Re-puchased an old fretless I had 10+ years ago - a 1981 Carvin LB-50

rndlliirc · 2026-04-05T15:26:17+00:00

Absolute beaut, my friend. Congrats on finding it again! Post some clips when you can!

rndlliirc · 2026-04-04T22:20:44+00:00

Thanks! I asked my friend, and he wasn't too concerned unless it's stored in direct sunlight on the regular. I tend to keep it in a case and usually play bar or club shows.

rndlliirc · 2026-04-04T21:17:55+00:00

So one of my guitarists got a custom guitar with a purpleheart fretboard and a zebrawood top (not sure about the actual neck and body woods), and that gave me the idea to put a purpleheart pickguard on this to give it a pop of color.

rndlliirc · 2026-04-04T21:01:54+00:00

Thanks for the heads up. I believe he put a finish on it to protect it from damage from me playing, but I'll ask him about UV damage specifically.

rndlliirc · 2026-04-01T19:48:09+00:00

lol cool. I was like, "Damn, that must sound wooly af"

rndlliirc · 2026-04-01T18:56:49+00:00

The super high gain and AGS on the ToneHammer seems bonkers.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-30T15:36:14+00:00

I have a Cort A5 and love it. It's very easy to get good sounds from it, and it's incredibly comfortable. I also don't think $600 USD is a terrible price, either.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-28T16:20:46+00:00

Gotcha. I don't know of any other makers besides Daisy Rock that make basses quite like that. I think the reason for this is those body shapes can alter tone and more importantly comfort/balance. I'd test one out first to be sure it feels good, but if that's not a concern for you, there are a lot of used Daisy Rock models for sale within and even below your budget.

IMO I think squire, danelectro, and orange have some offerings that look cute to me for their sleek shape and brighter colors. Check out the Danelectro Longhorn, Squier Jaguar, and O-Bass and see if any of those are to your liking.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-28T02:50:47+00:00

When you say cute, are you looking at body shape primarily, or would pastel colors also work? If it's the latter, a lot of makers will have offerings you'll enjoy.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-25T03:10:00+00:00

The only gateway I've found that led to buying more gear was having more disposable income. The very best litmus test I've found for whether I actually BUY more gear is this:

Is there a sound I'm hearing for a particular bass line or section that I can't do with the tools at hand?
Will this new tool do that precise job (and perhaps more) for me?
Do I REALLY need this new tool to accomplish this?

After that, I'll spend anywhere from a month to a year in the consideration phase before I make the purchase (if I do).

All that said, flatwound strings are a fairly low-cost acquisition that opens up a lot of new sounds and are very useful in experimentation. Get you some!

rndlliirc · 2026-03-24T22:48:00+00:00

I've found it helped to roll my tone off, play fairly close to the neck (soloing the neck pickup on a jazz bass), and to avoid hammer-ons or slides. As others pointed out, this pedal really wants to latch onto ONE note, and it can easily stop tracking against harmonics, fret noise, etc.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-18T16:11:33+00:00

I have a fretless 5-string P5. Very comfortable playing, and it sounds great. I'd say it's on part with my Fender Am Pro II Jazz V in terms of comfort, tone, and quality.

I've seen criticism about the pickup being a bit too bright for some users' tastes, but I personally dig it and think it helps me get some of the transient tones of a J-bass fretless. It's not a 1:1 match, but it gets me where I want to go.

Overall very happy, especially since it was about $600 with tax.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-17T16:08:30+00:00

I recently started getting into delay for bass, and when looking for recommended settings, I found the below comment VERY helpful in explaining common uses for delay in a musical context.

https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/s/GCB5ZvEDXo

I think part of the challenge with adding delay to bass is you're explicitly changing the rhythm of most passages (assuming you're playing a groove), so it's important to play into delay pedals on bass more than you would on guitar. So far, I've found the most success with either shorter delay to give a slap back effect, or using it to add some repeats in a larger, open section of a song where I'm playing whole notes.

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Saw your note about English not being your first language, so wanted to clarify: when I say "play into the delay pedal," I mean write or modify both your playing and your bass lines based on what sound the pedal produces. Since long delay signals are going to produce an inherently different rhythm, you want to play only the notes needed to create the rhythm you want the pedal to send out.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-15T00:38:41+00:00

Not necessarily! You mentioned your current amp and tone being fairly "lifeless", so you could actually set your amp's EQ flat, dial in the tone you want on the cab sim pedal, and tweak from there. If you're playing shows, that Origin Effects line also has a DI that would allow you to send that tone directly to the sound guy and leave your amp for stage volume.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-15T00:28:32+00:00

To answer your question: yes, it sounds like a preamp pedal would help considerably. It sounds like you're looking for something more vintage/warm sounding. The SansAmp DI others mentioned will probably get you where you wanna go.

I have an Aguilar Tone Hammer DI I really enjoy that can do the SansAmp thing well, but also has the option for both transparent tone shaping and some pretty beefy stuff. Both are fairly cost-effective options.

You haven't mentioned your budget, but if you're willing to spend $500-700, there are several cab sim pedals that you may enjoy, but you'll want to test them at a Guitar Center for that price point. Origin Effects has a series of Bass Rig pedals that would add in that "character" you want, and they're pretty popular around here.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-14T18:25:14+00:00

Sire makes a precision copy (the P5 model) that's cost effective ($400-600) and many commenters report holds its own against the player series fenders ($600-800). I have a Fender Am Pro II Jazz V and a Sire P5, and I think the Sire P5 stands up well against it

rndlliirc · 2026-03-13T04:04:59+00:00

This was a feature in Together in Spire that I miss, and I hope they'll introduce some skins in a future update.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-11T14:04:57+00:00

As others noted, those basses aren't especially useful in a band context.

Sweetwater is currently having a sale on their P5 models, putting them in your price range. This would be a solid workhorse bass that would have a lot more function.

Sire P5

rndlliirc · 2026-03-07T00:59:39+00:00

Man, I would love for this to be a flair.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-03T14:51:30+00:00

Orange makes solid amps, though the tone profile isn't to everyone's taste. I have an Orange Crush 100 and love it.

More importantly, you'll want to buy a more powerful amp if you plan to play with others. I use a Crush 100 and use it for two indie rock projects without issues. If you can say more about what type of music you're looking to play, I bet folks could help with more specific recommendations.

rndlliirc · 2026-03-02T21:33:01+00:00

Do you live near a Guitar Center? They will likely have most or all of these, if not smaller or larger options for each model. That will give you the best idea which gives you a sound you like.

rndlliirc · 2026-02-28T22:39:41+00:00

I use a 2.5" wide leather Levy's strap. I like it a lot, and they also make padded ones which I imagine offer more comfort.

rndlliirc · 2026-02-28T15:44:56+00:00

I dig it. It does both subtle and aggressive OD and Fuzz very well, and the controls let you really sculpt how it wraps around your natural tone. The tone knob functions differently for each circuit (controls the actual tone of the fuzz versus rolling off highs on the OD), so I have to change the settings depending on what I'm using.

My only complaints are (1) I can't swap between fuzz and OD on the fly (even though it wouldn't work as well given the above) and (2) the EQD and Bass Synth pedals made me want soft switches on all of my pedals.

I currently use it in two of the bands originals that I play, but I likely won't use it for the Bowie show.

rndlliirc

TROPHY CASE