Okay, im wanting to add fretless tones to my arsenal, but i am a dyed in the wool sloppy fretted player. Do i buy a bass with fretlines, or bite the bullet and buy an unlined bass and just suck for a few months?

Welcome to the board!

Two of mine have lines, and I've found them to be a useful to begin with, but now I don't really notice them. If you started on a fretted, and learned to fret just behind the fret instead of in the middle, you'll have less of a problem playing fretless. The main thing is to LISTEN! Your ears will tell you infinitely more than your eyes! Also, in low lighting, the lines are difficult to see, so the question becomes a moot point. What is more confusing to have the side-marker dots (if any) in the middle, i.e. where the dots on the fret-board would be. My Tobias Growler is marked like this - it's lined, but the side dots are in between the fretting positions! Playing fretless is a blast, but you really have to go with what your ears tell you, and any errors are much more apparent when you start playing with other people!

Good Luck!

- Wil

IMO, you should concentrate on finding the tone and feel you want in a bass you can afford and buy that, lined or unlined. If you find your tone and feel both a lined and unlined bass then IMO, its comes down to aesthetics. Which looks better to you? I like the look of unlined better, but that's JMO. When it comes to learning how to play a fretless its more about using your ears than your eyes. Lines might help with the initial anxiety of "where do I put my fingers?" but even with no lines you get over that quickly. Of course the more you practice the quicker it goes.

if you have to look at the lines, it's already too late. besides, looking can be distracting from listening, which is way more important as far as getting intonation proper. i go unlined on all my fretlesses.

Ill agree with unlined. Paying attention to the lines becomes a bad habit. If you go unlined, youll focus more on hearing, once you get to know approx. where the lines WOULD be. Lines are unremovable training wheels. I have lines on mine, but id rather NOT have them. I think jumping into unlined would just be more fun, and more of a challenge. And its prettier! Go with unlined...you regret the lines later!

Mine is unlined and it does look better.

...two cats who played/play with LINED fretless basses-
1)Jaco
2)Gary Willis

...whatever works for you.

It depends upon what you are playing and how often you will be playing it...

If you want to get "up to speed" quickly, lined will be just fine. However, you will still need to listen because on a lined fretless you need to play on the line, rather than behind it like a fretted.

I prefer a lined bass simply because it easist to make large streches across the fretboard....arpeggios, etc. However, unlined look cooler and make it look like you know what you're doing.

Yes, Jaco did adovcate lined basses.

Another factor to consider are the side dots. Even on unlined basses, you are going to get side indicator. However, the side dots (in most cases) are going to be AT the note rather than inbetween like on a fretted. So, that has the potential to mess you up when switching back and forth. IMO, it would be ideal to get your same bass in both fretted and fretless.

Originally posted by JimK
...two cats who played/play with LINED fretless basses-
1)Jaco
2)Gary Willis

...whatever works for you.

Exactly. Try it and see. Either way the path to good intonation is practice.

I use unlined. I play from the side markers. Intonation can get hairy above the 15th fret, where things get tight.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=956748&a=7002318&p=25090158&Sequence=0
What I like:D

Brad that is one beautiful bass, don't ever sell it!

Mike

Too bad Brad stole it from me! I DEMAND MY ZON BACK THIS INSTANT! :D

Thanks for all the help...that is one amazingly georgous bass.

n.

Awesome bass, Brad!
Are those Bartolini soapbars?
...can't really tell; is the neck epoxied?

My Rick Turner Electroline has lines only under the E string. Seems like a good compromise between fully lined and unlined.

<img src="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1044531&a=7713644&p=26168758&Sequence=0">
<img src="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1044531&a=7713644&p=26168759&Sequence=0">


[Edited by Brooks on 08-13-2000 at 06:19 PM]

Well, I've had both. My first fretless had no lines, and my current( and 3rd) fretless has lines. I'm not a no-line purist, but I do find that the string does resonate differently against the material of the line than it does against the wood of the neck. I would have liked a no line fretless for this reason, but I found this bass used and couldn't pass up the deal!

Chris A. :rolleyes:

My fretless is lined, but only because it was a "Jaco'd" bass...in otherwords, it was fretted and I had it de-fretted and rosewood veneer inlayed where the fret slots were. If I were to get a fretless made, I'd do it sans lines or dots on the front. I don't find myself relying too much on the lines anymore, your ear will tell you all you need to know, once you learn to trust it. I also think the unlined board is nicer to look at.

