Fretless jazz project (Lefty)

[Charchuk]

Okay i've had a few days to rethink my wood choices in this bass.  Im going to go for a fretless bass where the main idea is sustain.  The tone i want is deep detailed lows with more high midrange than low.  I'd also like there to be nice clear high end but not overly harsh.  I want there to be a good fretless slap tone like les claypool's rainbow bass (i wish i could find a better example). 

Pickups are nordstrand split coil 5 string jazz bass pickups (NJ5FS).
Preamp will be J-retro.

Body wood will be Bubinga, with an indian rosewood top.  Deluxe jazz style
Neck will be wenge, ebony for the fingerboard, unlined fretless with side dots only. Jazz bass style - 5 inline tuners.
Graphite nut.
I want to get an ETS MK III (2 parts) Bridge to add to the sustain.  Im thinking of having it sent directly to warmoth when i order it.
I was considering gettting the Buzz Feiten setup for this bass but i dont think a fretless would benefit from it.
Hardware will be all black, with the rosewood top and ebony fingerboard this will be one dark bass!!
Would the bubinga body be enough to prevent neck dive?

Any thoughts or input on this project would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Super Turbo Deluxe Custom]

Sounds like you're off to a good start.  I don't think sustain will be a problem, other than using flatwounds because it's fretless.  Even with a short-scale bass, I've never encountered sustain defiencies on a bass.

 

[Charchuk]

Thanks! i guess i should have said i want to get the most sustain i can without it weighing a ton.  i may go for a warwick 2 piece bridge and a just-a-nut.  Im also considering the angled headstock, the jazz head looks cool but i think the angle will make for better playability.  However i have seen angled headstocks break off when guitars have been dropped on a couple of occasions, and my 5 string ray plays just fine with its flat head .

 

[SkuttleFunk]

just curious ... how much sustain is enough? this is a practical and realistic question, not me simply stirring something up

when you play live and the whole band is with you - can you really hear a note 15 seconds after you initially pluck it? sure you could use electronics to manipulate it, but let's leave those out for now.

same for when you're in the studio playing a ballad - can you really hear that note 15 seconds after it's been plucked (even if it's still technically sustaining)?


I ask this question because I get this request often: "I want a bass that will sustain until eternity" ... in reality, a good 10 seconds of sustain is overkill for most any live or studio performance. so you get a bass that sustains for 30 seconds - can you really musically use 30 seconds of sustain? I mean it's not like you're playing a lead guitar thru an overdriven amp that is artificially sustaining the guitar's note

maybe you can help me better understand this need for an instrument that sustains beyond its musical usefulness. I honestly would like to grasp a solid understanding of the usefulness this kind of sustain brings to the artistic pallatte.

to be clear - I build/repair/modify for some well versed studio and live-gig players, and NONE of them grasps this requirement for eternal sustain either. the only people who regularly ask for this capability are those who are bedroom bassists or bassists inexperienced in the professional studio and/or session scene. ya know, I just don't hear Abe, Marcus, Leland, Anthony, or Randy asking for a bass that sustains for minutes on end

feel welcome to PM me a reply if you want. I'm definitely NOT trolling or desiring to tick people off with this post. I really am attempting to understand this requirement for a bass to endlessly sustain, and how a player will justifies this sustain as being a truly musical necessity

thanks for your thoughts, and apologies if I have misunderstood your sustain requirement

all the best,

R

 

[Charchuk]

Listen to Stevie Wonder - I Believe (When I Fall In Love), im pretty sure the bass in that song is made with a synth.  It sounds like that sound could be achieved with a volume pedal and a long sustaining note.  Now that is a case where long sustain could make musical sense.  Another thing im trying to achieve is that sound of a note being plucked and getting louder shortly after, upright basses have this quality.  Its that small swell and long decay of the note.  I agree with what you are saying though, playing live or in a studio setting may not call for this 100% of the time.  I have played in studios before, once for radio jingles and i have studied jazz at university, and have gigged up to 2-3 times a week.  I'm currently living out in the country for personal reasons and am working on my own music.  Working for music as a job -  i hear ya -  it doesn't make a difference, i mean most of the time its like getting the job done little details don't get noticed.  Most of the time in that setting people aren't obsessing over every detail like the detail of your sustained note.  This bass is for me and not for work or anything like that, I'm going to make my music with it and i'd love to have the ability to have a note sustain with such depth.  I think the reason you would ask is because people usually try to ask for the moon when they get a custom bass,  i dont know maybe i'm being a bit immature but thats why im posting so i can get good input... really want to think this through.  Can you get that sound on that stevie track with any old fretless bass tho?

 

[SkuttleFunk]

hey C,

thanks for the thoughtful reply and catching the no offense intended vibe of my post. I'll have to locate a copy of that track and have a listen ...

all the best,

R

 

[AToE]

I think long sustain is important to overall tone/note clarity, especially when fretless. Don't confuse sustain with decay, 30 decay would indeed be pretty useless, but the longer it sustains before the decay begins is pretty important IMO.

 

[Charchuk]

Cool so any insight into the wood choices? im thinking of calling this bass the Warjazz cuz its a jazz bass in shape and pickups, but warwick in wood and hardware, provided i can get that hardware installed.

 

[neuftone]

Want to maximize sustain on a bass?  Here's what you need!