Vintage - V940FL (Fretless)

[Wintermute]

http://www.jhs.co.uk/vin_bass/v940fl_05.jpghttp://www.subsonicsound.co.uk/Site%20Files/me4.jpg
http://tinyurl.com/8psjm

Manufacturer's Website (http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintagebass.html)

MSRP = £250
I paid = £220

Note - Not available outside the UK, to my knowledge.

Playing experience - Nearly three years. Tried several other fretlesses before buying this one.

Four string, 34" scale, Bubinga body, black hardware, maple neck, unlined fretless rosewood fingerboard. Two octave range (what would be 24 fret, if it had frets). Active 'Wilkinson'-brand active electronics in a P/J configuration. Controls are Volume, Treble, Bass and Pickup Balance. Bolt on neck.


This is a very nice bass.

The Bubinga body means it is fairly heavy - it's actually a little heavier than my six string. But you soon adjust to it, and if it's really a problem, a wide padded strap should more than solve it.

Everything about this bass screams "Smooth". When I pick it up, it's all I can do not to rub my face on it. The natural Bubinga finish and the un-varnished neck give it a very natural, fast feel. It's well balanced, giving me zero neckdive whether I'm standing or seated.

The tone is warm, and punchy. The active EQ offers a fair range of tones, but the bass EQ is certainly more powerful than the treble. The treble does a pretty reasonable job, but if you turn the bass up to full, you can say goodbye to your eardrums. I mean, I know fretlesses are known for being boomy, but wow. All the controls have a central detente to help you find the midpoint.

The Precision pickup is a little noisier than I'd like, but every company in the world makes P/J pickups. If I'm feeling bored and rich in the future, I may replace them.

It stays in tune very well, which is always critical for a fretless. I check it every time I use it on my Boss GT-6B (review coming up later) and it seldom needs anything but the most minor tweak.

This bass also has the added advantage that if you use it, people will stop and stare. It is very, very pretty.

It is everything you'd expect from the flagship model of a very respected budget brand. I would't be surprised if in the UK Vintage outsold Squier. In fact, I'd be surprised if they didn't. They're certainly better quality. And this is the most expensive, and the most luxurious 4-stringer they do.

For the price, I find it hard to fault. I prefer this bass to basses worth twice as much.



You will not find a better fretless for the price.

4.5/5

[WhoDidTheElf]

Why do you tourcher us with this??!?!!?....WHY? :(

Nice bass btw and great review.

[Machines]

I have one of these too - superb bass and amazing value.

Here's mine...

http://www.mig29.org/v940fl_1.jpg

[good rats]

Great review. I love the look of that bass so goddamn much. SHame they don't seel outside of the UK. :(

[Radiobass81]

Nice review.

[owlandtree]

Nice little fretless. Good review....well said.

[fallen_angel2121]

Very time I see it I want it. Then I remember that if I keep spending my wages on bass then I'll never, ever learn to drive.

Its a tricky choice.

Fallen Angel

[lobsterjohnson]

did you play the fretted version
and if so how was it

[Killer Fridge]

ive played the fretted version, and i have to say it is VERY nice indeed, especially for its price, a worthy purchase i must say

although, in andertons i did find one of the musicman stlye vintages and the frets were all sticking out the edges, cut my finger to pieces playing it, nasty stuff

[Wintermute]

Mmmm, the lower ranges of Vintage do vary in quality. A friend of mine has a Jazz replica which fell apart quite quickly, but I have a Stingray which is still going strong years later. No problems with the frets on it.

[Killer Fridge]

well im sure there are no problems with the frets on the reviewed one :thumb:

[Wintermute]

Actually no, because they're missing completely! Lazy Vintage...

[neal_672]

Anybody know any UK websites where you can buy these? Reputable ones preferably, because the only shop near me that used to stock them has recently closed...

[Killer Fridge]

http://www.andertonsonline.co.uk

i think they stock them (actually im pretty certain they do, theres only one shop and i was in it yesturday)

in fact, heres a direct link to the vintage section
http://www.andertonsonline.co.uk/acatalog/Vintage_Bass_Guit.html

[Esp Griffyn]

Yeah, my bro has one of these basses, and therfore I own this bass too. Its very nice.

/was first to own one

Mine seems to be a lot more orangy than all these ones.

[neal_672]

Thank you very much for the links :thumb:

[Machines]

And some more V940 pics...

http://www.mig29.org/v940door.jpg

http://www.mig29.org/v940close.jpg

http://www.mig29.org/v940pup.jpg

[Wintermute]

Mmm... god they're good looking instruments. Yours has a darker grain of Bubinga than mine, from the look of it.

