2010s Dean EAB-FL Fretless Acoustic Bass Guitar (Modded)

This big old beast (I mean, it's 18" on the lower bout) is a mildly-used example of the fretless version of the Dean EAB model which is something I see out in the world quite often. These are $300, shipped-to-your-door basses. Perhaps this fretless version is a little more if you can find one? The downside is that they come with cruddy tuners, have a wonky pickup system (thin-sounding and fussy) from the get-go, and they're not well setup from the factory.

This one has had some major upgrades -- the original pickup system was swapped for a K&K Twin Spot pickup which gives it a much more natural tone, is completely passive (no batteries), high-output, and simple. The tuners were also replaced with fresh Gotoh sealed units.

My friend Andy played it this way (with roundwound strings of all things) for years. He even bought a nice gigbag (try finding one to fit it!) for it as well. He brought it back here for sale, though, and since it's been back I cleaned-up the old (empty) electronics holes with some tortoise plates, adjusted the setup, and fit a set of "Slap Happy" weedwacker upright bass strings of the kevlar core/nylon outer variety.

This means the bass is quieter acoustically but when plugged-in (where it actually gets most use) it sounds a lot like an old Kay upright with a mic on it. It's boomy, sub-octave-sounding, and thumpily-delicious. The weedwacker strings -- as they're so big and low tension -- also mean one's playing-style has to adapt to them and in this case it means I tend to play this a little more "upright-like" rather than "electric-like" as I would with a normal acoustic bass guitar.

All-in-all, the upgrades turn a so-so instrument into something perfectly-useful for either "studio sounds" or live for "upright vibes."

Repairs included: minor cleaning, restring, setup, etc.

Weight: 6 lbs 0 oz

Scale length: 33 7/8"

Nut width: 1 5/8"

Neck shape: slim C

Board radius: 14"

Body width: 18"

Body depth: 4 3/4"

Top wood: ply spruce

Back & sides wood: ply mahogany

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: rosewood

Neck wood: mahogany

Action height at 12th fret: 3/32” overall (fast)
String gauges: weedwacker kevlar/nylon mix

Truss rod: adjustable

Neck relief: straight

Fret style: none

Condition notes: it's actually fairly clean but does have one ding/patch of nicked finish on the back of the neck and a little "buckle rash" on the back. The original electronics are yanked and so there are also two closed-off "ports" on the bass side of the instrument. The tuners are upgrades. The pickup system is a huge upgrade. The strings are somewhat "custom" for an instrument like this and feel/sound great either through the pickup or with a mic aimed at its soundhole for recording. It currently doesn't have its bridge pins installed (the weedwackers load from inside with a knot on the end) but the pins are in the case pocket.

It comes with: a nice gigbag.