Oops... No Frets! | 2020 Fender Tony Franklin Signature Fretless P-Bass Lake Placid Blue Review Demo

[@Trog]

You can check out Tony's Channel here: kzbin.info/door/2gS02MwZ1zAwgIPmE_TL0A 🔴Reverb: reverb.com/item/33771456?_aid=growsumo&gs_partner=Trogly 💰New to Reverb? Get $10 on Me ➡️ reverb.grsm.io/earn10 ❓Private Help Sessions: troglysguitarshow.com/help-appraisals/ 🎸New Guitar Day Program: troglysguitarshow.com/ngd/ 👕 Merch: teespring.com/basic-logo-4245?pid=211

[@geotechmore8855]

Hey you're rOcKin' that bass! Really beautiful bass.. ☺️👍 More bass guitar reviews! Haha.. I play bass so I always get excited when I see reviewers of guitars do a bass guitar review! I will have to see if they have a lefty version of this beautiful bass guitar! Yeah I'm a lefty. So probably more expensive if they have one. But I'll check.. Keep the awesome reviews going.. I check 'em everyday.. (^_-)/

[@FretlessMonster]

Thanks for the great review and kind words!! 🙏🏻

[@zoinkiezz]

Woah!! You’re the guy

[@smackyfrog6046]

Way cool, Tony!

[@ricklavin5625]

Wow when i was watching this review i thought how cool would it be if tony commented on it!! When I first heard the firm your bass work stood out! Nice to see You are a regular guy who appreciates a good review!

[@FretlessMonster]

Rick Lavin Thanks. I definitely appreciate the positive review.

[@FretlessMonster]

Craig Eubank Thanks so much Craig. God Bless. And I hope you manage to get a TF soon 👍🏻🙏🏻

[@charlepratt7823]

The only reason I clicked on this video is because I wanted to see if trogly would struggle without fret markers and he did a great job loved the video

[@Andrew_182]

It still has the side markers on the neck, so he was just using those as he says in the video.

[@kelsodelroy]

I was pretty impressed with his playing until "Slap" came on and he kinda spazzed out for a minute hahaha. good stuff

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

I fully agree, @Bumble Blimfield.

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Ironically, @@kelsodelroy, I just began paying a friend for his fretless model, only because I realized that the circulated line that slapping on a fretless kills the fingerboard - is a myth. The advisory is to apply a layer of protection (like the epoxy applied by Jaco Pastorius to his).

[@doublelunch24]

No joke his intonation was not that bad at all

[@rudybigboote3883]

FlamingLuigi not bad at all... seriously dude, Tony played with Jimmy Page, John Sykes and many other great players but, yeah I guess he was ok.

[@dezthescentlessapprentice]

Mr. Rudy Bigboote hes talking bout trogly’s

[@MrMojooRisin]

@@rudybigboote3883 woosh

[@rudybigboote3883]

kemotox Oh crap I got wooshed! How embarrassing! 😳 Disregard my previous snarky comment!

[@jbizley]

He nailed it

[@jjulch]

I think it’s rather amusing since the P-Bass means Precision Bass. It was named that because the frets make it Precision to fret the notes. Then you make it fretless ...sort of an oxymoron! 😂

[@DatBoi-mo9vc]

Paradox bass

[@Kylora2112]

"Relaxed Tolerances" Bass :)

[@Shred_The_Weapon]

Paramount bass?

[@juanmacaceres2702]

Love that it's a nitro. I have a Mexican Fender Strat in Lake Placid Blue that's less than 10 years old and it is already yellowing! The lacquer turns amber so the blue turn greenish and it's beautiful in the sunlight!

[@ShockzZiFy]

Do you have any pictures? Id love to see that!

[@juanmacaceres2702]

@@ShockzZiFy Either Fender changed Lake Placid Blue or mine has aged a lot, idk. imgur.com/gallery/BY1S6WZ

[@sundogaudio851]

The nut slots are much deeper on a fretless because you dont have to clear the first fret, so that might explain the scratches.

[@nate6692]

Indeed they are - even for a very conservative setup, you're lower by a fret height. But fretless players can take them down as low as zero. For a very low setup nut, you're going to cut into the back of the fingerboard , end of story.

