I'm NOT crazy - oh no, I'm not! Really!

stubhead

Master Member
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OK, here's the plan: a single pickup, fretless 5-string bass with a 32" scale, designed to be strung with a high C instead of a low B. Although, with that scale you might even manage F# B E A D low to high. I'd use the Warmoth G5 body:
http://www.warmoth.com/bass/bodies/gbass.cfm?fuseaction=g5

g5body.jpg


Consider that on a standard Precision bass, the pickup is 30" from the nut, then envision a bridge placed 32" away - it'd be in about the usual position of a six-string guitar bridge. I'd have Warmoth route it for a single EMG 5-string pickup at the neck position, and beg them/pay them to leave off the side position dots on the neck. I'd have to widget some accurate dots in there somehow later, that's minor. Hopefully I can con Warmoth into leaving out the bridge grounding wire route too?  :help: I have to find the narrowest possible 5-string bridge too, cause they spread down there - being a fretless, I could even just make a radiused chunk of brass if I have to, and shim it to height if I can't find a suitably narrow storebought one.

The biggest problem I actually see is ensuring a consistent supply of single high-C flatwound strings, cause all the five-string sets are for low B tuning and I'd hate to have to buy six-string sets and have to use the excess low B strings for robot tentacles or garrotting crocodiles or something. In a brief search the only single, flatwound C strings I found were Rotosounds at MF:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Rotosound-JBL30-Jazz-Bass-Single-String?sku=102885

I don't even care that much which brand of string, just that I can get a match for all five strings - twiddle the tone knob a bit, they all sound the same....*
The point of all this is that I love my new fretless bass, but I want to get higher and I know from bitter experience that fretless guitars really, really just don't work well. People keep trying over and over and over, glass fretboards and whatnot, but they just sound sucky, which is kind of a bad characteristic for a so-called "musical" instrument. In my opinion.


*(foosh, foosh, the sound of flames)  :cool01:
 
for your string needs, buy a 4-string set and then add a single string for the high C

in the case of Elixer Nanowebs (the preferred string for fretless), you could order this 32" scale set

          http://www.juststrings.com/elx-14102.html

and add this single string to make your 5-string set

          http://www.juststrings.com/elx-15332.html


if you just have to have flats, you can always go with something like Rotosounds utilizing this pair of purchases

          set:http://www.juststrings.com/rts-sm77.html
          single: http://www.juststrings.com/rts-jbl030.html


it's the common way that bassists do this - at least it's what my bass customers who play a 'high 5' do on a regular basis. it's really no big deal


all the best,

R
 
You really prefer the Nanowebs? I'm new to this bass thing - well actually, I played it first in high school, way last century sometime. I just looked up "strings" on the talkbass forum and bought some stuff.... I have D'Addario Chromes on my four string fretless so far, they seem to work fine - I'd just hate to tear up my pretty pau ferro board. I'll get to all the flat & polished & ground brands eventually, but it'll take me a few years I guess. I'm not into boutiqueiness just for the sake of boutiqueiness, but if the Elixers are worth the $40 I'll work a set in on my four sometime. This five string dream is a good long time off, I have to save some money one of these months here. I saw that Jonas Hellborg's signature model has a 32" scale, and I can see the advantages for reach.
 
the great thing about the Nanos is that you get a good percentage of the roundwound sound, but because of the coating they don't eat your fingerboard. I have a custom 6-string fretless with Ebony fingerboard that is going on 10 years old now. it's had the same set of Nanos on it for almost all of its life, and is played for studio and session work several times each week. the Nanos still sound just as good as when they were first installed years ago, and there is only some light scuffing on the fingerboard

here's the bass (bottom one of the three shown)

trio.jpg


all the best,

R
 
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