Hey Graeme,
It has that underlying midrange of a set neck, but I'm still just an egg. I haven't learned enough to swear it's not my setup (which I've altered this August to try for more MWAH) Typically I sound a bit like a clean upright, not a bad sound. When I dig in on the E and A, I can get a good growl. I play with my amp and basses set close to flat, with a very small amount of bass and treble boost, then adjust the pickup blend for tonal variance. More bridge gives greater mwah.
The fretted has more growl, a piano tone A, and a really singing G. I run it much the same in terms of tone settings. (I'm a creature of habit) Depending on my touch and the age of my strings, I can get a marvelous woody tone from the fretted that I haven't found on the fretless yet. This is my prime search at the moment, although I think that might well be the walnut top on the fretted. I love it!
Mike
(Message edited by dadabass2001 on October 15, 2004)