Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Ive decided to buy a fretless and im wondering what you all think of my choices. Im going to use this mainly for church, jazz gigs and probably as my main axe for my metal band too. My budget is between $1000 and $1500, ive found a few used and some new basses in that price range. All are going to reqire a long trip in several different directions so i can check them out, which is why i want your impressions before i gas up the truck and take off. A few of the new ones i cant find anywhere, so id have to order it to try it out and sent it back if i diddnt like it. Used:Pedulla Pentabuzz - $1500Lakland 4-94 deluxe - $1200 ishKinal MK-5b - $1500 New:Warwick Corvette - $1000 ishIbanez GWB105 - $950Fender MIA Jazz FL - $1000Fender Jaco sig - $1300MM Stingray Fretless - $1200 Like i said, this is going to be my main bass for a long time so i need something that will hold up over the years, play well and sound good in a few different arenas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I tend to avoid Fender. The last MIA standard I played felt like a $500 bass, at best. The neck felt unstable and the sound was fairly thin. The Lakland I played was a Joe Osbourn, but it was far beyond the Fender. It was a Skyline model. Anyway, it made me a fan of Lakland. I like Stingrays and the fretless sound on both the Stingray and Sterling is very cool. I can't say about the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassman1956 Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I played a MM SR5 last month, and was pretty well impressed with the feel of it. Liked the neck! It had piezos too, and although not bad, I think they could be a little better quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I don't know jack about fretless basses (though I do own one). It seems to me that with the kind of cash you're looking at spending that you'd be wise to just go out and play all of those basses and pick the one that feels right to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members syciprider Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Of the ones I have tried, there were two I really liked. The Warwick Vette and the PJ Yamaha. If I was buying one today, I will probably get the Yammy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DerekDRP Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Sultan can I ask what the difference is between fretless and fretted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by DerekDRP Sultan can I ask what the difference is between fretless and fretted? A fretless doesn't have frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by Thunderbroom I don't know jack about fretless basses (though I do own one). It seems to me that with the kind of cash you're looking at spending that you'd be wise to just go out and play all of those basses and pick the one that feels right to you. Id love too, but time restrictions dont really let me do that. Also it would cost about $200+ in gas to do that, some of these are a few hunderd miles away from me. Some to the north east and west, so they arent even that close to me. The Pedulla and Kinal i have owned previously so i know what im dealing with there, the Lakland may be coming to me. Its at a big chain store and i just initiated a store transfer, so itll show up in Syracuse and i can try it out. $1200 for a US Lakland sounds good deal to me. Ive played an MM Fretless before and the Fender Jazz, both had flats so i couldnt get a real good idea of what i would be working with tonewise as i play nickel round on fretless. The playability on the Fender sucked too, but that was more the flats than anything. The rest are alien to me, especiallty the Ibanez which i have never even seen in a store so i would be going on rewiews for that. It looks good . Im kinda leaning towards a new Stingray, maybe a 5. I can get a custom one withith my price range. The Lakland is a real good deal, its got some finish marks but in very good condition and if its anything like the fretted models im sure itll own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Have you considered a G&L? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by Thunderbroom Have you considered a G&L? No, but i should. Trouble is they are the hardest things to find in my area. Ive played an L-2000 a few years ago and was pretty impressed. There is a 5er at BassNW.com that is dead sexy. I would like to stick with one of Leo's designs, im just more comfortable with his stuff. If i can find one it'll go on my list. There are a few dealers 70 mi away in Rochester, maybe one of them has a fretless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thunderbroom Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I love both of my G&L's. I really don't think you can go wrong with an L-2000...especially since you've tried the fretted version and liked it. I just like the tonal variations that it offers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoboChrist Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I gigged a fretless Stingray5 for about 5 years. Definitely a beautiful looking and sounding bass with typical fantastic MM build and a reliable, stable neck. The tone is...well...different for a fretless. Very aggresive in some ways. But no Matter how hard you try, you won't get that low mid growl/mwah that you can with a Fender or Pedulla, both of which I'd recommend if it's your first fretless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by Thunderbroom I love both of my G&L's. I really don't think you can go wrong with an L-2000...especially since you've tried the fretted version and liked it. I just like the tonal variations that it offers. Looking at the price they go for, i can get a fretless 5 for about $1300, well within my budget. Also it has an ebony board so i can use roundwounds, i just dont trust pao ferro with rounds. Ill definitly have to locate one i can try it out. Basspalace and Bass NW always have them in stock. Maybe ill just take a chance and order one if i can return it if its not for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by RoboChrist I gigged a fretless Stingray5 for about 5 years. Definitely a beautiful looking and sounding bass with typical fantastic MM build and a reliable, stable neck. The tone is...well...different for a fretless. Very aggresive in some ways. But no Matter how hard you try, you won't get that low mid growl/mwah that you can with a Fender or Pedulla, both of which I'd recommend if it's your first fretless. This wont be my first, ive owned a Pedulla (too pretty sounding) and a Fender jazz, as well as a custom Carvin and my old Kinal (35 inch scale, blech). Ive played tons of them, im far more comfortable on fretless than i am on fretted basses. Ive had a MM in my stable for a very short time as well as a Warwick Vette. Bought them both cheap, sold them for a profit. At the time i wasnt doing any fretless stuff so i never really checked them out. The MM was nice, but you cant get mwah from flats, and i only had it a few days, it had flats all its time with me. The Vette was nice but weighed more than Dom Deluise after a 7 week buffet bender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jrkirkish Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 I was going to suggest going to Scranton, PA, becuase there's a great place for basses (I've lost the URL) Then I looked at google maps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members james on bass Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by Thunderbroom Have you considered a G&L? ooooooh. I like that very much! Is that a Tribute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by james on bass ooooooh. I like that very much! Is that a Tribute? Looks to me like its a US model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sultan417 Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 ^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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