Just bought the Ibanez and I have to say, best fretless sound I heard in ages! So woody and hollow, meowy and dynamic. It is incredible how it sounds clear and definite even with the tone all closed. This baby sings. You can do subtle, classy, jazzy stuff, or just add a pinch of valve like grit to it and you are immediately in Claypool territory. I had my issues with its looks though, not the prettiest bass around... but it eventually won me over.
Haven't played it myself but got to agree with you on the looks. You really wonder if they couldn't have made it a bit prettier. It has a spruce top, I believe they use that on violins etc. as well and those look a lot better.
A stellar review of two great basses! I think I know just what bass I wanna get for starters now (the Spector Spectorcore fretless)! And Nathan's momentary spazzing out @ 20:12 cracks me up!
That opening jam! I was watching another video and this one just started auto-playing. I was about to surf on over to some other channel, but the harmonies in that opening caused me to pause and listen. So beautiful! Wish I had this on my iPod to listen to in the evening while chilling on the back porch sipping on a cold beer.
More options with the spector, ibanez sounds GREAT with almost no options. It has a more unique tone as well. Glad I ordered the ibanez a few hours ago! :)
I don't like the knob fiddling. It's better to say "this is tone on full, tone off neck pickup etc." Otherwise we have no context for what we are hearing.
Both Basses have their own Tone, but both Nathan & "The Other Lee" are *excellent* Fretless Payers with fantastic techniques! 👍🏼 ...and even though my Main Fretless is a Custom Spector with an Epoxy-coated Rosewood Fingerboard, I'd love a Mike Lull M5 "Modern 5-string" Jazz Bass with both magnetic Jazz Pickups and a Hipshot/GraphTech Bridge with Piezo Saddles! 😱
That Spector is pretty pretty! I'd like to hear it with flatwound strngs. I'm actually looking to get my hands on a fretless 5 string. Never played fretless before. And I've only ever used roundwound strings. Does Spector make left-handed instruments?
Both nice sounding basses in their own way. Roundwounds will chew into the fingerboard eventually, but if they're giving you the sound you want, that might just be the price. I've seen folk have their boards resurfaced, even veneered to put more wood in there. One mate has his very lightly matt varnished and when that goes through he has it redone. One of my fretties has Thomastik flats on and they're surprisingly brighter than I was expecting, even after a while. Mwahs like a mofo too ;)
For the fret(less)board flatwounds are better, less 'damaging'. They also play easier, more smooth. But imho you get a better 'mwah' sound with roundwound strings. Cheers!
I owned an inexpensive fretless (SX Vintage series) and a more-expensive ESP LTD. Both basses responded remarkably to roundwounds, except the fretboard itself. Regardless of board material the rounds wore grooves into them. I didn't (and still don't) have the skill and patience required to smooth out the fretboard, but I didn't want to further damage it; I bought flatwounds. I just could never get the classic fretless tone with them, and I didn't want to regularly pay a luthier to refurbish the fretboard...so I ended up selling both. Sometimes I really miss those babies, but the maintenance expenses bring me back to reality.
I bought the spectacore 4 following you clip 👍. You have to put a set of flats on to reap its full fretless tonal capabilities though. Sweet with a set of light gauge picatos
Although it has one of that fretless sounds I've heard, that SRH500F-NNF is the bane of my existence. it's so uncomfortable too me! Great playing though boys!
While a hi fi sound with a lot of clear, ringy high end and deep lows can sound great on a fretted bass, I think it's not really the sound for a fretless bass. A woody tone with a lot of mids, a muted high end, and some tight low end sounds best for fretless. Nice jamming! I'd love to see Michael Manring and Mark Egan sit in with you guys sometime.
I just hate the logic that more pickups = better when you can vary the tone so much with your fingers. And these are not the same price, the Spectorcore 5 is over $200 more than the Ibanez brand new taking into consideration the Ibanez comes with $40 strings. The Ibanez does 1 thing and it does it really well, you could always add another pickup later on if you were so desperate for variation.
Yeah only one man can make this instrument work and I think we know who he is,nice demo think I would go for the Spector with roundwounds and try and chew up the fretboard.
