Fretless Basses

GGJaguar

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It seems the B-301, B-302 and Pilots were the most common fretless bass models. Was the Starfire Bass offered as fretless? I've never seen one.

B-301 Fretless.jpg
B-302 Fretless.jpg
Pilot Fretless.jpg

B-30 Fretless.jpg
B-50 Fretless.jpg
 

mellowgerman

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I'm pretty sure there were fretless versions available in the early 70's... pretty sure I remember seeing at least a factory fretless JS-II, but I'm pretty sure M-85 and Starfire factory fretlesses have come across my radar too. If not factory, they were very well done. It has been a while though, so take that with a grain of salt.

EDIT: here's somethin...

SolidGuild74.jpg
 

fronobulax

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From my disk, not @GAD 's scans. I would say this is no later than 1971 because you have Hagstroms pictured in the Starfire and JS and no earlier than 1970 because you have a JS. Maybe plus or minus a year because the flyers don't always match what was available when. All the basses are available fretless. Note also the option that double pickup basses can be wired for stereo and the separate listing of case options.

For the truly curious note the interesting comment under the Bluesbirds that suggest they are also available in solid body. That could be true because there was a transition from hollow to solid body circa 1971 but I does make me want to examine the physical catalog. The way I tell the story the solids replaced the hollow bodies and so you don't expect to see them in the same catalog.
 

gilded

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In '73-74 or so, in NYC, I picked up a 'used but original' fretless JS-2 in a padded gig-bag.

I wasn't looking for a JS-2 fretless bass, just a fretless bass in general. I could never get it to sound through an amp the way I heard it acoustically, so I traded it off for a mid '70s Black P-Bass with a white pick guard and a skinny Jazz-Bass neck with a Rosewood fingerboard. Somehow, I traded that off for a '66 Sunburst Fender P-Bass (I threw in some cash, of course). I sold the '66 back to the original owner in the '80s.

A millennium later, around 2007, I picked up another fretless JS-2 in a Dallas Pawn shop. It needed a neck reset and a re-finish. I had the neck reset done, but by that time I had also discovered an early (fretted) '66 Starfire Bass, with the single Bisonic pickup located near the bridge. Once I got the Starfire Bass, I have never looked back. It's the best!

frono my lad, you might remember... around '07 I was looking for some Guild Bass parts at a weird bass forum called The Dude Pit or The Bass Pit and you sent me a message that said, 'Why don't you go to the Let's Talk Guild Forum and see if anybody can help you out?'

I did and joined up here in 2007, a mere 13 years ago! :)
 

hieronymous

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I've got a factory fretless M-85 II from about 1971 - I have since had it Alembicized, (just couldn't get on with the stock humbuckers) and I believe the tuning pegs have been changed. But the dots on the side of the neck are where the frets would be.

14594411555_10210311b8_o.jpg


There is also a picture of a fretless JS-II on the Vintage Guitar & Bass website - just scroll down a little. Unfortunately their catalog scans aren't showing up.
 
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