stingrayPete1977 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 These are the days of our lives as a more recent one afaik, great player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 @Al Krow I am not sure tbh, I think the first thing is to check the wiring, test the pickups etc. I have a set of pickups to try here too. @Barking Spiders I agree, I couldn't believe how nice it is for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 (edited) 6 hours ago, Delberthot said: Fantastic - I've been proven wrong regarding the punchiness thing so it it down to the actual bass then? Is a Stingray with a naturally more in your face tone than a Fender the way to go if you want a punchy fretless sound? Off the top of my head some of the fretless basses I've owned over the years have been: Bass Collection passive Yamaha TRB6 - converted to fretless Musicman Stingray Fender Jazz Squier VM Jazz Harmony - Gibson Grabber copy maple fretless Ibanez SR370 EF 70s Fernandes Jazz with EMGs Antoria PJ Aria ZZB Trace Elliott T-Bass 5 string Out of all of them I always thought the Stingray was the best but at the time I couldn't put my finger on what made it better than the rest I was always totally transfixed by Jaco's tone - until I saw Weather Report live. It struck me that the recorded sound was possibly through some sort of preamp in the studio (as indeed were classic mid 70s fretted performances like Nate Watts on I Wish and Sir Duke). Whilst a Fender Jazz Fretless sounds good through a modern amp and cabinet, I have always thought a Stingray Fretless gives that extra oomph and presence that makes for a phenomenal sound. However Pino, for me, is one of the best bass players and also one of the best Fretless players ever - so I'm guessing a lot of this is down to pure musicianship and 'the fingers'. Ive heard a number of people say that a Stingray Fretless is one of the best Fretless basses - I tend to agree but then I'm biased as I love the things anyway. I suspect a ceramic pick up Musicman (Sterling or 92 ish-08 ish SR5) in Fretless form would also be good - even better with the piezo, which was offered at one time. The other bass I really rate in Fretless form is a Wal. I think all of these basses have a mid range presence which helps you get the mwahhh when you want to, but are bassy and thumpy enough to sound non Fretless when required. That said, a Fender Jazz Fretless in skilled hands can also sound great (I've seen them used on jazz gigs where they've sounded great). Maybe Jaco's live sound in a large theatre venue was a little back in the mix against Zawinul's keyboards (he doubled quite a lot of bass parts on synth). Edited March 5, 2018 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) Leduc U-Basse 5 strings fretless, yes fretless, with magnetics and piezo... Single coils punchy sound with the great Frédéric MONINO paying his due to a guy named Jaco. LISTEN to what a terrific fretless sound is ! Edited March 5, 2018 by Hellzero Won't anybody listen to this ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ead Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 This is my favourite fretless for gigging purposes. MM style pickup in the bridge position switchable single/parallel/series and humbucking neck pickup. The electronics are the basic filter preamp which has a vol/blend stack and then a separate "tone" control for each pickup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus27 Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 When I started playing bass, fretless was always something I aspired to becoming proficient at. I bought a cheap nasty fretless but could not get on with it, largely down to my lack of skill and technique. More forward after playing for about 10 years and I tried again and this time no problem and I've not looked back. The weird thing was a lot of my own bass lines played on a fretted bass were played like they were written for a fretless. Possibly because I was heavily influenced by Pino (Paul Young), Derek Forbes (Simple Minds) and Paul Webb (Talk Talk) who were all fretless players. I eventually got a fretless neck made for my favourite Jazz bass and it sounds amazing. I've now had to put the original fretted neck back on it so my plan is to get a Status Fretless neck for my Stingray. So can't wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Krow Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Would folk agree that the following are some of Pino's best work? Jools Holland: Jools Holland and the Millionaires (1981) Paul Young: No Parlez (1983) & The Secret of Association (1985) Joan Armatrading: Secret Secrets (1985) Mike and the Mechanics: Word of Mouth (1991) John McLaughlin: The Promise (1995) Erykah Badu: Mama's Gun (2000) D'Angelo: Voodoo (2000) & Black Messiah (2014) John Mayer Trio: Try! (2005) & Continuum (2006) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 Better change the title into "Pino PALLADINO's Fascinating Fretless". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDaveTheBass Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 15 hours ago, drTStingray said: I suspect a ceramic pick up Musicman (Sterling or 92 ish-08 ish SR5) in Fretless form would also be good - even better with the piezo, which was offered at one time. Your suspicions are correct! - my fretless Sterling sounds great, especially with EB Cobalt flatwounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 22 hours ago, EssentialTension said: I had a Tony Franklin fretless Precision and it's the one bass I strongly regret selling. I think I might request to be buried with mine... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drTStingray Posted March 5, 2018 Share Posted March 5, 2018 (edited) 4 hours ago, Al Krow said: Would folk agree that the following are some of Pino's best work? Jools Holland: Jools Holland and the Millionaires (1981) Paul Young: No Parlez (1983) & The Secret of Association (1985) Joan Armatrading: Secret Secrets (1985) Mike and the Mechanics: Word of Mouth (1991) John McLaughlin: The Promise (1995) Erykah Badu: Mama's Gun (2000) D'Angelo: Voodoo (2000) & Black Messiah (2014) John Mayer Trio: Try! (2005) & Continuum (2006) Another excellent one for Fretless is I, Assassin - Gary Numan. The track Music for Chameleons has a great in your face Fretless line - if you can get past the idea of Alan Partridge being discovered in his leather underpants playing air bass to it.....!! Very difficult if you've seen that episode!! Edited March 5, 2018 by drTStingray Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razze06 Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 On 04/03/2018 at 10:11, kevin_lindsay said: I alternate between these two basses most of the time. The fretless however, just feels like "home" when I'm playing it - there's something special about playing unlined fretless. McIntyre of Edinburgh, nice (Leith actually) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin_lindsay Posted March 6, 2018 Share Posted March 6, 2018 9 hours ago, razze06 said: McIntyre of Edinburgh, nice (Leith actually) Yup! I was actually through in Edinburgh today with Chris. Lots of great instruments taking shape there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted March 7, 2018 Share Posted March 7, 2018 That Mcintyre is a lovely thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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