I have never seen another bass like this one. Fretless Precisions seem unusual and particularly with the rosewood finger board. It definitely looks cool. Being used to fancy Japanese active basses it seems a bit of a backward step at first but the sound makes up. It's even better that my wife bought it for me as a present!
Model Year: 1978
Price: $0.00
Where Obtained: A gift
This is a fairly standard USA made Precision. It is fretless and has (I think) a rosewood fretboard which is unlined. The body is black as is the pick-guard. The whole effect is a mean looking instrument. Hardware is completely standard Fender. The ashtrays are long gone - before I got it. I have La Bella Flatwound strings on it for that 'old time' sound!
It's an easy bass to play, the precision needs little introduction really! The unlined neck requires a little more concentration but no big deal really. Setting the action and intonation on a fretless is much more a matter of compromise than on a fretted instrument, but I have acheived a setup that suits me certainly.
Fantastic sound - pure Precison with the fretless growl. The flatwounds kill the sustain a bit (well a lot actually) but this is made up for by the warm round sound. My other bass is a Yamaha TRB and compared to that you really have no choice at all about the sound coming from the Fender (the tone control does almost nothing) but that's probably a good thing! Noise levels are very low for such a simple design.
Very reliable, certainly so far. The finish is a little crazed in places but it's 25 years old after all so I guess it's ok. The only problem I have had is with the solid core internal wiring which snaps very easily if you have to take it apart. I will replace it with proper stranded wire next time, but that will probably be years away.
This is a great sounding bass that is an absolute pleasure to play. It is such a joy to let it sing, it almost play itself. I do not think I could have made a better choice in a fretless.
Model Year: 1995
Price: $1995.00 AU (new)
Where Obtained: Alans Music
This US built fretless has a maple graphite reinforced neck with rosewood fingerboard. Alder body with black finish. This unit has fret markers - which I find rather naf. I would have prefered it without but that would have meant waiting three months ex factory.
It came with round wound strings. These sounded nice but I put flat wounds on to preserve the fingerboard and because I wanted the flat wound sound.
Single coil pasive pickup with volume and tone. There is not much adjustment here. I will have to replace this with active electronics if I want more control.
The bridge is through body. The bridge is the clasic fabricated chrome plated steel bridge. The through body strings give it excellent coupling but I would have prefered a cast or machined bridge.
Open tuners. Very easy to tune and stays in tune.
Except for the fret markers the guitar looks pretty nice.
Although I bought it new in 2003 the serial number indicates that it was manufactured in 1995. It seems to have been with the wholesalers for about eight years. It did not exhibit any signs of use when I bought it and the age if anything will make it even beter.
The guitar was pretty well set up when it arrived. The intonation is out on the E string and will need adjustment. The action is close to perfect. It has quite a narrow neck and is a dream to play.
I use it through a system that is ostensibly flat with little effects or eq.
With the flat wounds it has a nice round sound that makes it perfect for walking bass, smooth jazz, or balad style music. It is an excellent contrast to my Cort A5 fretted.
It is an absolute pleasure to play.
It is well built and well made. Although I have not had it for long I feel that it will outlast me.
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