I have bought the Spectorcore with 4 FL with Bartonlini pickup but und it sounds very weak. The sound is much quieter than the piezo. The EMG in this video seems much more powerful. Does anybody know if that is normal? To play the Bartolini I need to push the sound on the amp much more than with other basses or with the piezo.
room42 Paladino made his name in the '80s playing fretless bass on Paul Young's albums. You can hear it in the background on songs like "Every Time You Go Away." Paladino replaced John Entwistle in the Who after Entwistle's death. He has also toured with Paul Simon and John Mayer.
It depends entirely on what sound you're after. Jaco Pastorius used roundwounds - as do a lot of jazz-fusion players - and they did cause wear on the board. However his tone had a lot more highs and high mids - more of the "mwah" tone - and using flatwounds won't get you that sound. If you want to use a fretless to play rock or metal then I'd recommend using roundwounds and budgeting £50-100 a year to have a luthier re-level the board. If you want a more upright sound then using flats or nylon flats will be the way to go. I have 2 fretless basses - and two fretless guitars. One of my basses has an Ebanol fingerboard (Which is a man-made material and really hard) and I use roundwounds on it; it has scuffed slightly but I've had that bass for years and it's not damaged the board enough to warrant any maintenance. The other bass has an Indian Ebony board, I did use roundwounds on it but it did begin to wear grooves into the board so I swapped for nylon flatwounds - which don't wear the board at all.
Would I be crazy for using the 5 string version of the ibanez for aggressive music ..lmao.. cuz I got one coming my way....just about a day away now according to the tracking info
Really hate when they rolled the tone off, It just made everything muddy. And why is everyone complaining about roundwounds being on the bass. It doesn't damage the board that bad. No more than they damage frets in my opinion.
It's interesting that this appers just as I'm in the market for my first fretless. The one I've got my eyes on isn't in there though even though it's an Ibanez, the SRF705.
Todesnuss I recently picked up an sr700 fretless, and it's fantastic. i picked up a Jack Pastorius signature fretless (£2000) and couldn't believe how much better mine sounded. highly recommended!!
Thanks for that info. I had no doubt that those are propably the best fretless basses in the price range but it's nice to hear some people confirm it from experience.
All true what you folks said about strings ... but Jaco used roundwounds and that is all we really need to know about that, right? Very nice video, thanks for sharing it.
So... the Ibby has dots and lines... which do you abide by? With fretless it's my understanding that you play on the line or on the dot, this has both?
It depends entirely on the tone you want. If you want a more "upright" sound then nylon tapewounds will do that. If you want a more "Jaco" like tone then you'll have to use roundwounds. I have fretless basses with both types of strings. On my bass with rounds; the damage - in my experience - is mainly cosmetic and it's not expensive to get a Luthier to sand down a board to take out the scratches or grooves if there are any. I had a fretted bass converted to fretless and it only cost £80 to remove the old rosewood fingerboard and put on an Ebony board.
Not keen on the sounds from either of these. I have tried several fretless basses over the years and my favourite by some distance is the Squier Jazz Fretless.Great value.
practicing without looking at your fingers is essential fretless or not. yes you have to move your hands without looking. its better to listen to what you play as opposed to watching what you play.
That opening jam actually ruled.
Till that out of tune part at the end lol
It’s the Elephant Shuffle 😂😂
I bought the Ibanez after seeing this video, and I freaking love it!
Hello, do you still feel this way. Would this be good for a first time fretless bass? TY
Just bought the Ibanez and I have to say, best fretless sound I heard in ages! So woody and hollow, meowy and dynamic. It is incredible how it sounds clear and definite even with the tone all closed. This baby sings. You can do subtle, classy, jazzy stuff, or just add a pinch of valve like grit to it and you are immediately in Claypool territory.
I had my issues with its looks though, not the prettiest bass around... but it eventually won me over.
Haven't played it myself but got to agree with you on the looks. You really wonder if they couldn't have made it a bit prettier. It has a spruce top, I believe they use that on violins etc. as well and those look a lot better.
super late comment but i love how minimalist the ibanez is, the looks are what drew me in to begin with
A stellar review of two great basses! I think I know just what bass I wanna get for starters now (the Spector Spectorcore fretless)! And Nathan's momentary spazzing out @ 20:12 cracks me up!
That opening jam! I was watching another video and this one just started auto-playing. I was about to surf on over to some other channel, but the harmonies in that opening caused me to pause and listen. So beautiful! Wish I had this on my iPod to listen to in the evening while chilling on the back porch sipping on a cold beer.
Love seeing more Spector content! They play, sound, and look fantastic!
