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Can anyone recommend a nice fretless semi-acoustic bass?


Basilpea
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I'm using a fretless Warwick RB Starbass at the moment but looking for a similar bass (ie semi-acoustic) but better quality.  I know the German Pro Series is an option but are there any other suggestions?  Ideally I want a long/standard scale 5 string without fretlines sub £2k if poss.  Any ideas?  I thought the D'Angelico sounded ideal but now found out they've stopped production of Bass guitars!

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18 minutes ago, Jakester said:

Agreed, you’ll not find anything better unless, of course, you can stretch your budget just a little more and buy the best...

https://www.roballenguitars.com/new-products/mb-2-koa-5-string-fretless-bass-1324

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Another A5 vote here. More than once, mine has been described as " the best sounding bass I have ever heard". Coincidentally, that has never happened when I have been playing it.

Rick turner Renaissance basses also sound great, but rare in UK

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On 23/01/2020 at 13:37, GuyR said:

Rick Turner Renaissance basses also sound great, but rare in UK

I played a fretless Ren bass at NAMM last week. It was a four and had lines, but it was very nice. RT is a great guy too, I really enjoyed talking to him. No idea on scale length options and the like though. 

 

RTBooth3.JPG

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42 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Stop it, stop it right now! That is lovely. The only way I’d sell my Rob Allen MB2 five string is for a 4 string version.

Of course you could ask our own, ridiculously talented ‘Jabba the gut’ for a custom build, page 4 has a lovely fretless.

 

Edited by ezbass
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16 hours ago, PJ-Bassist said:

I've always thought this bass, currently listed in the for sale forum, is rather pretty. 

I must have missed that.  Doubt if it's still for sale but but have asked.  Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone.  I've done quite a few hours of research, been up a few blind alleys, but it's helped me realise exactly what I'm looking for.  So when I said semi-acoustic, I actually don't want it to make too much noise as I normally practice between 4:30 & 6:30 in the morning - so whilst an arch top acoustic would be nice, it's doesn't really suit my particular purpose.  Adding that I'm looking for an unlined, fretless 5-string with a thumb rest with piezo and a magnetic pickups, and preferably short-scale, this narrows the field quite dramatically - in fact it's now looking like I'll have to up the budget and go for a custom.  The front runners seem to be Shuker, Rob Allen or Rick Turner.  But has anyone had any experience of this one?

http://www.marcoguitarsbass.com/index_archivos/Page381.htm

 

Sounds very much like an upright to me, but it could be just a one-trick pony which again does not fit the bill as I need it to sound like a bass guitar for most of the time because I also have an upright anyway.  Having said that, some gigs only have a few numbers that need the Upright sound, so if the bass guitar can do that passably it will save me carting a lot of extra gear in.

The biggest problem is actually getting to try one of these basses, I could probably make a 2 day trip to Yorkshire to see Jon Shuker but I'd also dearly love to try out a Rob Allen Mouse or MB2 and a Rick Turner.  California is a long way, but who stocks them in the UK?  I think it would be very unwise to go for a custom bass without ever having tried one that manufacturer's basses.

Anyway, that's where I am at the moment - any more advice will be much appreciated.

BTW ezbass, was that a serious suggestion about the much revered Jabba_the_gut?

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27 minutes ago, Basilpea said:

 in fact it's now looking like I'll have to up the budget and go for a custom.  The front runners seem to be Shuker, Rob Allen or Rick Turner.  

I have a custom build ongoing with Jon Shuker at the moment.  PM if you want more details on my experiences thus far.

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3 hours ago, Basilpea said:

BTW ezbass, was that a serious suggestion about the much revered Jabba_the_gut?

Yes, his custom builds are the nearest thing I’ve played to a Rob Allen (really, really near). Drop him a PM, he can only say no and he might have some other suggestions if he’s not in a position to do a build.

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9 hours ago, Basilpea said:

Anyway, that's where I am at the moment - any more advice will be much appreciated.

 

FWIW, a good friend of mine owns a lined fretless 4-string Rob Allen Mouse. In all honesty I greatly prefer the sound and feel of the various standard scale RA basses I've played over the years at GTGs. All the RA basses I've tried have been piezo-only though. I'll admit that I've been less than thrilled with any short scale bass all the way back to the EB-O I started on a zillion years ago as well. BTW, there's a pic of an unlined Turner Ren 5 on the latest page of the Turner "club" thread on TB.

Edited by Passinwind
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On 28/01/2020 at 11:50, Basilpea said:

BTW ezbass, was that a serious suggestion about the much revered Jabba_the_gut?

Also, Andyjr1515 is another BC builder whose work is stellar. We are very lucky to have so many good builders on this site.

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