How does your technique change from fretted to fretless?

[terribilino]

I'm dreaming of a fretless at some point in the future, and I was wondering what kind of changes to expect in the way I play.

I posted a thread in the Bass forum recently asking about the playing in a certain video (Are fretlesses 'clackety'?), and several people replied that the player in that particular video was plucking too hard too close to the neck. One TBer replied that he personally plucks very hard, but way down close to the bridge.

What do you find changes in the way you play a fretless as opposed to a fretted bass?

Thanks!

[hoshbrown41]

Not necessarily a change, but a good habit to get into anyway, is to play more on your fingertips than the flat parts of your fingers.

[chuck3]

The bigger change is in my left hand, as I deliberately slide into the note sometimes on the fretless.

My fretless is active whereas my fretted is not, so I play a little more lightly with my right hand as well.

[BassChuck]

I'm going to say that it really shouldn't... but I find that after a gig on fretted, my fretless technique is a little sloppier. A half an hour or less cleans that up.... and I'm getting more careful to play fretted closer to the fret.

[PJSShearer]

I find that on Fretless I tend to play a little harder that with my fretted bass so as to get a clean attack on the note and I'm conciuous that I need to be more accurate with my "fretting" for obvious reasons!!. To get the Mwah sound I pluck nearer the neck than the Bridge and I've also developed a fiddle player's vibrato, which isn't much use on a fretted Bass!!.

[foundation]

Given that I picked up my first fretless yesterday, this is valuable info for me. Thanks. I'm already noticing that the potential for nuance with a fretless is very seductive. But the flip side is the potential for god-awful intonation. I'll be working on immaculate positioning on the frets and nice fingertip attack for eternity. Seems to make a big difference to have the fingers at exactly 90 degrees also. It always comes back to the basics, eh?

[Skitch it!]

Notice how Willis always keeps his vision on the board, this link below imo is a beautiful demo of phrasing, feel and fabulous intonation, which is the most difficult thing to aquire ; )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFcDGR9q85I

[251]

Originally Posted by terribilino

I'm dreaming of a fretless at some point in the future, and I was wondering what kind of changes to expect in the way I play.

I posted a thread in the Bass forum recently asking about the playing in a certain video (Are fretlesses 'clackety'?), and several people replied that the player in that particular video was plucking too hard too close to the neck. One TBer replied that he personally plucks very hard, but way down close to the bridge.

What do you find changes in the way you play a fretless as opposed to a fretted bass?

Thanks!

The differences are in my fretting hand;
I find it easier to sound a note cleanly with less pressure from my fretting hand.
I slide up/down the neck more often on fretless.
I never bend notes on fretless, just roll my finger a little, like a Cello player, to change pitch or add vibrato.
I make an effort to memorize the music so I can see my hand intonate the notes. I can play fretless & read a chart but, the music comes out better if I look at the neck.

[Phalex]

I rarely lift my fingers off of the fret board when I play fretless. I sort of have a Tokyo drift sort of thing goin on. I also use a lot more vibrato. You can't totally play the wrong note if you never stop moving.........

[Gawd]

The technique isn't really different. But fretless is a bit more intricate with dynamics and articulation. Little changes in the way you finger a note or pluck the string on fretless have a bigger affect than on fretted, which allows for a more expressive feel once you get the hang of it.

[Skitch it!]

The left hand technique will be quite a bit different for good intonation, that's a big factor in playing it well.

You will find you have to spread your hand more within the first 5 frets, due to the fact there are no frets.

Your fingers will require a more direct concentrated approach on the board to intone well, vision is much more a factor in fretless too.

[bassguitar808]

your sense of intonation should / will improve

you may notice your fretted basses dont intonate properly in the upper register, uh oh..

fretless intonation on my low action MiM Fender was as follows
frets 1-5, a bit (millimeter) ahead of the fret lines
frets 6-12 exactly on the fret lines
frets 12 - up a bit behind the fret lines

practice playing with a tuner always on
so you can double check your ear intonation

and as stated earlier dont ever Bend strings perpendicular to the neck
always do minor slides up and down parallel to the neck (wiggle like on a cello / violin)

practice octave chord slides up the neck,
and check your intonation against open strings/tuner

[StyleOverShow]

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

... and I've also developed a fiddle player's vibrato, which isn't much use on a fretted Bass!!.

