the preamp circuit - maybe the input gain pot is giving up, and not passing signal though. Worth cleaning it, if you can get into it with some switch cleaner. Other suspect would be input jack socket (and its solder connections). WIth both of those you normally get crackles and volume changes as you jiggle the pot or jack plug. After that..its get the circuit plan and take to a tech. Can't help thinking its a Modulus thing - is there a trim pot (blue square, with white screw adjuster) in the control cavity? If there is, try turning it down?

[attachment=153012:IMG_0678.JPG] Here's a nice little collection. Think I've got most options covered between these….

Check the battery in the Modulus first - then try playing through the effects return socket. It will be a lot quieter, but should be undistorted. If it overloads the input stage with the preamp gain set below 12 o'clock I'd be looking for a problem. Always worth turning it off, then rotating all controls fully about ten times, and also putting a plug in and out of all the sockets (including effects send and return) a few times - old amps can get grungy inside. Maybe start with the eq controls if they seem to have an influence on the distortion? If the Stingray is ok I would be checking the Modulus into another amp..just to see. Good luck

My main bass ( <- ) is a Bravewood, but with a Wesley Steed neck. Best Jazz I've owned, very light, very resonant and has fantastic (Voodoo) pickups. I could never work with a bass worth £5k but this does everything a "real" one would do. Unfortunately, that includes microphonic single coil pickups..but I can happily live with that. The relic work is done so well I don't even think about it, and I don't have to be careful with it, beyond the usual common sense stuff. I have a Bravewood neck on another J bass, and its my favourite in terms of sound and feel - but it has too much stiffness built in, and doesn't ever give enough to play cleanly around the 3rd to 5th fret, even with the rod undone. Can be remedied by some careful spot fret work, but I have it set up with flats and a medium action so it works ok. There are other UK makers (as above) who can make you a superb Fender type bass - talk to a few and see what you think of their attitude. You do place a lot of trust when ordering you bass, so keep your eyes open.