Help! fretless dilemma..help

[your idol]

I put out an ad on Craigslist locally asking for a Stingray 5 and said I'd pay $750 for it. I got one response offering me a fretless sr5 for that price. I'm in LOVE with everything about it but the fact it's fretless and i have never played one as my main bass. But for the price I feel like I can't pass it up. If i buy it and decide i don't dig the fretless feel, how hard is it to find/get a different 5 string fretted neck? Will all 5 string necks fit? How much is it going to rock my wallet?

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Eggman]

If you want fretted - buy fretted. Neck swapping is a pain. Be patient - a bass will appear somewhere for you to buy.

 

[your idol]

My problem wit this answer is I don't want to not get the fretless and find out i missed out on something I'd really enjoy. That and i have NO BASS right now and it's driving me nuts

 

[mynan]

If you get the fretless and decide you don't want it, it shouldn't be hard to get $750 reselling it...as long as it's in decent shape.

Getting another neck is going to be difficult, unless you go aftermarket...not sure of the availability on those either.

 

[ptg]

If you want fretted - buy fretted. Neck swapping is a pain. Be patient - a bass will appear somewhere for you to buy.

I agree...I use my fretless a lot but if it's going to be your only bass, and you're not sure if you want the fretless, then wait for a fretted. It will come soon enough and you can always explore the smooth board down the road.

 

[your idol]

ok well if i wait, because i swing one til the 26th anyway. what can expect to pay for a maple neck 4 or 5 string? and where are the best place to get one on the cheap?

 

[maddog]

I feel more connected to playing with a fretless. It makes you really think about what you are playing and you really have to listen. That being said, my progress has been really slowed because I have to pay more attention to intonation.

I say go for it but I'm braver when I'm out of range.

 

[your idol]

My worry there is I'm not sure the fretless "muah" sound that is especially apparent on ebmm s will fit with everything i like to play. sometimes i like to get funky or bluesy . sometimes i just want that rock n roll drug through the mud thud! i was watching someyoutube vids trying to get an idea of sound and it basically scared me off completely.

 

[Duarte]

Buy it! Fretless SRs are fantastic, and if you don't want it, put it for sale on the forum - we want to buy it!

 

[your idol]

Buy it! Fretless SRs are fantastic, and if you don't want it, put it for sale on the forum - we want to buy it!

if you want the guys contact info ill be happy to share it im sure he's not just partial to selling it to me and im about to reject him as soon as i find a low priced maple fretted (im waiting on an email for an offer i put out right now) i move fast

 

[maddog]

My worry there is I'm not sure the fretless "muah" sound that is especially apparent on ebmm s will fit with everything i like to play. sometimes i like to get funky or bluesy . sometimes i just want that rock n roll drug through the mud thud! i was watching someyoutube vids trying to get an idea of sound and it basically scared me off completely.

I don't get a "muah" sound at all. Could try some flats to get more thud. Or try a soft pick. I use a rubber one. Has a nice attack but no zing.

 

[Aussie Mark]

sometimes i like to get funky or bluesy . sometimes i just want that rock n roll drug through the mud thud!

You'll only get mwah if you slide along the strings on a fretless. If you play it the same as you play a fretted bass you don't get mwah.

Exhibit #1:

Blues ....

Exhibit #2:

80's & 90's rock covers ....

That said, if you've never played fretless and are considering buying one as your only/main bass, I would wait on buying one until you've had some time on a fretless first.

 

[Mu5icM@n]

I love my SR5 fretless. I don't think you can go wrong by buying it. You can get a huge variety of sounds out of it just by changing your right-hand technique. Mine has fretlines--I've fooled a lot of bands into thinking I was playing a fretted until I made the bass sing.

 

[rhythmCity944]

I love my fretless basses. My black '89 fretless is my main baby for almost everything I do. The fretless stingrays seem to have more presence than my fretted stingrays to my ear and my band says the same thing.

Check out anything on the first BLUE MURDER album like tracks such as "Billy" or "Valley of the Kings" that is all metal played on a fretless bass by Tony Franklin...

If I could go back to when I started playing bass, I would have bought a fretless bass much sooner...at least that's me...i wouldn't pick up a fretless if i didn't have another fretted bass around though if i never have played a fretless before and had some time to get used to it

 

[your idol]

I want to personally thank EVERYONE here for their input on this. All the info you gave made me take a hard look at what i wanted and gave me the patience to wait. The verdict is in, the trigger is pulled... my first stingray

and I'm in LOVE

PICS OF MODS SOON TO COME

 

[Duarte]

Classic Ray! Nice one.

 

[mynan]

PICS OF MODS SOON TO COME

 

[your idol]

can't help it.. i'm a tinkerer by nature. cars, guitars, girls. i tinker with them all and havent ruined anything yet. at least that i couldnt fix.

might be a pickguard. might be a repaint. might be chrome knobs. hard to tell but whatever i do to it it will be tasteful.

 

[oli@bass]

Post some pics of the mods on girls!