Fretless questions

Depth_Charge · #1 06-14-2011, 02:26 AM

Quick question for experienced folks. When deciding to go fretless, is it more advantageous to exclusively play fretless from then on?

I've owned both fretted and fretless for the past 3 or 4 years, and I chose a fretless that deserves to be played and played well.

But due to my inherent laziness and the need to learn covers quickly, my fretted basses have continued to be my go-to basses (I have 3). I can't bring myself to sell the fretless. And now that I'm between bands, I'm wondering if I should just shelf the fretted basses altogether and play fretless exclusively? Which will slow my progress significantly, and potentially affect my audition preparations etc if I stick with that philosophy.

Any advice welcome as this beast needs wrestling with! Its a joy to play, even when I play it badly

enricogaletta · #2 06-14-2011, 02:41 AM

Well, it just depend what you want to express with your playing, is your "bass voice" fit better with a fretless sound and way to play the bass, so than switch to play always fretless.
For me I use my fretless basses when I need to have a voice full of heart and expression, but a lot of people use also for regular bass player rule, so it's just about you and how you feel to play better you "bass voice".
Cheers. Enrico
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Spaldo · #3 06-14-2011, 02:45 AM

Don't sell the fretless!

Take some time to learn it really well, for example, do some scales along with a sequencer (for pitch). Don't pay off intonation, it's crucial with fretless.

Listen to some Percy Jones (Brand X) or Mick Karn (Japan) for some ideas on expression. Jeff Ament has a good approach as well.

I usually don't use one at rehearsals, but I'll always pull one out at gigs for a number or two.

tekdiver500ft · #4 06-14-2011, 05:59 AM

Since you are between bands, I'd suggest you play fretless exclusively for now. It will only make you a better bass player overall, as it trains the ear to better hear the pitches, and fingers and ears to work together in harmony. For performances, use the instrument that is most appropriate to your style, and to that of the song.

BassChuck · #5 06-14-2011, 07:00 AM

I play regularly with a R+B oldies band and a 40's style big band. I use fretted with R+B and fretless with the big band. Several times a year do small jazz gigs and musical theater pit orchestras and use fretless for them. I practice only on fretless, and try to do at least an hour a day, intonation drills, scale and chords and then what music I need to work on.
Get on the fretless, make it your main instrument to learn bass and to learn music. Use the fretted or fretless in terms of whats best for the music.

**bassybill** · #6 06-14-2011, 11:39 AM

Most of my stuff is on fretted, but my collection would not be complete without a fretless. In fact, if I had to have just two basses, it would be one of each. I don't think you need to play fretless exclusively to enjoy the differences.

Depth_Charge · #7 06-16-2011, 09:27 PM

Thanks for the advice guys, its been really helpful. I decided to pack the fretted basses away and make the fretless the closest to grab.

I've been running through my cover lists and was surprised how many songs sounded fine. A few issues here and there that needed a tweak, but for the most part it was a more successful session that I expected. Can't hit a major scale to save my life though, and octave skipping took a little extra work as well. Probably going take a lot more!

And I checked out some Brand X on YouTube. Born Ugly was the first song I listened to. Long song, not my usual genre but I enjoyed it. I flicked through a few others but didnt pay attention to song names by then (it was 2am!) Lots of interesting lines and fretless effects. That's not the tone I'm going for, but the tone I'm getting from my fretless is plenty aggressive to keep me happy