[@Bryanpjc]

I tried one of these out today and i actively considered becoming a bass player. What an awesome instrument. (I'm a guitarist, and this thing bonded with me like a perfect Strat does.) Simply beautiful. Especially in sunburst. 😊

[@perrysar5954]

Plug it into an EQ pedal, set your desired frequency and this bass turns into a BEAST! It does it all from funk to heavy rock.Fender nailed it,thanks Tony!

[@Iexecutioner]

Tony is a gem of a bass player

[@Greg-vd5om]

Trogly's in the HOUSE!!!

[@intelsm6076]

I have legit just finished converting my bass to fretless

[@hondacivic7793]

I'm trying to find the time to put the final coating of epoxy on mine.

[@blakejones6648]

Paint it black

[@hondacivic7793]

@@CaptainCraigKWMRZ I'm using epoxy for tabletops on mine. The directionsjust say to pour it on. I dont know if thats what rickenbacker does or not, but thats what I'm doing.

[@johnhmaloney]

I really wish I could afford one of those. Tony Franklin is amazing. I've been a fan since he was with The Firm in the '80s and he convinced me that a fretless could work in a rock context. When I switched from guitar to bass in the '90s, I ended up buying a fretless and just fell in love with the way it feels. It didn't take long to learn to get my intonation right and now every time I've played a fretted bass since then, the frets have just felt like they were in the way.

[@karst41]

The Dot markers are placed in a different position on the neck than a fretted bass. On the TF bass the Dot markers are for Correct intonation. Where as on a fretted bass the dots are at the fret. This is a small detail but A massive step forward so every bass player can play the fretless. and your goal on the fretless is to not sound like a fretless, and from there you get good.

[@hunterhelfrich1270]

As a bass player, I love all of your guitar content, but man is it refreshing to see your bass features. Love your stuff Trogly, keep it up brother 🤘

[@jeffwoeber9590]

It's about time we got this video, been watching that bass on reverb forever!

[@BourdeoixEterno]

Trogly is actually a beast bass player. If he's this good on the bass I can't even imagine how he play's the guitar

[@user-zr2pz8rr2l]

Look ma, no frets.

[@prototype795]

As a bass player, I'm so happy you did this video to show us some love even though it probably won't do as well as the guitar videos. Thanks Trogly :D

[@arpee915]

Jaco Pastorius was the originator of the fretless Fender Jazz electric bass.

[@DavyHulme]

Was just gonna say I thought the same, there's a pretty awesome Jaco solo from '79 on here somewhere, or there was

[@thomasfioriglio]

I finally grabbed one of these! Got a 2020 like this one from Guitar Center for $1500! I have been eyeing one for several years and man, is it worth the wait! What an outstanding instrument! Top notch quality build in every way! And the tone is just fantastic! I love the toggle, so easy to switch and dial in what you want. I find in inspiring to play!

[@1848revolt]

Tony Franklin himself influenced me to get a fretless and I dont regret it one bit. I'm having so much fun with it. Thanks Tony for your encouragement.

[@rommelrivera1186]

Love Tony's fretless basses. I ended up with 2 of them by accident. Was trying to fix myself an annoying buzz in the black Franklin bass I bought when I accidentally destroyed the nut. Ended up buying an extra Franklin neck -- which are surprisingly easy to find on Reverb -- to fix my black Franklin bass, and then fixed the broken neck to build a Frankenstein bass with it. Robert Buchanan, a brilliant luthier from California, put together what ended up being a Fretless Fender Franklin Fralin Frankenbass for me. The tone is incredible!

[@troutbreath]

Cool bass. The Firm definitely had a unique sound, largely due to his playing. They had the star power of Paul Rodgers and Jimmy Page, but Tony Franklin really distinguished them from other "supergroups" of the day.

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I'm tired of being told I "need" a Fender bass. This however, is one I'd totally buy

[@reginaldfitzpatrick8681]

The only Fender bass you "need" is the one you play and can't live without =]

[@chrisggoodwin777]

@@reginaldfitzpatrick8681 I can't live without my Warwick 😊🤘

[@mcspankies1799]

Im no bassist but my number one bass would be a gibson eb 3. Fender basses has basically become bland

[@chrisggoodwin777]

@@mcspankies1799 my #1 is a Warwick Corvette $$. The neck is so comfortable and it sustains for ages. My #2 is a Music Man Stingray. I never got into the "more traditional" Fender and Gibson basses; they just never had the same appeal to me.

