Boodang

The natural P with the maple board does look cool!

Ah, the trick is to not try an imitate Jaco, something I find really easy to achieve!

I've always been an unlined player until a few years ago when I picked up a Squier VM fretless for the only reason it had a resin board... but it was lined. I don't know why, but at first the lines confused the hell out of me, I was all over the place. But I persevered and now I like it, especially up the dusty end. However, there is one interesting affect. On the unlined, I have no preference for a tonal centre but with the lined I find some keys more comfortable than others .... it's almost like unlined is a blank canvas whereas lined is more caged. PS. I do like the resin board which is now my fav finish for a fretless. Just need to find an unlined one now.

I thought there must be some good stories out there in BC land, so thanks to everyone for sharing. There's been some great anecdotes, very amusing reading!

That price doesn't scream quality, not that it isn't but.... in the pictures what's going on under the second fret?

As a lifelong fretless player the lack of choice is deeply frustrating. I think there was more variety back in the 80s & 90s. It's a shame when a new bass comes out they don't add fretless as an option, even if it's a special order. A while ago I went into my local shop to ask if they were going to get the Squier VM Jazz fretless in stock (it has a resin board which is quite rare) but they said no as it would probably just hang on the wall for years. Things like that are what drives to you to just get a custom bass and have done with it. Having said that, the Ibanez SRF looks an interesting option.

Interestingly, as 'easy' as it is to setup a bass (and I've been playing and setting up basses for 40 years) I still can't get it as good as my local luthier, no matter how many tips he gives me.

Not so much defeatist, just that if you've got to a stage where you're using washers and shimes, the bass is obviously not working as intended, so rather than botch it why not find out what the key underlying issue is and fix that. For instance, truss rod at the end of it's thread, then replace it. Just don't like botching things. I'm sure they didn't sell bass with extra washers in case the truss rod run out thread, so in my mind it's a botch.

If it's just that the truss rod has run out of thread, then replace the rod. My neck thru Sei had this issue, so got my local luthier to replace and set up... now good as new.

If you can 'persuade' a neck to behave itself then all well and good, but if you're at a stage of having to use shims I would venture to suggest it's time to put it out of its misery.

I was working abroad for a bit and joined a covers band that consisted of musicians from the expat community. Basically a conglomerate of people who just wanted to play, consequently we had more than one person on bass, drums, keys etc so we would take it turns to play certain numbers. Good fun but quite random. And a strange mix of talent, some had never played live before, others were seasoned covers veterans, and even some who had played at the proms in a previous classical career. What a mix! None it seems though had any talent as a sound engineer. First time out after just joining, a new active Yamaha PA with 15" tops, 18" subs and 12" foldbacks was produced... for the v small pub. The evening consisted of bass feedback (quite an impressive achievement I thought), no vocals as the feedback threshold was so low, and the pub windows nearly been blown out! The audience were very patient and forgiving though and just appreciated the effort which made it a fun evening despite everything else. At the next gig the 18" subs were safely locked up out of harms way.

I have to say that the thing I'm enjoying about the TC Electronic stuff is the toneprint technology. So without having to buy into a multi fx, the Spectradrive basically gives you access to all their overdrives, distortion and fuzz, and a bunch of expertly programmed comp presets, plus it's simply to use.

Lots of tasty options with a Warmoth.

Well, the neck in the picture has holes for 6 tuners so I'm guessing it for a guitar. Now I'm not recommending Warmoth custom guitar parts but they do look good and I was hoping someone here would get one so they could say what they're like. Not cheap though.

Not forgetting the TC Electronic Spectradrive. 4 band eq, plus a compressor and switchable overdrive. What I like about it is the toneprint capabilities for the comp and drive, so you're not stuck with one flavour. That and it's a DI, and has a headphone output plus a mini jack input for play-a-longs.

I joined a covers band, 1st gig was at short notice, they said they had a new PA but were confident about using it as the sound man was good. Gig turned out to be a small pub, PA turned out to be an active Yamaha, 15 tops and 2 x 18 bins. The windows of the place nearly popped out their frames, accompanied by quite impressive bass feedback all night which I'd never experienced before. Future pub gigs were done with just the 15 tops which were amply up to the job all round and the 18 subs only got wheeled out for the big occasions.

... problem solved!

Use it without warning at a gig! Hide it behind your amp in a bag, do a quick swap between numbers and see how off putting it is to the rest of the band. It'll keep them on their toes.

I get a really deep tone from mine, which considering the scale length I wasn't expecting. Admittedly it has a MM EMG installed (I just had it lying around at the time so seemed like a good idea) but actually quite a usable tone. Despite its intonation issues I drag it out live for a few numbers just because it's so different!

Well that's a challenge! Next event I think we'll start with a salad before moving onto the booze. If it's a good evening I'll put it down to the greenery and if it's not I'll blame it on too much alcohol.

I'm experiencing a similar thing with the DB. For me it 'swings' more than a bass guitar and as I play mostly jazz groove it really suits. And the more I play it the less I play bass guitar. The thing that keeps me into my BG though is effects like the envelope filter and phaser which I can get seriously funky with and don't work quite as well with the DB.

Well, if you want some flexibility with the tone it's definitely the Westone. And later you can always install a more versatile onboard preamp like an Audere which would complement it nicely. But as @Bassassinsays, the Westone is not a bargain. Having said that, bargain or not, if you want it then who cares!

Hmm, both nice. I know what you mean about the matsumoku instruments, for me it's the neck profile which has a flattened U shape unlike others that I like. Also bear in mind that a case like the Protection Racket semi rigid would only be about €90 and they have shoulder straps as well as handles that make them easier to carry around public transport than a normal hard case.

The other possibility is to make a feature of the stool on stage. I was thinking a custom steampunk seat with lots of unnecessary pipes and dials. Then if the audience aren't into the music at least they can admire the steampunk sculpture.

I've always practiced sitting down and play with the bass on my left leg, classical guitar style. Consequently I feel more comfortable playing sitting down than standing up, hence now I'm thinking s*d it, I should just play that way live.