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NBD: Shiny Blue Fretless


SmallEQ

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So basically I couldn't find a fretted bass that I liked more than my Skjold P5, so I sold everything off and picked this up for a hell of a deal. I live a strange circuitous life sometimes. A gold version of this bass was the first bass I ever ordered new for myself. Strangely enough a luthier friend of mine set this up in his shop for the guy who sold this too me, so I knew it would play nice. Even though I used to use TI Flats and Jazz Rounds almost exclusively for a couple of years, I haven't had them on a bass in a year or so. I have to get used to playing the rubber bands again. Seems to sing acoustically even more than my old one, I am bravely going to play this at practice tonight.

 

I never liked this Pearl Blue on the Sterlings and Stingrays, but I remember really liking it on a previous Bongo my buddy had (Still wish I had bought that bass, it was one of the best playing fivers I have ever played). The colour is really stunning on the Bongo.

 

Quick cellphone shot:

photo-38.jpg

From the seller:

IMG_0179-1.jpg

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Nice, especially for a Bongo. I didn't realize they came in a 1 pup version.

 

 

Everybody was so focused on the two pickup versions when they were released that the 1 pickup ones got overlooked. The single pickup version is actually Sterling Ball's favorite. This would be the fourth single pup version I have owned and I greatly prefer it over the HH. The HS one I had was very cool though.

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I get the feeling I'll at least get to play this one before you find another.
;)

 

Assuming there are no sudden changes to my financial situation, I think I am done. Shipping basses is becoming rather annoying for me.

 

So I played it at rehearsal tonight. Funny thing is, I expected to have trouble with the lack of lines, but my intonation was as good if not better than when I had my old lined fretless (not that it was great :lol:). I had more difficulty with the lack of strings then I did the lack of lines.

 

However, I don't want a fretless fiver, there is something about the elegance of a fretless 4 that really appeals to me and when I have played fretless fivers in the past I have had a hell of a time keeping the B string muted when not in use. Some of the songs tonight went really well, others not so much, I think if I want to gig this, I will just have to pick a few songs and make sure I know how to play them in first position and I will be fine. Never really tried to do it before.

 

Oh, and when I knew what I was doing it sounded really good tonight even on some songs that I wouldn't have thought to try it on, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here.

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So I played it at rehearsal tonight. Funny thing is, I expected to have trouble with the lack of lines, but my intonation was as good if not better than when I had my old lined fretless (not that it was great
:lol:
). I had more difficulty with the lack of strings then I did the lack of lines.


However, I don't want a fretless fiver, there is something about the elegance of a fretless 4 that really appeals to me and when I have played fretless fivers in the past I have had a hell of a time keeping the B string muted when not in use. Some of the songs tonight went really well, others not so much, I think if I want to gig this, I will just have to pick a few songs and make sure I know how to play them in first position and I will be fine. Never really tried to do it before.


Oh, and when I knew what I was doing it sounded really good tonight even on some songs that I wouldn't have thought to try it on, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had here.

 

I made the move from 5 strings back to 4 after picking up the double bass again. There is an elegance to those 4 strings. My next fretless will be a 4. Probably an MB-2. :) Fretless can fit into songs you wouldn't expect. If I listened to Bob Nyswonger, I'd be playing it the majority of time, but I still can't bring myself to do that. ;)

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