Yes sir! Really like how “All About the Bass” is developing. Looking forward to the
next episode.
I'd have the ibanez, getting some graceland vibes from lee's playing
2:55 Nathan: "I don't play fretless at all as you can hear..."
10:45 Nathan: plays an amazing solo with perfect intonation
Self-deprecation is the mark of a true musician
As much as I love the Capt. I don't mind when he is missing from certain vids. Drum, bass, metal music, etc.
Not impressed by that Spector sound. Ibanez sound so much better in my opinion
Well, Lee DID have it outta tune. Love my Spector.
Its because of the EMG pickup. It doesnt match the fretless sound-style imo.
Agreed, not very impressed by either though.
Agreed. The Ibanez has more character and fuller sound.
Awesome, fellow bass Gents. You can definitely do more shows together.
i love fretless basses, only basses i buy are fretless and uprights
Ibanez really rocks the production line bass world with superb instruments at reasonable prices.
You two are my newest fave demo duo!!! Nicely done guys.
Best one I've seen of you two. Proper giggling about "lights off". Sublime players.
love the warm round tones of the ibanez! the spector has a metallic ring to it
Ibanez wins
More options with the spector, ibanez sounds GREAT with almost no options. It has a more unique tone as well. Glad I ordered the ibanez a few hours ago! :)
Love the sound of the Spector, look of the Ibanez. Might well just be down to the Strings 👍
I put labella tapewound on my Ibanez SRH500F; perfect! The side dots are right at the fret and allow for great intonation.
Thanks for the commentary and playing. There's something about fretless basses. I just get something more from their sound. All the best.
I don't like the knob fiddling. It's better to say "this is tone on full, tone off neck pickup etc." Otherwise we have no context for what we are hearing.
Spot on - was very annoying
just use your ears and make sense of it, if you can't do that good luck making music
This was a great idea men, keep up the great work.
Oh, another Lee!
Both Basses have their own Tone, but both Nathan & "The Other Lee" are *excellent* Fretless Payers with fantastic techniques! 👍🏼
...and even though my Main Fretless is a Custom Spector with an Epoxy-coated Rosewood Fingerboard, I'd love a Mike Lull M5 "Modern 5-string" Jazz Bass with both magnetic Jazz Pickups and a Hipshot/GraphTech Bridge with Piezo Saddles! 😱
Thank you for pronouncing piezo properly!
I never knew if I was pronouncing it properly.
I always said "pee-et-so" but heard Americans pronounce it pie-zo.
So it is pee-et-so then?
Pee-et-so or peet-so, but not pie-zo(to rhyme with fly!)).
piezo is a greek word so if you wanna hear the correct pronunciation listen to a greek or italian guy.
That intro was gorgeous!
That Spector is pretty pretty! I'd like to hear it with flatwound strngs. I'm actually looking to get my hands on a fretless 5 string. Never played fretless before. And I've only ever used roundwound strings. Does Spector make left-handed instruments?
Interested in buying the spectorcore but wondering what type of music it would be suitable for. It seems more versatile than the ibanez
I saw the bassist for the band America play a Spectorcore 5 string fretted, so it seems to work for that type of music.
Yeah, so yeah....yeah
Yeah man)
Today's episode of all about the bass is brought to you by the Reddings lol...lovely intro jam there guys.
Have ordered the Spectorcore on your web store. Thanks!
Both nice sounding basses in their own way.
Roundwounds will chew into the fingerboard eventually, but if they're giving you the sound you want, that might just be the price. I've seen folk have their boards resurfaced, even veneered to put more wood in there. One mate has his very lightly matt varnished and when that goes through he has it redone.
One of my fretties has Thomastik flats on and they're surprisingly brighter than I was expecting, even after a while.
Mwahs like a mofo too ;)
Both great basses, but I bought the Spectorcore 5’er. Just felt better in my hands and let me play the lines I could hear in my head.
For the fret(less)board flatwounds are better, less 'damaging'. They also play easier, more smooth. But imho you get a better 'mwah' sound with roundwound strings. Cheers!
