I have a Paranormal bass by Squier, and it is just as high quality as both the Player Jazz basses I used to own. For less.
I have a Squier 60s P I love to death, and a Squier 50s P which I love.
Here’s what I do. Squiers CV basses are good quality, so I get them and upgrade the electronics, pots jack and pickups, and for less money than a Player I have a better bass.
Or check out Ikebe in Japan. You can get a Made in Japan bass from Fender or FujiGen (who makes a lot of the Fender MIJ offerings), and have a bass of MIA quality for MIM costs as the dollar to yen rate is very favorable right now.
@cheeze_pizza that is good to hear.
I also hope that my fretted 2022 MIM Fender Player Jazz is similar to a new Squier Classic Vibe 60’s Fretless Jazz since I couldn’t resist a discounted offer I received on Reverb. The knobs do look the same on both.
I do have a string question since you mentioned having different strings.
What type/brand of strings do you have on each bass?
Did you go with flat wounds on your fretless?
I’m thinking that I might need to get flat wounds since I heard the the new Classic Vibe 60’s come with rounds.
Thanks.
@Wombat-metal that is good to hear about the quality and value.
We’ll soon see if I get into the deep end of the pool with any upgrades other than strings.
Thanks.
The Fretted bass has standard 45-105 Roundwounds from Ernie Ball, while the fretless has the Labella Low Tension Flats… I think they are 42-100.
The previous owner let their flats wear into the neck above the nut and the E slot was worn too large, so I had to replace the nut because of this. I also noted that rounds were used on that bass at one point in it’s life. Their was some marking on the neck to evidence this. The fingerboard got a nice sanding and now most of those roundwound marks are gone.
Thanks for the quick, detailed reply.
I still have whatever stock Fender rounds on my fretted Fender Player Jazz, but I do have D’Addario 45-105 NYXL in waiting.
I’m guessing it might be a good idea to start with and stay with flat wounds on a fretless. Are you happy with the Labella Low Tension Flats? How does it feel going between your fretted bass with round wounds and your fretless bass with flat wounds? I’m open to suggestions since this is new to me.
The La Bellas are easier to hold down for sure, and I’ve liked them versus the thicker flats that were on the bass when I bought it. I think I can traverse the fretboard faster on the fretless. I don’t need to be as accurate with fingering on the fretted bass but I try to stay consistent on both.
The pool is not as deep as you think, especially for a Jazz. They make wiring harnesses and prewired control plates for Jazz to accommodate solderless installation of pickups if you want to do it yourself and can’t solder.
Changing pickups is a lot easier in reality than it seems.
Yeah, I’ve missed you too!
Still haven’t setup my lighting. I’m trying to remember which lights go where and can’t find the thread where we discussed it.
I have used the Labella LTF’s that @cheeze_pizza uses and they are excellent. Right now both of my fretless bases have TI Jazz Flats. They are fairly expensive but they sound great.
I agree with @John_E synthetic materials like ebonel, Richlite, and the good’ol CA glue finish sounds fantastic. Richlite having the feel to match the pores grain of fretless favorite like Wenge or Bibinga.
It’s the only time tonewood has direct effect on how an instrument sounds.
This is the fretless I have now. I rented it a year ago to see if I’d like it, but then traded it in for the Fender American Pro II fretless (see my first post about it in this thread) but I wasn’t as impressed with the sound compared to this one, so I took it back and now I have this one again I do want to get an upright double bass or an electric upright at some point. I got to try one at the music store and it was sooo fun. One day
Here is one of our dogs, Zooey, with my new Squier Classic Vibe '60s Fretless Jazz Bass.
She gives her approval on the D’Addario Flat Wound ECB81 Chromes that I just put on it. (I find that they feel silky smooth.)
Custom built Fender American Precision with Tony Franklin neck and ProtoType EMG X vintage P double J pickup and Preamp 18V. This was the most fun build I had during Covid.
I do want to get an upright double bass or an electric upright at some point. I got to try one at the music store and it was sooo fun. One day 
