This Thing Rocks

I've got an 04 in Midnight Wine (matches my Strat and my Precision Bass--just need the Tele to round out the set). It has amazing tone, smooth neck, plays easy, and with the flat wound strings on it, slides are just so much fun.

It stays in tune for ages, has that classic J-Bass tone we all know and love, and is just so mellow, man. Like, this is the bass I've been after since I started playing more'n 20 years ago, and I finally laid hands on one for my birthday this year. I'm happy like hell.

The Only Bass for Me

I got my first Fender J when I was 11 and had no idea that the model they pulled off the wall for me was a fretless until I had it in my hand. The sales guy asked me, "can you play fretless" and I, being a super-cool preteen, just shook him off and said, "yeah it's no big deal". And thus, I started playing fretless from pretty much day 1 of my bass career. My personal fretless J has seen a lot of modifications: new tuning heads, Fender Custom Shop Vintage Noiseless pickups, a Leo Quann Badass II Bridge upgrade, and a wiring harness upgrade. I love the way it plays; on its own it's very synth-y but through my board it can definitely get mean, especially since I play it with DR Fat Beam roundwounds. I'll never part with mine.

A good starting point for fretless players

Actually, 3.5 stars. This is a Made in Mexico Fender bass. The fretboard and build quality are very good, and it's fairly resonant. The tuning machines could be a little better, they have some 'creep' when tuning up to pitch, but they are adequate.

But playing fretless is FUN, and the excellent neck and fretboard feel will make you a happy player. I upgraded with a Gotoh bridge and a precisely cut bone nut and it greatly improved the sustain (a good tech cutting the slots precisely is a huge help with this). I also installed Fender Super 55 pickups - this is a solid, gigging instrument now.

Go fretless, you'll be glad you did !

My First Bass Guitar

My dad bought me one Christmas. I ended up changing the stock pickups, the strap buttons, and the tailpiece. I mainly use it for in-studio work.