This reminds me of an amusing incident at the Jazz Summerschool I attended a few weeks ago. There was an optional "big band" that played some old Ska tunes and I got to be bass player - it was great fun.

Anyway, there were several trombone players and the tutor asked if they could be a bit more precise with their intonation on the tune (head). To which came the reply :"But we're supposed to sound out of tune, if they'd wanted trombone to sound more precise, they would have given it frets!"

Nice analogy Bruce!

Originally posted by Bruce Lindfield
This reminds me of an amusing incident at the Jazz Summerschool I attended a few weeks ago. There was an optional "big band" that played some old Ska tunes and I got to be bass player - it was great fun.

Anyway, there were several trombone players and the tutor asked if they could be a bit more precise with their intonation on the tune (head). To which came the reply :"But we're supposed to sound out of tune, if they'd wanted trombone to sound more precise, they would have given it frets!"

Bruce, that's great....I gotta share that one with the 'bone player in my band, he'll get a charge outta it I'm sure. By the way, he's got a 'bone I've never seen before, it's got BOTH a slide, and valves.....he can apparantly use it either way. Man, someone needs to come up with that for bass....retractable frets or something along those lines, that'd be quite cool :cool:.

I've had both...and for some reason...I find that I get more into playing with my current unlined fretless. Maybe because I am forced to listen more closely....then I feel closer to the tones.
That's it....FEEL the bass....becomse ONE with the bass...:)
Actually, whatever you feel you need to help you play....is the way to go.

I like unlined. I bought a beautiful koa fretless from Carvin with lines, but they drove me nuts, so I carefully took the plastic lines out and filled them in with a mixture of SuperGlue and ebony dust. You can still see faint lines in good light up close.

Okay. I found an unlined samick in a pawnshop, and bought it. I love the way it plays, but i've noticed that the roundwounds are already starting to wear the fretboard. How big a problem is this? Do i need to go to flatwounds immediatly? Also, the pj pickups in it are a little harsh for what i want the bass for. Can anyone reccomend a nice aftermarket piezo bridge so i can get some more natural tones out of this monster?

I'd recommend half rounds; d'addario makes them. I have a composite board on my Roscoe so I use rounds! Ha!

Originally posted by Monkey
I like unlined. I bought a beautiful koa fretless from Carvin with lines, but they drove me nuts, so I carefully took the plastic lines out and filled them in with a mixture of SuperGlue and ebony dust. You can still see faint lines in good light up close.

Thelonius-
PLASTIC lines?! Caramba, dude!
I like my lined Warmoth neck(w/ WOOD lines)...to me, it's all about looks. Really, it's irrelevant 'cause I usually play with my eyes closed.(that or I'm scoping out the honeys in the crowd) :D
Waaayyy back in the '80s, whenever I bought a Warmoth neck(4 times), I specifically asked for NO dots(this was befor everybody else, too) ;)
From a distance, my basses looked "fretless"...people told me that, I dug it; what can I say, sometimes I am a shallow putz! :D

Hey Get unlined, if you need an intonation help just get some thin tape stuff if i knew what it was called i'd tell ya but i don't i have it on the d,a,e,b [1st finger on all strings] on my cello so that it anchors my hand into a position where i am more likely to get the notes in tune. well have fun

Originally posted by Gard
By the way, he's got a 'bone I've never seen before, it's got BOTH a slide, and valves.....he can apparantly use it either way. Man, someone needs to come up with that for bass....retractable frets or something along those lines, that'd be quite cool :cool:.


Gard,

I've seen those before. It may be an unofficial name but I think it's called a Superbone.

Also, though perhaps I was just dreaming and am about to give away the copyright to a version of your idea, but I swear I remember something about a fretted bass with a (don't laugh) metal fingerboard and these thin removable magnetic plates that would fit between the frets, hence making it a fretless...

:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Stingray5

Gard,

I've seen those before. It may be an unofficial name but I think it's called a Superbone.

Also, though perhaps I was just dreaming and am about to give away the copyright to a version of your idea, but I swear I remember something about a fretted bass with a (don't laugh) metal fingerboard and these thin removable magnetic plates that would fit between the frets, hence making it a fretless...