[@ferox965]

No Fenders here. I've got a 1980 BC Rich Eagle deluxe, 2007 Rickenbacker 4003 and 1981 Lado custom fretless. Bases (and basses) covered.

[@reginaldfitzpatrick8681]

On a fretless Fender style bass, the nut slots for the strings WILL follow through to part of the fingerboard material. That is a sign of a proper angle file and string height.

[@Liminal.Headspace]

To his credit, he did say "maybe that's normal". Most people would fault the bass without a second thought.

[@joethebar1]

That’s the sign of a properly set up nut for a FL bass. You’d be surprised at how many manufacturers haven’t a clue about this detail

[@american-professor]

I have no idea who that guy Tony is, but I do love his bass

[@allisonholmesmusic97]

Am I the only one who says “first fret neck depth” along with Austin on every video?

[@johnnytsunami9205]

I'm so happy you are reviewing a bass. I thought you were just going to let this bass rot on your reverb page. PLEASE DO MORE BASSES! (Gibson grabber would be sick)

[@joecarl5473]

Yeah that bass looks amazing!!!! I appreciate you taking a look at different things Trogly!!!

[@downsouthgeorgiaboy7660]

This is an amazing sounding and playing bass! I got mine this past May in the same color. I love it! I just love mine! I played guitar on and off for 20 years and just recently (in May) switched over to bass. I thought that I might have a bit of an adjustment period but, I can honestly say that it being fretless has actually helped me to not have such a learning curve coming from guitar. I also picked up a Fender Rumble lt25 with this and I wasn’t expecting too much to be truthful but, it is amazing!

[@SICMetal74]

Tony Franklin is a legend

[@newcastlejb]

As a former bellman in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of assisting The Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band a few times. I was collecting KWS's guitars after a show and had the pleasure of meeting Tony Franklin one night.

[@thomasfioriglio]

Fantastic review. The most in-depth one I’ve seen. You really go over the entire bass. Man, have these skyrocketed in price! New are now going for over $2,000 and used for about $1800. Still out of my price range but would love to get my hands on one some day

[@Jonnyflingspoo]

As a “low-ender” I greatly appreciate the occasional bass review! Especially a P/J fret less sig bass! So cool! Thanks Trogly!

[@matthewb8229]

Recently spent $1750 on a NS NXTa upright. 41 3/4 inch scale length. If you're going to go fretless, may as well go big.

[@danletter9357]

You give Trogly a tuba and he’ll get you something out of it.

[@garyberg8072]

No one got that Lennon reference?

[@jamesmarkham7489]

Bass video! Always love to see these, keep them coming. Have you ever seen fenders stu hamm model?

[@av.punk.801]

*"Slap"* WKDJDUSJD IM DEAD. I love how humble you are mate, and im glad you finally got arround to reviewing this. Franklin is a great player, and you did pretty good too, even without the frets

[@tumbleweedtumbleweed]

Tony Franklin is a super nice guy. His first bass was a P he added the pickup selector & Dimarzio, eyeballed the position of the pickup then carved it out with a chisel. Oh he plays DR Sunbeams 🤘🤩🤘

[@trunks828]

From being a bass player playing a fretless you learn real quick to look at the side dots when you are lost hahah keep making bass videos I love them!

[@jeremyvoss9558]

Thanks from a bassist fan, surprised how well you did with a fretless!

[@shaunoleary8740]

I have one of these and it took me a little while, but I fell in love with it. Thank you for making this video and reinforcing my purchase. lol.

[@Ken-zi5rp]

Thank you for introducing T.F. Fretless bass. I also a big fan of him because of his awesome bass performance and his respectable character.😂

[@metemercan1147]

Yo nice job on the tone demo man, navigating a fretless bass without those handy lines can feel pretty intimidating

[@BrentAdams]

The Firm was Awesome! I picked up a "fretless bass" very recently....mine has the exact same style of neck markers. Just the small side marker dots....no line markers. I was a little concerned....but actually found that if you have something to reference as a tonal center....they aren't that hard to play in tune! Sounds like you are getting it as well! Nice! I do love the sound of the "fretless bass". I got one of the least expensive ones available...and was very pleasantly surprised at the quality!

