Grooverjr

Very generous, but I'll have to pass 😀 😀 Those 4 basses are all quite different to play and all absolutely wonderful. I don't think they are going anywhere, probably ever. And even if my arms stop working that Vigier (and the ACGs) would keep my eyes happy forever. Who needs pictures when you have beautiful basses to look at? That rack is right by where I work and it's a lot nicer to look at than the rogues' gallery of my colleagues on endless Teams calls.

I believe it was once yours....

Happy to oblige. Just a quick and dirty job so ignore the various crap in the background It's got an unusual squat headstock and body that I like a lot. Neck profile is wide and slim, which fits nicely under my hand. I'll probably take out the J pickup and put a Roland GK unit in if I can get the proper installation kit. . It sits very nicely on the rack as well - like a BCer's beauty contest lineup!

I tried labella flats and hated them. Like playing fence wire. A very expensive mistake. Tapewounds are better but they are very, very thick and the sound is only really appropriate for certain things. I like the sound of flats but find that I play them badly - my middle finger occasionally seems to catch and not move through smoothly so I either end up missing the beat or getting a horrible extra loud note. TIs are much more like rounds in their flexibility

I thought I'd let everyone know that I decided to......do neither! I put a 'wanted' for a cheapie fretless here on BC and the marvellous @alyctes very kindly sold me a 'Vintage' fretless for a no-brainer of a price. No basses or necks have been harmed and I've got a lovely new bass. Very much ejoying dipping the toe in the water.

Belated update..... bought some Fill n Finish then, with a steady handed mate, used a scalpel blade to make the edges of the scuff smoother, cleaned it with some soapy water, left it to dry and then drop filled and left to solidify overnight. A little light sanding with 3000 sandpaper and you can't feel or see anything at all. A remarkable transformation. Thanks for the various advice

Thanks. I'd heard about this and it makes sense. The board does have a few scuffs from someone doing the same in the past but nothing serious. They're very old strings so a lot of the roughness has worn off and it was really an experiment to see if the extra give was what I wanted (it was). So I've got some TI flats on the way which I expect to live on the bass forever more. I can get a sort of Mwah out of the TIs I have on a afretted shortie so I'm looking forward to their arrival!

I've just got a fretless, too. Fun, ins't it? I'm taking the approach of playing lines I know really well, scales etc. i.e. things where my ears will notice anything that isn't right and trying to dial it in from there. Mine has no lines, only dots where the frets ould be at 3/ 5/7 etc. (not where the dots would be on a fretted bass) and I was planning to put lines on but I don't think I will as the muscle memory seems to be doing a decent job and it is forcing me to use the ears more. I did swap out the old strings for some very worn-in rounds and that is helping with the feel (and the mwah) as I was finding the tapewounds too stiff and as a result I was plucking too hard.

Many things start heading towards the floor as we age. Why should the bass not join them?

Horses for courses, i can't stand colour matched pickups. Special mention to the wood ones. Hideous! But then it would be broing if we all thought the same, right. But I do agree that nowadays we could have anything. If I could have a Peavey T40 pickup cover for all my basses I'd be in heaven!

That is tasty. I don't think you can play that in normal footwear, though. Platforms, sparkly Adidas shell toes or at the least teddy boy suede numbers.

Someone mentioned Why Don't You? in another thread recently. In that spirit I think with a bit of time and effort you could make your own, certainly one that would stick rather than screw on.

Exactly that. And it sounds oh so sweet!

All good advice, and of course bas sshopping is very much on the cards but I can't sell the Squier. It was my first bass and it's covered in paint that means a lot to me and would make anyone else wince! I expect I will end up with a cheap and cheerful starter and see what happens from there.

Thanks everyone for some good solid advice. I love BC! Special shout to @Beedster for the detail and excellent reasons not to do something daft and @Happy Jack for the lines advice. The favourite neck is safe! I'll keep an eye on the S/H market and see what comes up and go for somethign cheap. If I like it I can then go down the 'get a neck made' route.

Thanks, that's what I suspected. It's a P neck anyway (don't get on with J necks, really) so I might hang on for a cheapie second hand fretless.

Thanks. Lined is fine (probably better) but I was thinking the same about a defret. I know I like the feel of this neck as well, and I know my way around it so transferring should be easier as well.

I fancy giving fretless a go, but I don't want to buy yet another bass. I have a Squier Jazz that I don't use and am keeping for sentimental reasons with a decent maple neck in it that I find very comfortable. The question is - get that neck defretted or buy a fretless neck and stick it on there..... Considerations: - cost (which is cheaper? I wouldn't want to spend much as it's the scratching of an itch rather than a necessity - you don't see many maple fretless necks, is there a reason? Maybe that more bitey maple sound doesn't suit fretless? The benefit of the considerable wisdom of the BC Hive mind shall be my guide (oh, fool that I am 😁)

Thanks for going there so I didn't have to 🤣

Stick a car tree in it for a day then leave it open for a day outside. If it still stinks it will always stink and it will transfer back to the guitar so it's for the bin, I'd say. You got a win on the instrument either way!

I don't expect it to be completely invisble but it's right on the join between the two halves (these necks are two halves glued together) so there is a complete change of figuring right next to it anyway and I think that will make it muuch less visible than it would be on a one piece. The most important thing for me is that it isn't felt when you're playing. It's not rough it's just 'there' and that detracts from what is otherwise a really lovely-playing neck.