:rolleyes: [/B]

Stingray -

Yup, Superbone, that's what they call it. Talked to Ernie ('bone player in my band) this weekend about it (he really dug the story Bruce told about the 'bone players and "fretted trombones" :D). Thanks for the answer though.

And I think you may be thinking about the Novax System that was around back in the 80's, had several different available fretboards (one of which was a metal fretless one) that were attached to the neck through some magnetic device. Apparantly the idea was a bust, as to make the whole thing work you had to take so much wood off the neck it made it very VERY unstable. Bummer. Besides, what I'm thinking about would be something you could do on the fly.....push a button or something. Play the verses with fretless, choruses with fretted. And not have to wear the John Turner Signature Boat Anchor to do it ;). Well, a guy can dream, can't he? :)

Originally posted by Gard
what I'm thinking about would be something you could do on the fly.....push a button or something. Play the verses with fretless, choruses with fretted. And not have to wear the John Turner Signature Boat Anchor to do it ;). Well, a guy can dream, can't he? :)


Ha ha ha ha! That's hilarious! Are you listening John?

I see what you're saying about the fretless on the fly thing. I've heard some of those Fretless emulation pedals that sound pretty good, but it's just not the same...

Hmm... motorized retractable frets. You may be onto something... :)

[Edited by Stingray5 on 08-23-2000 at 09:12 PM]

Originally posted by Stingray5



Ha ha ha ha! That's hilarious! Are you listening John?[/B]

SHHHH....he might hear you and drop that thing on my toes or something....;)

[/B][/QUOTE]I see what you're saying about the fretless on the fly thing. I've heard some of those Fretless emulation pedals that sound pretty good, but it's just not the same...[/B][/QUOTE]

Yeah, you can't do all the neat tricks like sliding harmonics, glissing into notes, and getting vibrato in both directions with them damn metal bars in the way.

[/B][/QUOTE]Hmm... motorized retractable frets. You may be onto something... :)[/B][/QUOTE]

Well, it's pretty obviously a pipe dream....but it's my little pipe dream. :D

hey, that's the ACME John Turner SUPER-GENIUS Signature Boat Anchor. and don't you forget it. :D

Originally posted by john turner
hey, that's the ACME John Turner SUPER-GENIUS Signature Boat Anchor. and don't you forget it. :D

...I'm STILL laughing!!! :D :D :D

Hey John, did you catch that &*#^&%&%$ roadrunner yet? ;)

I wanna know where the "John Turner" came from, I thought your first name was Wiley, middle initial E., Mr. Coyote.

BEEP BEEP!!!

all part of my SUPER-GENIUS plan... :D

Originally posted by john turner
all part of my SUPER-GENIUS plan... :D

Well, then....that explains everything.

By the way, do you know where I can buy some of that ACME "Hole in a Bottle" stuff???? :D

BEEP BEEP!!!

Originally posted by john turner
if you have to look at the lines, it's already too late.

Too late for what? IMHO there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with having a lined fretless bass. Your intonation needs to be excellent in order to play fretless sucessfully, and how you attain that good intonation does not matter. A lined fretless is not a crutch, and you're still a real man (or woman) if you have one. With or without lines, you still have to listen to insure proper intonation. Don't believe me? Pick up a lined fretless bass. Find the open string octave harmonic above the 12th fret. Now place your finger directly on the fret line marker. Is it correct? If not your bass may not be intonated properly in relation to the lines. You still need to listen. The lines are a target, more or less. Now place a finger on any line marker. Merely roll your finger, without sliding, back and forth ever so slightly. Hear the pitch change? That's how precise you need to be for proper intonation. If fret lines help, more power to ya!

I don't mean this as a slam against double bass players, but I am amazed at how many upright players, even those holding down very high profile jazz gigs, have some fairly serious intonation problems, especially in the upper registers. Some of these cats would benefit from a lined fingerboard.

Originally posted by Craig Garfinkel


Too late for what?


too late to avoid experiencing intonation probs.



IMHO there is absolutely nothing "wrong" with having a lined fretless bass. Your intonation needs to be excellent in order to play fretless sucessfully, and how you attain that good intonation does not matter.


that's right, BUT if one relies on the lines for one's intonation instead of one's ears, one is going to be out more. that's my point. furthermore, for me, the lines serve more as a distraction than as any kind of assistance. i used to play a lined fretless pedula and i was out way more often on that then i was on my unlined fretless 7 and 8 strings.