[Random.bass.player.]

Im sure i've seen a fretted version of this , then again , i may be wrong , I normally am.

[Killer Fridge]

yeah you probably have, they arent uncommon

[Phalanx]

http://l00072.myspace.com/00072/78/21/72731287_l.jpg


looks like someone is a geek and play morrowind :wave:

[Wintermute]

Heh... I can't wait for Elder Scrolls IV - Oblivion. Looks like it's going to be fantastic.

But if you've recognised a map of Vvardenfell, you're hardly one to talk :p

[Raiven]

Vintage is one of the UK's best kept secrets.

[Machines]

I have 3 Vintage instruments (2 x guitar, 1 x bass) and I love them.

I just wish they did a 6 string version of something :upset:

[Wintermute]

Im sure i've seen a fretted version of this , then again , i may be wrong , I normally am.

Yes, there's a fretted version, and a five string fretted version.

[Jamie]

Well, I played one of these today and.. WOW!! I absolutely loved it! I could have sat there for hours and hours working on my intonation and playing with its beautiful sounds! Im hoping I can play on yours for quite a while Alex! I want one for myself but not until ive gave it a reeally good tryout :)

[Wintermute]

Heh... you can play on mine for as long as you like. I'll be doing the same with your bass, after all :D

[Wintermute]

Oh, and in the review I commented about a noisy Precision pickup, but it turns out that the P pickup is just more susceptable to interferance than the Jazz pickup. In my Uni room, with a constantly running computer, next to a water heater, etc, etc. it could get a little noisy, but at home, with massive thick stone walls, the pickup is near noiseless.

[Random.bass.player.]

Yes, there's a fretted version, and a five string fretted version.
Im not a fretless person, you think it would be worth investing in a fretted one ? [im on a squier jazz now]

[Machines]

Im not a fretless person, you think it would be worth investing in a fretted one ? [im on a squier jazz now]

It's a good fretless bass, but a fretted version would be entirely different.

I don't think it'd be a huge improvement from a Squier (although definitely some improvement). I think you should aim a little higher really.

[Random.bass.player.]

It's a good fretless bass, but a fretted version would be entirely different.

I don't think it'd be a huge improvement from a Squier (although definitely some improvement). I think you should aim a little higher really.
Saving for musicman sub , or i might go for fender jazz

[Chris K]

Well, I'm part of the club of owners for these fantatic Basses. I'll write review of it soon enough with pictures. Beautiful bass, I must say!

[Machines]

Well, I'm part of the club of owners for these fantatic Basses. I'll write review of it soon enough with pictures. Beautiful bass, I must say!

Nice one :thumb:

[Drop_D'd]

I should be buying the Vintage V940 soon, (fretted version of this). It's such a nice bass to play, looks absolutely gorgeous, and the price tag is amazingly low for the feel and look of it! :thumb: :D

[Phalanx]

I should be buying the Vintage V940 soon, (fretted version of this). It's such a nice bass to play, looks absolutely gorgeous, and the price tag is amazingly low for the feel and look of it! :thumb: :D

i got the V900, its ****ing ****!!! its the most ****tiest bass in the history of **** basses, its even ****ter than Hartke and Stagg basses ffs!!! :evil:

[Machines]

i got the V900, its ****ing ****!!! its the most ****tiest bass in the history of **** basses, its even ****ter than Hartke and Stagg basses ffs!!! :evil:

So why have you given it 4 stars ?

[Gordon Waugh]

i got the V900, its ****ing ****!!! its the most ****tiest bass in the history of **** basses, its even ****ter than Hartke and Stagg basses ffs!!! :evil:

Oh well, since you obviously have experience of playing a £3000 Wal bass i'm sure it seems rather lame to you. Seriously though, did you not try it out in the shop before you bought it?

[Wintermute]

i got the V900, its ****ing ****!!! its the most ****tiest bass in the history of **** basses, its even ****ter than Hartke and Stagg basses ffs!!! :evil:

People will take you more seriously if you expand your vocabulary a little, and justify and explain your opinions.

What didn't you like about it?

[Jamie]

People will take you more seriously if you expand your vocabulary a little, and justify and explain your opinions.

What didn't you like about it?


By his post, it sounds like it cheated on him with his girlfriend..

