Squier fretless anyone?

[Michele C.]

I have a Yamaha BB 604 that does not fill any hole in my current array and would like to trade it for a new bass. I am tempted to trade it for a new Squier fretless. it would not be too expensive. As much as I can remember the last time I checked it out I was convinced that there is enough jazz bass in it to be interesting.

The local shop has a second hand Yamaha BB 614F for 230 euros, 100 euros less than the Squier. Any opinions on that? The black 614 is very low on mojo, but it might sound good.

An other curiosity I have is for a five string fretless, maybe with a high C.

What would you suggest?

 

[Cthulhu Fhtagn]

I got one. I don't use it a lot, as the upright is my primary for jazz gigs. It does come in handy once in a while.

 

Proper set up is imperative as (if I remember correctly) they do get a little buzzy around the 3rd or 4th fret, especially with the A and D strings.

 

I found the qualtiy to be reasonable and the finish and look is nice. I run flats on mine and like sound well enough.

 

If you want a fretless "just to see if you want a fretless", it's a good choice. You can always get a better one later.

[Basshappi]

I would say that the quality of the Yamaha is most likely higher than the Squier. I have Squiers and a Yamaha and the Yamaha is a far better instrument.

[DJR_Bos]

Yeah, the Squire VM fretless is OK directly after a set up. I leave it in a stand for a few days, weeks, and it's just not very playable.

 

Also, it sounds OK applified but not so much through the wood. I guess it was worth what little it cost me but no more.

 

So, yeah, I have one and can't show much enthusiasm for it.

[Michele C.]

Basshappi, I'm curious, which Squiers and which Yamaha you have?

[plangentmusic]

I actually think the quality of the Squire's are top notch. And I've owned custom made boutique basses. The fretless is an awesome instrument at twice the price.

[Mark Schmieder]

Did you see my earlier review of the Squier, which I have up for sale currently?

 

Of all my gripes, the biggest is the ebonol fretboard. It feels like plastic to me. This wasn't obvious to me in the store, but became more of a problem the more I played it.

 

I also think I prefer almost any bass to have the P/J blend vs. a J at the bridge.

[Michele C.]

Mark, it seems I have got all the bases covered, as you may see in an other thread, I came home with the Yamaha, and it has a P/J combination plus a rosewood fingerboard. Oh, by the way should I fear roundwounds? The previous owner opted for flats, but I think two sweeetnesses are too much

[plangentmusic]

Did you see my earlier review of the Squier, which I have up for sale currently?

 

Of all my gripes, the biggest is the ebonol fretboard. It feels like plastic to me. This wasn't obvious to me in the store, but became more of a problem the more I played it.

 

I also think I prefer almost any bass to have the P/J blend vs. a J at the bridge.

 

I like it! It's a slick feel so I understand it feeling weird, but it's also clear and fat sounding. This was recorded with an ebonol fingerboard and it's one of the best bass sounds I've gotten.

[Basshappi]

Michele, sorry I didn't check back on this thread sooner, glad to see you got a new bass that you are happy with. But I will answer your questions just in case it can be helpful to someone.

 

My squier is a P-Bass Special, one of the models produced in the Indonesian factory. I converted it to fretless, it is not a bad bass but the neck was substandard and it will be replaced. I have seen complaits about the necks of this particular production line in other places as well.

 

The newer model Squiers (VMs & CVs) are much better instruments by far according to all the reviews I've read on them. The few I have handled in stores were top notch with very good fit & finish. So I think that if you are looking t tose models you will do very well and it may be an even match between them and the Yamaha.

 

My Yamaha is an early 80s BB400 and it is a fantastic instrument in every way, in fact it is still completely stock. I have always been impressed with Yamaha basses, it seems that even their least expensive models have been very good ( and their high end models are amazing).

 

As for your concern for the rosewood board, if you are going to be playing the fretless A LOT you might see some wear after a while. But dispite rosewood being a "softwood" it is actually quite resilliant and will hold up pretty well. If you notice significant wear a luthier can treat the fretboard in various ways to harden the wood. I use Elixer nanowebs on my fretless and love them, the coating seems to be much easier on the board and I get the roundwound sound with greatly reduced finger noise.

 

Enjoy your new bass and be sure to give us a full reviw once you have spent some quality time together!

 

Cheers!

[Michele C.]