A lined fretless is not a crutch, and you're still a real man (or woman) if you have one. With or without lines, you still have to listen to insure proper intonation. Don't believe me? Pick up a lined fretless bass. Find the open string octave harmonic above the 12th fret. Now place your finger directly on the fret line marker. Is it correct? If not your bass may not be intonated properly in relation to the lines. You still need to listen. The lines are a target, more or less. Now place a finger on any line marker. Merely roll your finger, without sliding, back and forth ever so slightly. Hear the pitch change? That's how precise you need to be for proper intonation. If fret lines help, more power to ya!


for me, this isn't a question of being a real man, but rather expediency and efficiency. if i am listening and if my ears don't agree with what the lines tell me, that's a distraction. if there are no lines, then i'm not going to be as distracted, and i am going to follow what my ears tell me, which is as it should be. if i just rely on the lines at the expense of listening, then i am not playing music, i am typing vertically.


I don't mean this as a slam against double bass players, but I am amazed at how many upright players, even those holding down very high profile jazz gigs, have some fairly serious intonation problems, especially in the upper registers. Some of these cats would benefit from a lined fingerboard.

i hear ya here, man. this actually bothers me badly when i go to see jazz combos, more often then not the bass player will be out 15%-20% of the time. that becomes hard for me to listen to.

on that topic, i remember being at a nashville namm show, at one of the nighttime shows, and this individual got up to perform alone on electric upright with some effects and loops - this guy is sorta known as a semi-name player, although not really a chops hound. anyway, sounded like he had bricks of cheese in his ears - he was all over the place, very embarassing, and hard for me to listen to. then next up is steve bailey, who's intonation is the closest to perfect i've ever heard, and it was like night and day.

No matter how great your ears are, you can't hear the note before you play it. This means that whether or not your fretless has lines, you're mainly relying on muscle memory to nail the note dead on. If you're playing a fast sixteenth note passage, you don't have the time to adjust your intonation merely by listening, you have to know your fingerboard physically. Don't misunderstand, the ability to hear the proper intonation is paramount. You still have to have the ability to hear whether or not you're playing in tune. But as you play fretless more and more, your fingers actually "remember" the proper spacing for good intonation, especially as you move up the neck. I played a de-fretted Fender Precision exclusively for about six years. On a de-fretted bass you actually have to play slightly behind the line because the height of the fret figured into the original placement. The point being, I still had to listen. Eventually I became so comfortable, and developed my muscle memory to the point that I rarely needed to look at the neck. I recently acquired a Cort B5FL with no fret lines, and it definitely took me a while to feel comfortable. The process would have been more expeditious had there been lines. But again, the only relevant evidence that you are playing with good intonation comes from your ears. If you can't hear that your intonation isn't what it should be, fret lines aren't going to save you. But if you're inexperienced and want to try playing fretless, IMHO you shouldn't be afraid to go with a lined fretless bass.

Originally posted by Craig Garfinkel
No matter how great your ears are, you can't hear the note before you play it. This means that whether or not your fretless has lines, you're mainly relying on muscle memory to nail the note dead on.

very true. for me the distracting part about lines came when i would focus on what THEY told me about where the notes were instead of what my hands told me.


If you're playing a fast sixteenth note passage, you don't have the time to adjust your intonation merely by listening, you have to know your fingerboard physically. Don't misunderstand, the ability to hear the proper intonation is paramount.

(snip)

But again, the only relevant evidence that you are playing with good intonation comes from your ears. If you can't hear that your intonation isn't what it should be, fret lines aren't going to save you. But if you're inexperienced and want to try playing fretless, IMHO you shouldn't be afraid to go with a lined fretless bass.

oh, i agree with most of what you've said, the only caveat that i have is again that the lines, to me, were distracting in ways that were unforseen, at least to me. another fact about lined instruments that you alluded to in your post is that, while with a fretted bass you should fret right behind the fretwire, with a lined fretless, you should fret right on the line. i've found, back in the day when i played lined fretless, that that would confuse me sometimes at a gig, and i would tend to either be flat or over-compensate, based on the geography of where i was as opposed to what i was hearing.

another thing that is cool that i've seen bill conklin do, as well as a few other luthiers, is use dark strips of wood on dark fingerboards for the lines. this way, one can see where one is going but, from a distance, the finger board looks unlined. on my fretless 8 string, the highest octave has lines (frets 24-36)

http://lordonly.net/8strcls.jpg

you can sorta see it on here. i really like this, especially since the frets are so close together that high. interesting sound up there, sorta like a cello played pizz.