I think that the difference is the slide into the pitch and the vibrato which is significant. Playing solos or melodies on the fretless is a different experience.

[Skitch it!]

Just a couple of thoughts,

A 5 string is worth considering for having an extra open string to reference against, it also cuts down the span towards the bottom end of the neck, low E is located five frets up on the B string so you play around the middle of the neck for 4 string range but with less stretching.

Willis uses a finger-tip rotation to correct intonation before it detracts, it's a fast reflex, but worth the effort, if you haven't had a lot of time on fretless, I'd get a lined fretboard, but that's me.

Play along to C.D's, the stuff you play on a fretted, it's a good reference to what you have to do to adjust.

[Pilgrim]

I use more vibrato on fretless.

[jgroh]

Just like the others have said, I use more vibrato and slide around alot more on a fretless. I also watch the fretboard alot more than I do with a fretted. Im dying to gig with my fretless but so far I havent just because it takes so much more concentration (for me anyway) that it scares me a little bit. I think the next gig we have coming up I might take it and if its not going well I can swap it out.

[SteveD]

Most of the physical differences have been addressed above. I find myself playing less notes with more expression on the fretless. Hammer-ons, slides and pulls are more expressive without frets. Playing in a more legato fashion comes naturally, but exploration of staccato fretless notes is a good idea too.

I bend strings, though I see others don't like to. I mainly do it for a vibrato that is different from the usual.

Playing fretless has made me a better fretted player as I have found ways to imitate some of the fretless expression on my fretted bass.

[syndrome666]

Your technique doesn't change much, you'll only become a more accurate bassist. Fretless basses are about the feel, whereas on a fretted you would't worry so much about intonaton as all the notes are precisely captured for you to play. With fretless you have to play where notes peak, known as fret bars on a fretted. It's not as simple to pick up and play as a fretted counterpart, but it's certainly a lot of fun to learn on one unless you just don't like the old fashioned "mwah" tone of the classic upright. It does sound different from fretted, so some stuff, especially chords won't sound as appropriate lots of the times. Fretless will make you a better bassist though. Other than it's tone, sliding is another fun factor as well as harmonic slides and traditional horizontal finger swaying vibrato. If you want more over tones but don't want to kill the fingerboard wood with grooves from strings, us halfround/grounwound strings or if you like the classy fretless sound, get the traditional flatwounds. Rounds can be used but not rcommended on anything other than good rosewood or ebony fingerboards.

[FretGrinder]

One thing a teacher once mentioned to me is that on fretless, he's draconian about keeping his hand in an explicit position, and assigning one finger per fret, etc. Position changes are less common (the increased prevalence of sliding aside) and more deliberate.

I found that helpful. I've also found playing fretless to help my fretted playing, that my intonation was terrible at first but got reasonable fairly quickly (though it can always improve), and that it's a blast to play.

I heartily recommend getting one, and also recommend trying a nice set of flatwounds even if you haven't been a fan of them on fretted basses (I never was much). My Stingray came with rounds, I tried a set of TI flats and haven't looked back.

Anyone had luck slapping on a fretless? I've barely done it on fretted bass, but I find it far more challenging on fretless. A large part of that may be that octaves are particularly revealing of poor intonation (and quite a stretch down near the low notes).

[One Bad Monkey]

Originally Posted by Skitch it!

you will find you have to spread your hand more within the first 5 frets, due to the fact there are no frets.

Or you can adopt the string bass method, of spanning three frets with your hand (index, middle, ring & pinky) instead of four. That's what I do instinctually, but my background started on string bass, and all of my electric teachers played DB first.

Originally Posted by FretGrinder

Anyone had luck slapping on a fretless? I've barely done it on fretted bass, but I find it far more challenging on fretless. A large part of that may be that octaves are particularly revealing of poor intonation (and quite a stretch down near the low notes).

I have slapped a little on my fretless, but over half that sound is due to the frets, giving you that sharp attack. It's just really lost on fretless, and while some pros still do it (Bunny Brunel comes to mind), you're missing a lot of the tonal properties.

That said, I've done it to emulate that slap sound on a string bass, and you can get close to that sound and thump.