:p

[Phalanx]

thats the only way i could express how bad it is, you want justification, try poking it hard with your finger dents the finish. The fact that no matter what you do with the onboard controls it still keeps this terrible spoon hitting glass sound. thats just how frickin bad it is.

I wanna hear your version cos yours is the active version, mine is a passve piece of crap, it really is a bad instrument. You might as well pull off all the knobs because they don't do much, they just change from unpronounced bass tone to a glass tapping sound with nothing inbetween. I hate both tones. The neck is sticky and horrible feeling, the headstock has a tendency to bang things all the time and the finish is unforgivably weak. It seriously dents when anything happens to it, just putting it on the floor is likely to dent it

[Drop_D'd]

I have already played it, and liked the sound that was coming out of it, unfortunately, the one I played, the battery was nearing the end of its life (started to get choppy/weak tones out of it after about 10 mins of play). But those first 10 mins, I just thought wow.

[Thunder Fingers]

Note: though i dont think it regards many people exept me, they sell in norway to...
Im considering selling My Geddy to get one of these...

Hows the MWAH? :p

[nicatterberry]

the headstock has a tendency to bang things all the time and the finish is unforgivably weak. It seriously dents when anything happens to it, just putting it on the floor is likely to dent it



Sounds like u swing ur bass around in circles all the time.

[Wintermute]

I wanna hear your version cos yours is the active version, mine is a passve piece of crap, it really is a bad instrument. You might as well pull off all the knobs because they don't do much, they just change from unpronounced bass tone to a glass tapping sound with nothing inbetween. I hate both tones. The neck is sticky and horrible feeling, the headstock has a tendency to bang things all the time and the finish is unforgivably weak. It seriously dents when anything happens to it, just putting it on the floor is likely to dent it

Are you sure your talking about the V940/50 range? For a start, there ARE no passive V940/50s. And the neck has the least sticky, smoothest, unfinished feel of any bass I've yet played. It's one of the things I like most about it, in fact.

Are you sure you're not talking about one of the lower range, cheaper lines? Possibly the V800 series? Or the V900s? The body shape is identical, but they have cheaper electronics, and are made from cheaper woods.



Edit - Reading back over what you said... this is NOT a review of a V900 bass. It is a review of a V940. They are different. The V900 is a cut-price version. Though your description sounded more like a V800, which is even more cut-price. (And has passive electronics, unlike the V900 and V940/50)

[Drop_D'd]

the neck has the least sticky, smoothest, unfinished feel of any bass I've yet played. It's one of the things I like most about it, in fact.

QFT :thumb: I can't wait 'til the end of August, I should have the money for the V940 by then! Waiting for an interview for a job atm. :amaze: :rolleyes:

[Phalanx]

Are you sure your talking about the V940/50 range? For a start, there ARE no passive V940/50s. And the neck has the least sticky, smoothest, unfinished feel of any bass I've yet played. It's one of the things I like most about it, in fact.

Are you sure you're not talking about one of the lower range, cheaper lines? Possibly the V800 series? Or the V900s? The body shape is identical, but they have cheaper electronics, and are made from cheaper woods.



Edit - Reading back over what you said... this is NOT a review of a V900 bass. It is a review of a V940. They are different. The V900 is a cut-price version. Though your description sounded more like a V800, which is even more cut-price. (And has passive electronics, unlike the V900 and V940/50)

I dunno what my bass is. its definately a vintage and it looks very similar to yours, perhaps I just got a bad apple

[Wintermute]

The V940, V900 and V800 all have the same body shape.

All reviews of the V800 I've read so far have been terrible, pointing out more or less exactly what you've pointed out.

Does your bass have a painted finish? Is the neck finished? Are the electronics passive?

If you're answering yes to any of those, it's not a V940.

[Chris K]

Nice one :thumb:

Indeed, I just wonder how they manage to get these things out so cheaply! The Zon hyperbass has *almost* nothing on the tone!

[Phalanx]

The V940, V900 and V800 all have the same body shape.

All reviews of the V800 I've read so far have been terrible, pointing out more or less exactly what you've pointed out.

Does your bass have a painted finish? Is the neck finished? Are the electronics passive?

If you're answering yes to any of those, it's not a V940.

ah well, thanks for the help dude, im not likely to buy a Vintage again anyway, if I was to get a fretless, it'd have 6 strings and be active :thumb:

[Jamie]

Vintage: The Brice of UK

:thumb:


Im hopefully buying one in a few weeks once i've sold the Spector. A shop in metro centre sells them but I think they are really overpriced.. I can't remember

[You]

Did you find the bass to be lacking in sustain? I've read a couple of reviews on the fretted, V940, and some complain about it seeming a little "dry" and lacking in sustain. Did you find this to be the case?

