Grahambythesea

Surely a 32" low B would require a custom made string. I have 34 & 35" 5 strings and it is noticeable that the 34 has a much slacker B and thereby less tone than the 35"

I use chromes on a 35in scale 5 string fretless Spector and find them a little tight but I think that is the difference of scales. I have a 34in Fender Jazz 5 string which I think the B is a little slack on, but I have only ever tried wire wounds on it.

I had one of those back in the 80's, but fretless with lined maple neck, same headstock shape. It was a Roadster. Looks to me as though the controls knobs have been changed, originally they were plastic, sought of Gibsonish. Played great though, as good as F Precision fretless with which I replaced it.

Before you buy a "F" bass try a few others. Having owned both the P & the J be cautious most of them don't sound as good as Jaco's. In fact I would describe the P as an electric plank, one tone only and my J hums under certain types of lights irritatingly. For a bass that doesn't cost an arm and a leg I suggest you try a Spector Spectorcore fretless, has the advantage of a Fishman piezo in the bridge. The old Yamha TRB is similarly equipped and that offers a useful alternative sound palate. Pino Palladino says he adds a little chorus to fretless to give it his distinctive sound and that is certainly pleasant. You may also want to experiment with different strings, wire wounds will give you more bite but they churn up the surface of the fingerboard badly. (Jaco painted his finger board with epoxy glue to harden it). If you can afford to make sure the fretless bass you choose has an ebony finger board, it's much harder wood than rosewood and produces better sustain. Flat wound strings are less damaging to the fingerboard, but generally seem to have less tone than wire wounds, although I am sure that now loads of flat wound string aficionados will detail the benefits of their favourite string make. I do use flats myself but find that a pre-amp equaliser is needed to colour the sound to my taste. Good luck and have fun.

Get the Fishman as it has a piezo pickup in it. Gives you a different palate to a normal magnetic pickup so greater variety. Sounds particularly good with fretless. Spector fit them and the trusty Yamaha TRB fretless has a similar bridge, presumably Yamaha's own version.

I live in Dorset. Try Robin Greenwood, he does good repair work and I have an instrument made by him which is great quality. He's based near Poole - Courtyard Craft Centre, Lychett Minster. Otherwise the guys at Absolute Music are good too but more expensive.

If i could figure out how to post pics I'd show you what it looks like any one give guidance?

I recently bought a Spector Spectorcore 5 string fretless for under £500 from www.webmusicshop.it which was delivered from Italy to SouthernEngland in 4 days! Fantastic service and over £300 cheaper than stores in the UK. I've owned Fender, Ibanez & Washburn fretless basses and this knocks spots off all of them. Terrific build quality, lovely figured maple top and with the added bonus of a Fishman under saddle pick up in the bridge which offers a very different tone palate. I can't praise it highly enough. The 4 string version would probably cost you under £400 with the Euro being down as it is at present.