Bronner

Bought a German made corvette fretless about 15(?) years ago (too long ago to remember the exact year) for USD $400 + tax new. So, I'm shocked by the new prices. Didn't even know the Warwick company when I bought it, just picked up the bass, tried it, and realized it was a brilliant bass for a brilliant price. Corvette is a lovely bass, even though it's not 100% what I really want today, but I have this feeling the new Asian ones sound better. The pickups on the older ones are a little bit lifeless for arrangements that are heavier (rock / blues-rock), but the wood and construction is first-rate. Anybody else feel the same? If anyone wants a double-bass sound for Jazz, the older corvettes do that brilliantly; they *almost* sound like a great substitute for an acoustic bass (really gorgeous and organic tone), but when used in heavier music (rock / blues) they get a bit lost in the mix easily. So to sum up, if you play Jazz, the older corvettes feel like you're sliding around naked on silk sheets, but if you're going for a more modern lead fretless sound, you may find yourself wishing your corvette could somehow morph into a Wal. [quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1423605212' post='2687044'] One more reason to install flats on a fretless! [/quote] Hi Bluejay, I had rounds on the corvette to add a little zip to the sound for heavier music. It still didn't work out for me on that particular bass. As much as I tried to make the corvette a blues-rock bass, it wants to be a jazz bass and flats probably would work better.

I did test recordings of a variety of fretless basses. Of course, brands like Wal and Warwick placed high. The No. 2 bass, however, was an SX (a cheap 100 dollar copy of a Fender Jazz bass available by mail order). Everyone rated it better than the Fender P bass as well.