Vantage Fretless Bass

I bought my four string Vantage fretless bass used back in 1993. The bass was probably manufactured sometime in the late 1980's by the Matsumoku company in Japan ? Matsumoku also produce guitars and basses under a variety of brand names, including Westone, Epiphone and Aria. I believe that Vantage were distributed by Rose-Morris in the UK,
The bass does not have a particular model name, but is a kind of fretless Westone Thunder 1A bass. The solid Jazz-style body appears to be made up of three sections ? a centre block with two ears ? and is probably basswood. Both body and neck are finished in a good quality black gloss. The neck is similar to that found on a Fender Jazz and I find this very comfortable because I don't have particularly large hands.
The fretless fingerboard appears to be rosewood and is now showing some signs of wear and tear ? perhaps flatwound strings would be kinder the roundwound Elites that I have favoured up to now. On a more expensive bass, I would probably consider switching to an ebony fingerboard ? but on a cheap instrument like this Vantage it would cost far more than the bass is actually worth.
All hardware appears to be standard Vantage issue ? so nothing special, just cheap and cheerful. The bass features a classic J/P passive pickup configuration with 3 rotary controls for volume and tone. The original transparent plastic knobs look quite cheap and one was missing when I bought my Vantage used. I replaced all three knobs with standard black aluminium ones. A typical 3-way selector switch allows to switch between the Jazz-style bridge pickup, Precision-style neck pickup or both. The machine heads are also standard Vantage stock items, but are precise and mechanically sound.

My Vantage fretless has a very good sound ? especially considering that is at the budget end of the market. I generally play it through either a Marshall 3505 Micro Bass amp or a larger Laney DP100 bass combo (see separate reviews).
I play mostly with both pickups selected for a richer sound and have strung it with 40/60/80/100 Elites roundwound strings. The bass is not at all noisy and is very versatile in the variety of sounds it can produce. I often play it clean as a regular bass, although it obviously isn't suited to hard slapping. When I want a classic Pino Palladino sound, I use two BOSS pedals ? the DD-3 for a subtle touch of digital delay and the CE-2B chorus pedal (see separate reviews).

I bought my Vantage used and I just took it as I found it. The bass was in good condition and had probably been previously owned by a bedroom musician. The bridge adjustment screws had a light dusting of rust ? probably the result of being stored in damp conditions at some time ? but otherwise the bass was OK.
The body/neck fit is accurate and solid ? certainly comparable to other basses in this class. The bass has a good action is extremely comfortable to play. It sits correctly in your arms and had generally has a good feel. All hardware was tight and secure and, apart from the missing volume knob, everything was present and correct.

I have never had any problems with my Vantage. The instrument is very solidly built and should stand up to fair amount of heavy usage. Constant gigging would probably take it's toll in the long run ? but no more so than with a more expensive Fender model, for example.
The hardware is generally of good quality, although the plastic pickup covers look a bit cheap. The paint is finished to a high standard, although my belt buckle quickly eroded a section of paint away on the back of the body. All fittings are sturdy and in no danger of coming off.

I've never had to deal either with Vantage or Rose-Morris, the UK distributor. Being a cheap used instrument, I would probably go to a local music store anyway if a repair was required.

I bought my Vantage because I wanted to have a go at fretless bass, but didn't want to invest in an expensive instrument only to find out that I hated it ! I knew Vantage was one of the better quality budget brands and when I saw this used model in my local music store I quickly snapped it up.
Some love fretless bass, others hate it ! The playing technique is quite different to fretted bass and it is an acquired taste. Now that I know that I like playing fretless, if the Vantage got lost or stolen I would probably replace it with a Japanese fretless Fender Jazz.
The Vantage has proved a worthy addition to my bass setup and has provided me with a cheap, value for money introduction into the world of fretless bass. My advice: don't rush out and buy an expensive fretless, pick up a good, used model ? such as the Vantage ? and see how you like it first.