A couple songs we play in Retroflection lend themselves to a fretless bass — songs that were originally recorded with an upright double bass. I happened to stumble into a fretless version of this new Sire modal on a European retailer’s website. Not only was this particular modal not available in the US, the price was MUCH lower than the fretted pre-order modals which were advertised here. Without sales tax and a very reasonable flat rate shipping fee, it turned out to be a smokin’ deal. I’ve looked for similar Sire fretless basses online and I haven’t found any like this anywhere. Unless similar modals are released at some point, this may be a very unique instrument.
Sire’s 2nd generation basses feature rolled fretboard edges, upgraded pickups, and preamp. The fretless neck enables much lower action and, with flatwound strings, it’s a very fun instrument to play. But the lack of frets does demand solid player technique. It’s easy to find yourself slightly out-of-tune if you’re not paying attention to your finger position.