I kinda agree with JT here, and with Craig (how's that for fearlessness!! :p).

I have a lined fretless 6, but not by choice. It was a fretted at one point in it's miserable (if I play it, a bass MUST be miserable ;) ) life, but I decided to go bald a few years back and had the damn obstructive metal bars removed and replaced with rosewood veneer.

It is nice at the beginning of a passage or shift to have a "roadmap" to at least get in the right ballpark, note wise. That said, if I rely on the lines themselves for intonation, I'm in deep doo-doo, especially during a passage of quick 16th's.

I think that actually there are two very important factors, one of which hasn't been mentioned yet, in getting good intonation on fretless. The obvious one is trusting your ears (and hopefully having trustworthy ears, but that's another topic :D). The less obvious thing is motor memory. If you practice your basics, scales/modes and arpeggios, you'll find that your fingers get "eyes" and are able to start nailing the notes, and in tune, if you just LET them. I've found that when I "press" onstage, TRY to play in tune, I start to have difficulty. Conversly, when I just play, relax and enjoy the moment, and trust my hands and ears, I almost always nail my intonation. But, the only way to get to that point is to really do the "donkey work" for a while, preferably in a room where you can't harm innocent bystanders :D.

My next fretless will be unlined, with side markers where the "frets" would be. At least that's the plan......

Originally posted by JimK
...two cats who played/play with LINED fretless basses-
1)Jaco
2)Gary Willis

...whatever works for you.

actually jaco's main bass was lined because it was a fender jazz FRETTED that he personally took the frets out of himself. I've heard a couple stories behind his sudden decision to do that, and a lot of go back to him being dared to before a gig.


JP

No matter how great your ears are, you can't hear the note before you play it./
Quote by Craig Garfinkel

I have to go along with Craig on this one. Any one that thinks lines are not needed should plug into a tuner and hit just one note. Have someone else watch the tuner. Hit a D note on the G string. I'd be willing to bet that not a single one of us can hit the note on pitch. If you are starting a song on the root note how do you make that note without a reference, be it a line or a dot on the neck? Just try it before you decide how accurate you really are.

that's a great point pk2 - i practice my fretless extensively to a tuner. a pro player friend of mine (packard, you out there?) helped me record one time, a fairly busy passage of 8th notes that extended for a few verses, and he was surprised, since all i played to was click and drums, and yet, after we recorded the passage, we looked at it with a good tuner, note by note, and it was pretty much in. i actually think it's easier to play that way than with other instruments - easier to hear one's self.

intonation can be learned, and highly polished, just like any other skill. i've found that playing fretted instruments to tuners shows many intonation inconsistencies there as well, and they are harder to control - the pressure that is applied to the note can pull it 5 or 10 cents sharp easily if one isn't careful. it's possible to actually be BETTER intonated with a fretless than with a fretted, it's difficult, but it is possible.

Bingo pkr2...great points made by all here though. No matter how you look at it (no pun intended) playing the fretless bass is an acquired skill that definitely demands from the player the ability to hear intonation problems in order to effectively fix them. For that matter, fretted players need to have the ability to hear their own basses when they (inevitably) go out of tune. The first accessory any player should buy is a good electronic tuner (in my opinion the Boss footpedal strobe tuner is the best $100 you can possibly spend). My ears are pretty darn good, but I check my tuning religuosly throughout a gig.

Interesting that Jaco is brought up again. I need to review his instructional video, you know the one where he is interviewed by Jerry Jemmott and plays at the end with Kenwood Dennard and John Scofield? If my memory serves me correctly, Jerry asks him about playing fretless (in the video Jaco has a fretted maple board P-Bass neck temporarily attached to his bass while the main neck is being repaired), and I believe Jaco talks about how difficult it is to play fretless, and how he needs to keep his chops up in order to maintain his proficiancy. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

A couple other observations re: Jaco. Check out some of the videos of his live performances. Note how he tunes his basses while he's performing. Jaco had monster ears, certainly perfect relative pitch if not perfect pitch and he would recognize immediately when the bass itself went out of tune, obviously relying on open string pitches as well as the muscle memory in his left hand. Roscoe Beck tells the story of Jaco showing up at a gig of his during the Weather Report hey-day, and when Jaco accepted his invitation to sit in, he passed on Roscoe's unlined fretless and opted for the fretted bass instead. Jaco also used a nearly identical fretted Jazz Bass a fair amount of the time on live performances with W.R., and after "THE" bass was stolen (while it lay next to him as he was passed out in Washington Square Park) he played whatever bass he could borrow.