I owned an inexpensive fretless (SX Vintage series) and a more-expensive ESP LTD. Both basses responded remarkably to roundwounds, except the fretboard itself. Regardless of board material the rounds wore grooves into them. I didn't (and still don't) have the skill and patience required to smooth out the fretboard, but I didn't want to further damage it; I bought flatwounds. I just could never get the classic fretless tone with them, and I didn't want to regularly pay a luthier to refurbish the fretboard...so I ended up selling both. Sometimes I really miss those babies, but the maintenance expenses bring me back to reality.
there is absolutely nothing as expressive and sexy than fretless chords. There, I said it.
That fretless sounds so wonderful... Ha, it wasn't just the bass, it was Lee... 😎👍🏻
I bought the spectacore 4 following you clip 👍. You have to put a set of flats on to reap its full fretless tonal capabilities though. Sweet with a set of light gauge picatos
Every time I watch a fretless bass video I immediately have to look up a Jacko solo
Although it has one of that fretless sounds I've heard, that SRH500F-NNF is the bane of my existence. it's so uncomfortable too me! Great playing though boys!
If the Spector had flatwounds it would be interesting.
i'd love to hear the one on the right with black nylon strings
While a hi fi sound with a lot of clear, ringy high end and deep lows can sound great on a fretted bass, I think it's not really the sound for a fretless bass. A woody tone with a lot of mids, a muted high end, and some tight low end sounds best for fretless.
Nice jamming! I'd love to see Michael Manring and Mark Egan sit in with you guys sometime.
Ibanez NUMBER ONE
The spector one makes me want to buy a bass
Incredible harmonics in the intro
Capt Lee needs to be in one of the series from the Andertons channel! I really like the videos with Capt without Rob (not that I don't like Rob).
Put a set of labella tapewound flats on the Ibanez.. really steps up a already great sound!
What a fantastic jam!
Sounds like howling cats in an alley
spector always !!
How’s the Fender Jazz Fretless compare to both of those basses?
really enjoyed that intro.
I just hate the logic that more pickups = better when you can vary the tone so much with your fingers. And these are not the same price, the Spectorcore 5 is over $200 more than the Ibanez brand new taking into consideration the Ibanez comes with $40 strings. The Ibanez does 1 thing and it does it really well, you could always add another pickup later on if you were so desperate for variation.
Review the Portamento please
Yeah only one man can make this instrument work and I think we know who he is,nice demo think I would go for the Spector with roundwounds and try and chew up the fretboard.
Needs more generic dance loops.
I have bought the Spectorcore with 4 FL with Bartonlini pickup but und it sounds very weak. The sound is much quieter than the piezo. The EMG in this video seems much more powerful. Does anybody know if that is normal? To play the Bartolini I need to push the sound on the amp much more than with other basses or with the piezo.
Where's Paul Young when you need him??
who the hell is Paul Young? i only know about Pino Palladino
I expected someone to actually mention Pino Palladino in this video lol.
room42 Paladino made his name in the '80s playing fretless bass on Paul Young's albums. You can hear it in the background on songs like "Every Time You Go Away." Paladino replaced John Entwistle in the Who after Entwistle's death. He has also toured with Paul Simon and John Mayer.
Hi Andertons, aren't roundwound strings bad for the fretboard of a fretless bass? Nice video, I really like the combination of Lee and Nathan!
Oops, answer given in the video..
It depends entirely on what sound you're after. Jaco Pastorius used roundwounds - as do a lot of jazz-fusion players - and they did cause wear on the board. However his tone had a lot more highs and high mids - more of the "mwah" tone - and using flatwounds won't get you that sound. If you want to use a fretless to play rock or metal then I'd recommend using roundwounds and budgeting £50-100 a year to have a luthier re-level the board. If you want a more upright sound then using flats or nylon flats will be the way to go.
I have 2 fretless basses - and two fretless guitars. One of my basses has an Ebanol fingerboard (Which is a man-made material and really hard) and I use roundwounds on it; it has scuffed slightly but I've had that bass for years and it's not damaged the board enough to warrant any maintenance.
The other bass has an Indian Ebony board, I did use roundwounds on it but it did begin to wear grooves into the board so I swapped for nylon flatwounds - which don't wear the board at all.
Would I be crazy for using the 5 string version of the ibanez for aggressive music ..lmao.. cuz I got one coming my way....just about a day away now according to the tracking info
Really hate when they rolled the tone off, It just made everything muddy. And why is everyone complaining about roundwounds being on the bass. It doesn't damage the board that bad. No more than they damage frets in my opinion.
The Ibanez actually sounds 10x better to my ears. I want one!!
