So, it arrived! My first fretless, and my second bass, the other being a Series II bought 10 years ago. I have to get used to the head, it is so strange!



Absolutely stunned by the playability of the beast, it's like cheating! It hurts to say that but... it feels even easier than the good old Series II.
The low B is strong and clear and the sound is way punchier than I thought.

Here with the old sister (1988 Series II #425):


(nope, it's not me in the center)

Condition is very good, the only flaw I see is the fingerboard wear. It does'n't affect the playability, in fact it's nothing you can feel touching the fingerboard but looking at it you can clearly see at some places the consequences of roundwound strings, which I did'n't realize when buying:




I will replace the strings asap, any advices? I'm a fretless newbie, so absolutely no idea what would be the best and what is acceptable or not in terms of fingerboard wear.

If it's a phenolic finger board then it will be as hard as granite, well nearly. That would take rounds if you wanted. Other than that it depends on your taste in tone. If you like a bright tone use rounds. Mid to bright, try half rounds/ground wounds. If you like a dark tone go for flats. Flats might seem expensive to buy but they last for years which makes them much more cost effective.

Video below gives examples of rounds, flats and half wounds on a phenolic finger board. Skip to 1.55 to miss out the talky bit.

[movie=youtube]8UnhKyVahF4[/movie]

^Thanks for the embed!

I like the brightness of the roundwound sound so keeping the current strings would be satisfying. Not sure about the granitic nature of the S1 fingerboard though, since it has obviously not been played that often but still shows some wear... What will occur with my not-delicate-at-all playing style? :o

Thanks for posting was fun and it looks and sounds fab ! ()