Musicman20 Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 Im all about vintage styles...we already established that! So...im after a lovely fretless. I borrowed a friends Squier recently, and I really enjoyed it. But, Id like to buy my own, and invest in quite a nice one. It'll no doubt be a Fender, unless anyone can suggest a tradtional style jazz thats as nice as a Fender and isnt ridiculous in price (eg over £1.5K). I'm loving the Tony Franklin, because it offers P warmth, with the J pickup on the back, and an ebony neck! But, its basically order it in, and not test it out. The demo vids look cracking. Or, its a USA Fender Jazz Fretless, but I didnt want fretlines to be fair. Any other Jazz basses? I know there is the Jaco one, whats that like? Cheers for your expertise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 What's your budget? If you get on with Fender designs then the Squier VMJ Fretless is hard to beat at the price. If you have more to spend you should at least try the Ibanez GWB35. I'd also be on the lookout for a second hand Pedulla Buzz. Should be able to find one for under £1k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 [quote name='BigRedX' post='568462' date='Aug 13 2009, 10:09 PM']What's your budget? If you get on with Fender designs then the Squier VMJ Fretless is hard to beat at the price. If you have more to spend you should at least try the Ibanez GWB35. I'd also be on the lookout for a second hand Pedulla Buzz. Should be able to find one for under £1k[/quote] Thanks No more than £1300....and if I do at that cost....its a fair way off, but I always like to have my sights on a few bits of gear as I save better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonbass Posted August 13, 2009 Share Posted August 13, 2009 I've got the Fender Jaco Fretless Jazz. It's a great bass; thin neck, very warm and funky passive pickups, looks great. Has reverse elephant ear tuning pegs which take some getting used to. The fingerboard is also surprisingly flat, and I can't help thinking that jaco's always seemd to have a smaller radius. But it definately sounds like Jaco's. If you want a nice glossy modern fretless sound, you'll struggle to get it from this bass - but the warm yet agressive 70's thing oozes from it. One other thought though - before this I had a Squier Silver Series Jazz, which I defretted (using simple instructions off t'internet) and added a Badass II and EMG JV pickups to. Finished up with a really, really great sounding and playing bass for about half the price of top end Fenders. Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 13, 2009 Author Share Posted August 13, 2009 [quote name='moonbass' post='568520' date='Aug 13 2009, 11:18 PM']I've got the Fender Jaco Fretless Jazz. It's a great bass; thin neck, very warm and funky passive pickups, looks great. Has reverse elephant ear tuning pegs which take some getting used to. The fingerboard is also surprisingly flat, and I can't help thinking that jaco's always seemd to have a smaller radius. But it definately sounds like Jaco's. If you want a nice glossy modern fretless sound, you'll struggle to get it from this bass - but the warm yet agressive 70's thing oozes from it. One other thought though - before this I had a Squier Silver Series Jazz, which I defretted (using simple instructions off t'internet) and added a Badass II and EMG JV pickups to. Finished up with a really, really great sounding and playing bass for about half the price of top end Fenders. Andy[/quote] Thanks! Yeah, with Fretless I want to stick to warm and slightly punchy, not glassy and trebly. I think it suits the whole sound of a fretless more, and gives it a sound much more like a double bass. Is yours the USA Jaco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 I've played a Fender Jaco sig and if you Fenders its a nice bass BUT IMO it's not by any stretch of the imagination £1k nicer than the Squier. If it was £500-600 and you like it then go for it, but much of the price is derived from the J and F in the title and not because it's a exceptional quality instrument. I wouldn't make a decision until you've at least tried a Pedulla Buzz. You may find it's not the bass for you - especially if you prefer traditional styling, but for sound and playability it's a bench-mark for fretless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 You don't need to spend a lot to get a really nice sounding fretless, the Jaco copy i had (recently sold by Dr. Dave) was excellent. Similarly the Bitsa fretless i now own is also very nice, £130 off geoffbyrne on here, also ripe for modding. Mine is getting taken back to passive pickups and having a piezo bridge installed when i get around to it Check out the Warmoth Custom in my sig, that's a nice bass for 390 notes, Pau Ferro board too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solo4652 Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Superb, unique, pristine fretless Stingray here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=55141"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=55141[/url] You're very welcome to try it out anytime. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 [quote name='Musicman20' post='568428' date='Aug 13 2009, 09:31 PM']I'm loving the Tony Franklin, because it offers P warmth, with the J pickup on the back, and an ebony neck! But, its basically order it in, and not test it out. The demo vids look cracking.[/quote] I've got a Tony Franklin and I don't think anyone would be disappointed by it. As well as the P warmth, J at the back, and ebony neck, it has detuner and first fret side dot. And there's a brand new one hanging on the wall in Brighton GAK right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Some lovely fretlesses for sale on the forum; a shameless plug for my own: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=54801&hl=Fender+73"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=Fender+73[/url] - vintage Fender with the deep punch and plumminess that you just can't get on a Jazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 Don't know how much 'sonic' or playability differences there are between the Fender TF and the std American Jazz. ET had my old Jazz frettless (1999) and swapped it out in favour of the TF so I'd expect it's a reasonable upgrade. I've played both lined and unlined and personally don't think it makes much difference (as long as the side dots are on the fret) - it only makes a difference if you want to make a statement to the audience that you're playing a fretless. I was more than happy with the sound of the Jazz, nice and woody and with much more mwah and subtlety than the Status necked Jazz (and previously Westone T3) that it replaced. Only problem I seem to have a the minute is picking up another used one at my budget of £600. Tsk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted August 14, 2009 Share Posted August 14, 2009 [quote name='martthebass' post='568944' date='Aug 14 2009, 12:56 PM'][b]Don't know how much 'sonic' or playability differences there are between the Fender TF and the std American Jazz. ET had my old Jazz frettless (1999) and swapped it out in favour of the TF so I'd expect it's a reasonable upgrade. [/b] I've played both lined and unlined and personally don't think it makes much difference (as long as the side dots are on the fret) - it only makes a difference if you want to make a statement to the audience that you're playing a fretless. I was more than happy with the sound of the Jazz, nice and woody and with much more mwah and subtlety than the Status necked Jazz (and previously Westone T3) that it replaced. Only problem I seem to have a the minute is picking up another used one at my budget of £600. Tsk[/quote] Mart's old lined fretless Jazz (which is now with Lee650) was a very nice bass and with old flats on it did have a kind of darkness of tone that I liked on the neck pickup and the lines certainly helped on my first fretless. I moved to the Tony Franklin (courtesy of Water of Tyne) because I wanted more of a Precision kind of sound and I'd say the TF does do 'deep' (as it was described in another thread) in a way the Jazz didn't - no criticism of the Jazz intended here, just that I wanted a slightly different tone. Also, losing the lines has been much less of a problem than I feared. I would say the TF is a better built bass with a wider range of tonal options but it's also substantially more expensive. However, the MIA fretless Jazz was very good and substantially cheaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted August 15, 2009 Author Share Posted August 15, 2009 Thanks for all the information. I definitely need to have a long think and test a few out. It has to have Jazz-ish pickups....which includes the TF...I love how the P pickup sounds, then the single bridge cuts and barks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.