[Visti]

Vintage: The Brice of UK

:thumb:


Im hopefully buying one in a few weeks once i've sold the Spector. A shop in metro centre sells them but I think they are really overpriced.. I can't remember

Of course, without the 6-string models. Unfortunately.

[Jamie]

2-3 weeks til I get mine!!!! :D:D:D

[Chris K]

2-3 weeks til I get mine!!!! :D:D:D

Get the what now?

[Jamie]

Vintage V940FL ;)

[BigShoes]

Why would u get a frettless bass instead of a fretted 1. is it easyer to slide on or somthing like that

[Wintermute]

There are lots of reasons.

Sliding is easier, and nicer sounding.
They have a warmer, woodier tone
Vibrato is possible (slight variations of pitch up and down - very expressive, and natural feeling on a fretless)
Fretlesses basses look so much sexier :lol:
And finally, I just prefer the feel of them. Much smoother to play.

[Jamie]

I quote, "Freedom of expression"

:) That's why I love it so much.


(also it's fun to let the stupid crappy punk bassist in your class try to play it! :lol: )

[Machines]

also it's fun to let the stupid crappy punk bassist in your class try to play it!

I can just imagine it now..

"Where are the frets !?"

*tries to play Carousel*

"This bass is out of tune it sucks !!!!!"

:D

[Chris K]

Begginers and fretless basses don't mix well.

[Wintermute]

That's true. You ideally need to build up muscle-memory on a fretted bass first. It'll make things SO much easier.

[Killer Fridge]

lol i loved it when the "guitar god" of our school had a go on our fretless

Him- "Oh my god this is out of tune"
Me - "errr, no it isnt *harmonic tunes* see?" (yes it has a good intonation)
Him - "No it isnt *plays somewhere around the 4th fret area and proceeds to start retuning my bass* see?"
Me "*sighs*"

he claims to be grade 8 guitar and grade 5 bass

i laugh heartily at his claims (he cant play bass to save his life, he tries to shred like on guitar and has an amazingly crabbed fretting hand - ala guitar)

[kaiser]

I quote, "Freedom of expression"




That was meeeeeeeeeeee! :thumb:

[d-1]

Nice review and nice guitar!

[Jamie]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a121/cliffburton2005/stuff024.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a121/cliffburton2005/stuff025.jpg


There's my baby! What you's think?

She's getting shipped on Monday :D

[d-1]

Why you shipping them?

[Esp Griffyn]

Its being shipped to him I think.

[Jamie]

^^^ Yep :)

Those are pictures taken from the guy im getting it off's house ;)

[d-1]

Oh okay good

[1-D]

Nice bass guitar an review, adds to wishlist

[Killer Fridge]

youre a complete spamwhore, you know that dont you? :D

[Phalanx]

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a121/cliffburton2005/stuff024.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a121/cliffburton2005/stuff025.jpg


There's my baby! What you's think?

She's getting shipped on Monday :D

aw wicked, that guy has a Beast Wars video

[neal_672]

*is buying Jamie's V490FL* :D

[nerdbert]

Mine came on Friday, it's a great bass, good tone and playability, and it looks lovely. I'd definitely recommend them to anyone looking for a fretless at a very decent price. I'll try and get pics up sometime soon, but I'm at school atm.

Just a quick question, not having much knowledge on electronics, is there anything I'd need to worry about if I wanted to change the electronics in the future? Or would it be a simple case of buying the pickups and swapping them over?

[Wintermute]

It depends on the pickups you buy - I've actually done exactly that - picked up a cheap set of EMG P/J pickups. I had problems (in fact I've not got them in yet) but that's because the EMGs are set up to use two seperate volume pots, not one balance pot. I can't be bothered to change the actual pots over just yet. I may just take it into a shop to do.

[if_jaco_was_punk]

I never liked unlined fretlesses before but these pull it off very very well. Very nice! :thumb:

[Chris K]

I never liked unlined fretlesses before but these pull it off very very well. Very nice! :thumb:

This is amazing...someone who doesn't like unlined boards!

[Ting]

And some more V940 pics...

http://www.mig29.org/v940door.jpg

http://www.mig29.org/v940close.jpg

http://www.mig29.org/v940pup.jpg

Beautiful, just beautiful...