[@kbmitch]

Wow! Love that color!! You did well with a fretless. Nice demo.

[@jamiespeirs885]

Well done Austin, not a bad play through. Great to see a Bass

[@didds8869]

The Firm also had Paul Rodgers from Free and Bad Company on vocals and Chris Slade who would later play with AC/DC on drums

[@jrbass62]

Tony Franklin is such a nice person!!!

[@boomerbassmeme]

Bass love! That is gorgeous! Needs a high mass bridge though. I play the bejeebus out of my fretless, that can come live at my house!

[@roentgen571]

Got one of these a few years back (the black model). It's far and away my favorite bass. Never going back to frets! :-) I did make a couple of changes, though...I swapped the bridge out for a higher-mass Gotoh 201B-4...I just never liked the bent-plate standard Fender bridge. Then I replaced the tuners with lightweight Hipshots (including a D-Tuner, though I never use it). Best bass I've ever played.

[@Brotesque89]

It is a gorgeous bass. A real fine touch that the pickguard truss rod hole wasn't matched to the actual hole. It'll have that common allen key scraping over time.

[@dw7704]

Fretless is a lot of fun. Now when I pick up a fretted bass, it's like--what are these bumps on the neck? I've played these--but the one I own was a lot cheaper than this one. Still a lot of fun. Glad to see Trogly review this.

[@lz4005]

On unlined fretless the dots are where the frets would be, not between them, so you do have a visual reference.

[@TinIndian1968]

Nice bass. Love the Lake Placid Blue. I built a P Bass a few years ago and I painted it Lake Placid Blue nitro. I like that they come with a Dimmarzio in the neck. Nice.

[@tavicotavio]

"The fretless monster" -Steve DiGiorno -Jaco Pastorious -Les Claypool Which one

[@budaroddy]

Steve

[@hondacivic7793]

Les Claypool is the reason I am not just a guitarist

[@marions.120]

Uhh, John Paul Jones?

[@tavicotavio]

@@marions.120 he wasnt famous for playing a fretless

[@jaydenstramel562]

Lea claypools the reason I want to learn bass

[@guymangotree2185]

Omg this dude sounds like he was born yesterday_ Tony Franklin ? Hell yes_ The Firm was huge_ Saw them 2 X's in concert_ To me Tony was the main attraction_ i mean just listen to those Firm records ! He's the featured player ! Lol_ He IS the Firms sound

[@njc2o]

Trogly you did great on the demo! Don't be so hard on yourself!

[@Leonardo-tr9nz]

I love this episode about bass! I wish you doing often 🙂

[@moonchild4806]

Fretless basses are rad. Currently working on assembling a fretless jazz bass with a reverse headstock, semihollow body, mudbucker and p bass configuration.

[@BrentAdams]

You did GREAT on that! ...and it's a very cool bass.

[@3dwaffels269]

Tip for bass strumming, Use your fingers while opening and closing your hand without your thumb, and use a little bit of wrist too, Something I did when I played Violin when I was younger(Its a fretless instrument) I would put a then white tape at the position to make notes/ the fretts.

[@gordonpenny1842]

Austin played violin at school. I still have his electric violin hanging in my music room! Lol

[@thedondeluxe6941]

Sweet sounding bass! Looks like Chris Slade from ACDC played drums in that band with Jimmy Page too? Bit of a supergroup!

[@johngregory7329]

I do love mine. Especially the color. You did a great job playing her Stay safe and well. Signed John Zepbass.

[@trroland1248]

Well done Austin.👍🏻 Who knew you could play a fretless bass.

[@dannaaa330]

As a bass player I don't know how much of a fan of a 3-way selector switch I'd be being used to two volume knobs for my pickups (I play an Ibanez bass with a PJ pickup configuration). I personally really like having the P pickup at around 75% and the J at 100%, makes the low end a lot clearer as opposed to a muddier tone when it's at 100/100, at least on my particular bass.

[@electroKrunch]

Fretless guitars & basses are for the elightests of the group. Though folks that feel frets hold them back. More power to them!!!! I love a 2.5 bend, guessing where THAT happens is up to y'all!! I'll work on slide more some day....

