Vintage (the brand) basses?

[Cup]

Hello, I've searched these forums and google and came up with nothing. I'm looking for a fretless bass. After my amp blowing I'm unsure of putting money into a higher priced fretless (I may need the money elsewhere), pretty sensible since I'm not even sure if I can play these things.

 

Have any of you ever owned, played, loved, hated this brand of bass? I apologise for not even knowing the model offered, but the negatiations are in their very early stages. I'm just trying to do a bit of homework first.

 

Cheers, Cup.

[jeremy c]

I think you are thinking of Vantage. As far as I know, these basses are made by Samick.

[saxofunk]

There's one review of a Vintage on Bass Gear Review . But that may also be a type-o... there are 4 Vantage bass reviews on that site.

[Cup]

I asked the seller if he meant Vantage, but he assured me it was Vintage. He's a local bassist and a big tech head, so I took him at his word.

 

Thanks for the link Matt, I'll go check now!

[Mr. Phil]

I'm not sure on the cost, because I'm too lazy to look at the reviews, but If you aren't even sure you would like it, just get something cheap. Like a rogue bass. Or a cheap Ibanez or Squier/Fender or equivalent and defret it.

 

Its fun. Trust me.

[Chris1152]

Hi,

 

Try http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintageelectric.html#bg

 

Rgds

[Cup]

Welcome to the forums Chris and thanks for the link

 

The bass on offer is the Vintage V900FL, it retails at £229 and the guy is looking £100 for it. Hardly played, never gigged.

 

What do you folks think (in theory)? I'll have to play it first, but for the money and since I've never played a fretless before I'm thining of going for it.

 

Cheers.

 

Cup

[Invincible]

My first bass was a Vintage, EST96B, and to be honest, it played like a total POS, it could have been where it was preowned, but if I were you, I'd stay away.

[Afro_Man]

I've actually tried the vintage fretless bass and they are quite nice, i actually prefer them to the yamaha ones, plus the one i tried looked fantastic. I'd play it and if you liked it then buy it, but make sure its been properly set up cos the first time i played one the action was too low and i hated it.

nic

[Fred TBP]

I checked the website, the woods look nice, but these have a suspicious resemblance to various Korean imports like Washburn, Aria and Samick. I have a few Korean instruments, but I didn't pay retail price for them and I've changed the pickups and electronics on them for the most part. (a notable exception being my new Ashbory Bass, which was redesigned by the inventor.)

 

The way to know is to look for the "Made In Korea" sticker, or if that's missing to have the dealer open the back cavity and check out the electronics and the condition it's in. If there's leftover white power (that's pumice, not anthrax ) or if you see solder lumps, chances are it's Korean.

 

Bottom line is that if you plan to replace the electronics anyway, Korean is a safe bet. Otherwise, spend a little more and get something with a pedigree to it. Or buy used, you'll get a better deal and probably a better instrument if it's been well cared for. Nothing wrong with used, they're gonna get used by you anyway!

[g.]

Fred,

 

I've seen Washburns and Aria Pros and Samicks that have all been at least as good as what else was available in the price range (hell - most of the competition is coming form the same factories and price determines what they have for hardware), especially at the lower end. I know you like Ibanez, which has taken the exact same flack...

 

I've seen cavities and neck pockets of much more expensive basses that still had finish powder in them. That really isn't anything for a company to be proud of (Carvin cavities are a work of art and a sonic plus), but it's no big deterrent either. Any loose solder beads could be a bummer though ; }

 

Cup,

 

Those look fine to me. I take it the model is like the 900 models on that page, and the FL stands for fretless. They look pretty decent, good for the price actually. Do you get to play it for awhile? That's the decider. Do the ear on the upper bout and horn. Check out the setup and the truss rod.

 

As Fred said, at that price any active electronics are going to be less than what can be had in the aftermarket. I'd prefer passive with decent pickups for four strings especially. But sometimes the pickups themselves are just as good as any other stock pickup - it's all a matter of tonal preference USUALLY.

[Cup]

I get to play it next week, I've previously borrowed an Accoustic bass from the seller, so I'm sure he'll let me bring the bass home and give it a good going over before I decide wether or not to buy!

 

GB this will be my first time actually playing an active bass, I'd prefer a passive one, but we'll see how this one holds up!

 

I'll report all when I play, thanks for all the info folks!

[Cup]

Well the seller eventually brought the bass over (he was v busy at work).

 

This is not the fretless for me. It's strung with round wound strings, and maybe because of this produces this awful middy synth sound. Definitely not what I was hoping for. Everything construction wise seems to be okay (for the money), although the sides of the the fret board seem a little sharp and dig into my hands when moving up and down the fret board.

 

It's also active. This is my first experience with active electronics and they seem to add little. Once again, it's a cheapy, so maybe that's why I'm not impressed!

 

Back to he round wounds, apparently when he bought it, he was told to just stick regular strings on it. The fret board looks to have been treated with something, it doesn't have that rubbery finish I've noticed on other fretlesses I've played in shops.

 

Thankfully he's gave it to me on a week loan. I knew after 10 minutes of playing that it wasn't going to be staying.

 

Thanks for all the help though...now back to the search!

 

Cup