Here's a bit of honesty. Something I have figured out in the recent past, just before opting to buy my fretless bass unlined. Maybe Jaco, Tony Levin, Who-ever plays a lined fretless bass- so what. Plain and simple it comes down to this, when you see a great bassist playing live, either with a fretted or fretless bass, he isn't looking at the neck of his instrument, if he is, he just doesn't look like a good bassist to the crowd. Buy whichever you want, but learn to play with your ear, 'cause poor stage lighting, slight changes in string tension from hot lights, and playing for a crowd all boil down to the same thing, you have to intone your notes corectly. Lines help a little if you look at them, but they won't always be right on and you can't always look at them. The ear is it- if it wasn't, we'd see lined upright basses, and cellos, violas, violins........

wow what a subject.
has anyone read the book effortless mastery?
some of the replys made me laugh
"don't get lined because it doesn't look as good"
"if you have to look at the lines it will annoy the audience"
give me a break play music for yourself and no one else
if you play fretted and you feel better with the lines go for it. i play both, after a while your ears will get in tune and you won't have to look at the lines
and if ten years go bye and you still have to look at the lines
well i am not going to know about it

Man, you people are worse than journalists!! If you refer to my previous post, you will see that I did not say looking at the lines will annoy an audience. What I said is that if you play through a whole show with your eyes glued to the neck of your bass, whether it has frets or not, the audience will think you aren't much of a bassist. Part of being in a band is putting on a show when you play out; musicians are, after all, entertainers.

Secondly, I hate when people say stuff like "play only for yourself, and forget about the crowd." As a working bassist, who would like to remain working, I know that people who play "just for themselves" usually end up playing by themselves, in their basement, bedroom, etc. Being a musician is being an entertainer, and that means playing music that you like to play, yes, but it also means giving the crowd a show for their ticket price. If you don't, they won't keep paying to see a bunch of guys stand around and play- it gets boring. If it weren't true, people like Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, or David Bowie would never have made it like they did; they put on a show. That isn't even mentioning N'Sync, Back Street Boys, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears...... The list goes on and on. These people aren't really good musicians, but they sell out shows because they go out there, shake their asses, dance around, get the crowd fired up, and deliver a show. They ENTERTAIN!!

Sure get whichever bass you feel good about, but get your ear developed so that when you hit the stage, you can hit your notes clean (the real priority) AND somehow mange to look cool.

Originally posted by surf-bass
Secondly, I hate when people say stuff like "play only for yourself, and forget about the crowd." As a working bassist, who would like to remain working, I know that people who play "just for themselves" usually end up playing by themselves, in their basement, bedroom, etc. Being a musician is being an entertainer, and that means playing music that you like to play, yes, but it also means giving the crowd a show for their ticket price. If you don't, they won't keep paying to see a bunch of guys stand around and play- it gets boring. If it weren't true, people like Mick Jagger, David Lee Roth, or David Bowie would never have made it like they did; they put on a show. That isn't even mentioning N'Sync, Back Street Boys, Janet Jackson, Britney Spears...... The list goes on and on. These people aren't really good musicians, but they sell out shows because they go out there, shake their asses, dance around, get the crowd fired up, and deliver a show. They ENTERTAIN!!

Boy, if I started jumping around and 'shaking my ass' in one of my solo gigs, it'd scare the bejesus out of the audience!!! LOL

fret-lines, no-fret-lines? Can anyone tell from the recording? If it sounds good it is good - I've got lines on all three of my fretlesses, and can't really imagine getting an unlined one, but love watching and listening to Michael Manring and Alain Caron play theirs...

No big deal - if looking at lines keeps you in tune, use 'em. If it distracts you, ditch 'em...

Steve
http://www.steve-lawson.co.uk