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Why is a bolt-on neck considered better for fretless than neck-through?

An interesting question that is not completely resolved or in agreement among fretless players.

Mainly it is tone. Players like Jaco established the commonly accepted desirable fretless tone as having a bump in the upper bass frequencies (125Hz to 250Hz) region plus good harmonic response up to about 3000Hz. Above 3KHz the sound starts to get harsh sounding for many fretless players including myself.

Neck-through instruments have better induction of string vibration into the body and therefore the pick-ups. This superior induction characteristic is great for rock affording a massive bottom and lots of brilliant highs. Just what we don't want unless you are playing Metal or Heavy Rock on your fretless. If you were to put this response on a graphic EQ it would look like a shallow happy face. Some might say that the neck-through response curve is the true voice of the instrument. OK, no argument there, it is just that I (and some other fretless players) are seeking a different sound.

Another positive attribute of neck-through design is that the neck itself is wonderfully accurate and very strong. Unfortunately that doesn't help provide the tone characteristic I like.

The bolt on neck, because of the construction method, has less direct induction into the body and therefore a lower response of certain frequencies. Specifically the lowest and the highest. This is what we want in fretless sound to get that Burpy Jaco sound.

If you do have a neck-through fretless and are having a hard time getting the desired Burptone try some EQ tweaking. Reduce the very lowest frequencies enough that the 80 Hz -100Hz region stands out better, reduce the high end but leave enough that your harmonics still sparkle. Increase the upper bass region (about 200Hz) slightly, increase at approximately 500Hz to 700Hz to accentuate the Mwah sound.

If you don't have good semi-parametric EQ on your amp try cutting both the Bass and Treble controls until it sounds more to your liking.

Good luck getting a great bass sound and leave your 2 cents here with fretless tone tips.

First the disclaimer: I am a bolt-on devotee. I have played, auditioned, and even considered buying several neck-thru basses, but always stay with the bolt-on. That said, the tone I love comes from my Squier VM Jazz fretless by rolling the front pickup volume back slightly, leaving the bridge pickup wide open and rolling the tone control back to where it just cuts the top slightly. My amp is set thusly: low at 2 o'clock, low mid about 1 o'clock, high mid flat and high at 11 o'clock. Don't laugh, I traded my 80 lb Ashdown Mag 300 2x10 combo for a Fender Rumblle 40 watt, 18 lb combo. With this bass and amp combination I get wonderful note bloom and all the mwah I could ever ask for. I do believe that after nearly 2 years of exclusively playing my fretless that I am more in love with the fretless bass than when I first started playing one. My poor fretted bass hasn't been played but twice since January of 2014.

Thanks for your excellent observations and constructive input. All very useful to the fretless player.

Indeed, a light bass amp can sound better than a costly heavyweight for fretless providing you don't need to play at high sound pressure levels. I had a small Yorkville 1x15 80w combo that I wish I still had because of it's excellent tone. Unfortunately it didn't have enough power to compete with a slammin' drummer so replaced it.