Just can't get past the meowing of fretless electric basses. Odd that you don't really get it on uprights.
All the uprights that I've heard have that 'meowing' sound. Could depend on the strings.
If action is low enough it makes that sound.
Blech319 there is a fretless a-bass/e-bass hybrid that can be played as an upright and an e-bass
It's called the toby chennel arco acoustic bass guitar.
yess man. if u want super mwaah grab a bass with an ebanol fingerboard. normally used on cheap basses but damn it sounds nice on a fretless
Does the Ibanez have any neck dive issues?
You guys rock
It's interesting that this appers just as I'm in the market for my first fretless. The one I've got my eyes on isn't in there though even though it's an Ibanez, the SRF705.
Todesnuss I recently picked up an sr700 fretless, and it's fantastic. i picked up a Jack Pastorius signature fretless (£2000) and couldn't believe how much better mine sounded. highly recommended!!
Thanks for that info. I had no doubt that those are propably the best fretless basses in the price range but it's nice to hear some people confirm it from experience.
I agree, Lee made both basses sound better
Give the Rickenbacker 4003 some love!
All true what you folks said about strings ... but Jaco used roundwounds and that is all we really need to know about that, right? Very nice video, thanks for sharing it.
tone4days Yeah Jaco had like boat epoxy on his board to stop the rounds from digging into the board.
The different strings on the basses contaminates the results quite a bit.
Guys - like the videos, but when the two of you are in shot, you look veeeeery far away - could future videos zoom in a bit closer/tighter
I want an SRH500F but headless! OFF with it's head and put bridge-tuners on it. Then take all my money 😲
So... the Ibby has dots and lines... which do you abide by? With fretless it's my understanding that you play on the line or on the dot, this has both?
TheFatStringer you play right where the Fret would've been.
I played one recently, 'twas awful because you can't see the lines
TheFatStringer Yeah that can be a bastard.
learn better intonation? you shouldnt need the lines or dots
I use the dots on the top of the fingerboard. Never see the lines or dots on the fingerboard.
Heck, I like flats on my fretted basses. ;)
I'm still waiting for a good sounding piezo pickup.
i'm currently bulding a 6 string fretless, i'm only gonna have magnetic pickups, should i buy roundwounds or flatwounds?
Flatwounds all the way. Roundwounds will damage your fretboard over time.
unless you make a steel fretboard
It depends entirely on the tone you want. If you want a more "upright" sound then nylon tapewounds will do that. If you want a more "Jaco" like tone then you'll have to use roundwounds. I have fretless basses with both types of strings. On my bass with rounds; the damage - in my experience - is mainly cosmetic and it's not expensive to get a Luthier to sand down a board to take out the scratches or grooves if there are any.
I had a fretted bass converted to fretless and it only cost £80 to remove the old rosewood fingerboard and put on an Ebony board.
Or glass.
Ned Evett has fretless guitars with glass fingerboards.
First thing I would do is put D'Addario Chrome Flats on that Spector! By the way where are they each made?
18:41
Thanks
Sometimes about the weird cat tone is just amazing
Round wounds on a fretless are just wrong also they tear up the fret board. Fretless are made for flats JS
You should have thrown The Squire Vintage Fretless into the mix!!!
oh man that spector doesn't sound great
Spector basses are flawless, but I think I found its only weakness... fretless models
Not keen on the sounds from either of these. I have tried several fretless basses over the years and my favourite by some distance is the Squier Jazz Fretless.Great value.
practicing without looking at your fingers is essential fretless or not. yes you have to move your hands without looking. its better to listen to what you play as opposed to watching what you play.
Also putting round wounds on a fretless is a sin! Then again I have flats on everything.
That spector would sound much better with flats.
Nathan King. Mark Kings brother
Run your fretless through EHX POG2, thank me later.
Lee, please teach Nathan how to pronounce Piezo.
when you struggle to play that one bass solo 20:10
I believe the Ibanez wins!!!!
the spector sounds like a fretless with frets
and the winner is... Warwick!
Guys please you need to know Pedro Aznar, he's such a good bass player, listen to some serú giran songs for example...
There's no way that bass weighs 700 pounds.
SRH-500F
And did you say the Spector had roundwounds on it? What the hell, Spector!
The Spector sounds like a fretted bass TRYING to sound fretless and the Ibby is just a bit dull and tonally limited.
come on, pair of who has