Thanks! As you have seen I already made some comments in the thread about the new fretless fish. I have a custom bass that is an absolute top notch custom bass.

I have to say that the details of this Yamaha, are good as they can be. The neck is very good and for the overall sound I have nothing to worry about, I was more detailed in an other post.

[Mark Schmieder]

Sorry, been working 16 hour days and can't really catch up now, so will just say congratulations on the Yammie fretless. I didn't see the other thread and won't read it now, but I get the general gist, which is that it is a happy purchase, which is great!

 

I actually would consider one myself, were they available in the US (they aren't). I love my BB 5-string and originally had hoped to find a Yammie fretless. I'll try to skim your other thread to see if you already mentioned what the fretboard wood is.

[Mark Schmieder]

Looks like you said rosewood for the fretboard. I usually find that a bit too rough for fretless playing, but there are a LOT of different rosewoods out there of varying grain depth. I seem to recall seeing one of these at NAMM years back and noticing they had used a very smooth rosewood for the fingerboard.

 

As for roundwounds, they'll simply put more wear on the fingerboard. Ground wounds can be a good compromise, having a bit more of the tone of a round wound, with more of the feel of a flat wound (well, at least the ground wound sets I have tried).

[Michele C.]

Yes, it's rosewood. This particular rosewood is well polished and perhaps lightly laquered. It seems a bit too shiny to me to be naked wood, or maybe it is finished with some oil.

[picker]

If I could have the perfect fretless fish of my dreams, it would have an ebony fretboard with fretlines. Ebony, with its super close grain, has a lovely smooth, waxy feeling to it. I suspect the synthetic fretboard materials I have played were trying to get an ebony-like feel. Open-grained woods seem to have more drag as you move your fingers across them. Given my choice, I'd have ebony boards on fretted axes too.

[Bottom End]

I used SIT pressurewounds on my fretless and I was very satisfied with them. Bright enough, but a bit easier on the fretboard and the tips of my fingers. (I use flats on my Fretted J-Bass, and I prefer that sound on that bass).

 

Didn't Jaco basically have a rosewood fretboard with an epoxy finish?

 

 

[picker]

Didn't Jaco basically have a rosewood fretboard with an epoxy finish?

 

Yep.

[Rocky McDougall]

I have a parts P Bass that I assembled with a Squier VM fretless neck. I like it, it looks and feels like Ebony. I don't play fretless often so it fills my need perfectly. It is strung with a 5 string set tuned BEAD.

Rocky

[Mark Schmieder]

I found the short article that discusses wear on fretless fingerboards. It's actually from Gary Willis' website, so I'll paraphrase to avoid plagiarism:

 

Roundwound on ebony should last for years, if you adjust your playing technique. Rosewood will die a slow death without protection (polyurethane or epoxy).

 

For unfinished fingerboards, use less left hand pressure and avoid string bending. Willis advises putting a finish on any non-ebony fretless fingerboard, and develop a light left-hand technique (adjusting action as necessary).

[Bottom End]

FWIW, I found that when playing fretless, I did not have to bear down as hard as on a fretted bass.

[Mark Schmieder]

This is just a thought, for studio work:

 

Maybe place a mic on the bass itself. Blend this with the miked cabinet and the DI signal.

 

I know of a few top-end bassists who take this approach to the fretless in the studio. Some say it rescues mediocre fretless basses that may not carry themselves as well at gigs.

[jeremy c]

(snip) mediocre fretless basses that may not carry themselves as well at gigs.

 

I wish my fretless would carry itself to gigs. Then my load-in would be a little easier.

[Mark Schmieder]

Just sold it a couple of hours ago to someone who turns out to have a connection with my company, so we ended up talking about 3D Sound etc. :-)

 

He has a late 80's Yamaha combo amp that I was really impressed by. I don't think Yamaha still makes those. The combination was startling, sounding just like Jaco right from the get-go. And all the tone controls were flat (he shares my philosophy in not using tonal shaping at the pre-amp stage).

 

Of course for me, the deal-killer was the fretboard material. But I'm glad it has a happy owner now who is easily able to get the sound out of it that he was looking for. And like Jaco, he is Eastern European, so who knows... ;-)

[jeremy c]

Jaco wasn't Eastern European, he was born in Pennsylvania and spent much of his life in Florida, for cripes sakes.

[Mark Schmieder]

Oops, confused with Miroslav Vituous. So many great bassists in Weather Report!