[@TraneFrancks]

I have a '62 reissue fretless Jazz Bass and a '77 blank plank maple fretless Precision (think Stanley Sheldon on Frampton Comes Alive). This is the one that's missing from my stable. I think it looks wonderful and the P/J configuration offers a really great array of tones.

[@CosmicHippopotamus]

He found the best pick guard for lake placid blue. I had to stick with tortoise on my P/J.

[@DatBoi-mo9vc]

Tort guards are the best gaurds

[@charlesbolton8471]

I think that pick guard would great on just about any Fender guitar or bass.

[@kennethhacker3014]

I been watching you for awhile...you should start getting these musicians to your place and interview them

[@sanehumanbeing7019]

Yes, I remember the Firm, and I remember it was Jimmy Page's new band. But no, I didn't know Fender had been making the Tony Franklin P bass since 2006.

[@chrispychreme02]

I have that same pickguard on my own bass as well and I’ve never heard of him until now! Interesting.

[@ferox965]

Got a one of a kind vintage Lado fretless...was definitely a huge learning curve.

[@jimmyjames2022]

No red guitars anymore? I love the Lake Placid Blue, especially with matching headstock! I'd like to try frettless, but in my next life perhaps.

[@DaveyWilliamsPantzNotRequired]

liked because it was a bass video, unliked then liked it again because its Tony Franklins' bass , should like and unlike it a few times because Tony Franklin saw and approved. He is a mad lad ... but quietly mad

[@clarkbabin9799]

The firm was an 80s super group with artists who were famous from other groups as was in 70s with other supergroups.

[@dommadonia9207]

First of all.. PLAY BASS WITH A PICK IS FORBIDDEN!!! But he did slap it a bit so it is forgiven. This made my top ten trogly demos. Thumbs up!

[@lambert1702]

With regard to the nut, that is not chipping it is file marks and not uncommon on fretless basses. I have a MM Stingray fretless that looks the same way.

[@fredvanderlinden8908]

In europe they are 2700€. So if you want to buy one, fly to the US buy it enjoy a few days over there and fly back. You even saved a little money.

[@pauldavis6356]

Not bad for a "Fretted guitar player". I find on fret-less that you can't dwell over, or try to fix mistakes. Just Keep playing. Most people won't notice them anyway. Keep up the good work.

[@mordokch]

Yeha that really does sound nice - with the tone rolled back it was pure dub. Oddly a fretless is one of the few things I don't have, but this reminded me to get one :)

[@markjamesmeli2520]

That's a nice neck!! Plus, I've always loved colored Fender headstocks.

[@wehttam13]

This has been listed on your reverb for so long!

[@smackyfrog6046]

I'd love to have a fretless one of these days but I'd need a crutch with the fret markers.

[@cpnms5]

Damn I miss my fretless jazz bass. B/w had no fret markers and I put a hipshot tuner on the E. Sold the bass 21 years ago and regret it but I still have the machine head in a box lol

[@jaturi3897]

The picking demo sounded like the intro to a Crucifucks song. Good stuff.

[@natashanyxx9486]

Awesome video!

[@gamepower1011]

so many bass pun unintentionally made

[@lambert1702]

That bridge pickup is a garden variety Dimarzio Model J.

[@sassycat]

Those sounds are legit, that's a great bass.

[@jameshouchin5086]

a bass!!!! You're the man!!! Thanks for talking about the dark side!!

[@andrewb1275]

Sweet

[@DoctorEnigma01]

You're average bass player doesn't get to play in a band with JP, checking out his channel, and buying one of these!

[@scottbrown4534]

Glarry sells a fretless bass for $99 in case you need to try one without spending a lot. It doesn't have fret markers either... No I'm not shilling for them, but I was thinking of getting one to play with, the reviews are good on their website, and is as their usual habit, Glarry apologizes profusely for glowing reviews and promises to do better... Otherwise they seem to be getting their act together ;)

[@KevinHallSurfing]

Oh NO! Saw a Precision with a blue headstock (not fretless) walking passed a pawn shop late 1980's I think for $200 and thought "Fender never have blue logo's" and didn't buy it. Was I ever wrong.

[@joecrockett9486]

Good job! You pulled it off nicely.

[@wayfarer13]

Just here for the tone demo.

[@WattchomanBrandySavage]

I've certainly seen worse playing on a fretless bass. good job on this one!

[@Captain_Yata]

This bass looks like so much fun