Forumite Rickenbacker Fretless Bass Guitar Count

[cassius987]

[iiipopes] is a genius and a very nice guy.

Ditto! Jason, your bass looks great and I'm glad the Hi-Gain worked for you. Being lower impedance I expect it to pair very well with the Toaster and the string spacing looks great.

Seriously Jeff; why did you ever part company with that one?

It's one of those poor 2004-style 4003FLs. I would've struggled with those side dots too.

[jps]

It's one of those poor 2004-style 4003FLs. I would've struggled with those side dots too.

+1, although I wouldn't say poor, it is just what it is, with the dots in the same place as a fretted bass. Ideally, I would not have to look at the dots but I happen to need those references to stay accurate with my intonation.

[FretlessOnly]

Poor isn't the correct word, but I can't use a more appropriate one.

I have no issues playing my upright well-intonated, because the fingerboard runs about an inch or two from my eyes in several positions and you really need to bend at the waist to reach the higher positions and guess what? Your eyes go with you.

An electric bass is another kettle of fish entirely. The distance between your hand and your eyes is substantial, so a true symbiotic hand-eye relationship is difficult to develop and rely on the way it can be for upright. So, the side dots really are important.

Yeah, I get the whole "use your ears" thing, but I'm not playing half notes in an oompah band. When doing 16th note runs over two octaves, the dots help to root the first note within each position so that finger memory can be used in each position required for that chunk of the run.

[cassius987]

Ideally, I would not have to look at the dots but I happen to need those references to stay accurate with my intonation.

I think even someone with absolute pitch would need side dots occasionally. I am not pro-fretlines, but I am very pro-side dots.

My ears do the fine-tuning. My eyes take care of getting my finger within 10% of the note.

[jps]

Another major difference between an upright bass and an electric bass is the "free of the body" part of a upright bass' neck is, what, about half or less than that of an electric bass, that must make it a bit easier when not in thumb position.

[FretlessOnly]

Actually, with the neck joining the upper bouts either at D or Eb on the G string, most of the neck can be played out of thumb position, but it is divided between the portion below the joint that is near the eye and that above the joint that is sequestered off in a new zone established by the neck joint. Thumb position starts at about the octave. If noodling just at the octave, thumb isn't needed, but it's a nice break point for doing things in the upper octave.

In any case, the FL electric bass is generally more challenging to play in tune than is an upright, if you take side dots out of the equation for the electric and ignore the high action on my upright ( nearly 0.25 inch at the octave - you get much more tone and acoustic volume from high action. Plus, most anyone who asks to borrow my upright hands it back immediately saying that it's basically unplayable).

[Brother Firefingers]

One. Dec. '72 FL MG

Yeah baby!

[woodsgirl]

Here is a 4001FL with the black binding.

ric bass.jpg (9.89 KiB) Viewed 2912 times

This one is a 1976, I think, and I got it from a kid on Craigslist

[walker]

I'm not sure how many we've got here on this thread so far, but here's my '76 4001FL - an asterisk by it since it started life as a fretted 4001.



Those are ebony fret-markers.

[basmansam]

I wanted to post 3 FL basses I've owned. I recently picked up an April 1973 FL Jetglo.


2007 4003FL


1975 4001FL Wht


'73 4001 FL MG


Current FL, I'm going to hold on to this one

[FretlessOnly]

'73 4001 FL MG

This one's mine now, Sam. I bought it on ebay from a store in AZ; the Bass Place, if I recall.

Were you the one who removed the finish from the back and sides?

[basmansam]

'73 4001 FL MG

This one's mine now, Sam. I bought it on ebay from a store in AZ; the Bass Place, if I recall.

Were you the one who removed the finish from the back and sides?

No, I bought it off ebay, it had very large gauge strings on it, the previous owner filed the nut down to accomodate the strings to where the nut needed replacement. The previous owner refinished the back and removed the finish on the fingerboard. I had a lacal luthier refinish the fingerboard with CV and left the back, the nut alone. It's a great bass, I'm glad you made it your own.
The Jetglo is a great bass too, the finish has some bare spots on the fingerboard, I may have the fingerboard refinished too. I would never file a nut down like that or do it yourelf hack refin job on the back like my old - your bass now.

[jingle_jangle]

Speaking of hack jobs...

[cjj]

Ooh! NICE!

[FretlessOnly]

No, I bought it off ebay, it had very large gauge strings on it, the previous owner filed the nut down to accomodate the strings to where the nut needed replacement. The previous owner refinished the back and removed the finish on the fingerboard. I had a lacal luthier refinish the fingerboard with CV and left the back, the nut alone. It's a great bass, I'm glad you made it your own.
The Jetglo is a great bass too, the finish has some bare spots on the fingerboard, I may have the fingerboard refinished too. I would never file a nut down like that or do it yourelf hack refin job on the back like my old - your bass now.

I replaced the nut with a genuine delrin reissue. That nut was butchered all right.

Had the neck been repaired for improper truss rod adjustment before you had it? It's rock solid, but the seller had no idea what that repair represented.