Shooting Skeet w/ a 410 = Practicing on a Fretless

[Petary791]

Here's an idea I came up with. A lot of skeet shooters practice with 410 shotguns because there's A LOT less BB's and it's harder to hit the target. If you can get good on a 410, you can be even better with a 12 gauge.

Now how many people think this is the case with practicing on a fretless? If you can get really good, and have great intonation on a fretless, will fretted come a lot easier? I'm toying with that idea, because i've realized that my bass playing is real sloppy and technology saves my butt a lot of time. I'm practicing on my fretless in an attempt to become one with my instrument

[Matthew Bryson]

I have to agree that if you practice enough to get your intonation great on a fretless, then your intonation will be spot-on perfect on a fretted bass.



(sorry)



Didn't Jamerson, or Jaco, or one of the greats anyway…. Didn't somebody have a bass that was almost identical to their primary player that super high action? I'm thinking it was Jaco…

[Petary791]

Maybe it was, but I know JJ's main bass had ridiculous action.

And to point out the obvious, I know that it's pretty darned hard to have bad intonation on a fretted instrument unless it's not set up.

[HaVIC5]

Well, one idea is yes, either get a second bass and set the action really high or set the action really high on your bass when you practice and then set it lower when you perform. Its the same concept as when batters put donuts on their bats when they're on deck. Its really hard to play on at first, but as soon as you set it up back to normal it plays really easily.

[tswd]

I haven't really found that my fretted playing changed much after working on a fretless for a while. The main thing that happened is that I now understand why Jaco called the frets "speed bumps". They actually feel weird at first until I get used to them again.

I do think the opposite effect might've happend, though. I would play something on my fretless and then play the same thing on my fretted. At first, the fretted sounded much cleaner, which meant I was a bit off on the fretless. So, I actually think playing on the fretted every now and then really helps my fretless. The other way around, not so much.

[Jeff Martinez]

I prefer to shoot skeet with an 810 or a 215, or maybe on old 1820. (I couldn't resist.)

Seriously, I agree that practicing something with gear that makes it more challenging makes me better when I then use the "correct" tool. I frequently practice my fretted parts on my fretless with the lights off, to increase my accuracy and decrease my need to look at my left hand while playing.



I love it when a conversation includes ballsitics and basses.

[LeonLivingston]

I definatly think that practicing fretles helps allot with fretted playing. Your brain and your hand get a better idea of the spacing between the notes instead of just knowing how many frets are between them. You'll start to notice when you play fretted more that instead of placeing you fingers anywhere before the fret, you place it right before the fret maximizing tone and sustain. You also get alot more respect from the bass community from haveing fretles chops

[73jbass]

I'd say practicing the fretless definitely can't hurt. I really don't think it will make that much difference in your fretted playing.The techniques are a bit different for each instrument. As for skeet shooting with a .410,that's a different matter. I used to shoot 10 tournaments a year including the World Championships in San Antonio every year,and for a while subscribed to " only practice with the 410" theory. For some folks it works ok,but I figured if you can't run 100 straights with a 20 or 28 gauge,you're less likely to do it with a 410. I did 99% of my practice with the 28 gauge.You have to shoot the 410 exactly the same as the others.Same lead,same hold points,etc. Just less recoil. I haven't pulled a trigger in 3years,I might have a Perazzi for sale soon.

[grovest]

If you think you might ultimately gig or record with the fretless, I suppose it's a fine idea. But otherwise, I think the solution for "sloppy" might be to slow down your practicing and use a metronome.

[oldfretless]

If you got really good at playing a fretless, you would not need a fretted bass. If you want stretch your capabilities, spend some time each day playing a string bass. It's harder to play, and your intonation will improve. And you will have one more tool in you box.