spider Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Happy holidays: In the market for a cheap fretless. Probably won't use it that much. Do ya have any recomendations on makes/models to look at. I would prefer 5-string. Have pups and preamp from a jazzbass deluxe 5 that should drop in a mexican or japanese fretless j-bass. Is this a good route to take? Any GI on stuff to stay away from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcwhut Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Personally I like The Yamaha BB's they have a 5. I know they have a 4fretless, I don't know if the 5 comes that way. I have a hard enough time finding Lefty gear. Ever Looked for a left handed amp, cable, or strap? IMPOSSIBLE! Hahaha Feel the POWER, the Rumble. Was that an earthquake?! No, it's just my BASS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted December 21, 2001 Author Share Posted December 21, 2001 Are we the only ones on here today? It's slow at work for you today.. huh . dc, what do yo think of the mexican j-bass idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Spider: The MIM idea sounds really good to me. I've got one, & if it had nice pups & preamp, it'd be really great! The electronics seem to be the main complaint on the MIM, but since that won't be an issue for you, that should be a really good route. If you have trouble finding a fretless MIM, but can find a fretted one cheaper/more easily--especially used--you can convert it to fretless without much trouble, if you're careful. (You can search for a thread on this from last month, I believe.) Also good, I think, is the Yamaha; I wouldn't be afraid of the RBX line, which is pretty inexpensive. (I had an RBX 200F years ago, & it was a mwah-fest!) Keep in mind, though, that Yamaha pups tend to be pretty Yamaha-specific, so it might be a fight to retrofit your equipment into one. A tip on shopping for a fretless: it should sound good unplugged--not because you'll play it unplugged, but because it probably won't have a better sound when it's amplified if it doesn't sound good unplugged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcwhut Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Y'know what? It's Christmas time at the newspaper..... ZZZzzzzzz! I only really have one bass. My Kramer Striker, inexpensive but worth so much more than the price tag. I've been playing for 3 months, so I still have a lot of learning to do. My thoughts on dropping some way cool pickups in a mexi-body.? Go For It! I'm all for experimentation, as long as it doesn't burn money I don't have or ruin my instrument. Some people go crazy and don't care. I'm sorry my friends, the newspaper doesn't pay that much. If you want a hobby to pour your money into for nothing, try golf. Not that I'm against golf, it just costs too much! Any way, if you're looking at trying it out and it sounds like you can undo it if you don't like it, what're you waiting for? an open invitation!! The Ampeg I was asking about is sort of the reverse of what you're going through. I can't reverse it, it costs more money than what I have (but the lady has a nice 90 day layaway). And will it be the best setup for me for the money. I think a 60 watt will do for church like you suggested; but I know I'm going to play some 'Backyard' style gigs and maybe at a school auditorium or larger church for Filipino functions I get involved in, before I really make any money to buy something bigger. So I'm kindof buying something that has to be my main thing for tat least a year and a half or so. You mentioned you used 10's in your cabinet. is a 15 gonna work? or should I shop around for only 10" amps? Feel the POWER, the Rumble. Was that an earthquake?! No, it's just my BASS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig S. Leyh Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Originally posted by dcwhut?: I have a hard enough time finding Lefty gear. Ever Looked for a left handed amp, cable, or strap? IMPOSSIBLE! Hahaha That is the funniest thing ever. [i have a warped sense of humor from working in music stores.] The test we take Fridays on what we've learned that week will now take place on Mondays before we've learned it. But, since today is Tuesday, it doesn't matter in the slightest, does it? I quess not! Thank you, Craig S. Leyh CraigLeyh@Buffalo.com WWW.FrameBand.com "Lucky 7" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcwhut Posted December 22, 2001 Share Posted December 22, 2001 Craig, my siganture'quote' is from the 1971 classic Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, spoken by the part of Charlie's science teacher. Is working in a music store a pretty decent deal? I'vew got a Mars, Guitar Center, and a bunch of smaller stores around me here in West Palm. I did a lot of Retail Management including a top FL Department store. If it would help my aspirations of being a musician worth his salt( whatever that means) and the pay will buy my family a box of cereal more than what I make now (not hard to do) I'll check it out! Feel the POWER, the Rumble. Was that an earthquake?! No, it's just my BASS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan Griffith Posted December 22, 2001 Share Posted December 22, 2001 spider, I have a Mexican Fender J fretless and it's a damn fine instrument. I can't help you out much with cheap 5-string fretlesses, though... I just don't know. For the money, and overall the construction of the MIM Jazz is great, the pickups were upgraded this year, and I don't think you'll need to replace them like one used to in the MIMs. She's got a beautiful tone that's easy to coax out of her, especially if you get some good strings (and I'll recommend Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Flats right now!) Go for one of those... you can get for a notch under $400 brand new. Regards, ~Griff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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